I don’t know about you, but I long for the days when J.K. Rowling was best known as the author of children’s fantasy books as successful as they are derivative, rather than a figurehead of anti-trans sentiment.
If you need a refresher, in June last year, Rowling put out a series of tweets in which she made it clear that she believes gender is a matter of biology, not identity, and that any attempt to claim otherwise is appropriation and erasure of cis experience. When the negative connotations were pointed out to her, instead of apologizing for any offense or hurt caused, she instead doubled down with an open letter claiming her concerns were for women being terrified of trans activism.
Naturally, people took exception to this, and Voldemort actor Ralph Fiennes has now given his perspective on how they responded, saying:
“I can’t understand the vitriol directed at her. I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational. I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing.”
It’s important to note that Fiennes is not necessarily stating he agrees with Rowling’s transphobic comments, just that he’s baffled why people have had such a vehement reaction to them. He does, however, make a clear allusion to cancel culture, the radical concept that folks should be held accountable for the things they say and do that adversely affect others, and tacitly suggests that the only possible reason commenters could have to oppose her views is a desire to be aggressively contrary. This is, to say the least, short-sighted.
J.K. Rowling believes so strongly that predators will claim to be trans women in order to infiltrate female spaces and prey on unsuspecting victims, that the concept formed the basis of her most recent Cormoran Strike novel Troubled Blood, published mere months after her comments went viral. If Fiennes can’t see the issue with someone as high profile as her writing a 900-page book extolling baseless concerns of which there is zero evidence of actually happening and actively harm people’s desire to be true to themselves, then perhaps someone should take him aside and explain it.
