Trans rights have been an increasingly fraught issue in recent years, with various legislative measures and political pressures designed to sideline trans people from everyday life. Now, a 400-strong group of entertainment workers have signed an open letter to to UK Film & TV on trans rights.
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The letter is designed to express solidarity with the trans, non-binary and intersex people impacted by the supreme court ruling in the UK. The ruling underlined that a woman, as protected by legal definition, only extends to those who were born female, and has been used to claim that trans women are therefore legally banned from public spaces (which remains at the discretion of individual businesses). However, one name on the list is grabbing headlines – Paapa Essiedu.
Over 400 Professionals Have Signed The Open Letter For Trans Rights
Essiedu has been cast as Snape in the upcoming television reboot of Harry Potter, a series that finds itself synonymous with the battle against trans rights. Series creator JK Rowling, who still has creative approval over and direct income from every project, is one of the loudest anti-trans voices in the UK, posting a picture of herself smoking a cigar on a yacht with the caption “I love it when a plan comes together” after the supreme court ruling was passed.
It should also be noted that Essiedu has recieved copious racial abuse from alleged Harry Potter fans for taking the role too, due to being Black (and Snape being white). Clearly, regardless of how you may feel about his decision to align himself with the franchise and its figurehead, this abuse is abhorent and undeserved.
Many have criticised Essiedu for seemingly playing both sides, raising his profile and lining his pockets through direct support of Rowling and her platform, while simultaneously paying lip service to the trans community. Other names on this list, such as Derry Girls’ and Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan, have been more vocally critical of Rowling, saying she wouldn’t touch the Harry Potter project “with a pole”.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling that, under the Equality Act, ‘woman’ is defined by biological sex, states that “the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man”,” the letter, which can be found in full here, reads. “We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK.”
“The Equalities & Human Rights Commission’s interim update on the ruling states that trans women are not permitted access to women’s facilities and trans men are not permitted access to men’s facilities, while further suggesting that trans people may also be excluded from using facilities that correspond to their biological sex. We believe this guidance exposes trans people to embarrassment and harassment, and excludes them from participation in public life.”
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Also on the list in Bella Ramsey, best known for playing Ellie in The Last of Us on HBO. Ramsey is one of the most notable non-binary actors on television, along with House of the Dragon’s Emma D’Arcy and Yellowjackets’ Liv Hewson. Ramsey’s co-star Pedro Pascal recently called out Rowling too, labelling her a “loser” for her behaviour towards the trans community.
How closely aligned Rowling is to Harry Potter was a major bone of contention with the release of Hogwarts Legacy too, when many sites avoided covering the game or did so with heavy disclaimers regarding Rowling’s continued campaign against trans people. With the issue of trans rights in an even bigger spotlight today than it was a few years ago, we’re likely to see similar reporting on the TV show, which remains indelibly tied to JK Rowling, and therefore indelibly tied to transgender liberty.
Hogwarts Legacy
- Released
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February 10, 2023
- ESRB
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T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
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Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t have crossplay or crossplatform support
