![]() LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations condemned it and Rowling’s other writings as harmful or suborning the harm and discrimination of transgender persons, although some of Rowling’s celebrity colleagues publicly came to her defense. Her crime novel Troubled Blood, also published in 2020 under the nom de plume Robert Galbraith, tells the story of a serial killer who dresses as a woman when he carries out his murders. Since that June 2020 editorial, Rowling has continued to engage with the subject of transgender identity, from the same point of view. At the time, Scotland (Rowling is a resident of Edinburgh, writing most of the Harry Potter series there) was considering changing its laws to allow individuals to change the gender assigned on their birth certificates without a medical diagnosis.Īfter a couple of years of coy social media gestures and replies on the subject, on June 10, 2020, Rowling published a confrontational 3,600-word essay on her personal website spelling out her views on gender identity, her skepticism of transgender-inclusive laws and policies, and “the new trans activism.” Rowling invoked her own survival of domestic abuse and sexual assault, while also raising a discredited hypothetical about male sexual predators being allowed into restrooms for girls and women as long as they identify as one.įrom 2020: Why I’m not buying the Harry Potter game Her views came into full display in the summer of 2020. Rowling has chosen to take regarding gender identity, going back to 2018. Mainly because of the public stances that author and series creator J.K. Photo: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images Why is this game controversial? Rowling at the world premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in London, March 2022. And although I enjoyed the books previously and respect the work of people making Wizarding World content today, I’ve found it all very easy to do without. ![]() Ultimately, Rowling’s actions – and my discussions with trans friends, family and other allies – have meant I’ve no longer been prepared to spend money on anything Potter related. It’s due only to their presence in popular culture that she has the power to put any statement or argument into newspapers and websites around the world with a mere tweet, spreading disinformation. ![]() To sum it up in the parlance of Harry Potter itself, if Rowling were Voldemort, then the various arms of the ongoing Wizarding World franchise would be her personal horcruxes. If you believe Rowling’s efforts to promote a harmful view of trans people has a real impact on an already marginalised group, and you accept that her celebrity is almost entirely derived from the media franchise that began with Harry Potter, then support for one strengthens the other. Here it’s meant to imply that the harm done to trans people and others through the support of Wizarding World products is no more than the harm done by purchasing any of the dozens of other new games on the shelves, which is clearly untrue.Īll of this obfuscates a relatively clear moral equation. Whether that reading turns out to be warranted or not, it’s hardly unique to Rowling’s work as a criticism of fantasy fiction.Īside from those defending Rowling or overtly dismissing the harm her disseminations cause, the discussion around whether you can be a good ally while also enjoying this video game is playing out in social forums and comment sections all over the internet.Ī common argument is any spin on “no ethical consumption under capitalism”, which has become increasingly misused in recent years to justify consuming anything you want. On the other hand, you’ll also find arguments reaching to extrapolate Rowling’s controversial positions by painting the content of the game itself as bigoted critics have said the game perpetuates anti-Semitic stereotypes through its characterisation of goblins, and that it positions an enslaved race as the bad guys and the player character as a righteous coloniser.
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