Rowling’s transgender remarks risk dulling the magic of her books, warns Potter star
Daniel Radcliffe ‘deeply sorry’ for any pain caused by author’s comments on the value of biological sex
‘My life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so’
DANIEL RADCLIFFE has said he hopes JK Rowling’s comments on transgender women will not taint the Harry Potter works and he is “deeply sorry” for the pain caused to fans disenchanted by her opinions.
The bestselling author criticised a headline that used the term “people who menstruate” instead of “women” and went on to oppose “erasing the concept of sex” in a series of online posts about female experience.
Despite stating her support for transgender people, she was accused of being transphobic and her comments were widely condemned online, with some fans labelling the writer “Voldemort”, the name of Potter’s arch-enemy.
The writer complained that “woman-hate” was eternal after being branded a “Feminazi” and “witch” on Twitter. She has not responded directly to Radcliffe’s critique.
The Harry Potter star, endorsed as a child actor by Rowling herself, has criticised the writer’s statements and apologised for any disenchantment fans may have suffered because of her views on biological sex.
He hoped that the author’s opinions would not “taint” the magical series for devotees, and was “deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused”.
The actor shared his views through The Trevor Project, an LGBT suicide prevention society, declaring “transgender women are women” and “any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people”.
He also claimed Rowling’s opinion on biology “goes against all advice given by professional healthcare associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”
Radcliffe’s comments added to the criticism levelled online against Rowling for her Twitter posts asserting the reality of biological sex and the importance of sex differences in understanding the experiences of women.
She said online: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives.”
She added: “My life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”
Some disagreed, and Rowling subsequently complained she had been called a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), a “witch” and “bitch”.
While asserting that she supported transgender people in their struggle, Rowling said the online abuse directed against her was “woman-hate”
Radcliffe’s post on The Trevor Project website accepted that Rowling was “responsible for the course my life has taken”, but added: “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.”
He denied his criticism amounted to in-fighting, but online Harry Potter fans quickly framed the public disagreement as a battle between the boy wizard and Voldemort.
It is not the first time Rowling has been criticised for comments about transgender issues. The author was censured online last year for opposing attempts to “force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is
real”.