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doom_qu33r) wrote2022-05-08 11:06 pm
doom_qu33r) wrote2022-05-08 11:06 pm
Entry tags:
The Great Harry Potter Question (And My Two Cents)
I kinda debated off and on making a "statement" about this subject, because as a trans person and just a person who uses the internet in general, I'm honestly sick of seeing this rehashed every single time J.K. Rowling says some shit on Twitter. That's not to say there aren't some good points being made or good conversations being had here and there, I just think the whole wider subject of the ethics of problematic media consumption can be an exhausting cycle of people seeking definitive black-and-white answers to something that is extremely subjective and context dependent.
So the question is, for the nine-thousandth time within the past few years or so: is it okay for trans allies to continue being fans of Harry Potter?
Hopefully, I don't have to summarize too much, but JKR recently "came out" as a TERF not too long ago and pretty much devastated a huge generation of queer and trans people, along with allies, who grew up with her work or for whom the franchise was a deep and pivotal part of their childhood. But not only is she simply content to have her shitty opinions privately, she actively promotes the voices of violently transphobic activists on her Twitter. She also aggressively targets trans individuals using her massive platform, subjecting some people to harassment. What a lovely lady. (Hopefully the sarcasm came through with that last sentence).
Suspicions were raised about JKR's stance on trans people when screenshots of her Twitter likes began circulating around, showing her endorsement of anti-trans activists. A lot of people originally brushed it off as a fluke, but this changed towards the tail end of the 20-teens when she finally made her beliefs known on Twitter and confirmed some of people's greatest fears. It's clear that she isn't a bumbling older person on the internet who happens to have some misguided beliefs, but that she is openly and staunchly committed to anti-trans ideology.
Even way before major criticisms about her hit mainstream discourse, I had always viewed JKR as a typical rich toothless, neoliberal celebrity who would throw out some feminism and allyship for certain causes when it would get her accolades. Harry Potter itself is a fairly politically milquetoast children's fantasy. Children, such as myself at one point, may be captivated by the lore and intrigue of the Wizard World, but there's nothing HP teaches that other YA out there hasn't, if not better.
Nonetheless, I still had many good memories associated with Harry Potter from when I was young. I remember always admiring the iconic book covers standing out on the shelves when I would visit the children's reading section of the bookstore. They were the first books that got me into both reading and writing my own stories. I remember my younger brother and I collecting the dolls, playsets, video games, and magic wands inspired by the films. I remember going to see all the films with my grandmother on their premier dates and being in the packed theaters. I remember daydreaming and playing with my friends, roleplaying our original Hogwarts student characters on the playground or on Neopets message boards (who here remembers those times?)
However, as I grew older and got into a variety of other media, I began to expand my literary tastes and slowly grew out of Harry Potter - not because I necessarily thought it was "bad," but because other media simply held my attention far greater or seemed more mature in scope. There's probably some other reasons I could list here as to why that is, but I don't want this to turn into a Harry Potter literary critique. I just want to emphasize that I truly did love Harry Potter at one point and despite the fact that I closed the HP chapter of my life long before I developed any of my current beliefs on politics or social issues, it does wound me to know the person behind the magic is such a callous individual.
Now, hypothetically speaking - what if I was one of the many adults that still deeply cherished Harry Potter and still considered myself part of the fandom to some degree? I know many queer and trans individuals who genuinely looked forward to JKR's new material, the upcoming Fantastic Beast films, and in recent times, the new Hogwarts-themed open-world action RPG set to be released very soon. Should I still continue to consume the new Harry Potter content?
Keep in mind: I am just one trans guy. I am also a fairly privileged trans person comparatively speaking to some other trans people out there. I don't want allies to use my words as the arbiter of their morals or life choices. I also don't want my perspective to be weaponized against other trans people who have differing views, or for my views to be held up as The One Trans Take on Harry Potter. Everyone should be listening to variety of trans people from all intersections and walks of life, knowing that we are all just people at the end of the day, and the most important thing is that you do make an effort to listen and be considerate.
