The group stood outside the shop with signs that read “trans kids deserve to grow up”
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY GETTY
Trans rights activists protested the opening of the new Harry Potter store in London yesterday (4 November). Protesters held up signs that read “Trans kids deserve to grow up. Trans adults deserve to grow old” as well as chanting that J. K. Rowling had “blood on her hands”.
The demonstration took place outside the new official Harry Potter store, now the largest in the UK. The opening of this store comes just days before Oxford Street’s planned Harry Potter-themed Christmas lights switch-on. Over 11,000 people have signed a Good Law Project petition to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, asking him to “pull the plug on transphobia”.
Speaking to Variety, one of the protesters spoke about why they were demonstrating outside of this new shop. “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. It is largely J.K. Rowling making the biggest impact on people’s lives, I think, unfortunately. People don’t realise that, so that’s why we’re here today.”
Since 2020, J. K. Rowling has been vocal about what she describes on her website as “sex and gender issues”. Last year, it was reported that she donated £70,000 to For Women Scotland. This was the group that brought the case For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers to the UK Supreme Court, eventually leading to the decision that the legal definition of “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 is confined to biological sex.
Another protester at the store told Deadline that they had once been a Harry Potter fan. “A lot of us here today, a lot of trans people, and a lot of allies, are massive Harry Potter fans. But the fact is that the franchise is not worth the loss of human dignity.”
This is not the first protest of a Harry Potter-related event. Trans rights protestors lay down on the red carpet at the gala performance of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, wearing tops that read “Rowling money kills”.
A spokesperson for the Harry Potter Shop Oxford Street told Variety, “We support everyone’s right to the peaceful expression of personal viewpoints and look forward to a day full of magic.”
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