A RANT ABOUT CURRENT HARRY POTER FANDOM DISCOURSE
Before I say anything else I would like to say something: you do not have to agree with what I am about to say in this post at all! However if you don’t, please do not be rude about it. When I spoke up a few days ago I was told that by being so vocal, I had helped, and so I am about to be much more vocal and try to voice my full thoughts as I am in a much better place than I was when this first happened. So I suggest you get your reading glasses as this will be a long one xD. I also can not stress enough; these are MY thoughts, you do not have to agree with them. And because these are my thoughts, there will also be very specific parts relating to the Grindeldore fandom and my thoughts about the response that I noticed, as I am in this part of the fandom.
I would also like to say: I am not going to beat you up for deciding to stay in the grindeldore / Harry Potter fandom, no you are not evil for staying. Just because I have decided to leave does not mean I will shame others for not doing the same as me. It is pointless, exhausting and idiotic. However I will be discussing the response I noticed, I have no idea if it was the same in places such as the Marauders fandom as I do not engage in it, hence why some of this post will be directed to the Grindeldore fandom specifically. I would also like to say; this is not meant to be rude or to put anyone in the fandom down, however I feel it needs to be discussed. You are not morally superior to anyone for staying OR leaving.
I feel that posting mere hours/days after the new UK law, was incredibly insensitive. I am not saying you are evil for doing this, but I also do think that maybe, just maybe you should have left the space for a few days, if you are going to stay. This is not meant in a rude way, nor am I saying you are a bad person for doing this, however I would like to point out that me and a few others in the Grindeldore fandom also found it insensitive upon discussing it. I think this is mostly due to the lack of people speaking out in this space, which I am not saying you had to either- I understand that people may have needed time to collect their thoughts or have anxieties about speaking out, which is understandable. However I wished to point out, without harmful intent or anger at anyone who did do this, that many of us found people posting mere hours or days after the new UK law incredibly insensitive.
If you do not give money to Rowling, saying that you have blood on their hands is in my opinion, extremely idiotic. The fifteen-something fanfic author who writes Wolfstar slow burn is not responsible for this. The person who makes Grindeldore fan-art is not responsible for this. So who is responsible? Rowling…I thought this would be obvious but apparently not. It is the Government's fault, the people who have actual power, for letting Rowling get away with this and up-holding her bigotry and making her able to put her bigotry into action. The lives that may be lost because of the new UK law are not the fault of literal teenagers reading Harry Potter fan-fiction, however it is the fault of… Rowling. She is the one with these bigoted views. Blaming a very Queer-dominated fandom for any lives that may be lost is extremely pathetic; unless you have given money to Rowling, you have not funded for this to happen. No, you are not transphobic for LIKING Harry Potter- however if you have been giving money to her and continue to do so after this, I believe you are. You have seen where her money goes, so why would you give her more?
If you are not giving money to her, you have no blood on your hands I assure you. While yes we have kept her relevant, did you really think a franchise as big as Harry Potter would not stay relevant years later?
I personally hate the argument of “ well I am only one person, what difference would I make! “ as it takes away accountability, however in the case of a franchise as big as Harry Potter, it is unfortunately true. Truly, think about it! Harry Potter is much bigger than people realize as I have said before, one singular person being bullied out of the fandom instead of leaving of their own accord will make no difference. This is not me taking away accountability, this is a fact.
The guilt that many people have felt for staying in the fandom should not have been ours to carry, however I am glad we do; it means we are aware, which is much better than closing our eyes and ears. However I will stress this; even if we do carry this guilt it should never have been ours to carry- we did not personally go up to Rowling and ask her to become the bigoted person she has.
However, people who deny that we have kept her relevant annoy me; because we have. Even if we are not giving her money, we still keep Harry Potter relevant by making content about it- which is why I personally have decided to stop posting. I will not exactly be leaving the fandom, however I will no longer post about it and probably not engage with content anymore, unless maybe it’s a mutual of mine. I fear I did not make that clear enough in my last two posts. I will also still be replying to any comments I get on my fics, as ignoring them would be rude, however any Grindeldore related asks will not be answered and I wished to clarify this, as before I was still deciding if replying to fic comments would be okay, and also so I do not offend anyone who has sent asks, as I know there have been, so I would also like to say a sorry to any asks that will not be answered </3
I would also like to point out the excuse of “ it was my childhood! “ is an incredibly insensitive thing to say when people ask why you can’t let it go, especially to a trans person. I am not saying that it would not make it harder- because it will, anyone who has an emotional attachment to a series will find it hard to let go of it, however I think using it in an argument is incredibly insensitive even if it is true, because of how it comes across. We are allowed to grieve it, of course we are; many of us became attached or many have it as a special interest, or perhaps it helped you through hard times with your mental health, we are allowed to grieve this loss and find it hard to move on. However, it is insensitive to bring up in arguments. Two things can be true at once.
I also think that Tiktok is probably the worst place to continue making content, if people do decide to stay; you can not curate your space, people are able to become micro-influencers ect. And it becomes detrimental in situations like these, people will also see merch videos and ask where the merch came from, theres videos of people going to the Harry Potter studios tour; what I am trying to say is, Tiktok is also a very big issue as to why fans would get more merch ect. However it is also not the main reason, however, it is a big reason I believe- a place like Tiktok never was never built for fandom spaces and it can not be accommodating without becoming harmful.