PERSONALLY, if you ask me - I don't think private enjoyment of Harry Potter content is necessarily harmful in of itself. Let's face it, I can't control if you rewatch all your DVD sets or reread your books or whatever else you indulge in. If your grandma surprised you with the Hogwarts Legacy game for Christmas and you play it just because it sounds good, I don't think God should come down and smite you. HOWEVER - I really think that people should reconsider their public endorsements of Harry Potter and their support for JKR's new work while she is alive and continues to actively oppose trans rights. I wouldn't buy her new books, I wouldn't go watch the new movies, and as much as I hate to say it - I wouldn't buy or stream the new video games.
While yes, Harry Potter is a very large franchise at this point, with more than just one woman contributing to its success, I believe that the association with her and her work is just too intertwined for them to be clearly separated. I think I would feel differently if say, Harry Potter started off as a video game or film series and she was merely a leading contributor or a director who had only a fraction of influence to a project among dozens of others.
I also know her status as a billionaire doesn't mean she'll suffer too much from a boycott. However, "support" is more than just financial, and I think as long as Harry Potter continues to be a relevant cultural phenomenon, the longer JKR holds the social influence that she does and the more harm she's able to inflict on trans people. While I'm not a fan of performative allyship, there is value in symbolically refusing to engage with and uphold her life's work if you consider yourself someone who supports trans rights and respect the dignity and lives of trans people.
I know it sucks for me to say this, but I DO feel a bit of unease around people who still proudly call themselves HP fans in light of what JKR has been saying all up and down Twitter these past years. I don't jump to condemn people or assign labels, but as a trans person I do have to have a moment of pause and suspicion when I see a cis person with their Hogwarts house in their bio or see their "personal hero" is Rowling.
Obviously, fuck you if you share her views or find them inconsequential or excusable, but if you want to be seen as an ally - at the very least, make it clear in some way that you can see the harm she's causing. It's not for me to say how you go about doing that at the end of the day, but the obvious and most easy way is to minimize HP as your focus and start supporting the work of other creators, maybe even *gasp* ACTUAL TRANS authors who are writing their own magical stories and YA fantasy material. I think if more people start finding alternatives to fill the gap Harry Potter may leave in their hearts is probably the most rewarding direction for us to collectively go, but as I said before - I can't make final decisions for people, just give my two cents to add to the conversation.
I think there's definitely room to consume and discuss problematic media and creators out there; for me, it is all context dependent and should be treated with a person-by-person, case-by-case analysis. Maybe my mind will change at some point, or I'll encounter a view that will cause me to re-evaluate how I feel about engagement with HP, but for now that's my stance on the topic as a trans person, former HP fan, and person who loves books and media of all different levels of good and not-so-good.
So the question is, for the nine-thousandth time within the past few years or so: is it okay for trans allies to continue being fans of Harry Potter?
Hopefully, I don't have to summarize too much, but JKR recently "came out" as a TERF not too long ago and pretty much devastated a huge generation of queer and trans people, along with allies, who grew up with her work or for whom the franchise was a deep and pivotal part of their childhood. But not only is she simply content to have her shitty opinions privately, she actively promotes the voices of violently transphobic activists on her Twitter. She also aggressively targets trans individuals using her massive platform, subjecting some people to harassment. What a lovely lady. (Hopefully the sarcasm came through with that last sentence).
Suspicions were raised about JKR's stance on trans people when screenshots of her Twitter likes began circulating around, showing her endorsement of anti-trans activists. A lot of people originally brushed it off as a fluke, but this changed towards the tail end of the 20-teens when she finally made her beliefs known on Twitter and confirmed some of people's greatest fears. It's clear that she isn't a bumbling older person on the internet who happens to have some misguided beliefs, but that she is openly and staunchly committed to anti-trans ideology.
Even way before major criticisms about her hit mainstream discourse, I had always viewed JKR as a typical rich toothless, neoliberal celebrity who would throw out some feminism and allyship for certain causes when it would get her accolades. Harry Potter itself is a fairly politically milquetoast children's fantasy. Children, such as myself at one point, may be captivated by the lore and intrigue of the Wizard World, but there's nothing HP teaches that other YA out there hasn't, if not better.
Nonetheless, I still had many good memories associated with Harry Potter from when I was young. I remember always admiring the iconic book covers standing out on the shelves when I would visit the children's reading section of the bookstore. They were the first books that got me into both reading and writing my own stories. I remember my younger brother and I collecting the dolls, playsets, video games, and magic wands inspired by the films. I remember going to see all the films with my grandmother on their premier dates and being in the packed theaters. I remember daydreaming and playing with my friends, roleplaying our original Hogwarts student characters on the playground or on Neopets message boards (who here remembers those times?)
