Like millions of children across the globe, I grew up reading about the magical boy under the stairs. I went on adventures that took me to faraway places, with him and his eccentric group of friends. In many ways, Harry, Ron and Hermione were my escape from the complications in real life. So, when I slowly became an adult, I took these stories with me, and held them close to my heart. At first, I thought you were the best. You were my idol, my role model. As an aspiring writer, I looked up to you and your work. I would reread the books and rewatch the movies over and over again. And due to my deep adoration for this fictional universe, I would draw my own fanart and write my own fanfiction. Harry Potter has inspired me in my many passions, and for that I am grateful. However, over the years, I saw you become entangled in controversy about pandering to your audience and being performist in your activism. For example, back on October 2007, after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, you revealed that Dumbledore – one of the major characters on the series – was gay. At first, I thought that that was such a win for the LGBTQ+ community. We fans were excited to see ourselves be represented in such a large, well-loved franchise. However, to this day, we are still waiting for any explicit mention of Dumbledore’s sexuality in the canon universe. Fans are shouting: Don’t just tell us your characters are queer; show us. But that incident wasn’t what made me remove my rose-tinted glasses when it comes to a prolific writer such as yourself. I thought, “Hey, the Fantastic Beasts franchise has three more movies left; we’ll just have to see where that takes us.” And yes, that may be too forgiving on my part, but as a queer person myself, I was adamant on looking for representation anywhere I can find it. Plus, this is my favourite thing in the world. I can wait. Boy, was I in for a treat. Recently, you have come under fire for transphobic tweets that negate many transgender people’s identities. That was when I immediately took off my positive regard for you and saw you for what you were. After the major backlash you got, you posted a long-ass essay explaining your viewpoint. Instead of, I don’t know, learning from queer folks themselves, you took it upon yourself to craft this massive thesis paper explaining as to why you were right. Personally, I couldn’t even believe I read the entire thing. But, I did. And my opinion of you went straight down the drain. In your essay, you still sort of built this wall between cis women and trans women, firmly stuck on the belief that trans people need to go through physical changes in order to be considered a “man” or a “woman.” You viewed trans women who have not gone through sex surgery as threats, saying, and I quote, “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.” Your dangerous view of trans people is what incites so much discrimination and hate on the community. I was not only deeply disappointed, but also furious at your false perspective on one of the most targeted people in the LGBTQ+ community. This further proves that your feminism is only limited, and is exclusionary to transgender women; thus, the internet is labelling you a terf. Google it – you’re some of the first few articles you’ll see under the word. Once light has been shed on your bigotry, I once again took it upon myself to reflect on the Harry Potter books themselves, and realized how problematic they have been from the beginning. Many have already touched on issues like your single East Asian character being named ‘Cho Chang,’ the slavery of the elves being normalized, and that majority of the characters were cis white men. Moreover, as we’ve already discussed, you have a thing for pandering to minorities by announcing a character is a certain way (e.g. Dumbledore is gay) without actually putting the fact in canon. Do I still love your books? I do. They meant a lot to me, and they still do. Part of why I’m who I am today is because of the world you created and the characters you wrote – characters who gave me solace. What I’m saying is that Harry Potter is not perfect. It wholly lacks the representation I’ve craved since I was a kid. At times I cannot believe that one of my favourite things in the world is written by someone so close-minded and prejudiced. However, what brings me comfort during these revelations are the actors I grew up watching on screen – Daniel Radcliffe, Bonnie Wright, Emma Watson, Evanna Lynch, Rupert Grint, etc. – calling you out for your bigotry. They remind me of the characters I have always loved and admired. You may have created them, but they are the ones who embody the real Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Sincerely,
A Queer Harry Potter Fan