User:S Marshall/sandbox

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Current lead[edit]

Joanne Rowling CH OBE FRSL (/ˈroʊlɪŋ/ ROH-ling);[1] born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600 million copies, been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.

Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International in 1990 when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series. The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, the birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. Six sequels followed, concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). By 2008, Forbes had named her the world's highest-paid author.

The novels follow a boy called Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts (a school for wizards), and battles Lord Voldemort. Death and the divide between good and evil are the central themes of the series. Its influences include Bildungsroman (the coming-of-age genre), school stories, fairy tales, and Christian allegory. The series revived fantasy as a genre in the children's market, spawned a host of imitators, and inspired an active fandom. Critical reception has been more mixed. Many reviewers see Rowling's writing as conventional; some regard her portrayal of gender and social division as regressive. There were also religious debates over the Harry Potter series.

Rowling has won many accolades for her work. She has received an OBE and was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy. Harry Potter brought her wealth and recognition, which she has used to advance philanthropic endeavours and political causes. She co-founded the charity Lumos and established the Volant Charitable Trust, named after her mother. Rowling's charitable giving centres on medical causes and supporting at-risk women and children. In politics, she has donated to Britain's Labour Party and opposed Scottish independence and Brexit. She has publicly expressed her opinions on transgender people and related civil rights since 2017. These views have been described as transphobic by critics and LGBT rights organisations. They have divided feminists, fuelled debates on freedom of speech and cancel culture, and prompted declarations of support for transgender people from the literary, arts, and culture sectors.

  1. ^ Smith 2002, p. 241.

Same words reordered, arranged as five paragraphs[edit]

Joanne Rowling CH OBE FRSL (/ˈroʊlɪŋ/ ROH-ling);[1] born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International in 1990 when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series. The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, the birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997.

The novels follow a boy called Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts (a school for wizards), and battles Lord Voldemort. Death and the divide between good and evil are the central themes of the series. Its influences include Bildungsroman (the coming-of-age genre), school stories, fairy tales, and Christian allegory. The series revived fantasy as a genre in the children's market, spawned a host of imitators, and inspired an active fandom. Six sequels followed, concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). By 2008, Forbes had named her the world's highest-paid author. The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter series has sold over 600 million copies, been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. Critical reception has been more mixed. Many reviewers see Rowling's writing as conventional; some regard her portrayal of gender and social division as regressive. There were also religious debates over the Harry Potter series. Rowling has won many accolades for her work. She has received an OBE and was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy.

She has publicly expressed her opinions on transgender people and related civil rights since 2017. These views have been described as transphobic by critics and LGBT rights organisations. They have divided feminists, fuelled debates on freedom of speech and cancel culture, and prompted declarations of support for transgender people from the literary, arts, and culture sectors.

Harry Potter brought her wealth and recognition, which she has used to advance philanthropic endeavours and political causes. She co-founded the charity Lumos and established the Volant Charitable Trust, named after her mother. Rowling's charitable giving centres on medical causes and supporting at-risk women and children. In politics, she has donated to Britain's Labour Party and opposed Scottish independence and Brexit.

  1. ^ Smith 2002, p. 241.

Transgender people[edit]

Main article: Political views of J. K. Rowling § Transgender rights

Rowling is a gender-critical feminist.[1][2][3] She has often used Twitter and her blog to share thoughts on trans people, mostly in the context of proposed legal changes in Scotland that would make it easier to transition. She has said that "the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable ... Trans people need and deserve protection",[4][5] but she opposes gender self-recognition.[6] She feels that some transwomen are a threat to women [7] and trans-positive messages can be a threat to children.[7] She has tweeted a list of transwomen, writing that they are "men, every last one of them". Many people, including some of the principal film stars connected with her work, have condemned her remarks,[8] although sales of Harry Potter books grew by 28% after she made them.[8]

