J.K. Rowling's bigotry is painful and maddening (CNN Opinion)

[Mike 03]

CNN Opinion
Garrard Conley
Updated 6:24 AM ET, Wed July 8, 2020

On Sunday, "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling sent a tweet comparing gender-affirming medical care for trans people to the harmful practice of conversion therapy:

"Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalization that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function."

As a survivor of gay conversion therapy who has publicly spoken out against the practice for many years, I feel the need to correct Rowling's misusage of the term while also pointing out how this kind of language is incredibly harmful not only to trans people but also to a democratic society.

As a longtime fan of the "Harry Potter" books whose fundamentalist church once forbade me from reading Rowling's books on grounds of "indoctrination," this task of correcting the record strikes me as absurd and disheartening. This is not the first time Rowling has tweeted something widely criticized -- by fans, queer people, even some of the actors who portrayed her iconic characters -- as transphobic. None of the further pain and continued Twitter blowback had to happen if Rowling had simply considered the subject of trans experience with the same care and thoroughness she devoted to the craft of her books.

First, Rowling's comparison between legitimate medical transition care and "conversion therapy" erases the fact that the latter -- a harmful and problematic process that seeks to rid people of their authentic identities -- has long been used against trans people, often with horrific results. In fact, conversion therapy has historically targeted trans people at a higher rate than any other member of the LGBTQ spectrum. According to a 2015 survey from the American Journal of Public Health, "13.5% of transgender people in the United States reported lifetime exposure to this practice."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/07/opinions/jk-rowling-conversion-therapy-transphobia-conley/index.html

Editor's Note: Garrard Conley is an assistant professor of creative writing at Kennesaw State University. He is the author of the memoir "Boy Erased," adapted into a film of the same name. He is also the producer of Unerased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America. The views expressed here are the author's. Read more opinion on CNN.

Not a J.K. Rowling fan, but simply amazed she keeps digging herself deeper and deeper. I really don't understand why she feels compelled to pick the fights she is currently picking.