it's not our abilities

that show what we truly are. it is our choices. ◑ harry potter sideblog before you interact

[firelace]

Harry & padfoot <3

[leresq]

WE LOVE YOU PEDRO

[monsterblogging]

"I know JK Rowing is a terrible person but her books are so good-"

You sure about that?

I mean, just for a start, have you taken a good look at her fantasy creatures lately? A whole bunch of them are straight-up based on malicious and dehumanizing stereotypes about actual people.

Remember the werewolves? And being a werewolf was made into a kind of metaphor for having AIDS?

And you know how AIDS was first associated with gay men? And how conservatives back in the day were claiming gay men were preying on children in order to convert them to gayness?

Remember how Fenrir Greyback preyed on children in particular? Yeah, she put that subtext in there. She was an adult in the 90's. She knew damn well what she was doing.

Remember the house elves? Remember how most of them loved to serve and needed to have a home and a master or else they just wouldn't know what to do with themselves?

Did you know that's literally what slavers in the American South said about the Black people they kept enslaved? Go look up the happy slave myth.

Do I even need to get into the goblins and the antisemitic tropes they're based on? No, folkloric goblins were not gold-hoarding bankers waiting for their chance to stab humanity in the back.

"But the characters are so good!"

Are you kidding me?

Most of her characters are pretty one-dimensional, including Harry. Her idea of making a morally complicated character is giving a tragic past to a bully. Numerous characters are little more than stereotypes. (Looking at Fleur right now.) Literally anybody, including you, can easily make dozens of characters just as good, if not better. (It doesn't exactly take a lot of character designing skill to go, "hey, actually, having a sad backstory doesn't make it okay to bully children" or "hey, maybe I should not base a character on the first stereotype that pops into my head.")

"But the rest of the worldbuilding!"

Sorry, but her worldbuilding is just as basic as her characters. Magical castles and secret passages are stock tropes. Magical people who keep their true nature secret from humanity is the premise of pretty much every White Wolf TTRPG. Most of her fantasy creatures are just common European fairy tale and folklore creatures with shitty stereotypes projected onto them.

I'm not saying "basic worldbuilding bad." I'm saying, you could do just as good, if not better, with minimal effort.

Also there's her magical bioessentialism, where only Harry's abusive blood relatives could provide him with supernatural protection from Voldemort. Rowling thus effectively declared that non-biological family isn't quite real family, and that abusive biofamily can give you some essential thing that a loving, supportive family that isn't related to you just can't.

The Hogwarts houses are one of the most insidious elements of her worldbuilding. The idea of being sorted gives you a little dopamine hit because wow now you have a li'l niche where you belong!

But the actual function of the houses and sorting system and the House Cup is teaching children to see each other as rivals, and ensure that the most toxic views of the upper class get passed on to every new batch of kids sorted into Slytherin.

Hogwarts effectively prepares children for a dystopia where magic serves to distract its citizens from how nightmarishly awful it is. Economic inequality is so bad that people like Arthur and Molly Weasley can barely afford to put their kids through school, casual sadism is just an accepted norm in everyday society, and non-humans are second class citizens. Rowling sorta acts like she thinks this is a bad thing with certain lines she gave to Dumbledore, but in the end, her special boy protagonist becomes an auror; IE, a defender of the status quo. So.

If you've never seen it, Lily Simpson's video goes into even more detail on how the worldbuilding of Harry Potter is actually incredibly fucked up, and how it betrays small-minded attitudes on Rowling's part. There's no separating the art from this artist, because Rowling's rotten values pour out of nearly every page.

Yes, there are many things in Harry Potter that evoke feelings and inspire people, but there's absolutely nothing in it that this series has a monopoly on. You can find those same experiences in much, much better media.

[useless-englandfacts]

once again miriam margolyes, the woman that you are

[toorumlk]

golden trio - character lineup

[littlewinnow]

Draco “believes he doesn’t deserve to be more than friends with harry” malfoy & Harry “ I don’t want to ruin our new friendship ” potter vibes

[ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm]

happy trans day of visibility! being trans is fucking magic ✨

[demaparbat-hp]

What's going on at Privet Drive?

