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In a hundred years’ time, people will still remember the name J. K. Rowling — and not only for writing one of the most beloved and best-selling fantasy book series of all time. She will be remembered for the role she played in saving civilization from the harms of gender ideology.
Rowling is an internationally beloved icon, known for bringing joy to millions through the Harry Potter book series. Harry Potter was, and still is, a cultural behemoth that has been retold through movies, video games, and theme parks, and is now being turned into an HBO television series.
But in 2020, almost overnight, Rowling went from being the queen of popular culture to becoming an internationally hated villain. Her crime? Defending women’s rights and publicly acknowledging you can’t change your sex.
In late 2019, Rowling was already receiving backlash for hinting she disagreed with the transgender agenda in social media posts. However, she fully outed herself as “transphobic” in June 2020 by publishing a powerful and highly controversial essay that defended women’s rights and biological reality.
Rowling explained in the essay how “trans activism” was threatening the rights of women across the globe and expressed concerns over women losing their fertility from medical transitions and the dangers of allowing men into female private spaces.
“It’s been clear to me for a while that the new trans activism is having (or is likely to have, if all its demands are met) a significant impact on many of the causes I support, because it’s pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender,” Rowling wrote.
“I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman — and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones — then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”
It’s incredible to read this essay today and see how ahead of the curve Rowling was in understanding the many ways gender ideology harms women and society.
As one of the earliest and boldest celebrity figures to speak clearly on these issues, Rowling earned brutal backlash from nearly every corner of the internet, from fans removing their Harry Potter tattoos because they now represented “transphobia” to harsh criticism from Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played Harry Potter in the movies.
Rowling has been called derogatory names and had her physical safety threatened thousands of times over her opposition of gender ideology. And almost six years after publishing her initial essay, she’s still being criticized for supporting biological reality and women’s rights.
Just last week, Andrew Garfield, a B-list actor best known for being Emma Stone’s ex-boyfriend, went viral for taking a dig at Rowling in an interview. Garfield called watching the Harry Potter movies “controversial” and said, “We shouldn’t be, you know, putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation right now through she that shall remain nameless.”
Rowling has a fund that supports individuals and organizations “fighting to retain women’s and girls’ sex-based rights in all aspects of life.” Rowlings financially supported a group that won a U.K. Supreme Court case in 2025 that clarified the definition of “woman” should be based on biological sex in the U.K.’s Equality Act 2010.
In response to that win, Rowling tweeted a photo of herself, holding a drink and smoking a cigar, with the simple caption, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Tuesday is Transgender Day of Visibility, a fake holiday created by a man pretending to be a woman, and I think it’s a perfect day to celebrate J.K. Rowling. Rowling is a real woman who has held the line on biological reality for us all. She has given the issue of gender ideology visibility in a way that only a billionaire cultural icon could.
She’s chosen to make herself visible, putting a target on her back, and has taken many arrows from angry transgender activists who have threatened her safety and tried to destroy her legacy. In spite of it all, she’s carried on with a smile and a sharp sense of humor and has helped other women fighting similar battles.
One of her first acts of defiance against gender ideology happened in 2019 when Rowling defended Maya Forstater, a British researcher who lost her job for tweeting that a man cannot change his biological sex. She continues to face headwinds for women fighting for biological rights on the ground through the J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund.
Rowling could have just chosen to stay quiet and enjoy life in her private Scottish castle. Instead, she chose to fight for and support those who don’t have the means or voice to fight alone. Those who give up their own comfort for the betterment of others are the kinds of historical figures that save civilizations. History will remember J. K. Rowling for doing her part.
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