Two of the most well-known and well-established Harry Potter fan communities, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, today released a statement which shows unequivocally support for transgender people, recommits to their values of diversity and inclusion, and rejects the harmful and disproven theories about transgender people espoused by author JK Rowling. MuggleNet was created in 1999 and has over 350K followers on Twitter and 802K followers on Facebook, and The Leaky Cauldron launched in 2000 and has over 150K followers on Twitter and 233K followers on Facebook. They also announced that they would refer to the author moving forward as #JKR so fans can easily mute the hashtag and avoid seeing posts about the author in their feed. MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron also announced additional steps they would be taking to keep their sites safe for all readers, including exclusion of any coverage of Rowling’s personal life.
In a more than 3,000-word essay published on her website in June, J.K Rowling doubled down on her unscientific and patently false ideas about transgender people. Rowling’s beliefs are not based in fact or science, as trans advocate Brynn Tannehill outlines in her Medium article addressing “the inaccuracies, omissions, and logical errors” in the author’s essay. When Rowling chose to make her anti-trans bigotry public, during Pride Month and the current cultural reckoning with racial injustice, LGBTQ fans and their allies spoke up loudly to share their disappointment and hurt, as the two-decade-old Harry Potter series has created a diverse fanbase where many people have found community, acceptance, and a platform for advocacy. GLAAD has also been speaking out against Rowling’s anti-transgender activism and rhetoric.
Today’s full statement from Harry Potter fan communities can be found here and was written with feedback and assistance from GLAAD and The Trevor Project, as well as a diverse array of fans and staffers.
This marks the beginning of a renewed commitment to serving the #HarryPotter community from a more conscious standpoint than we have done in the past. https://t.co/CcKxdo23NT pic.twitter.com/IetMlsXBY4
— MuggleNet: #1 Wizarding World Resource Since 1999 (@MuggleNet) July 1, 2020
Addressing #JKR’s statements.https://t.co/ZA3kn4gmpe
We’d like to thank @MuggleNet for working with us, as well as @glaad, @TrevorProject, @TaekiaB, @TheHPAlliance @HouseOfBlackPod, @promawhatup and the staff at Leaky & MuggleNet for all their help refining this statement! pic.twitter.com/Pp0RFmuFSR
— The Leaky Cauldron (@leaky) July 1, 2020