New Delhi: Emma Watson, ‘Harry Potter’ franchise actor on Thursday put forward her views on transgender people and their rights. She said that transgender people deserve to live without constantly being questioned about their identity.
“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” the ‘Little Women’ actor wrote on Twitter.
The 30-year-old star’s tweet follows the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise creator JK Rowling’s controversial tweets earlier, wherein she had shared her thoughts about gender identity.
The author is facing criticism for a tweet wherein she shared an article titled: “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19- world for people who menstruate.”
Rowling mocked the use of the phrase ‘people who menstruate’ saying: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
The author faced backlash for her comments after which she, subsequently, in a series of tweets, defended her comments.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” she said.
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense.”
Rowling said she respects every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. “I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so,” she said.
Along with other celebrities, the show’s lead actor Daniel Radcliffe too criticised her tweets and took a strong stand against the subject of discrimination.