Hogwarts Legacy is a new promising action RPG in the Harry Potter universe. It is set to be released in late 2022 for PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. However, there is controversy surrounding the game. The German-speaking streamer Shurjoka is calling for a boycott of the game. She accuses the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, of showing a hateful attitude towards transgender people.
This is the reason for the discussion: On March 20, the streamer Shurjoka shared a post from the US site GameSpot, which had previously dealt in detail with J.K. Rowling’s stance on transgender people (via gamespot).
The unusual article for GameSpot “JK Rowling’s Anti-Transgender Stance and Hogwarts Legacy” by Jessi Earl details across several pages how J.K. Rowling spreads misinformation about transgender people and holds anti-transgender views. The author of the article categorizes J.K. Rowling into a group she calls “gender-critical feminists”:
- Rowling’s views culminated in an essay in June 2020, in which she stated that suddenly many young women identified as transgender. This was a kind of “fashion phenomenon”.
- Girls would undergo surgeries to change their gender, such as breast reductions. Later they would regret the decision.
- Additionally, Rowling and people allegedly ideologically close to her spread the thesis that men pretend to be women in order to invade areas that are explicit safe zones for women.
- GCF (gender-critical feminists) would also claim that transgender women try to convince lesbian women to have sex with them.
According to the author of the article, these are falsehoods told to convey a particular narrative: Ultimately, the argument leads to the point that “transgender children” are only victims of sexual violence and that transgender women are actually male sexual offenders.
Author says: One can play Hogwarts Legacy, but not ignore what comes with it
What does this have to do with Harry Potter? The author on GameSpot further states: J.K. Rowling is the “leader” of this active hate and discrimination movement. Therefore, it is difficult for a transgender person to look at any element of the “Harry Potter” series without seeing the woman behind it, who causes so much suffering.
It is impossible to separate Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling. She is still in charge of the series and benefits financially from every sale. The “Harry Potter” series supports the platform of a woman who incites hate.
The author of the article says one is not a bad person if one wants to play Hogwarts Legacy. Many transgender people are also looking forward to the game despite their anger at Rowling. But everyone should be aware of the problem and decide whether to buy the game or not. Many would surely ignore the conflict or even buy the game as a form of protest without considering transgender people.
But it is wrong to ignore the hypocrisy that lies behind the origin of the game.
Streamer compares Rowling to “openly racist author”
How did this discussion get here? The Twitch streamer Shurjoka shared the GameSpot post and intensified the tone of the article even further. She wrote on Twitter.
Just ask yourself: Would you support a franchise from an openly racist author who brands people criminals based on how they were born?
No? Why are you then buying products from JKRowling, who does that with transgender people?
Rowling sees herself as an advocate for free speech, feels personally affected
What is J.K. Rowling’s position? In the essay from June 2020 that GameSpot discusses, J.K. Rowling explains why she is so involved with this issue despite the immense hate and anger it brings her (via jkrowling).
She states, for instance, that at the first signs that she was engaging with the topic, she received a lot of hate from “trans activists” publicly, and was subjected to severe insults. At the same time, she privately received a lot of support, which showed her that it is an issue that burdens many. From her perspective, a “climate of fear” is created if one critically engages with the subject of transgender. She wants to counteract that.
In her view, various people are being labeled as “transgender-critical feminists”:
- such as mothers whose gay sons want a gender transition to escape constant bullying
- or an elderly lady who no longer goes into a fashion store because suddenly men have access to the women’s changing rooms as they identify as women.
She, as an author whose work is banned in many countries, has a strong interest in freedom of expression.
Rowling thinks it’s normal for teenage girls to not know who or what they are
She can very well relate to girls who would rather be boys – she herself considered becoming a man in the 80s to escape the difficult position women were in. Many teenage girls wage a “war against their bodies”. It is absolutely normal to be confused during this time, sexually or not, and not to know who or what one is.
Rowling states: She wants to make it clear that she believes a gender transition is a solution for some people. However, there are also studies that prove that 60-90% of teenagers outgrow such dysphoria.
Rowling also talks about her own experience as a victim of violence in the essay and explains that due to these experiences she firmly believes that women need “safe spaces”. She sees the safety of these spaces threatened if men had access to them by identifying as women.
She apparently feels misunderstood. When she expresses herself nuanced on the topic, she is subjected to harsh insults and labeled as “transphobic”. Many women are now rightfully afraid of “trans activists”.
However, she does not want to submit to this movement.
Especially on Twitter, it is impossible to address a topic in a differentiated manner. When she does, something is immediately assumed about her. Someone even told her that she is Voldemort.
What happened next? The widely noticed essay by Rowling is 2 years old. Meanwhile, Rowling tweets almost incessantly on the topic of “transgender”. She seems to have become a complete red flag for transgender activists and is deeply entangled in the subject herself.
The fronts seem to have hardened. Differentiated positions are hardly exchanged anymore. Both sides are hostile towards each other and demonize the opposing side:
- For trans activists, Rowling is the head of a movement that spreads hate
- Rowling sees transgender activists as people who spread an “atmosphere of fear” and do not allow any opinion other than their own.
What is the discussion around the boycott like? The discussion initiated by Shurjoka is not very nuanced.
Harry Potter is part of my childhood/adolescence and I will not let that be taken away from me. That does not automatically mean that I support what this woman says, because I absolutely do not! This insinuation always resonates in such tweets.
— Vollzeit_Verwirrt 🦖 (@eh_hysteria) March 20, 2022
Some people agree with her: They loved Harry Potter. However, since they have become aware of Rowling’s views, they have completely distanced themselves from this beloved childhood memory.
However, there are also some who reduce this discussion to “I do not share Rowling’s views, but if we start, we would have to boycott everything.” They said if it came to that, one would have to boycott everything from Maggi to iPhone to H.P. Lovecraft. One must separate the work of the author.
However, attempts to understand the other position are rarely evident.
And what about movies from Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, and half of Hollywood who are either Scientologists, woman-beaters, or anti-Semites? What about Naidoo or Nena? The list could go on indefinitely.
— Stargazer (@Stargazer1204) March 20, 2022
Interestingly, both Shurjoka and Rowling, two years earlier, come to the realization that Twitter is simply not the right place for nuanced discussions. That seems to be at least a common denominator.
Hogwarts Legacy is a single-player game that we rarely deal with at MeinMMO. When we do, we focus on the impact of the game on gaming culture. The game appears to divide opinions:
Controversy surrounding Gamergate overshadows new PS5 game on Harry Potter
