J.K Rowling returns prize

J. K. Rowling, author of the books of the Harry Potter saga, decided to return the Ripple of Hope award after the controversy caused by her comments on transgender people. Created by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, the award is aimed at people who have "demonstrated a commitment to social change.

In an official communiqué, the writer said she considered the position of Kerry Kennedy, president of the RFKHR foundation, who called her a "transfobic" and held her "responsible for hurting transgender people" to be "wrong". Rowling made a point of remembering that she is a former donor of charities focused on the LGBT community and has always supported the right of trans people to live free from persecution, but reaffirmed some of her positions justifying her fight for women's rights.

Polemic began a while ago when Rowling was accused of transphobia after making controversial comments on Twitter about a story that said "people who menstruate" instead of "women". The text was intended to be inclusive, i.e. to consider trans women as well. But for the author of Harry Potter, the gender identity of people - that is, whether a person identifies as male, female or non-binary - is defined exclusively by biological sex, thus erasing the existence of the trans population.