Potter sites in Rowling trans snub
TWO of the biggest Harry Potter fan sites have distanced themselves from JK Rowling over her controversial transgender comments.
The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet said they would no longer provide links to her website, use photos of her or write about her outside her role as the author.
The sites, which have more than one million fans, claimed Miss Rowling’s transgender beliefs were ‘harmful’ and ‘out of step’.
It comes after she criticised an article for referring to ‘people who menstruate’ instead of ‘women’.
In a joint statement, the sites said: ‘We stand with Harry Potter fans in these communities, and while we don’t condone the mistreatment JKR has received, we must reject her beliefs.
‘Our stance is firm: transgender women are women. Transgender men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. Intersex people exist and should not be forced to live in the binary.’
They admitted it was difficult to speak out against someone they have admired.
But they said they must ‘counteract the harm she has caused’. They also claimed Miss Rowling’s views were at odds ‘with the message of acceptance and empowerment we find in her books and celebrated by the Harry Potter community’.
The author’s remarks last month created a backlash from many fans and stars of the fantasy films including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Fantastic Beasts actor Eddie Redmayne.
Miss Rowling, 54, later posted a lengthy essay on her website in which she revealed her own experience of being sexually assaulted was a significant factor in her support for ‘single-sex spaces’.
She gave examples of where she thought demands by trans activists were dangerous to women.
But her essay was branded divisive and transphobic by campaign groups, which called on organisations linked with Miss Rowling to denounce her views.
Four writers also quit her literary agency, The Blair Partnership.
Fox Fisher, who identifies as a non-binary trans person and prefers the pronoun ‘they’ rather than ‘he’ or ‘she’, said Miss Rowling needs to have her eyes opened to the ‘flawed’ information she has received. The author, who also got messages of support for her remarks, has yet to comment on the fan sites’ statement.
‘Harm caused’