ADVICE+REAL LIFE Essay
The Potter problem WHEN J.K. ROWLING began making openly transphobic comments on social media in 2019, my heart sank. There’s never a good time or place for hate speech, but watching a beloved children’s author reveal herself to be anything but a role model for children was particularly upsetting—especially these days, when the world feels more divided than ever. Through the Harry Potter series and several other works, Rowling has captured the hearts and minds of countless individuals, including many LGBTQ+ kids. Her transphobia wasn’t just shocking, it was crushing for devoted fans who felt hurt and betrayed. Rowling started by defending a bunch of discriminatory statements made by others online, but soon she was making exclusionary, transphobic statements of her own. Without repeating them verbatim, the gist is this: Rowling believes that trans women are not “real” women and implied that nonbinary people don’t exist, repeatedly making hurtful comments that invalidate their gender identity. Rowling has also used problematic language to describe trans women and featured several trans characters as villains in her newer books. When called out by readers, activists and even Harry Potter himself (Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry in the movies), Rowling refused to apologize and firmly doubled down on her position.
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todaysparent.com April+May 2021
While Harry Potter has been a significant part of popular culture for more than 20 years, the series never made its way onto my bookshelf. In fact, I hadn’t read or watched any of it until my nine-yearold fell hard for Hogwarts last year. That’s when it hit me: To support my daughter’s love of these stories, I’d have to address my own feelings about the author. It was immediately clear to me that banning Harry Potter books was not the right solution for our family. I’m willing to boycott a store or brand that doesn’t align with my values, but there’s something unsettling about censoring literature or art. It’s vital that we have access to differing perspectives, think critically and make our own decisions. Banning the series wasn’t going to teach my child anything, and it would rob her of a newfound joy. I also didn’t see how it would help trans kids. Furthermore, the Harry Potter books don’t actually contain any transphobic messaging that I’m aware of—Rowling’s statements were made entirely outside of the series. My daughter loves these books and is constantly reading them, discussing them with her friends and role-playing various characters around the house. She dressed up as Hermione for Halloween. The happiness these stories and characters give her is very, very real and I would never take that away.
ILLUSTRATION: SAM ISLAND
Author J.K. Rowling’s transphobic remarks have left me unsure how to handle my kid’s Harry Potter obsession.
