In the years following the end of "Harry Potter," fans liked to joke that J.K. Rowling, the author of the massively best-selling book series, would not shut up about it. For years, Rowling would drop tidbits of extratextual lore via social media and interviews, expanding the magical world of the series in ways that were alternately interesting (Dumbledore was gay!) and off-putting. Aside from her philanthropy, this constant stream of suddenly canon "Harry Potter" factoids became what Rowling was most known for.

Then one day, the author did stop talking about "Harry Potter," and started posting about something else: trans women. In 2018, Rowling liked a tweet that called trans women "men in dresses," but her representative told Pink News it was an accident. By 2020, though, Rowling was penning an essay about the dangers of giving protections to "any man who believes or feels he's a woman," stating that "huge numbers...