Shutting JK Rowling down is not the way to win hearts and minds in the battle for trans rights, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has argued.
The Labour frontbencher said it is “perfectly legitimate” to disagree with the Harry Potter author, who has become a controversial figure over her comments on gender identity.
But he called for “a lot more empathy and understanding” when standing up for LGBT rights, warning “don’t try and shut down other people’s voices”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, Mr Streeting said: “I see myself as part of an LGBT community.
![Wes Streeting (Gareth Fuller/PA)](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/0d05d641439d569ea2e011cdc6d6ae6eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjQxNjcwODA4/2.62731613.jpg?w=640)
“I will always stand up for trans rights and for a community that doesn’t have representation in Parliament, is at the worst end of all the statistics on things like mental ill health, physical abuse, sexual abuse.
“I will always stand by them and speak up for them.
“But what I would also say to my own community is if we’re trying to win round hearts and minds and persuade people and to negotiate the future of LGBT equality, don’t try and shut down other people’s voices.”
READ MORE: Claims paper pulled JK Rowling poll revealed as hoax
Rowling in June 2020 wrote an essay explaining how she was partly motivated to speak about transgender issues because of her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
![Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe (Dominic Lipinski/PA)](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/5972734a5a429ce8a7819ffbdfa711f1Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjQxNjcwODU4/2.11152634.jpg?w=640)
Mr Streeting, who was appointed to the frontbench role in November, added: “It’s perfectly legitimate for people to disagree with JK Rowling and her position on this.
“But you’ve got to ask yourself if you’re in the business of winning hearts and minds, if someone like JK Rowling has written a deeply personal piece in which she outlines very personal, personal, painful experience of abuse, do you really think the way to win an argument for trans equality is to is to try and shut her down when she’s made an argument in that context?
“So I think there’s got to be a lot more empathy and understanding, and it does cut both ways.”
READ MORE: JK Rowling accused of anti-Semitism in Harry Potter books by Jon Stewart
Rowling, in 2020, responded to an article headlined “Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate”, tweeting: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
She denies she is transphobic and has defended her comments by saying: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction.”
Her critics have included Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel