To Potter or Not To Potter
For a long time people viewed the Harry Potter world as one that would fight for acceptance of everyone. This could be seen with how the characters were fighting to change how mudbloods and muggles were viewed in the wizarding world or how Hermione was trying to get rights for house elves. Then J.K. Rowling had to open her mouth about people that identify as transgendered, and everything was lost. She had shown that she still viewed ‘certain types’ of people negatively while creating a false sense of accepting others. Her books had previously been recommended to children to help teach them acceptance of others. Now all of that is in question because of her actions.
So why am I writing about this? I have had many friends (straight, gay, and transgender) put up posts on Facebook both for and against both the Harry Potter World and J.K. Rowling. Many of my straight and cisgender friends have also been asking what they should do in relation to their fandom for the series vs. the hate that the author has created. These are not easy to read or respond to.
I decided to research the subject and see what people on both sides of the pond were saying about it since Harry Potter is at its heart and English tale. I found it interesting that in the literary world J.K. Rowling’s peers have turned against her. Four fellow authors have left the agency that represents her as a form of protest (Assuncao). Daniel Radcliffe took the stance that he supports the transgendered community and that people need to separate the books from the author so that they can keep the stories that were meaningful in their lives (Radcliffe). Eddie Redmayne seems to be on the fence. At one point he says that he ‘disagrees’ with her comments, but at the same time does not support the criticism of the author (BBC & The Guardian). So what is the difference between these two actors. For Radcliffe his time as an actor in the Harry Potter universe is over whereas Redmayne still has the chance to do more movies (can make a lot more money off the series if he plays cool). Personally this has made me lose all respect for Redmayne as an actor and as a person. He had already proven he can act and has even won an Academy award. He does not need the Harry Potter universe to keep the work coming in. Writing this took some time and another article popped up recently about her promoting an anti-trans store (Acosta). She is just not learning when to stop and thinks that she is too powerful to be stopped.
In my replies to my friends Facebook posts I have tried to convey how I feel. I’m treating everything related to the Harry Potter universe like I did Chick-Fil-A when their anti-gay issues came out. I stopped eating their food for years. I did not want my money to go towards a company with these views. In today’s world money is king and it is money that speaks louder then anything else. This is why I took my money and spent it elsewhere. Their food has always brought me joy and reminds me of my time in high school when I would get it from our cafeteria. Even with this I was willing to put my money where my mouth was. I’m still doing this with Jimmy Johns since I found out about the big game hunter that their founder was. Even though he no longer owns it, the concept still puts a bad taste in my mouth. Will I eat there again? I don’t know. I think they would need to have a major donation campaign in place for several years where the money goes towards endangered animals to start to undo what damage they can from what he did. BTW giving up Jimmy Johns was way easier than Chick-Fil-A due to their food also not being that good.
How does this apply to my stance on Harry Potter? For me this means that I will not buy any product related to the Harry Potter universe or J.K. Rowling’s other works. No matter what, if you buy something some part of it will go back to her due to royalty laws. At the same time I will not throw my items away because that would only hurt me because of how much I have invested in them. I am also not currently reading her books or even watching her movies due to the internal feelings I have. I thought that the world was about acceptance and now it has been tainted. Some of the joy has just been sucked out of it and I don’t know if I will ever get that back.
What do I say to others? I would say speak with both your money
and your words. With the holiday season coming up I would say don’t spend your
money on anything related to the Harry Potter Universe or J.K.’s other works.
With your words I would say that you could write to companies that sell her
products and ask them to remove them from their shelves. This would be stores
like Hot Topic and even Walmart. If enough people reach out it can make change.
This can make change. Nordstrom’s recently announced that they would be phasing
out exotic furs due to customer requests. Stores do listen to their customers
when it can impact what money they can make through sales. Each of us has it
within their power to be the change we want to see in the world. That was one
of the reasons why I started my blogs, I was tired of feeling like I didn’t
have a voice and only people I viewed negatively were being heard. Each person
needs to make their own decision of where they stand on this issue. I know
where I am and what I will do to show it. What will you do?
Works Cited:
Acosta, Ben. “JK Rowling Sparks Outrage for Promoting Online Store That Sells Vehemently Anti-Trans Merchandise.” Percolately. https://percolately.com/jk-rowling-outrage-store-antitrans/
Assuncao, Muri. “J.K. Rowling’s Transgender Comments Push 4 Authors to Quit Agency Representing Her.” June 23rd. Portland Press Herald. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/23/j-k-rowlings-transgender-comments-push-4-authors-to-quit-agency-representing-her/
BBC. “Eddie Redmayne Speaks Out Against JK Rowling’s Trans Tweets.” June 10, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-52975994
Radcliffe, Daniel. “Daniel Radcliffe Responds to J.K. Rowling’s Tweets on Gender Identity.” https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/08/daniel-radcliffe-responds-to-j-k-rowlings-tweets-on-gender-identity/
The Guardian. “Eddie Redmayne Condemns ‘Vitriol’ Aimed at JK Rowling After Her Trans Rights Comments.” https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/29/eddie-redmayne-jk-rowling-condemns-vitriol-trans-rights-comments
Works Researched and Good for Further Reading
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/world/europe/jk-rowling-maya-forstater-transgender.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53276007
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/09/jk-rowling-transphobia-new-novel-troubled-blood-controversy
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/29/18644354/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-donations-homophobia-dan-cathy
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/18/business/chick-fil-a-lgbtq-donations/index.html
https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/is_chick-fil-a_anti-gay
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jimmy-john-liautaud-hunting-photos/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/29/business/nordstrom-fur-exotic-animal-skins/index.html
https://www.buzzfeed.com/kaylayandoli/harry-potter-fans-react-to-jk-rowlings-anti-trans-comments
https://www.facebook.com/Boycott-Harry-Potter-serie-Were-anti-359616244377962/
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| Picture From: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kaylayandoli/harry-potter-fans-react-to-jk-rowlings-anti-trans-comments |
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| Picture From: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1855033-read-another-book |
12/19/21
1/29/21 Some Updates
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