[orangemoustache]

my headcanon is that no one can stand them

[demaparbat-hp]

Harry knows his duties.

[thesoftboiledegg]

What makes JKR's shitshow even harder to process is that she didn't just ruin a book series. Harry Potter was an entire subculture. Like Star Wars and Star Trek fans, Harry Potter fans dedicated their lives and careers to the series. I don't know if I'd call it "underground," but liking Harry Potter got you beaten up when I was in school, so it was more of a dedicated indie culture than a mass-appeal fanbase.

Harry Potter was so huge that fan works developed their own followings. Potter Puppet Pals racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and was nearly as relevant as the series itself. For fanfiction, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality got so big that it has a Wikipedia page. The band Harry and the Potters spawned the wizard rock music genre. A Very Potter Musical developed a fanbase and launched Darren Criss's career.

Harry Potter also has extensive ties to fandom history. Everyone in my generation (millennials) remembers coming home from school to read Harry Potter fanfiction on the Internet. Today, most people just post their stories on Wattpad or Archive of Our Own. But at the time, the fanbase was splintered between fanfiction.net and dozens of individual websites and forums, some made for specific ships. Since they all had individual hosts, a lot of those sites have been lost to time.

And there's the infamous My Immortal fanfiction, which is an Internet legend with people still searching for the author. Everybody read that one (and laughed at it) in middle school.

Pre-social media, fan sites like The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet had massive followings because they were one of few sources for news, theories, essays and fan content. Some of these sites still exist after being around for over a decade and building their own legacy.

Before Deathly Hallows came out, fans were so desperate to know what happened that Mugglenet published a book called What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love and How Will the Adventure Finally End? Yep...Harry Potter was so big that people wrote separate books about what would happen in an upcoming book.

And that's not mentioning all the book release parties, Harry Potter-themed events, monuments, fan films, restaurants and even a theme park. A lot of fandoms have those, but Harry Potter infiltrated every aspect of popular culture.

Today, there's a thriving culture of "Harry Potter adults" with themed weddings, baby showers and Etsy stores. Putting your Hogwarts house in your Instagram bio is pretty much a prerequisite for joining the "bookish" community. Warner still produces new content, like the Fantastic Beasts series, although we've all seen what a disaster that's been.

Everyone has at least a few memories associated with Harry Potter even if it's just watching the movies. I had great memories associated with Harry Potter. But looking back at the subculture, history and thousands of fan works, it doesn't seem fun anymore. Studying the fandom or being part of it comes with an awkward tension because you don't want to seem like you're condoning JKR's bigotry but can't divorce her from the series. This subculture was spawned by a woman who turned her legacy of magic and wonder into one of abuse and hatred.

I don't expect people to write paragraphs about how much they hate JKR every time they post about Harry Potter, but it's still uncomfortable to see people make new content or wear their Harry Potter Etsy tote bags like nothing happened. Even if they clarify that they don't support her, it's just a weird, tense situation for everybody.

People dedicated years of their lives to running Harry Potter fan sites, writing fanfiction, cosplaying characters and making fan movies. If I were in that situation, I'd have a mild identity crisis. I'd ask myself "Did I waste all those years? Should I delete my content? Where do I go from here?"

So ultimately, JKR didn't ruin "just" a book series or even "just" a fandom. She tanked an entire culture, which inspired people to look at Harry Potter more critically. The issues that people brought to the light tainted the series's legacy even without JKR's personal issues.

Once, Harry Potter was a series for generations. Now, former fans hope that the series fades into irrelevancy. Unfortunately, JKR didn't just tarnish her legacy--she took decades of history, millions of fans and a worldwide subculture along with her.

