The fallout over J.K. Rowling’s comments regarding the transgender community continues, this time sweeping up two of the largest fan sites dedicated to Rowling and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After Rowling shared a series of Tweets that questioned the definitions of women's gender in binary terms, Harry Potter cast members have come out in strong support of the Trans community. Now, so have the Harry Potter fan sites MuggleNet and the Leaky Cauldron.
In joint statements released by the two fan sites, it is stated:
As this fandom enters its third decade, J.K. Rowling has chosen this time to loudly pronounce harmful and disproven beliefs about what it means to be a transgender person. In addition to the distaste we feel for her choice to publish these statements during Pride Month—as well as during a global reckoning on racial injustice—we find the use of her influence and privilege to target marginalized people to be out of step with the message of acceptance and empowerment we find in her books and celebrated by the Harry Potter community.Although it is difficult to speak out against someone whose work we have so long admired, it would be wrong not to use our platforms to counteract the harm she has caused. 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. We stand with Harry Potter fans in these communities, and while we don’t condone the mistreatment JKR has received for airing her opinions about transgender people, we must reject her beliefs.
These sites have been around for decades, and produce daily articles and features centered solely around the world that J.K. Rowling created out of whole cloth. So for them to go on record as saying they “reject” her beliefs regarding transgender women and their identities is saying a lot.
The fans sites go on to explain that they will change even how they cover news regarding J.K. Rowling, saying:
We will continue to cover J.K. Rowling’s work set outside of the wizarding world (e.g., the Cormoran Strike series, The Ickabog) as well as her charitable foundation, Lumos. We will no longer be covering aspects of her personal life (e.g., awards won, life achievements, tweets that are unrelated to the Wizarding World, charitable donations, legal issues, political commentary or opinions).
And they'll implement a number of changes to the Websites and social media presences, including stopping links that go to purchases outside of Rowling’s Wizarding World, and even stopping from sharing images that show the author’s likeness.
This has been a complicated and difficult situation for Harry Potter fans, cast members, followers and even the author. We’ll continue to cover the story as it unfolds.
