JK Rowling vows to keep voicing her opposition to ‘trans activism’ in new essay

“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling vowed to keep voicing her opposition to “trans activism” and financially supporting women taking legal action over their rights, in a new essay published Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Rowling, 61, has been embroiled for years in controversy over the contentious issue and her stance that biological sex is immutable, incurring the wrath of activists and “Harry Potter” film stars.

She denies being transphobic, arguing her concern is the impact transgender activism has on women’s rights and single-sex spaces for women.

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“I’ll continue to speak out, continue to use my money to help women who otherwise couldn’t afford to go to court,” the author wrote in the lengthy essay published on her website.

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“If a man can be a woman, there is no such thing as a woman,” she added.

“That might not matter to you personally, but it matters to millions of women who don’t have the luxury of pretending that their sex doesn’t matter. I remain on their side.”

Rowling’s gender-critical views have made her the darling of some feminists and are credited with helping to open up larger debates on free speech and a so-called “cancel culture.”

But they have also received strong criticism.

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She first extensively detailed her views on the subject in a 2020 essay that provoked a fierce backlash from transgender rights activists and others.

Actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film franchise of the best-selling books, has been among those to publicly disassociate himself from her.

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READ: J.K. Rowling won’t forgive Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe

Rowling characterized her new essay as an update on her 2020 post, noting “my views haven’t changed… but the landscape certainly has, and my own involvement in the issue has become practical as well as theoretical”.

In April 2025 the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that a woman is legally defined based on her sex at birth, in a landmark decision hailed by gender-critical campaigners like her.

But it has prompted concerns that transgender people will be discriminated against.

Earlier this year, the Labor government issued long-awaited new guidance on single-sex spaces, insisting it would still protect transgender people.

The new code confirmed that a service must be used on the basis of biological sex for it to be classed as single sex under Britain’s 2010 Equality Act.

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Public services and bodies have gradually started adopting the guidelines, with England’s National Health Service (NHS) revealing last week that transgender women will no longer be placed on female-only wards. /ra