The years-long war of words between Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling and supporters of transgender rights heated up again today with the release of an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people delivered by Britain’s National Health Service. The four-year review was commissioned by the NHS and conducted by Dr. Hilary Cass, a pediatrician who was asked to make recommendations for improving those services.
In the report, Cass maintains that health care providers and patients “have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress.” For a fuller explanation of the report, you can read the BBC’s coverage here.
Rowling today issued a series of tweets about the report. The author said she was “bloody angry,” and claimed that “thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations.”
One commenter brought up several celebrities to whom Rowling has longterm ties and who have been public in their support for transgender rights: Potter series stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
“Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them,” the commenter wrote.
Rowling replied, “Not safe, I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”
In 2020 Radcliffe replied to another Rowling tweet with the following post on the Trevor Project’s web page:
Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I. According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.
Watson, for her part, tweeted just shortly after Radcliffe’s 2020 statement, “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”
She continued, “I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”