NYC Barnes & Noble throws shade at JK Rowling with 'The Unproblematic Wizarding World' books display

A Barnes & Noble store in New York City is receiving love online after they threw shade at JK Rowling, the author of the "Harry Potter" series. Rowling outed herself as a transphobe with her comments last year and continues to double down on her hateful rhetoric time and time again. Many have grown up reading the "Harry Potter" series and hold the books dearly but Rowling's transphobic comments have seen many fans revise their estimation of the author and her work. Asian, Indigenous and Black activists have since found problematic themes in her books, including racism, reported Comicsands.

Barnes & Noble store not-so-subtly trolled the author after arranging books in the magical fantasy genre but didn't include the "Harry Potter" series. Barnes & Noble propped up other others and books from the genre and if that wasn't enough. They left a note by the books reading: "The Unproblematic Wizarding World." The image posted on Twitter went viral and people couldn't get enough of the image and lauded the staff at the store for throwing shade at Rowling. "Damn. that's some quality shade being thrown there," wrote on twitter user. Another user commented, "Whoever did this, give them a raise and a warm kiss on the forehead."

The author has often defined 'women' to exclude transwomen. Rowling's transphobia came to light when she stepped in to defend nonprofit social justice employee Maya Forstater, who was fired from her position for attacking transgender individuals on social media. She even went to extent of writing a book under a man's pseudonym, portraying a man who wears dresses to murder women. The transphobic trope has been used to death in the film industry as well with 'Psycho' being one of the popular ones that contributed to transphobia.  

Rowling has denied being transphobic but refused to see transwomen as women. When an article's headline referred to people who menstruate, she further doubled down on her transphobia, writing, “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” After facing a severe backlash, she defended herself, writing, “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,” reported The Guardian.

Clue, a period tracking app, called out Rowling, pointing out that viewing gender as a binary was harmful to trans people and invalidating their existence. "Hi @jk_rowling, using non-gendered language is about moving beyond the idea that woman = uterus. Feminists were once mocked for wanting to change sexist language, but it’s now common to say firefighter instead of fireman," they tweeted. 

Actor Daniel Radcliffe who played Harry Potter in the movie franchise spoke out for trans people shortly after. “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I,” said the actor. He also pointed out that 78% of transgender and non-binary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity, citing stats from the Trevor Project. “It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm,” he said.

He also urged fans of the book who were hurt by the comments made by the author. “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,” he said.