[peerieweirdo]

it’s crazy having been super-involved in the HP fandom for more than a decade and watching the fallout from this

quidditch (the real sport) has changed its name to quadball

the harry potter alliance (a nonprofit) has rebranded to fandom forward

the sub-subcultures that sprung up within the HP fandom have now distanced themselves from the main fandom and have become independent groups in their own right

HP was so integral to the development of early online fandom (as OP’s mentioned) that now there’s sort of just a weird... hole in the internet

for many HP fans, it took up a lot of their life. three conventions a year, wizard rock shows, HPA fundraising, granger leadership academy, nightly fanfic, podcasts, quidditch games.

when fans (rightfully) shunned JKR and began to leave the fandom, a lot of them (myself included) were left rudderless. how do you reconcile the fact that most of your friends, hobbies, sometimes even jobs, were due to the work of such a hateful person? as OP said, did i waste my life?

i’m obviously not saying that this is the worst part about JKR’s bigotry (the worst part is, of course, the bigotry) or that HP fans are the worst-done-by victims (who are of course trans people)

but it is WILD to see such a juggernaut of internet fandom be virtually scrubbed away

[mioxenoblade]

If you give money to the Hairy Potturd franchise still, youre a terf. Like yall can complain about diluting the term or how "its only a dime!" but we're just at a point where it doesn't matter. Dont buy terf media if you dont want to be considered a terf.

[intersexfairy]

I dont think some people have fully internalized that the way to stop terfs is to deplatform them. Period. No ifs ands or buts.

Do not give them or anything that benefits them attention, publicity, a single penny... Nothing.

Terf ideology spreads the infectious way it does through media that looks innocuous to the beholder, and then terf ideology is littered throughout it. This causes even outwardly progressive people to adopt some terfy sentiments, and the end goal is ofc full radicalization.

If you support her work in any form, you are contributing to the growing platform JKR has.

I know your little fanfic with 100 reads doesnt feel like it's contributing to her platform, but her platform consists of hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of people just like you. By supporting and engaging with her work, you are supporting a terf, and in the grand scheme of things, terfism.

This woman is literally involved in legislation that is making it harder for trans people in the UK to get HRT. The UK govt is even looking at a bathroom bill now. We all know the horrible things this will lead to.

If you knew all this already and can handle this on your conscience, then I can't help you.

[theangelisgay]

Reminder that jkr basically funds a large portion of the terf movement in the UK and promoting harry potter and actively giving her money is helping fund that movement and is actively encouraging her and her followers because they see this as support

[theangelisgay]

Stop adding in the tags for ways for people to engage in this content without giving her money when i explicitly stated that promoting harry potter also helps support this movement its really shitty to see people turn around and go “okay but you can still engage and promote this content but this way because were only helping it stay relevant and not giving her money”

[theangelisgay]

Since I apparently wasn’t clear enough JKR will not be deplatformed as long as Harry Potter continues to remain relevant and people are still reblogging this with tags with ways to promote the series it’s really disheartening that a fucking book series is more important than the safety of trans people

[anexperimentallife]

JKR claims that the number of Harry Potter fans is proof of how many people support her transphobic views. Literally, any time you post HP content, JKR considers it a statement that you're "team terf." Do what you will with this information.

J.K. Rowling says 90% of her fans agree with her transphobia but they’re afraid to say so publicly

She claims that people who oppose trans rights live in a "climate of fear" in a clumsy attempt to paint them as victims...

[dancing-cockroaches]

“Potterheads read a different book” challenge

[hunter-rodrigez]

maybe making consuming pop culture a huge part of your identity was never a good idea to begin with

[what-even-is-thiss]

I read that article. The article was thoughtful and good and ends with a plea to donate to transgender causes. Also people can be obsessed about any number of things. Sometimes it’s because they have ADHD or autism, but sometimes they don’t. And consuming pop culture forms both personal and cultural identity? There are people that form large parts of their identity around sports teams, or making movie-perfect stormtrooper armor. This behavior is normal and you can’t just call it pathetic because it’s something you personally don’t like, especially when the person in question understands the nuances of it and its problems. I am a transgender person for who Harry Potter was a big part of my identity and I am here to say that the cis person who wrote this article knows their place and knows where they are in all of this and understands that there are no easy answers to any of this.

