What you should know about JK Rowling’s tweets

This week a controversy broke out over a series of tweets from JK Rowling, author and creator of the Harry Potter universe. This brought to the table not only the well-known debate on separating the author from the work and on whether or not celebrities should comment on current issues, but also the debate on sex and gender identity on a platform like that of JK Rowling , which has approximately 14 and a half million followers on Twitter. Here everything about this controversy.

What does JK Rowling think?

It all started with a tweet from the author who shared an article titled "Creating a more equal post-COVID world for menstruating people". In it she made a sarcastic comment calling attention to the omission of the word "woman", which, for her, should be used instead of "menstruating people", a concept that is used to include in that category other menstruating identities, such as some trans men or non-binary people.

That tweet has already received many responses from her followers, who called her, on many occasions, TERF (Trans-exclusionary radical feminist), that is, a transphobic feminist. J. K Rowling responded to these comments with several tweets, but perhaps the most criticized so far is the one in which she tried to explain herself. In it he says: "If sex is not real, there is no attraction to the same sex. If sex is not real, the lived reality of women globally is erased." The thread continues with the affirmation of loving and respecting trans people, but at the same time it claims the concept of sex and its validity as a category, which some have interpreted as a comment that invalidates trans women as women.

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And the rest of the Harry Potter universe?

In response to these comments, Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter in the film adaptations of the books, wrote an open letter on the website of The Trevor Project, an organization for the prevention of suicide in the LGBTI community, in which he expressed his disagreement with the author of his character. He stated in the letter that trans people were and belonged to the category to which they wanted to belong.

For her part, Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the films, has also spoken out in defense and support of the community and trans activism stating that trans people are who they want to be without constant questioning.

Finally, the actor Eddie Redmayne, who stars in the new fantastic Animals movies, inspired by the universe of JK Rowling, and who also played the leading role of a trans woman in the film The Danish Girl, released a statement in which he affirms his disagreement with the author's comments.