catholicweekly.com.au 11 21, June, 2020 Cho had black hair, there was no reference in any of the Harry Potter books to her ethnicity and so, in order to make an accusation of racism against Rowling, those mak- ing the accusation needed to first utilise a racial stereotype themselves and assume that the character Cho Chang had to be Asian. Again, logic isn’t anywhere to be seen. Nor self-awareness, for that matter. I don’t think her accusers think Rowling is racist. I think they don’t like her views on transgender-inclu- sive language, but saw an op- portunity to attack her with racism, which is more topical than transphobia at the mo- ment. The problemwith the form of identity politics that exists largely to generate outrage on social media is that it detracts attention from the real prob- lems of racism that occur ev- ery day. The protests that have oc- curred in the United States and across the world these past couple of weeks are an overflow of deep divisions that have occurred for too long; the expression of frus- tration and even helpless- ness over the entrenched dis- advantage that sees African Americans, our own First Na- tions peoples and many oth- er indigenous cultures with a lower life expectancy, higher incarceration rate, and gener- ally lower wellbeing than their white counterparts. Addressing the root causes of this and “closing the gap” is not going to be assisted by in- sisting that everything is rac- ism (or sexism, or homopho- bia, or transphobia.) If we are going to heal the divisions that are so manifest right now, then we need to be aiming for unity, not trying to sew division wherever we can. Exposing PC’s woke Rowling nastiness J .K. Rowling, author of the remarkable Harry Potter series, has found herself in the middle of accusa- tions of transphobia in recent weeks, with many urging that the books be ceremoniously burned. The controversy came about because Rowling retweeted an article that re- ferred to “people who men- struate” – a politically correct term that aims to be inclusive of transgender men who still get their period – and wrote: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Some- one help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” She was obviously making light of how far the inclusive language push had come, such that it now seemed to not only exclude the word “women,” but to erase it from the vocabulary all together. Predictably, Rowling was immediately jumped on by the Twitter Police who ac- cused her of being transpho- bic, a trans-exclusionary rad- ical feminist, and responsible for an increase in suicide at- tempts from gender diverse youth. Despite calls for her to do so, and a pile-on from the cast of the Harry Potter films who owe their success to her writ- ings, Rowling didn’t apolo- gise but sought to highlight the contradictions that pres- ent themselves in the identity movement if biological sex is dismissed as irrelevant. “If sex isn’t real,” she wrote, “there’s no same-sex attrac- tion.” “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the con- cept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully dis- cuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.” She has a point. It doesn’t seem possible on the one hand to argue that biological sex is irrelevant to a person’s identity while at the same time insisting that the presence of same-sex at- traction is fundamental to the same. But logic has never been the strong suit for those who wave the identity flag. Undeterred, the Twitter Police moved on to the next charge against Rowling, this time one of historical racism. The allegation is that, in the 1999 book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Rowling named one of the characters Cho Chang, which is now claimed by many – including the actress who eventually played Cho in the movies – as a racist stereotype against Asians. It’s hard to consider Cho’s naming as racist. Chang (with the alternate spelling of Zhang) is the third most popular Chinese sur- name and Cho, although not a first name itself, is the phonet- ic spelling of Qiu, a first name which means ‘autumn.’ Whatever of Rowling’s in- tentions, I’m not sure that choosing the name Qiu Zhang would have protected Rowling from the allegations of racism that now follow her. But here again, there is a woke irony that comes into play. Apart frommentioning that Pure coincidence? J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels - and others - has been accused of racism following remarks which hit close to home for transgender activists PHOTO: EVANAGOSTINI/INVISION/AP Harry Potter author makes an entirely rational observation on transgender issues – and the PC brigade immediately play dirty T o the point with Monica Doumit I don’t think [Rowling’s] accusers think [she] is racist. I think they don’t like her views on transgender-inclusive language, but saw an opportunity to attack her with racism, which is more topical ... at the moment.” Rev Professor Mark R. Francis, CSV, President of the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, will visit Australia virtually this July to explore the fascinating interaction between liturgy and culture. Learn about Liturgy and Culturewith a world-expert Liturgical Inculturation Professional Learning Seminar 6, 7, 9, 10 July 2020 | 9am-12.30pmAEST Join lectures and discussions led by Professor Francis on topics such as the cultural evolution of the liturgy, inculturation in Australia, and Pope Francis’ insights on culture and the liturgy. The seminar can serve as PD hours for teachers. Register here: www.acu.edu.au/LitIncultSemFrancis Free Public Lecture: The Challenge of Intercultural Liturgy in the Era of Pope Francis 20 July | 10-11.30amAEST Registration is essential by 15 July at: www.acu.edu.au/LectureFrancis Contact and more information www.acu.edu.au/CentreforLiturgy
[email protected] 02 9701 4751 The ACU Centre for Liturgy is pleased to host this renowned expert in liturgical inculturation and author of Local Worship, Global Church: Popular Religion and the Liturgy. All events will be hosted live via Zoom.