Daniel Radcliffe tells trans children that adults concerned about gender transitioning are ‘condescending’ and should ‘trust kids to tell them who they are’ – as Harry Potter star makes another apparent dig at JK Rowling
- Daniel Radcliffe, 33, at talk with trans kids said adult concern is ‘condescending’
- READ MORE: Radcliffe says JK Rowling ‘hurt’ Harry Potter fans with trans views
Daniel Radcliffe told transgender children that adults concerned about children changing gender are ‘condescending’.
The Harry Potter actor, 33, told six trans and non-binary children at a roundtable organised by LGBTQ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project that adults should just ‘trust kids to tell us who they are’.
This comes after Radcliffe hit out at author JK Rowling saying that young fans were ‘hurt’ by her transgender views.
He was told at the round table by 11-year-old trans girl, Daley: ‘I learned out of the cradle that I was a boy: “I should like blue, I should like sports, I should be manly, I should like superheroes”.’
As Radcliffe nodded, she continued: ‘And I never associated myself with those things and we are told that we are not old enough to know this yet. I am only 11-years-old, how do I know I’m a girl? And I need more time to think about this.’
Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe (pictured), 33, has told trans children that adults concerned about kids changing gender are ‘condescending’
Radcliffe (left) hit out at Harry Potter author JK Rowling (right) last year saying that young fans of the series were ‘hurt’ by her transgender views
Daniel Radcliffe launched is acting career starring as Harry Potter (pictured in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) in the film franchise adaptation of JK Rowling’s books
Radcliffe responded: ‘But there are also people who also have a slightly condescending but well-meaning attitude of, “people are young… and it is a huge decision.’
condescending but well-meaning attitude of, “people are young… and it is a huge decision.’
He asked the group of trans youths: ‘I would love to hear from all of you about why we can trust kids to tell us who they are.’
Jasline, who says she transitioned ‘super young’, said: ‘I came out to my that I was a girl at the age of six. I have lived female more than I have ever lived male. I feel it’s living proof that I obviously knew who I was just like everyone else does.’
Daley added: ‘I don’t understand why I can’t just decide that I’m a girl. If it’s a big decision to decide I’m a girl, it’s a big decision to decide I’m a boy.’
READ MORE: Daniel Radcliffe says JK Rowling ‘hurt’ Harry Potter fans with her trans views
‘Right,’ Radcliffe said as he nodded.
Daley continued: ‘It’s the same thing. There’s no age you don’t have to be 18 to decide that “I am who I am”.’
Commenting on the differences in their childhoods, Radcliffe said: ‘I always knew I was a boy because that was a thing I grow up knowing.’
Radcliffe said: ‘There are some people in the world who are not trying to engage in this conversation in any kind of good faith.
‘I think a lot of the time it’s just because people don’t know a young trans person so there’s just this theoretical idea about this in their head.’
Meteo-Luis, who is a trans man, said: ‘I agree with you in that people have their perceptions and their predisposed biases about out community and I think that it’s our job to educate and fix that.’
‘And part of that of that is showcasing gender euphoria. I see a lot of videos online of guys taping for the first time.’
Mateo-Luis recalled the first time he used a binder – using bandages or straps to flatten one’s chest, saying: ‘I was in tears because seeing yourself as yourself for the first time is such a transformative experience.’
Last November, Radcliffe fired a thinly-veiled shot at Rowling by claiming young, queer and transgender fans of the franchise were upset by her stance.
Miss Rowling drew outrage on Twitter in 2020 when she criticized an opinion piece published by the website Devex, a media platform for the global development community, that used the phrase ‘people who menstruate’
His comments were a barbed reference to Miss Rowling’s tweets from June 2020 in which she ridiculed an article’s description of women as ‘people who menstruate’.
Responding to the online article’s headline, the Harry Potter creator then tweeted: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’
In response at the time, Radcliffe hit out at the author, saying: ‘To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you’.
Referencing Ms Rowling’s comments, Radcliffe – who at the time stated ‘transgender women are women’ – said that he wanted to let members of the LGBT+ community know ‘not everybody in the franchise felt that way’.
He added: ‘The reason I felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that.
‘And so seeing them hurt on that day I was like, I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way. And that was really important.’
Source: Read Full Article
