Politics of J. K. Rowling

British author J. K. Rowling is a noted philanthropist and maintains links on her website promoting Amnesty International, the Multiple sclerosis Society, One Parent Families, and Lumos (formerly the Children's High Level Group), which Rowling co-founded to advocate against the use of cage beds for mentally handicapped children. Rowling says her heroine is muckraker Jessica Mitford, whom Rowling describes as a "self-taught socialist".^[1] Rowling acknowledges being left-wing and said "there is a certain amount of political stuff in [Harry Potter]. But I also feel that every reader will bring his own agenda to the book. People who send their children to boarding schools seem to feel that I'm on their side. I'm not. Practicing wiccans think I'm also a witch. I'm not."^[2]

UK politics

J. K. Rowling has been a long-time friend of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown. In September 2008, Rowling donated £1 million to the Labour Party, saying:

I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party. Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice. The Labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty. David Cameron's promise of tax perks for the married, on the other hand, is reminiscent of the Conservative government I experienced as a lone parent. It sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dual-income, but married couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as I once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times.^[3]

Rowling praised Brown in a 2009 Time magazine essay saying she "still wanted him in charge".^[4] Rowling wrote about what it meant to be British saying, "It means a welfare state of which we should be fiercely proud and a tradition of tolerance and free speech we should defend to our last collective breath." Rowling also praised the National Health Service (NHS).^[5] Rowling has been critical of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.^[6][7]

U.S. politics

Rowling told a Spanish newspaper in February 2008 that "the international political stance of the United States has been wrong in previous years, for its own and for my country... I want a Democrat in the White House. It's sad Obama and Clinton are rivals because they are both great."^[8] In 2009, Obama returned the compliment when he met Rowling at a G20 dinner telling her that he had read all her books himself and to his children Sasha and Malia.^[9]

Rowling advised the 2008 graduating class of Harvard, "the great majority of you belong to the world's only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden."^[10]

The Presidential Medal of Freedom was allegedly refused to be awarded to Rowling under George W. Bush, because her writing "encouraged witchcraft". This was claimed by Matt Latimer, a former speechwriter for Bush, who went on to write a memoir about his time in the administration,^[11] although then First Lady Laura Bush had declared a fondness for the books.^[12]

Rowling made analogies between Donald Trump and Voldemort after the Republican presidential candidate called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States on 7 December 2015.^[13]

In January 2017 she rebutted with "lonely virgin" in response to criticism from a Trump supporter.^[14]

Amnesty International

Her employment at Amnesty International made Rowling realise that "imagination is what allows us to empathise with people who have suffered horribly and to act on their behalf." The danger of inaction, Rowling said, comes from people who "prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages. They can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know."

"I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid."^[10]

Green values

J. K. Rowling was recognised with the Order of the Forest for demanding that 16 publishers around the world print her books using "eco-friendly" papers. The last book in the Potter series is considered within the industry to be the most environmentally friendly in publishing history.^[15]

In 2008, J. K. Rowling blocked the Finnish publication of her latest Harry Potter novel on paper from Finland because it lacked the ecologically friendly certification she favours.^[16]

Eating disorders

Rowling used her celebrity status on her personal website to advocate her views on skinny, celebrity role models. Rowling said these young women's "only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs."^[17]

Simon Walters, political editor of the Mail on Sunday, complained that Rowling's attack on weight standards was hypocritical because so many evil characters in her books, such as Dudley and Vernon Dursley, are fat, while Harry Potter himself is so skinny.^[18] Rowling responded to her critics by saying that the people in the Harry Potter books who are "on the plumper side" include "several of my most important, admirable and loveable characters". She included a link to a fan website – www.mugglenet.com – that lists seven characters who are "fat and good", three who are "fat and bad" and claims there are none who are "fat and evil". However, there were skinny and evil characters in the series.^[19]

Age branding of children's books

J. K. Rowling opposes the labelling of children's books as "age appropriate".^[20]

Scottish independence campaign

As a resident of Scotland, Rowling was eligible to vote in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, and intended to vote "No".^[21] She donated £1 million (US$1,694,000) to the Better Together anti-independence campaign,^[22] led by former neighbour and friend Darling, and used the "Death Eaters" characters from her Harry Potter series—who reject magicians unless they have pure blood—as a reference in her blog-post explanation of her donation; Rowling's words are: "However, when people try to make this debate about the purity of your lineage, things start getting a little Death Eaterish for my taste."^[23] In Rowling's post-donation blog post in mid-June 2014, she explained that she is "friendly" with members of both campaigns and stated a belief that "there are intelligent, thoughtful people on both sides of this question".^[24]

While Rowling concluded that "If the majority of people in Scotland want independence I truly hope that it is a resounding success" and that her "love" for Scotland is why she wants it to "thrive", she explains in the body of her piece that she is concerned about "serious risks", with Scottish medical research of particular interest to her—Rowling has donated a large sum of money to Multiple Sclerosis research after her mother's death from the disease. Rowling's fear was triggered by an open letter co-signed by all five of Scotland's medical schools, in which "grave concerns" are expressed about the impact of independence upon Scotland's highly regarded medical work. The letter, which says that First Minister Alex Salmond’s plans for a common research funding area are "fraught with difficulty" and "unlikely to come to fruition", is supported by 14 professors, who all agree that "it is highly unlikely that the remaining UK would tolerate a situation in which an independent 'competitor' country won more money than it contributed."^[24]

The Edinburgh-based National Collective organisation of artists and writers who support independence—"non-party movement for artists and creatives who support Scottish independence"—published an open letter in response to Rowling's explanation on 11 June 2014, signed by Teaching Research Assistant and freelancer Mairi McFadyen.^[25] McFadyen states that she is "saddened" by Rowling's position, but asserts that "It is not my intention here to rebut your arguments, but rather to offer a response." McFadyen writes that the referendum is "the most wonderful gift", as citizens of their own country are asked for their opinion about their nation's future, and the "referendum question has sparked the imagination of the nation". McFadyen concludes with several quotes taken from a speech delivered by Rowling, as well as a poem from Maurice Lindsay, and concludes: "We would be delighted to extend an invitation to yourself to attend one of the many Yestival events taking place across Scotland this July."^[26]

Scottish Nationalism

In 2018, Rowling provoked an internet storm after tweeting that she was tired of ‘blood and soil nationalists marching with’ civic campaigners. Also saying Scottish nationalism 'contains traces of bigotry'.^[27]

Zionism

On 22 October 2015, a letter was published in The Guardian signed by Rowling (along with over 150 other figures from arts and politics) opposing the cultural boycott of Israel, and announcing the creation of a network for dialogue, called Culture for Coexistence.^[28] Rowling later explained her position in more detail, saying that although she opposed most of Benjamin Netanyahu's actions she did not think the cultural boycott would bring about the removal of Israel's leader or help improve the situation in Israel and Palestine.^[29]

European migrant crisis

In 2015 Rowling expressed support for refugees.^[30][31] By 2017 a petition asking her to shelter immigrants on her property acquired over 50,000 signatures.

Abortion rights

Rowling expressed her opposition to Mexico City Policy, when it was reinstated by Donald Trump, and said that she supported abortion rights, specially in Third World countries.^[32]