Separating Art From The Artist

Can you still enjoy authors whose views you don’t support?

Written by Kora Quinn, Culture Staff Writer

Reading through the Twitter feeds of some well-known writers, I noticed one common thread between many of the most famous: they are some of the most politically outspoken public figures, second only to politicians themselves. It’s an admirable quality that these authors want to use their positions to promote values they believe in, and it’s one of my favorite things about Stephen King. Author of famous works such as It, Carrie and The Shining, King is anything but reserved when it comes to pointing out the faults he perceives in President Trump. However, what happens when these authors advocate for ideals I don’t support?

Since reaching the pinnacle of her fame with the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling has only grown more politically transparent with her opinions online. For the most part, readers rallied behind her typically progressive and feminist positions. That is, until June of 2020 when she criticized an article for referencing “people who menstruate” as opposed to “women” to include non-binary and trans people who menstruate in its narrative (Sommer et al., 2020). This sparked a heated and widely publicized debate around whether or not Rowling is transphobic, to which she responded by claiming on Twitter that she, “respect[s] every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. [She’d] march with you if you were discriminated against,” but that, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased” (Rowling, 2020).

This point-of-view ignores the idea of gender versus sex, conforming to the belief that your genitalia determines your gender identity. While Rowling outwardly expressed her support for trans people in her initial thread of tweets, she later published a piece on her website in which she claimed to have “five reasons for being worried about the new trans activism.” To her credit, she also discussed her belief that “the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others but are vulnerable for all the reasons I’ve outlined. Trans people need and deserve protection.” This was immediately contradicted, however, when she voiced her opposition to gender-neutral bathrooms and changing rooms, claiming “any man who believes he’s a woman” has malicious intent and is a threat to the “natal girls” who use these public facilities (Rowling, 2020).

Much of the information Rowling included in this piece was deeply concerning to me. This is an author of successful children’s books, a woman who welcomed all the kids who felt othered and gave them a world to escape to. My only thought was of the trans people who grew up reading the Harry Potter series and the effect her opposition to trans activism might have on them.

Since Rowling’s tweets and her publication of this piece, I have grappled with my love of the magical world she has created. I, like many others, enjoy her books and want to continue immersing myself in their world. Yet I felt morally wrong supporting someone who used their platform to put people down.

Rowling isn’t the only author who has come across some controversy in their career. Recently, I have fallen in love with the writing of fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, who is famous for writing books such as the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive series. Sanderson is also a proud member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, which preaches that sex between those of the same gender is a sin.

Sanderson initially upheld this belief in an essay responding to Rowling’s decision to make her character, Dumbledore, gay. The essay has since been deleted, but from what has been preserved of it, Sanderson is said to have claimed that he doesn’t believe homosexuality can be “treated” nor “cured”, but does believe that impulses of attraction should be resisted. He also allegedly claimed that he would not vote in favor of gay marriage because he believes marriage should be a religious experience yet he supports civil unions (Lapidario, 2016).

Sanderson is the perfect example of an author who may never understand the LGBTQ+ community but chose to learn and educate himself regardless. Since his initial statements opposing gay marriage, he has made strides in coming to voice his support for the community. For example, Sanderson was asked in an interview if being a member of the Latter Day Saints church affects how he presents the LGBTQ+ characters in his books (Lapidario, 2016). He responded with, “My philosophy is to be extra careful that I counter any bias I might have that I might not be noticing . . . a lot of religious people seem to want to ignore that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people exist, which I think is inherently evil. It’s immoral to banish an entire group of people and to pretend that they are not good people with good arguments, and lives and passions. To not represent that in my fiction would be something deeply immoral” (Sanderson).

Both situations with Rowling and Sanderson are tricky for people who enjoy their work, but support trans rights and do not believe that same-sex attraction is wrong. Personally, I find it difficult to separate the art from the artist. Their values and perceptions of the world filter into their writing and their millions of followers are susceptible to their opinions. So, is it possible to still enjoy reading an author’s books whose views you don’t support?

In the end, it comes down to two things. First, how are these public figures using their platform to present these topics? And second, are they making a conscious effort to educate themselves about all sides of the topic?

In the case of Sanderson — a cisgender, middle-aged white man — his privilege allowed him to be ignorant of things he wasn’t taught in a conservative household. As he has come to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community, he has made an effort to include a positive representation of gay and lesbian characters in his work. At the same time, he no longer uses his position as a public figure with a large audience to promote negative views of LGBTQ+ people.

For Rowling, she did a decent job of researching all sides of the argument surrounding trans women, but still consistently tried to justify and defend herself instead of educating her audience on the precarious situations many trans women face. I will admit that just because she never came to the conclusion that I wish she had, it doesn’t make her a bad person. She doesn’t deserve to be targeted online and threatened. It just makes her a person with a large following who has controversial opinions.

In light of this, I would morally feel wrong financially supporting writers such as Rowling who publicly push for positions on topics I do not agree with. I can still enjoy her books and movies that I already own, but I will no longer purchase her merchandise or new stories because I cannot separate Rowling’s opinions from her work. This goes for other authors with opinions I do not agree with, such as Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game and an outspoken homophobe and racist. This is entirely personal, though. If someone else views art as an entirely separate entity from the person who creates it, then they may still purchase these author’s work, and though I may try to educate them, I won’t judge them.

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