However, as I grew older and got into a variety of other media, I began to expand my literary tastes and slowly grew out of Harry Potter - not because I necessarily thought it was "bad," but because other media simply held my attention far greater or seemed more mature in scope. There's probably some other reasons I could list here as to why that is, but I don't want this to turn into a Harry Potter literary critique. I just want to emphasize that I truly did love Harry Potter at one point and despite the fact that I closed the HP chapter of my life long before I developed any of my current beliefs on politics or social issues, it does wound me to know the person behind the magic is such a callous individual.
Now, hypothetically speaking - what if I was one of the many adults that still deeply cherished Harry Potter and still considered myself part of the fandom to some degree? I know many queer and trans individuals who genuinely looked forward to JKR's new material, the upcoming Fantastic Beast films, and in recent times, the new Hogwarts-themed open-world action RPG set to be released very soon. Should I still continue to consume the new Harry Potter content?
Keep in mind: I am just one trans guy. I am also a fairly privileged trans person comparatively speaking to some other trans people out there. I don't want allies to use my words as the arbiter of their morals or life choices. I also don't want my perspective to be weaponized against other trans people who have differing views, or for my views to be held up as The One Trans Take on Harry Potter. Everyone should be listening to variety of trans people from all intersections and walks of life, knowing that we are all just people at the end of the day, and the most important thing is that you do make an effort to listen and be considerate.
PERSONALLY, if you ask me - I don't think private enjoyment of Harry Potter content is necessarily harmful in of itself. Let's face it, I can't control if you rewatch all your DVD sets or reread your books or whatever else you indulge in. If your grandma surprised you with the Hogwarts Legacy game for Christmas and you play it just because it sounds good, I don't think God should come down and smite you. HOWEVER - I really think that people should reconsider their public endorsements of Harry Potter and their support for JKR's new work while she is alive and continues to actively oppose trans rights. I wouldn't buy her new books, I wouldn't go watch the new movies, and as much as I hate to say it - I wouldn't buy or stream the new video games.
While yes, Harry Potter is a very large franchise at this point, with more than just one woman contributing to its success, I believe that the association with her and her work is just too intertwined for them to be clearly separated. I think I would feel differently if say, Harry Potter started off as a video game or film series and she was merely a leading contributor or a director who had only a fraction of influence to a project among dozens of others.
I also know her status as a billionaire doesn't mean she'll suffer too much from a boycott. However, "support" is more than just financial, and I think as long as Harry Potter continues to be a relevant cultural phenomenon, the longer JKR holds the social influence that she does and the more harm she's able to inflict on trans people. While I'm not a fan of performative allyship, there is value in symbolically refusing to engage with and uphold her life's work if you consider yourself someone who supports trans rights and respect the dignity and lives of trans people.
I know it sucks for me to say this, but I DO feel a bit of unease around people who still proudly call themselves HP fans in light of what JKR has been saying all up and down Twitter these past years. I don't jump to condemn people or assign labels, but as a trans person I do have to have a moment of pause and suspicion when I see a cis person with their Hogwarts house in their bio or see their "personal hero" is Rowling.
Obviously, fuck you if you share her views or find them inconsequential or excusable, but if you want to be seen as an ally - at the very least, make it clear in some way that you can see the harm she's causing. It's not for me to say how you go about doing that at the end of the day, but the obvious and most easy way is to minimize HP as your focus and start supporting the work of other creators, maybe even *gasp* ACTUAL TRANS authors who are writing their own magical stories and YA fantasy material. I think if more people start finding alternatives to fill the gap Harry Potter may leave in their hearts is probably the most rewarding direction for us to collectively go, but as I said before - I can't make final decisions for people, just give my two cents to add to the conversation.
I think there's definitely room to consume and discuss problematic media and creators out there; for me, it is all context dependent and should be treated with a person-by-person, case-by-case analysis. Maybe my mind will change at some point, or I'll encounter a view that will cause me to re-evaluate how I feel about engagement with HP, but for now that's my stance on the topic as a trans person, former HP fan, and person who loves books and media of all different levels of good and not-so-good.