A Harry Potter Rant

In today’s edition of “my brain won’t let this go,” we are presented with the question of whether still being obsessed with Harry Potter makes you a trans hater or not. (Spoiler: I land in the company of not) My brain has been worrying with these thoughts like a dog worrying a bone because someone on Threads essentially said that if you are still obsessed with Harry Potter you hate and are hurting trans people. I did not care enough at the time to screenshot the post or remember the name of the poster and I don’t care enough to go looking for it. Pretty sure it’s a sentiment shared by a lot of people due to J.K. Rowling’s views on trans people, so trying to find the exact post would be insane.

Anyway, my basic thoughts are actually neatly summed up by a quote from the Harry Potter books:

“The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters.” - Sirius Black

Meaning: you can still enjoy Harry Potter and have zero problem with trans people. Like me. J.K. Rowling can go take a hike off a cliff for her views on trans people, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop enjoying her most popular work… the entire series of which I owned before her nonsense became public! I honestly find black and white thinking like this very reductionist.

At this point, I feel like my views are going to be expressed through repeatedly condemning J.K. Rowling’s views in every single Harry Potter related blog post I do and through my wallet. I’m not purchasing any official Harry Potter/Wizarding World merchandise, including the books. I’ve asked that any remaining Harry Potter items on my wishlists are purchased used rather than new. Whether or not the purchasers will listen is ultimately up to them, but I feel like I’ve done my part. I've barely bought any Harry Potter merchandise to begin with, so this isn't actually making much of a difference, if any.

It really, really sucks when an author you’ve looked up to for a good chunk of your life turns out to have some trash views. It sucks when it’s anyone you’ve looked up to, really. The problem is Rowling specifically is that she was a big part of our lives for so long. I was in Junior High when I fist discovered Harry Potter and I was pretty much hooked from then on. I know I'm not the only one who's had Harry Potter around for most of their life. We had the books, we had the movies, and there’s still Harry Potter stuff coming out to this day for us to consume. Most Millennials can tell you what their Hogwarts House is and put more stock in that than even their Zodiac signs. It’s hard to separate from that kind of thing.

You can see from this blog that Harry Potter is not the only thing I have read or am reading, but Harry Potter was definitely a gateway into the kind of books other media I’m into now. My dad handing me “The Hobbit” at 12 definitely didn’t stick. Harry Potter was far more accessible, even if I was borrowing it from a friend and hiding it under my covers from my mom at the time.

Also, can we just take a moment and acknowledge that Rowling wasn’t the first and definitely isn’t the last in a long line of disappointing public figures/creators? Orson Scott Card, Joss Whedon, and H. P. Lovecraft are just a few of the names that come to mind off the top of my head. Rowling just happened to have blown up a whole generation with her work and we refuse to let it go even as we condemn her.

And we go condemn her. The fandom has condemned her. The actors who played her iconic characters have condemned her. So why is it that I hear more about J. K. Rowling than anyone else? Because of the trans thing or because a whole generation and then some grew up on Harry Potter? Because our fandom is still so very alive and kicking?

I really feel like the best thing we can do right now is to stop giving Rowling our headspace. Separate the Harry Potter fans from her in your head. We are not one in the same. I might not be as obsessed with The Wizarding World as I once was, but it's still a part of my life and part of me.

Also: How much are we really hurting Trans people by continuing to enjoy a media franchise? Like, really. I feel like there are actual, hurtful things we could be doing. Continuing to read books and watch movies and talk about a series that has zero actual representation of LGBTQ+ people in it doesn't seem very hurtful to Trans people or the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. And yes, I am of course aware that Dumbledore is gay and they pretty explicitly said so in the latest Fantastic Beasts movie, but that's barely there and I don't feel like it counts for much at this point. But anyway, I feel like I would be hurting Trans people much, much, much worse by, I don't know, voting against their rights or something. All I'm doing is continuing to enjoy a series that is very near and dear to my heart while always, always condemning the views of the author. That doesn't make me a bad person. Seriously.

Trans men are men. Trans women are women. Harry Potter fans don’t share every single one of their views or values with the author.

 

You can pry my Slytherin Crest from my cold, dead hands.