If you’ve ever heard of Harry Potter, you’ve probably heard of its renowned author, J.K. Rowling. Rowling is known for not only creating the beloved wizarding world but also for being a powerful feminist. However, recently Rowling and the public have been caught in one of the biggest debates and controversies of the century.
Since June 2020, there have been strong and heated arguments between trans activists and women’s rights activists through the usage of social media. Specifically, the ones in the Harry Potter community and Fandom. The main source of conflict was the single question of whether J.K. Rowling is transphobic or not. Lately, sparks have been flying ever since Rowling publicly declared her opinion. Rowling’s views can often be perceived as transphobic, and she is accused of being a “TERF” or Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist.
Rowling has spoken on X (formerly known as Twitter) about Women’s Rights, gender, and sex multiple times. Most of her comments were not well-received by the public. Her comments included saying how she would gladly serve jail time if it meant “The alternative is compelled speech and forced reality and the importance of sex.” Trans activists were not happy that the famous author was essentially saying she would rather be forced to serve jail time than respect a trans-identifying person’s identity.
However, the response to Rowling’s opinion was cruel. Rowling and her family were threatened with death, rape, assault, and even being bombed. Helena Bonham Carter, the actress who played Bellatrix Lestrange, said this message when interviewed about the debate. “It’s horrendous, a load of bollocks. I think she has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentality of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse. Everybody carries their own history of trauma, and you have to respect where people come from and their pain. You don’t have to all agree on everything; that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively; she’s just saying something out of her own experience.”
I, for one, can agree for the most part with Bonham Carter’s statement. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a feminist, PotterHead, and advocate for human rights in general. I felt the need to speak up about the topic. I’ve been in love with the magical world of Harry Potter since I was eight years old, and it has always held a place in my heart. I remember being excited and curious when my parents showed me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the very first time. I felt comforted by the idea of a boy who found a place to belong. It gave me hope that I, too, would find a place for myself in the world, just as Harry found Hogwarts.
This once-simple debate has turned into an all-out war between two sides of the same coin. Both groups fail to see that they are fighting for the same thing: A place to feel equal and welcomed.
Before I wrote this article, I was planning to rant on and on about how it was all black and white, one side was wrong, the other right. I thought that J.K. Rowling was just a straight-up transphobe and a villain, while the trans-activists were the courageous heroes. I quickly realized that that is not the case at all. This isn’t a battle where one side is good and the other is evil; it’s people who are victims of years of fear and abuse. This isn’t black and white; it’s between shades of grey.
Rowling herself wrote a quote in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that describes the situation perfectly. Sirius Black says to Harry, “The world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters [Bad], we’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”
Fighting against each other doesn’t solve anything; it only tears us apart. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore explains, “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” Sending threats to a woman who was stating her opinion isn’t activism, it’s harassment. Telling people that their identities aren’t real isn’t fighting for rights; it’s discrimination.
The point is, we’re all human. We are all going to make mistakes and be jerks sometimes. But what matters is that we treat each other as humans, and not animals. We all have hearts that beat to the same rhythm. We all have brains that can show basic empathy to each other. We are all going to be stuck on this planet until the end of time, whether we choose to or not. I hope that someday, myself, my family, my peers, the strangers I pass in the halls, my friends, the poor, the rich, the people suffering, the content, everyone can live in a place where all of us are welcomed with open arms.
