Is playing ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ supporting TERF J.K. Rowling?

If you’ve been living under the stairs (or a rock), you may not have heard of Portkey Games’ new release Hogwarts Legacy. However, many Harry Potter fans are steering clear of the open-world wizarding game because of the universe’s creator J.K. Rowling who is widely known as a TERF. 

Here’s why J.K. Rowling is hated by a whole community and what it means for Hogwarts Legacy.

What is a TERF?

A TERF is a person whose views on gender identity are considered hostile to transgender people, or who opposes social and political policies designed to be inclusive of transgender people.

J.K. Rowling is often referred to as a TERF for her harsh outlook on what defines a “woman”. In 2020, the author retweeted a piece that discussed people who menstruate and struggled to come to terms with the op-ed not using the term women. “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?

Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020

It was very clear from the amount of backlash that many of her fans were in disagreement over J.K. Rowling’s opinion. She then proceeded to defend her tweet, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” she tweeted. 

“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women—i.e., to male violence—‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences—is a nonsense.” 

“I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.” 

TERF warshttps://t.co/mc58tGXOjs

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 10, 2020

Even Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter himself) spoke up about J.K. Rowling’s hurtful tweets. “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished. I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you…. And in my opinion, nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.”

The legacy of Hogwarts

Many fans are ignoring the beckoning of the new game Hogwarts Legacy due to the affiliation of J.K. Rowling. However, it’s been made clear that the game will still continue to succeed with over 12 million copies being sold since its launch. According to The New York Times, this game has generated “$850 million in sales in two weeks.”

As reported in The New York Times, “Warner Bros. Games and the developer of Hogwarts Legacy, Avalanche Software, have avoided substantially addressing Rowling’s comments. 

“After fans concluded that one of the side characters in the video game is transgender, a representative for the developer told the entertainment website IGN, “It has been a high priority throughout the development of Hogwarts Legacy to create a game that is representative and diverse, aligning with our wonderful fan community.””

It’s unclear whether or not J.K. Rowling will reap the benefits of this new game, but many streamers and Harry Potter fans are continuing to boycott the game. It’s only a matter of time before we hear from the horse’s mouth . . . .

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Have you played Hogwarts Legacy? Let us know your thoughts on J.K. Rowling and her controversial tweets in the comments.