Today’s News Shows Why We Can’t Engage With The “Harry Potter” TV Show

Note: This post is an Op-Ed and shares the author’s personal views.

So, the UK Supreme Court basically just ruled that trans women aren’t legally women.

Earlier today, the country’s highest court unanimously ruled that a “woman” in equality legislation should be defined as referring to a “biological woman and biological sex.” It stemmed from an argument over whether trans women with a gender recognition certificate (aka the document used to be legally recognized in your gender) should be protected as women from discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act.

The ruling essentially means that trans people can be barred from women’s spaces. As Pink News notes, “Single-sex spaces and services refers to areas which are often split by sex, such as toilets, hospital wards, prisons and domestic abuse refuges and crisis centres.” The Good Law Project subsequently said, “This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and erases trans women from protections. It puts trans rights back 20 years.” They also claimed that the court didn’t hear from any trans people. This comes as hate crimes against trans people have been increasing.

The ruling should also be concerning to cis women, as having your womanhood defined on your reproductive abilities is not a good thing when it comes to women’s rights.

While the judges tried to claim that the ruling shouldn’t be seen as a victory for either side, one person who’s celebrating is J.K. Rowling. She is a vocal supporter of For Women Scotland, the campaign group that argued that sex-based protections should only apply to cis women against the Scottish government.

Following the news, Joanne wrote on X, “It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they’ve protected the rights of women and girls across the UK. @ForWomenScot, I’m so proud to know you.”

But her support for the case goes far beyond just a post or hundred on X. When the group began crowdfunding for their Supreme Court challenge, Joanne herself donated the equivalent of $92,000 to the group — almost the entirety of the group’s fundraising goal for its first month. She further added a note that read, “You know how proud I am to know you. Thank you for all your hard work and perseverance. This is truly a historic case.”

Why am I bringing this up? Because there’s still this idea that Joanne’s anti-trans bias is just some kind of vague notion, an opinion to be dismissed, and not something with which she is actively trying to harm trans people with. Her cultural and economic impact is very real.

I’ve had the pleasure of being in spaces with trans and genderqueer Harry Potter fans who have found a way to reclaim the series for themselves. That’s wonderful. But when it comes to the new official IP, let’s be clear: Ignore it. Stop giving this woman your money and time.