J.K. Rowling
On June 10, 2020, British author J.K. Rowling published a lengthy essay on her own website titled J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues. It was her response to the criticism that followed earlier posts on social media.
The main article on this subject is J.K. Rowling.
What it is about
Rowling gives five reasons why she is concerned about what she calls the new trans activism. She points to the importance of the concept of sex for her charitable work, freedom of speech, and the sharp increase in young women seeking to transition. In this context, she cites the research of Lisa Littman. She also reveals for the first time that she was a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault, and explains why she wants to preserve separate spaces for women. At the same time, she writes that transgender people deserve protection.
Reception and criticism
The essay provoked fierce reactions around the world. LGBT organizations and several actors from the Harry Potter films distanced themselves from it; others supported her. The piece is regarded as a landmark in the debate about gender and society and continues to play a role in international developments.
Background
The events leading up to it began in December 2019, when Rowling expressed her support on Twitter for Maya Forstater, a tax expert who lost her job after making statements about sex and gender. In June 2020, she criticized an article that referred to people who menstruate rather than women. In the essay, Rowling writes that she had already been studying the subject for nearly two years, partly for a crime novel and partly because of personal involvement. She cites figures such as a 4,400 percent increase over ten years in the number of girls referred for treatment in the United Kingdom. She also opposes the Scottish plans to simplify the legal recognition of sex and describes the threats she received. A chronology of the boycott and the threats can be found on gendergekte.nl in the article about J.K. Rowling's cancellation. The work of the researcher cited is included in this archive under Lisa Littman.
What happened afterward
The actors who distanced themselves included Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Eddie Redmayne, and Rupert Grint. In August 2020, Rowling returned an award from the organization Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights after its president called her statements transphobic. In September 2020, 58 writers and artists, including Ian McEwan and Tom Stoppard, condemned the abuse directed at her in an open letter. In December 2022, Rowling founded Beira's Place, a support center for victims of sexual violence that does not admit trans women. When Scotland's hate crime law came into force in April 2024, she challenged it with a series of posts; the police found no criminal offense in them. Rowling supported For Women Scotland's legal case with £70,000. On April 16, 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled in that case that the term woman in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex. In August 2026, Rowling wrote that, in her view, adults with persistent gender dysphoria can sometimes find relief only after surgery and hormone treatment; see the news article about that clarification. See also trans people and women's safety.