Controversy over Rowling's gender-critical messaging has developed over time. Although it started in 2017[9], it became more fraught in 2019 when she expressed support for Maya Forstater,[10] whose employment contract with the London branch of the Center for Global Development was not renewed after she expressed gender-critical views.[11] Rowling went on to write that transgender people should live in "peace and security", but questioned women being "force[d] out of their jobs for stating that sex is real".[12][a] Harry Potter scholar Lana Whited writes that in the next six months "Rowling herself fanned the flames as she became increasingly vocal".[15] In June 2020,[15] Rowling mocked the phrase "people who menstruate",[16] and tweeted that women's rights and "lived reality" would be "erased" if "sex isn't real".[17][11]

Rowling's views have impacted her reputation. Fans turned away from her work, boycotted events, and publishers hesitated to accept her work.[18] Criticism of Rowling's views has come from the Harry Potter fansites MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron,[19] and the charities Mermaids,[20] Stonewall,[21] and Human Rights Campaign.[22] LGBT charity the Wizarding World spoke out against her stance.[23] Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Eddie Redmayne and others expressed support for the transgender community.[24] GLAAD called Rowling's comments "cruel" and "inaccurate".[25] After Kerry Kennedy expressed "profound disappointment" in her views, Rowling returned the Ripple of Hope Award given to her by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.[26]

Rowling rejects these characterisations and denies being transphobic.[27][28] In an essay she posted to her website on June 10, 2020,[27] she said her views on women's rights arose from her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault.[9][29]

  1. ^ Whited 2024, p. 7.
  2. ^ Steinfeld 2020, pp. 34–35.
  3. ^ Schwirblat, Freberg & Freberg 2022, pp. 367–368.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (10 June 2020). "J.K. Rowling explains her gender identity views in essay amid backlash". CNN. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  5. ^ Garrand, Danielle (11 June 2020). "J.K. Rowling defends herself after accusations of making "anti-trans" comments on Twitter". CBS News. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  6. ^ Whited 2024, p. 17.
  7. ^ a b Duggan 2021, p. 161.
  8. ^ a b Pape 2022, p. 238.
  9. ^ a b Duggan 2021, pp. 160–161).
  10. ^ Whited 2024, pp. 6–8.
  11. ^ a b Pugh 2020, p. 7.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stack2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Faulkner, Doug (10 June 2021). "Maya Forstater: woman wins tribunal appeal over transgender tweets". BBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  14. ^ Siddique, Haroon (10 June 2021). "Gender-critical views are a protected belief, appeal tribunal rules". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b Whited 2024, p. 6.
  16. ^ Gross, Jenny (7 June 2020). "Daniel Radcliffe criticizes J.K. Rowling's anti-transgender tweets". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  17. ^ Duggan 2021, pp. 14–15.
  18. ^ Whited 2024, p. 8.
  19. ^ Henderson 2022, p. 224.
  20. ^ Petter, Olivia (17 September 2020). "Mermaids writes open letter to JK Rowling following her recent comments on trans people". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  21. ^ Hinsliff, Gaby (3 November 2021). "The battle for Stonewall: the LGBT charity and the UK's gender wars". New Statesman. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  22. ^ Brisco, Elise (8 October 2021). "Dave Chappelle says he's 'Team TERF,' defends J.K. Rowling in new Netflix comedy special". USA Today. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  23. ^ Waterson, Jim (23 July 2020). "Children's news website apologises to JK Rowling over trans tweet row". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2022. Rowling's comments on gender were condemned by LGBT charities and the leading stars of her Harry Potter film franchise.
  24. ^ Borah 2024, p. 375.
  25. ^ Yasharoff, Hannah (10 June 2020). "J.K. Rowling reveals she's a sexual assault survivor; Emma Watson reacts to trans comments". USA Today. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  26. ^ Flood, Alison (28 August 2020). "JK Rowling returns human rights award to group that denounces her trans views". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  27. ^ a b "J.K. Rowling writes about her reasons for speaking out on sex and gender issues". JK Rowling. 10 June 2020. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Breznican2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Shirbon, Estelle (10 June 2020). "J.K. Rowling reveals past abuse and defends right to speak on trans issues". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.


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