The largest online fan communities, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, dedicated to the Harry Potter franchise, accused Joan Rowling of transphobia in a joint statement. Community leaders emphasized that they do not share the views of the writer on issues of gender identity and therefore make several “positive changes” to the work of the platforms.
The authors of the statement were also outraged that the writer published a series of tweets that allegedly contradicted the ideas presented in her books, namely in June, the month during which a gay pride usually takes place.
“In addition to the outrage that we feel about her decision to publish these statements during the“ Month of Pride ”, as well as at the time the world is rethinking racial injustice, we believe that it will use its influence and privileges to attack marginalized groups is not consistent with the idea of acceptance and empowerment, which is expressed in her books and which we glorify in the Harry Potter community (fans. - RT ), ”the statement said.
Its authors admitted that it is not easy for them to oppose a person whose work they admired for more than 20 years. Nevertheless, the applicants intend to “counteract the harm” which, in their opinion, caused Rowling, and cultivate a “safe community” on their sites, the content of which will not infringe on anyone's interests.
“Our position is unshakable. Transgender women are women. Transgender men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary people. Intersex people exist and should not be forced to live in binary frames. We support Harry Potter fans in these communities. And although we do not condone bullying against J.K. Rowling, we must reject her beliefs, ”said representatives of MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron.
Both platforms announced a decision in the future to minimize the number of materials dedicated to Joan Rowling. So, the sites will no longer publish information related to aspects of the personal life of the writer. Among other things, this will concern news about her awards and other achievements, as well as photographs of Rowling and any comments not related to the magical world.
Moreover, MuggleNet will remove from their social networks links to Rowling's non-Harry Potter work. However, they will continue to cover such projects on the site.
In addition, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron announced that in the future they will introduce the hashtag #JKR in their social networks and put it in publications that, in their opinion, could harm one of the community members. This will allow everyone to disable the hashtag and thus prevent the appearance of messages about the writer on their social networks. At the same time, the authors of the statements promised to continue to cover information about the Lumos charity foundation.
According to Variety, the MuggleNet platform was created in 1999 and, in more than 20 years of its activity, has gained more than 305 thousand followers on Twitter and 802 thousand on Facebook. The Leaky Cauldron has existed since 2000 and has over 150,000 followers on Twitter and 233,000 on Facebook.
“Hatred of transgender people”
British writer Joan Rowling was at the center of the scandal in early June 2020 after posting a post on her Twitter. Then Rowling commented on the heading of the material, which dealt with the creation of a more equal society for "people with menstruation." In her message, the writer ironically hinted that it was about women.
The post caused a great resonance. Many began to accuse the writer of hatred of transgender people.
Joan Rowling's condemnation was joined by celebrities, including actors who played in Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. Eddie Redmayne, who played the main role in the Harry Potter spin-off - Fantastic Beasts, also expressed his disagreement with Rowling’s position. He said transgender identity is too often questioned and rumored to have asked Warner Bros. remove Rowling from further work on franchise films.
Rowling later published a few more tweets, as well as a detailed essay in which she tried to explain to the audience her own position. She emphasized her solidarity with transgender women and added that she was concerned about the safety of women who are female since birth.