A group of transgender rights demonstrators gathered outside the UK’s largest official Harry Potter store on Oxford Street on Wednesday, carrying signs reading “Protect Trans Lives” and “Stop Funding Trans Erasure” while chanting through megaphones.
Footage shared on social media captured protesters repeating the chant “Trans rights! Gay rights! One struggle! One fight!” outside the 21,000-square-foot, two-storey store, which opened its doors to fans the same day.
Despite calls from demonstrators for fans to stay away, a queue stretching around the block formed as customers entered the shop, with many paying little attention to the protest, according to a report in Variety.
One trans activist speaking to the magazine defended the protest’s timing and location. “Considering the impact that J.K Rowling has on trans rights, it would be a disappointment if trans people weren’t here to have their voices heard,” the activist said. “It is largely J.K Rowling making the biggest impact on people’s lives, I think, unfortunately. People don’t realize that, so that’s why we’re here today.”
A spokesperson for the store struck a conciliatory note in response. “Harry Potter Shop Oxford Street is thrilled to open our doors and welcome in hundreds of fans,” the spokesperson told Variety. “We support everyone’s right to the peaceful expression of personal viewpoints and look forward to a day full of magic.”
Rowling under renewed scrutiny
The demonstration comes amid continued controversy surrounding Rowling, who has publicly maintained her support for what she describes as the biological definition of sex. She has said her political views “haven’t changed,” despite facing what she has called “an avalanche of death, rape, and torture threats,” and has described transgender activism in the 21st century as “elitist.”
Last year Rowling set up the J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, a privately funded body she bankrolls herself to support women “who don’t have deep pockets or expensive lawyers on speed dial” in cases involving sex-based rights and single-sex spaces.
In September, transgender filmmaker Lilly Wachowski referred to Rowling as a “literal Nazi” and accused Harry Potter fans of “supporting trans genocide,” remarks that drew widespread attention at the time.
