Daniel Radcliffe Responds To J.K. Rowling's Tweets On Gender

After J.K. Rowling took to Twitter recently to remark on gender identity, Daniel Radcliffe has now responded in the form of an open letter on the Trevor Project's blog asserting that all transgender women are women.

This open letter follows a series of tweets by Rowling that assumed, among other things, that biological sex is absolute, and that trans women are not women in the same way as cisgender women. Not long after, Katie Leung, famous for playing Cho Chang in the film adaptations of Rowling's books, took to Twitter herself to promote links to organizations that support black trans people.

Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film adaptations of Rowling's books, has directly addressed Rowling's comments, and asserted that trans women are women. A supporter of the Trevor Project--an American non-profit focused on suicide prevention amongst LGBTQIA+ youth-- for a decade, Radcliffe composed a post in response that was then uploaded on the organization's blog.

"While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment," Radcliffe writes.

On the matter of Rowling's assertion that transgender women are not women in the same way as cisgender women, Radcliffe was clear that such a statement would erase "the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter" than either Rowling or himself.

Radcliffe was also clear that he was still learning how to be a better ally, and his statement invited anyone else who wanted to learn "more about transgender and nonbinary identities to check out The Trevor Project's Guide to Being An Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth."

For the full statement from Radcliffe, visit The Trevor Project.

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