Can I say something in defense of J.K. Rowling? She sticks to her principles. That’s what I say to my daughter, anyway.
Rowling, the wealthiest and most famous author of our century, has raised a lot of controversy for her views on transgender issues. Much of her fanbase, including my daughter, has been turned off by her views. So much so, she no longer wears her Harry Potter attire in public (true story).
I listened to a revealing podcast, called the Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, where the author is given opportunity to explain herself. I heard her point of view, and then I judged her – ahem – I mean, I critiqued her views. Assuming you have no idea what I’m even talking about, here is what I’ve learned.
Rowling (whose first name is Joanne – J.K. was suggested by her publisher so young male readers wouldn’t be turned off by a female author), is a liberal who once had to defend her books against fundamentalist Christians who believed her books promoted witchcraft. In fact, her books are still among the most banned in the world. As a self-proclaimed feminist, she is an unlikely critic of a progressive issue like the rights of transgender people.
Part of it has to do with her own personal experience. A victim of domestic violence, Rowling argues that policies identifying transitioned men as women pose a risk to women’s safety. Men who have transitioned shouldn’t be allowed in women’s prisons, in women’s bathrooms, or to work in rape centres, she asserts. But she has also made comments that have questioned the validity of men who now call themselves women.
This might sound reasonable to us older folk, but not to my daughter, nor her friends, nor, dare I suggest, almost all of Gen Z. To them, Rowling’s strident stance comes across as cold and intolerant. My daughter had friends in high school who wanted to be referred to as they/them. Their pronouns changed but none fully transitioned. Even if they had, it wouldn’t have been a big deal to my daughter and her peers – they respected and supported them and, unlike some politicians, didn't make it into a bigger issue than what it was.
This is a different generation. There’s an openness that didn’t exist during my time in high school when gay kids were fearful to come out of the closet. Today, young people can more freely talk about their sexual preferences and gender identities.
Yet some of the most victimized people in this world continue to be those of the LGBTQ community. Transgender youth in particular are a vulnerable minority (a very small minority, to be clear) who struggle first and foremost with the decisions they make to change their bodies and how they will be perceived by friends and family.
Rowling says she doesn’t oppose transgender people – in fact, she says she would walk with them in support – but her vocal views against their equal rights cast doubt. She sticks to the claim that women will somehow be harmed.
I would argue it’s not so black and white. There can be guardrails built into any new policy. Transgender women should probably not be in all-female prisons if they haven’t had gender reassignment surgery, for instance. There are always rules that can be put in place, even though, in general, these are not dangerous people.
Where she has a point is that undergoing sex reassignment surgery at a young age is risky if that person is not properly assessed. This is an irreversible surgery that can potentially cause emotional trauma for a young person if they later regret their choice. Again, there need to be guardrails put in place when evaluating young people who are about to undergo permanent changes to their bodies.
But Rowling’s underlying issue, from what I heard, is the potential harm to women. It almost sounded as though she fears men are going to start dressing like women so they can abuse them more easily. But the statistics show that most abuse is not random. It’s not inflicted by men who dress as women but rather cis men in relationships with women. If anything, there should be more laws to protect women from domestic abuse and from those who abuse their positions of power.
Rowling seems to think transgender people are the real threat to society. Let’s not forget, it wasn’t so long ago that similar views were held of gay people.
Such views rarely hold up with the passage of time.
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