British author JK Rowling.
Tolga Akmen / AFP
JK Rowling says she will continue backing women who challenge sex-based rights in court, renewing her commitment to a debate that has placed the Harry Potter author at odds with transgender rights advocates and several actors from the film franchise.
In a new essay posted on her website Wednesday, Rowling said she would keep using her platform to speak about the issue and provide financial assistance to women seeking legal recourse but lacking the means to do so.
"Twenty-first century trans activism is the very inverse of those movements. It is elitist to its core," she wrote.
The author’s position centers on her belief that biological sex should remain a defining factor in discussions about women’s rights and access to female-only spaces. She has repeatedly rejected accusations of transphobia, maintaining that her concerns focus on the legal and social implications of recognizing gender identity.
"Spawned in philosophy and gender studies departments, it has taken over cultural, political and state-run institutions, which have then attempted to impose it, top down, on regular people who never voted for it and, as all available polls show, do not believe in it," she added.
Her stance has made her a prominent figure in the gender-critical movement, while drawing condemnation from transgender advocates who argue that such views threaten their rights and inclusion.
Rowling first set out her position in detail in 2020, prompting widespread criticism. Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular wizard in the Harry Potter movies, was among the actors who publicly disagreed with her views.
In her latest essay, Rowling revisited that earlier statement, saying her convictions remain unchanged even as the issue has moved from public debate into legal and policy decisions.
The debate has taken on added significance in Britain following a Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 that interpreted the term “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 according to biological sex. Gender-critical campaigners welcomed the decision, while transgender rights advocates raised concerns about its implications for discrimination and access to services.
The ruling has since informed discussions over how public institutions manage single-sex facilities. The Labour government issued guidance stating that services must be based on biological sex to be legally classified as single-sex under the Equality Act, while maintaining that transgender people remain entitled to protection.
England’s National Health Service announced last week that transgender women would no longer be assigned to female-only hospital wards, reflecting the continuing impact of the policy debate.
"If a man can be a woman, there is no such thing as a woman. That might not matter to you personally, but it matters to millions of women who don’t have the luxury of pretending that their sex doesn’t matter. I remain on their side," Rowling ended.
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