Where I Stand as a Harry Potter Fan

Oh boy! Another 'cheerful' blog post! This should be fun... For those of you who don't know, J.K. Rowling has posted a series of tweets followed by a 3000-word essay which basically says that the transgender community threatens the concept of biological sex and thus, women's experiences and has also stated that transgender people are a danger to themselves and others. Many people, including the cast of Harry Potter (including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Eddie Redmayne), have spoken out against this, outlining that trans women are women, trans men are men and that non-binary and gender-fluid people are valid whilst an equal number of people blindly support her.

Now I don't claim to be an expert on the matter. I am a cisgender male which means I will remain the gender I was assigned with at birth. What I do understand is that gender dysmorphia is a biological condition, the cause of which is unknown, that basically means that people are genuinely uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned with at birth and wish to change that. Trans people, if they make that transition, are generally happy with themselves and yes they do face oppression but it's likely they wouldn't change it for the world. This is a scientific fact backed up by the WHO. The concept of sex is more or less outdated with this in mind yet Rowling insists on using that as the basis of feminism. She also insists that trans people shouldn't transition for fear they will be bullied and abused.

That's as far as I gauged with this. There are people who have a more personal stake in this who can explain it better than me so here's the link to a really good breakdown below titled 'An Open Letter to J.K. Rowling' that shares a fair and balanced view on why her views are dangerous. I will also link below some useful sites from experts on the matter. I don't wish to discuss this any further. I hope people realise that J.K. Rowling is wrong and I hope those who don't understand why what she's saying is wrong will understand. If anyone agrees with her then there's the door. I will not accept intolerance of any kind. Yes, it's horrible that she got flack for this and I maintain that anyone who attacks her is no worse than she is but it doesn't excuse her toxic and false views. Trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary and gender-fluid people are valid. End of discussion.

Now, this isn't the main point of this essay is where I currently stand as a fan of Harry Potter. For those of you who don't know, I've been a fan since I was a kid to the point where I've read all the books several times, seen all the films and even went as far as to read the extra stuff on Pottermore. I've also been to The Making of Harry Potter in London for my 16th birthday and I've been sorted into Hufflepuff. Now as a Hufflepuff, I am just and fair and am willing to see people on both sides. Though I have been disappointed with Rowling's tweets, I have been giving her the benefit of the doubt as I thought she was mature enough to apologise. But now... I finally admit that she's transphobic and, contrary to what she believes, she is a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist).

Now as far as I understand, the Harry Potter fandom has fallen into three camps: the first is to continue their love for Harry Potter despite Rowling's wrongs which is understandable. I know people who can separate the artist from the art and will not let the artist affect the thing they love. Especially as the thing they love displays themes of acceptance and love being the most powerful force in the world. The second camp is people who are just done with Harry Potter because of what Rowling said and that's understandable. She has been alienating the fandom lately and I understand people who no longer wish to financially support a woman with these dangerous views. The third camp, which as I understand it is a vocal minority, fully supports J.K. Rowling and her views. I know everyone's entitled to their opinion but if said opinion harms others, then it's probably best to keep them to yourselves.

Where do I stand? Somewhere between the first two camps. For starters, I will keep the Harry Potter merch I already own. They were gifts from my family and friends and I will associate these gifts with them, rather than J.K. Rowling. I will also support fan projects such as fan films, fan fiction and unofficial merch since these do not financially benefit Rowling. The fandom, for the most part, is one of the nicer fandoms out there and I wish to show my support to them instead. I'm also considering the possibility of watching the mainline Harry Potter film series for how awesome the cast have been about this. But I will no longer continue the Fantastic Beasts series nor will I buy my own copies of the books or any other official merchandise. I will also no longer accept any more Harry Potter gifts, unless they're unofficial. I will, effective immediately, indefinitely pause my place in the Harry Potter fandom. There are other fandoms I love more like Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel (especially Spider-Man) and I will continue to give them my full support.

I have also moved on to another Young Adult fantasy franchise: Percy Jackson. Not only is the fandom just as lovely as the Potter fandom but the author, Rick Riordon, appears to be a lot more supportive and inclusive to minority groups. Plus, I've been re-reading the books and they still hold up. They're good stories with a witty sense of humour, fleshed out characters and a clever take on Greek Mythology. I am anxious to purchase the Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo series' since I've heard really good things about both. And yes, I am looking forward to the Disney+ show. The films have been terrible adaptations of the books and it deserves a new lease of life.

So that's pretty much it. I ask that you understand and respect my decision to reduce my place in the Harry Potter fandom. If you continue to be a part of Harry Potter despite what Rowling's been saying, I understand. It's a good thing that you're not letting her take away your love for Harry Potter. I may come back someday if I'm in a more forgiving mood (like I said, I am a Hufflepuff for a reason) but as of now, I'm done with J.K. Rowling.

Hopefully, the next blog post will be more lively but until then, fare thee well good people of the internet!




Links to trans websites for education and donation:

The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/trevor-support-center/a-guide-to-being-an-ally-to-transgender-and-nonbinary-youth/

An Open Letter to J.K. Rowling: https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/dear-jk-rowling/

Donations to the Mermaid Movement: https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/donate/

The Homeless Black Trans Women's Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/homeless-black-trans-women-fund

An Autistic White Man's Thoughts on Why Black Lives Matter

Oh boy... this may be the hardest one of these I ever had to write. For those of you who have been living under a rock, George Floyd was unjustly murdered by the police for the relatively minor crime of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. As this was the latest in a long line of injustices committed by police to the Africa-American community, it has since sparked massive riots involving looting and brutal violence from the very system that was supposed to protect them with video examples popping up all over Twitter at just how badly the American Government and the Police Department are handling this. And this thing is worldwide as there are protests in England with even black celebrities such as John Boyega of Star Wars fame getting involved and a social media/music blackout on Tuesday.

Now in case you couldn't tell, I am very white. I was very lucky growing up since I was never stopped by police nor did I face any violent attacks for who I was. The most prejudice I faced was being a social outcast at school because of my autism but that's honestly nothing compared to what millions of black people face every day. I'm also straight, cis-gendered and a man therefore I'm about as privileged as I can get.

So I'm probably the least qualified person to address this but honestly, how could I not? How could I stay silent? It doesn't matter what colour our skin is, we're all just people. We're all human beings. So if a fellow human being is unjustly attacked, of course we should stand up for them. As a Christian, we are taught to love and to help our fellow neighbour. There are no exceptions to this and if you think there are, there's the door.

And yet we need to be held accountable both for our actions and inactions. Like many people said, it's no longer enough to not be racist. We have to actively fight against racism in any way we can whether through protest, donating to a relevant cause, signing petitions or even raising awareness. Anything can help but we can't stay silent. You can take a break for the sake of your mental health if it gets too much but you can't stay silent. I'm no longer staying silent and I wish I did that a long time ago. I hope I and many others will continue to fight for the cause, even if this stops "trending" because we can't stay silent. Enough is enough, we can't condone this any longer because we are just people at the end of the day. It doesn't matter what colour we are, what our gender is, what are sexual preferences are or even if our mind and body works properly, we are all the same species and we are all living beings and we all need to look after each other.

And no, the UK isn't innocent in all this. Our standard for policing may be higher but People of Colour are still being disproportionally arrested compared to white people and we voted for a white supremacist and a system that dooms us all just because we as a country didn't want foreigners stealing our jobs. That's not to mention all the times in history we screwed over other countries to build an empire such as the slave trade and events such as the Partition of India (the latter of which is rarely being taught).

As a reminder, I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour, not from anyone. I never have. You can use any excuse you want. You can say #AllLivesMatter or 'Everyone's a little bit racist' all you want, it doesn't matter. At best, I will call you out on it and at worst, I will block you. And if you have any problems with that, there's the door. Because enough is enough. And I know I'm white and privileged but I can't stay silent. Not anymore. And neither should you.

#BlackLivesMatter

In lieu of the usual meme of the post, I will post a website that will show you all the ways you can help.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/