J.K. ROWLING; VIDEO GAME; TRANS ISSUES; HARRY POTTER
13 FEBRUARY 2023
British author J.K. Rowling is in the headlines again, over a project which she's actually had no involvement with, but which is inextricably linked to her.
In this BALANCER, we examine what's brought the Harry Potter author back into prominence, and get to the heart of the things she said and has continued to say - the things which have made her work as an author almost secondary.
INTRODUCTION
Rarely does the release of a new video game bring with it such issues as trans rights, cancellation, and tweets from two and a half years ago - but such is the controversy which now accompanies anything to do with J.K. Rowling.
The 57-year-old, who wrote her first book at the age of six and her first novel aged 11, rose to fame as the author of the Harry Potter series. She became as well known as any author anywhere in the world. But now it's her views on trans, women, and gender issues which create the most talk.
WHAT'S IN THE HEADLINES RIGHT NOW?
It's all to do with a video game
Hogwarts Legacy is an action RPG (role-playing game) which was voted Most Anticipated Game at the 2022 Game Awards and by a number of other gaming publications.
It's been developed and published by Warner Bros. Games, and is set in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Events take place in the year 1899 and players take on the role of a student starting in Year 5 at Hogwarts.
That timeline means that, technically, it's not a Harry Potter game. It's a kind of prequel - the boy wizard doesn't yet exist - and represents the first time in 20 years of making such games that Warner Bros. has put out a Harry Potter-related video game without him actually in it. The rest have all been based on the movies (which were of course based on the books written by Rowling).
According to CNN, Hogwarts Legacy has taken five years to come to fruition and cost around $150 million to make.
J.K. ROWLING IS NOT INVOLVED IN THIS VIDEO GAME
In an FAQ on the games' website, the creators specifically say:
"J.K. Rowling was not involved in the creation of the game, but as creator of the wizarding world and one of the world’s greatest storytellers, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World. This is not a new story from J.K. Rowling, however we have collaborated closely with her team on all aspects of the game to ensure it remains in line with the magical experiences fans expect."
So none of this would exist without the worlds and characters which Rowling created, and Rowling definitely makes money from royalties from anything that involves Harry Potter intellectual property. But given the numerous specific calls to boycott the game, it's worth noting that she has very limited involvement with it. The main winners from any success the game has will be Warner Bros. Games.
WHY BOYCOTT THE VIDEO GAME?
There are a lot of people out there who think J.K. Rowling is a transphobe and a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and as such want nothing to do with her or anything she is linked to.
And while the views she's espoused are not unique or exclusive to Rowling, the belief is that the amount of fame and following she has puts her in a position of influence and she therefore needs to be careful about what she says and how she says it.
WHAT IS TRANSPHOBIA?
"The core value underlying all transphobia is a rejection of trans identity and a refusal to acknowledge that it could possibly be real or valid."
https://www.transactual.org.uk/transphobia
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, EQUALITY & DIVERSITY UNIT
https://edu.admin.ox.ac.uk/transphobic-abuse-harassment-and-bullying
WHAT IS A TERF?
https://www.bmc.org/glossary-culture-transformation/terf
J.K. ROWLing'S SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
As of February 2023, THESE ARE THE APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS Rowling HAS:
Twitter: 14 million
Instagram: 240,000
Facebook: 6.6 million
J.K Rowling posted that tweet around two and a half years ago, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It links to an article about the impact of the pandemic on menstrual health.
The key phrase which Rowling picks up on is "people who menstruate".
In the past, a writer may have simply said "women" - as Rowling sarcastically illustrates - but in the interests of equality, the writers here have chosen to use "people who menstruate". That would include, for example, a woman who identifies as a man - ie, their SEX is biologically female (meaning they do menstruate) but the GENDER they identify with is male.
The article itself never uses the phrase "people who menstruate" exclusively:
"An estimated 1.8 billion girls, women, and gender non-binary persons menstruate, and this has not stopped because of the pandemic."
"2020 started out as a year of progress, with a groundswell of interest and potential for improved investment to address the menstrual health and hygiene needs of girls, women, and all people who menstruate."
And later in the piece, it reverts to saying simply "girls" and "women":
"Investment is urgently needed, as a recent report estimates that over 500 million women worldwide do not have what they need to manage their menstruation."
"Strong taboos and stigma persist around menstruation in all corners of the world, restricting the lives of girls and women from engaging in the activities of daily life, and creating feelings of shame and embarrassment."
Here is the full article:
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate
ROWLING DOUBLES DOWN
On the same day as her original tweet, Rowling posted a thread of three more.
Much of the focus was on 'hate', with Rowling repeatedly saying she doesn't believe her views are hateful, nor is it hateful to have or voice them.
Three days later, on 10 June 2020, she published an essay on her own website entitled J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues.
In it, she explained her point of view - that she believes in biological sex - and that to have such a view does not make her transphobic.
She also detailed the online abuse she'd received as a result of her comments.
The full document is below, followed by a key-point summary:
Click here to read this thread on twitter.com
THE KEY POINTS FROM ROWLINGS' ESSAY
Rowling says these actions drew the ire of trans activists, who viewed it as anti-trans behaviour
- In December 2019, Rowling tweeted support for Maya Forstater, who had lost her job for what were deemed 'transphobic tweets'.
- She "absent-mindedly liked" a tweet concerning gender/trans issues, rather than screen-shotting it for later reference.
- She followed on Twitter the lesbian feminist Magdalen Berns - someone who spoke in favour of 'biological sex' - so she could contact her directly.
Rowling says she has "five reasons for being worried about the new trans activism":
- She has a charitable trust that focuses on women and children, and that replacing 'sex' with 'gender' would impact such causes.
- She worries about the effect the trans rights movement is having on education and safeguarding.
- She is interested in freedom of speech.
- She has concerns about the number of young women wishing to transition, and "the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning" because they now regret their initial decision.
- She makes her comments "out of solidarity" with women who have a similar history to hers (domestic abuse and sexual assault) "who've been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces".
Rowling also says the majority of trans people pose zero threat to others, and that she wants trans women to be safe - but doesn't want women to be less safe (i.e. allowing any man who believes or feels he's a woman into women's bathrooms).
DID ANY OF THIS HAVE AN IMPACT ON 'HOGWARTS LEGACY'?
SALES AND INTEREST WERE STILL VERY STRONG
Despite the calls to boycott Hogwarts Legacy, the game was a huge, and in some cases record-breaking success when it launched:
- 489,000: pre-sales on the online gaming platform Steam
- 1.27 million: number of concurrent viewers watching on the live-streaming site Twitch
- 10 million: total copies expected to be sold
