Yet again, J.K. Rowling has taken to sharing harmful rhetoric on Twitter and while we have decided to not cover stories on her, Paris Lees shared important tweets about why Rowling is so harmful.
Paris Lees is a journalist and transgender rights activist. Today, she took to Twitter to share why J.K. Rowling’s near-constant sharing of transphobic rhetoric is dangerous. Not only to the trans community at large but, specifically, to trans children.
#IStandWithJKRowling is trending and it feels like a good time to point out that numerous studies around the world reveal that 30-50% of trans kids have attempted suicide
— Paris Lees (@parislees) August 28, 2020
I can tell you from my experience that the way we choose to discuss trans people in public has a real impact
For whatever reason, Rowling has made it her goal to constantly share articles or rts that are harmful to the trans community and is isolating fans of the series as a whole. But Lees shared her own personal experience as well as sharing why these kinds of tweets from Rowling are not only dangerous online but harmful to children and the trans community.
While I'm blessed in many ways, the truth is I'm not sure I'll ever really erase the pain of growing up being told that I wasn't who I said I was, and that there was something wrong with me
— Paris Lees (@parislees) August 28, 2020
Please dig deep and approach this subject — about real people — with caution and empathy
I don’t want to give Rowling any more attention but Paris Lees’ tweets are important in the discussion of how we can’t just let Rowling’s rhetoric continue. Yes, many fans of the series want to pretend like she didn’t write it but the truth is…she did.
And Rowling is now someone who would rather use her platform for hate instead of lifting up a community that needs our love and support. So it’s incredibly important that we look at Lees tweets and realize what we, as fans of this series who support and love the trans community need to do in order to protect them and lift them up when someone with a base like Rowling chooses to use her words and platform for harm.
Much love to Paris Lees.