Cynthia Nixon said JK Rowling's comments about gender were 'really painful' for her trans son

• Cynthia Nixon told the Independent JK Rowling’s transphobic comments were “really painful” for her 23-year-old transgender son, Samuel. 
• In June, Rowling released an essay and a series of tweets calling for limits on transitionary care for trans youth, and mocking gender-inclusive words.
• “It was really painful for him because so much of his childhood was tied up with Harry Potter,” Nixon said. “We’re a Harry Potter family.”
• The Sex and the City star said she and her son still watch the films because they have “found home” in the series. 
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“Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon said JK Rowling’s comments on transgender people “really hurt” her 23-year-old transgender son, Samuel. 

Rowling self-published an essay in June defending her views on transgender people, which many said was transphobic. The essay, which swept the internet, included a since-debunked argument that an “explosion” of young women are de-transitioning. 

Soon after, Rowling posted a tweet mocking a publication for using the term “people who menstruate,” as a way to be inclusive of people who are not women who have periods. Rowling shared the article, with a comment: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Nixon told The Independent she and Max, her youngest son, are in the midst of a Harry Potter marathon, which made Rowling’s statements all the more jarring. 

“It was really painful for him because so much of his childhood was tied up with Harry Potter,” Nixon told The Independent.

“We’re a Harry Potter family. The books seem to be about championing people who are different, so for her to select this one group of people who are obviously different and sort of deny their existence, it’s just — it’s really baffling. I know she feels like she’s standing up for feminism, but I don’t get it.”  

Rowling’s recent statements have left some Harry Potter fans at a loss for how to engage with the series after the creator’s remarks, which many saw as opposing inclusivity.

For Nixon, Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe’s statements about Harry Potter as an inclusive story really stuck with her.

“The thing that he tried to impart to people was that if you as a queer person or as a non-queer person have found a home in these stories, please don’t let this take that away from you,” Nixon said. “These are still your stories.”

Read More:

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J.K. Rowling wrote a controversial statement about transgender people in response to being called a ‘TERF.’ Here’s what that means.

Trans ‘Harry Potter’ fans say they are devastated by JK Rowling’s transphobia — but some say it’s a distraction from the violence against trans Black people

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