I however also do not think we should stop engaging in every work made by a bad person; it is a form of censorship, which can become a very slippery slope. If we look past our childhoods and once we grow up we come to realize; Rowling was always a bigot, it is very, and I mean very evident in Harry Potter once you pick up on it and are no longer a child reading it. However does that mean we should stop reading every single story with racist and anti-semetic and more undertones? No. The most recent case that I have researched that had similar questions brought about was… the Brothers Grimm. The Nazis used the stories as propaganda, and the book itself has some anti-semetic stories within itself. However did that mean it was banned or forbidden? Well, very nearly, but however no, it was not. What I am trying to say is that by reading these stories that have subtle prejudice lurking within them, it can help us become more aware of said prejudice by noticing it within the story. We are not bad people for liking Harry Potter the same way people are not bad people for enjoying the Brothers Grimm tales.
There's also the argument of “ you can’t engage in a piece of media if the author is problematic, until the author is dead as they profit from it “ which is what I believe in, in the sense of do not buy any merch, do not directly financially support said author ect. However the people who give money to Rowling are the ones giving her money, not the people writing Drarry fanfiction or writing Tom Riddle x reader one-shots on Wattpad or AO3. However for me personally, I doubt I could return to writing fanfics, even if I did not promote or post on Tumblr while doing so, as I would feel guilty for doing so, until Rowling is dead- but that is me PERSONALLY, not everyone as a whole.
I would also like to say; people are allowed to be angry at people for staying, especially trans people, however I think it is pathetic for you to send vaguely threatening asks or death threats to people who merely like Harry Potter and have not given Rowling money at all since finding out about her transphobia. Your directing your anger at the wrong people by sending these people death threats. Do you really believe threatening a Drarry blogger with suicide and repeatedely saying they have blood on their hands if they have given no money to Rowling makes you superior? It does not.
I will also be copying what I have said in a previous post down here as it is relevant;
And now let’s address the issue of J.K Rowling herself. J.K Rowling has funded this law in the UK to pass. She has enabled this to happen.
Do NOT give your money to this woman because this is where it goes; do not buy merch, do not buy the books unless second-hand if you must read them at all at this point, Do not watch the movies- watch them on DVD or pirate them if you want to watch them so badly, do not go to the studios tour in London and most definitely do not watch the re-boot.
The question of if we are allowed to engage in this fandom anymore at all is a hard one. Many have said they feel guilty for even being in the fandom, and I feel that same guilt, especially much more after recent events.
The argument is that by interacting with the fandom we promote her works; which we do, by consuming her content, even if we do not give her money. It would be ignorant to say that we don’t when we do. If you are going to stay in the fandom we MUST accept the guilt that comes with this. Harry Potter is too big to become irrelevant, there will ALWAYS be someone who does not care and gives her money unfortunately, however if anyone decides to stay in this fandom we can at least not give money to her and spread resources to help the trans community. We also must accept that people will be angry at people who decide to stay; which they have every right to be. People are allowed to be upset at people for staying in the fandom, because this is so much bigger now than just hurtful tweets.
Other people argue that taking back this space is the most anti-Rowling thing we can do. I do believe this, to an extent. However that was before she caused such huge harm by this law. I think that this is a problem bigger than you or me or anyone in the fandom.
People will make head-canons of queer characters, transgender characters and say ‘ fuck you Rowling ‘ but in all honesty? If there are no actions taken, it is performative. Find protests, protect any trans people you may know, donate to charities ect. ( for people who are able to do these things obviously, if you haven’t the money to donate or ability to attend protests you can also share resources! )
These talks are uncomfortable, yes, but it truly does not matter at this point. We NEED to talk about these things, not be performative and say ‘ fuck Rowling ‘ and think head-canoning a character as queer is enough, because it isn’t.
Harry Potter is much bigger than people realize; there is not a single person who has not at least heard of it, trying to make it irrelevant will not work, it is physically impossible and is far too late for it. However we can not give Rowling money ( which you shouldn’t have been doing anyway ) but I hope that whoever stays in the fandom and buys merch, that this is a wake up call for them because this is where your money is going.
Engaging in fandom does not directly fund her, HOWEVER! HOWEVER. It does promote Harry Potter ( even if it is not financially ) and we can not deny this. It would be extremely harmful to deny it in fact. However, engaging in things that give her no money ( fanfiction, fanworks, fan-art ect. ) is much less harmful than buying merchandise and giving her money. However- we also must be ever so mindful that people will still be upset and angry if you engage, and they have every right to be. ( end of copied post )
People are allowed to be angry; people are allowed to not wish to associate with you for still staying in this space, however it is not okay when they start threatening people who make fan content or engage in it and act like they are the sole reason this happened, unless they are funding Rowling; because they are not. They are going after them because they are an easy target and want something to channel their anger onto- but this response is not healthy. At all.
Even if I personally feel I can not stay, I believe as long as you give no money to Rowling, you are empathetic and understand why staying would anger people and also listen to debates and talks like these it is okay for you to stay. However if you disagree that is also fine. Because it is your opinion. However if you have read this far, truly thank-you for hearing me out and I hope you are well <3