JK Rowling visits the Museum of Magic during an ill-timed visit to Iceland
JK Rowling spent the last few days sailing around Iceland on her luxury yacht, Calypso, with her husband, Neil Murray, and the couple’s daughter. The newspaper reports. Rowling arrived in Reykjavík by private plane in late July, and after she boarded her yacht, she made a number of stops at destinations such as Höfn, Nörðfjörður, Seyðisfjörður, Dalvík, Húsavík and Akureyri.
The Harry Potter The author even stopped by Hólmavík in the Westfjords over the weekend to see Iceland’s Museum of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
However, given her often transphobic public statements on social media, Rowling’s visit to the country seems particularly ill-timed, coinciding with Iceland’s Pride Month, a year that angered many on social media.
“Hey @jk_rowling if you stop in Reykjavík on your trip through Iceland, definitely take the best bus,” one Icelander tweeted with a photo of the Transvagnin, a bus that celebrates transgender people in Iceland.
See also: Reykjavík Pride events may be cancelled, ‘But Pride Never Be!’
“Rowling is in Iceland on the main day of Pride. This should not be allowed,” wrote another.
“Is there anyone in Hólmavík who can make a “terfs not welcome” sign and display it? Tweeted Octavía Hrund, deputy of the Pirates.
“You have nothing to fear from people like me”
Before Rowling came to Iceland, the trans activist, writer and chair of Trans Ísland, Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir, wrote an open letter to the author that was published on gayiceland.is. The letter began with a statement of solidarity with Rowling, a survivor of domestic violence.
“What I also wanted to address, which is something I really identify with your words and attitude,” they wrote, “is that you have nothing to fear from people like me.“
“I am aware of all the amazing charity work you do,” Ugla Stefanía continued, “and all the wonderful projects you support with your charity fund. In your essay published on your website, you said you were concerned that the “new trans activism” would have a negative impact on your work.
I want to assure you that it is not, and I am sorry if you have been led to believe otherwise. Transgender people certainly do not have that power, nor do they want to exercise it.
The fight for an equal society, regardless of your gender identity, in no way tries to erase such important work, but only asks that those affected by it be included in the conversation where it matters.”
“Many of the arguments I see made in public are robbed of the human experience we all share,” they conclude their letter. “If we could see that, even for a moment, I strongly believe that we would find that all our fears, worries and anxieties all stem from the same problem and we can fight together, to create a world where everyone is respected and love for exactly who they are, regardless of gender, identity, physical characteristics or history.