A performing arts-focussed secondary school in England has removed Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling from one of its houses in response to complaints from students about her “comments and viewpoints surrounding trans people”.
The Boswells School in Chelmsford, Essex, has decided to rename a house honouring J.K. Rowling after receiving complaints from students. The school has reportedly replaced the author with British Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes.
In a newsletter revealed by the Daily Mail, the school wrote: “The Boswells House System embeds a sense of community, friendship and healthy competition amongst both students and staff.
“A strong house identity empowers our students to participate and thrive in all aspects of school life, both in and out of the classroom. Here at the Boswells we have 6 Houses which are represented by British citizens who have excelled in an area of our Boswells Learning Bridge which includes integrity, emotional intelligence, grit, resourcefulness, self-discipline and bravery.
“However, following numerous requests by students and staff we are reviewing the name of our red house ‘Rowling’ and in light of J.K Rowling’s comments and viewpoints surrounding trans people. Her views on this issue do not align with our school policy and school beliefs – a place where people are free to be.”
The decision was criticised by some parents, with one telling the paper: “This is censorship – JK Rowling is a good example of achievement through adversity.
“Not everyone thought she should go, a lot of schools seem to be doing the same thing at the moment sadly.”
The Harry Potter author has been subject to numerous attempts to cancel her in recent days, including being effectively removed from an HBO Max Harry Potter programme, with the few seconds of screen time featuring Rowling being slapped with disclaimers that they were previously filmed in 2019 — prior to her becoming an outspoken opponent of the woke movement.
Two American sports leagues that play the fictional sport quidditch also announced last month that they would be looking to rename the broom-riding sport in order to distance themselves from the author that created it.
It is also not the first time that Rowling has run afoul of woke schools in Britain. In February of last year, for example, students at the Seaford Head School in East Sussex removed the author’s name from one of the school’s houses after students complained that Rowling was not a “suitable representative” due to her “words about the trans community.”
Though J.K. Rowling is openly on the left, she has taken issue with the transgender movement tramelling women’s rights, such as the destruction of female-only spaces through allowing transgender biological males access.
The author became a target of the LGBTQ+ woke left in June of 2020, when she mocked an article entitled “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.”
In response, Rowling wrote: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
Rowling has rejected claims that she is transphobic, arguing that she has openly stated that she believes that “trans lives matter” and “trans rights are human rights.”
Yet, this was apparently not good enough for the woke mob, including several activists who went so far as to dox the author’s home on social media, leading to Rowling receiving numerous death threats in November.
“Perhaps – and I’m just throwing this out there – the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women, is to stop stalking, harassing and threatening us,” the author said.
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