J.K. Rowling Reaffirms 2020 Gender Stance in New Essay as Threats and Protests Persist
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 23
J.K. Rowling Reaffirms 2020 Gender Stance in New Essay as Threats and Protests Persist
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 23
Summary
Six years after her 2020 essay, J.K. Rowling said her views on sex and gender "haven’t changed" and defended women-only spaces in a new update published Wednesday.
Rowling said she would not retreat despite an "avalanche of death, rape and torture threats," arguing that allowing transgender women into some female-only spaces weakens protections for women.
Her essay also rejected claims that she is anti-trans, saying trans people should not face discrimination in housing, employment or personal safety.
The intervention comes after transgender rights activists protested a London gala for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" earlier this month, underscoring that the dispute around her work remains active.
Rowling has backed For Women Scotland, whose case helped produce a 2025 U.K. Supreme Court ruling that "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act refer to biological sex while preserving protections for transgender people.