Daniel Radcliffe responds to J.K. Rowling: Trans women are women

Daniel Radcliffe, star of the Harry Potter movie franchise, has written a response to J.K. Rowling after the author published anti-transgender opinions to social media this week.

Rowling took exception to an article that describes “people who menstruate”, arguing “if sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” prompting outrage and disappointment from fans and the wider community.

Writing for LGBTIQ+ advocacy and suicide prevention group The Trevor Project, Radcliffe says plainly “transgender women are women.”

“I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now. While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment,” Radcliffe writes.

“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.”

Radcliffe directs readers to the Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth resource, which explains the differences between sex and gender, the power of pronouns and tips to increase understanding of trans and nonbinary identities.

“To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,” Radcliffe continued.

“If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred.”

“And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.”

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