[ravenhilarious]

smug ableist are once again mocking neurodivergent people for our hyperfixations, what else is new

[what-even-is-thiss]

Yeah but also don’t make fun of neurotypical people for having interests either. My grandma is as neurotypical as they come and she knows a lot about and is super into the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. Human beings have interests. Human beings have interests that they incorporate into their personal identities.

[nicnacsnonsense]

Back when I used to go into the office to work, I always brought my lunch, typically in my tin Harry Potter lunch box. One day the lunch I was bringing was too big to fit in that lunch box, so I just brought it in a spare grocery bag instead. When I was heating up my food at the microwaves, someone walked up to me. I did not know this person and had never talked to them before, though I probably had seen them around on occasion. This person asked me what had happened to my normal Harry Potter lunch box and when I explained, they were relieved; when they hadn’t seen my lunch box in the fridge that day they had been a little worried about me. An absolute stranger was worried that I might have been sick or had something bad happen because they had bonded with me over my Harry Potter lunch box.

A deep investment an interest can be a completely personal thing. But in a lot of cases, and I would wager especially in cases where the person considers the interest a large part of their identity, that interest is not just about the thing itself, but also about the community around it. Reading a new book isn’t going to replace that community. Yeah you can maybe get some of your friends in the old community to read the book with you or find a book that already has a big community around it, but it still won’t be the same. And you’re allowed to feel lost when that gets taken away from you and to mourn the loss of it.

[softer-ua]

What did y’all think the origin of religions, holidays, and myths were? It’s deeply ingrained in our biology to bond with stories, in a way cons are in a way just a modern adaptation of all festivals♥️

[humlesnurr]

still looking through hp discourse for fun and my favorite type of complaint (and what has been my favorite one since i was a kid) is people saying the author are misrepresenting their houses like dudes the author invented those they literally cant be misrepresented by her and they are also not real

[humlesnurr]

“i am a slytherin and im sick of the books only showing them as evil” first of all you’re not second of all its hardly the books fault you decided to place yourself in the evil blood supremacy and dark arts house

[lytefoot]

Hey, so they’re making a Netflix Harry Potter.

With that in mind, we’re all gonna remember that JKR is a terf who has literally been cited by legislators engaged in legislation that actively harms trans people, and we’re not gonna give her any more money.

That means not streaming the new show on Netflix, because regardless of how much influence she has on the production, she gets paid for it.

We’re gonna make the show flop. We’re gonna show Warner Brothers that we don’t forget (of course, how would we forget, it isn’t as if she’s stopped), and that their business association with terfs is no longer profitable.

It is NOT like Lovecraft, because Lovecraft is very dead and his works are in the public domain. By consuming Lovecraft media, you are not giving any money to old Howard.

[onelonelystory]

reblogging this again to say some googling led to the tentative conclusion that the new remake will be on HBO max, which is owned by WarnerMedia. Netflix hasn’t hosted anything Harry Potter since early 2020, presumably because Warner is trying to direct the hp audience to their own streaming service.

[evilneo]

Remember she also takes any support of her work as agreeing with her bigotry

> if: Science Team then: Yes

And to those who say, but second hand books and read them, what about the one who buys a second hand book, reads it, thinks wow how awesome

^ link to the post/full thread of where I got this tweet

[lesbianchai]

She actively funds anti-trans causes and is basically the spokesperson for UK terfism and quite honestly her influence probably was related to the recent UK anti-trans laws. Part of the reason she’s so powerful is because she has money. Cut off her money supply. Please boycott her.

[silurisanguine]

And to those who say, but second hand books and read them, what about the one who buys a second hand book, reads it, thinks wow how awesome is this i need to find more and starts supporting JK not knowing what an terf asshole she is.

You are still perpetuating the fandom.

It does make me wonder if she was a homophobe, racist, facist etc whether her ‘fans’ would still be like - but you can support the art but not the artist’ She isnt like Lovecraft who everyone knows he was a racist bigot. He is dead, his work is known for it’s time but it’s not affecting current policy, like JK Rowlings work IS.

The UK anti trans bills that came in were also a direct result of HER LOBBYING PARLIMENT.