i’d like to ask you a question. if you’re uncomfortable answering or don’t have the emotional labor to spare (or if you’ve already talked about this) please just ignore. you’re one of my favorite hp bloggers and drarry writers and i admire the way you intersect your writing with current events and activism. i’ve seen some things lately being anti harry potter bc of jkr and it just makes me wonder how you personally cope with that. harry potter brings me such joy. i don’t see myself ever giving it up. it’s a huge part of me. the books practically raised me. how do you divorce yourself from the author when she created something we love so much?
I don’t pretend to have a “right” answer, but I can tell you how I personally cope:
I make sure I pay attention when she does something new that’s awful because I don’t want to stick my head in the sand (and because of my privilege, doing this won’t trigger me)
I think about the flaws in the books (esp those that are problematic on justice) and talk about them with fellow fans, and with my kids when we read the books
I don’t buy merch/products anymore (except from fan artists)
I make a point to address these issues in my fics set in the universe
I support trans hp fan creators whenever I can
If I see people in fandom gaslighting trans fans, I call it out
I listen to trans folks when they call me out, thank them for thinking highly enough of me to take the time to do so
I support fics and art of trans HP characters (my personal fave is trans Sirius!)
Fight transphobia wherever I see it, give to trans folks in my community (many places, including mine, have orgs that disperse direct mutual aid to trans folk, esp black trans folk), educate anyone I can, argue for policy change to help trans people in any place in which I have influence
Generally attempt to help transform the fandom into the queerest, most trans-inclusive space, because what better response could there be to jkr’s evildoing? What other solution is there in this world? This is the lesson of living in human community—it’s impossible to simply disengage. We live in unjust systems, unavoidably. Every system we live in is unjust and the hope is to keep making them better, ever closer to just. Harry Potter lived in unjust systems, too, and he fought even though he knew it wouldn’t be perfect in the end, even if voldemort died. It’s the nature of the struggle. We stay, we transform it. My country doesn’t look like its founders wanted; my city doesn’t look like the slaveholder it’s named for; my school doesn’t look like a place that would appropriate a nameless indigenous person as mascot; our fandom isn’t doomed to be tethered to the injustice of jkr. But only if we face it. Only if we make that change. We manifest it.
jacobvanloon
discoholicmusic
yousharknotpass
snowghoul
stormborns
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