Addressing J.K.Rowling’s Transphobia

It’s no surprise through my HP Weekly’s that Harry Potter is my all-time fav. But what happens when something that is so inherently ingrained in your life becomes tainted through the thoughtlessness and actions of it’s creator?

The controversy began just over a week ago as J.K tweeted a comment regarding a published opinion piece that called for a “more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.” The Harry Potter author believed it appropriate to respond with something that I assume she believed to be comical, saying, “people who menstruate? I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

The world exploded with responses and backlash, including many actors involved in the HP franchise providing their own comments and opinions. Majorly disagreeing with J.K, albiet not directly calling her out. She responded to the outrage by doubling down and staunchly backing up her opinions, providing the background of her own experience with sexual abuse.

Okay….but what does her history with sexual abuse have to do with Transgendered individuals? Sex and gender are not synonyms. Therefore ‘menstruation’ and ‘woman’ do not mean the same thing. I’m not going to dive more into why she’s wrong, what should have been said, and how the confrontations are still occurring throughout the socialmedia-verse. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert on the trans community at all! All I’m going to do is talk about her intellectual property that greatly changed my world  and how this has effected it.

Harry Potter has been a HUGE part of my life. I have enough to say about HP that I delight you all with an HP post on a weekly basis. How do I think fondly back to happy memories that have shaped me into who I am when I know that this was shaped by the same mind who is wholeheartedly and publicly causing pain? I’ve spent the last week looking down at the HP tattoo on my arm feeling a little sick yet appreciative that it’s quite obscure.

Just because the creator of what I love did something bad, doesn’t mean I have to stop loving it. Apply this thought to so many other things in life and it holds so much truth. Continuing my HP Weekly’s and sharing my love of Harry Potter with you is something I’m going to continue to do, but I cannot let this slide without comment. J.K, you’ve disappointed me, upset me, disgusted me and don’t think for a second that hasn’t changed a lot for me. But Harry, you remain my best friend.