I have been granted a waiver from CEO and Ultra President of Assigned Media, Evan Urquhart, to write about something that’s happening in the United Kingdom. Please reset the timer to zero, and mark another 30 days on your calendar. Thank you!
Harry Potter! You love it, you hate it, you love to hate it but you hate to love it… because, of course, the woman who wrote it is one of the wealthiest transphobes on earth. She bends every ounce of her energy and a significant portion of her wealth towards the destruction of the transgender community.
Her flagship franchise is, I’m sure you know, deeply problematic. Into these books, she poured her cruelty, her malice, and her will to dominate all life… alongside a ton of racist xenophobia, antisemitism, and misogyny. In Harry Potter, nearly every single overweight character is a despicable villain whose fatness must be remarked upon as frequently as possible; there are several whole chapters devoted to one of the main characters, Hermione Granger, trying to abolish slavery and being mocked and derided by her friends because enslaving magical creatures is legal and socially acceptable in their world; and it is suggested that a fitting punishment for a nasty woman is sexual assault.
It’s hard to pin down the most egregious bigotry in these books. Perhaps it’s the nebulously East Asian character Cho Chang, who is in possession of two family names (one Korean, the other Chinese) and no given name; or the books’ singular Irish character, Seamus Finnigan, who loves to create homemade explosives and do arson; or the goblins, who have hooked noses, control the wizarding world’s entire economy, and keep to some very specific communal traditions that often put them at odds with good, upstanding magical folk.
Oh, no! Sure seems like I know way too much about Harry Potter!
Yes, to be clear, I used to be a big fan of this franchise. Many years later, I am deeply embarrassed that I did not recognize the many harmful tropes and the general nastiness in Rowling’s work… or even just how bad her writing is on the whole. As a transgender adult, around the time Rowling began to let the mask slip with regards to trans people, I began to understand that she and Potter had been deeply problematic from the start.
More on that later.
If you’ve managed to avoid finding out about it until now, somehow, HBO is airing the first season of a Potter remake starting December 25. Each book will be adapted into a single season of high production television, and Rowling has managed to wedge herself into the creative process.
There are, I think, two very obvious reasons this has been allowed to happen:
First, the shareholders at media conglomerate Philip Morris-Disney-Fox-AT&T-AOL-Time Warner-PepsiCo-Haliburton-Skynet-Toyota-Trader Joe’s (now known as Skydance) want to make lots and lots of money, and they believe reigniting Pottermania among a new generation of impressionable kids (and abusing nostalgia-poisoned adults) can accomplish that goal.
Second, because so many actors involved in the OG adaptation of Potter hate Rowling’s guts and have spoken out against her unhinged transphobia, Joanne simply must have a do-over featuring an entirely new cast. Perhaps this fresh set of actors will know their place! Maybe they’ll be grateful for her benevolence, and stop publicly critiquing her! Unlike those nasty children from the movies!
Of the many dozens of actors who appeared in the Potter films, only Warwick Davis is reprising his role on the silver screen, set to appear as Professor Flitwick yet again. Recently, at the Pride of Britain awards, Davis said to Press Associated: “I’m not really privy to a lot of the backlash… I will just say though, I’m a person of difference, but it would be nice if everyone could accept people who are different in this world for who they are, not for what they are.”
A pleasant sentiment from Davis, who was born with SEDc, a bone growth disorder that results in dwarfism. I agree with his statement to PA, but unfortunately, I simply cannot square that with his willingness to work with Rowling again.
Perhaps he is, in fact, unaware of Rowling’s vileness, though I find that difficult to believe. For a while, only those of us terminally online enough to see the kind of shit she “accidentally” retweeted, then quickly deleted, were aware that Rowling had pivoted her entire life towards haranguing the trans community. These days, however, Rowling’s sentiments about trans people are regularly reported on by huge news outlets. The BBC is producing a documentary about her war against the trans community, even… and I’m sure that will be factual and evenhanded.
Many of Warwick’s colleagues have publicly stated that they disagree with Rowling about trans people, too, but… they haven’t walked away from the show, have they? John Lithgow (playing Albus Dumbledore) said that he disagrees with Rowling, but also believes that her views have been misrepresented (no, they haven’t), and ultimately felt that job security for him was more important than protesting her reprehensible actions.
Nick Frost (playing Rubeus Hagrid) stated that his “opinions” do not align with Rowling’s in any way, shape, or form. He even said that, maybe, these controversies shouldn’t just “blow over.” Is he still appearing in her TV show and cashing her checks? Yeah, of course he is.
Paapa Essiedu (playing Severus Snape) signed an open letter condemning anti-trans legislation in the UK, but… well, you guessed it. He certainly isn’t walking away from a media project produced by one of the women most responsible for the virulent transphobia overtaking Britain today, is he?
You see the theme here, don’t you? It’s about complicity. Taking her money makes you complicit. Giving her your money makes you complicit. Insisting that, despite your staunch support for the trans community, you have got to participate in the new wave of Pottermania because the books or the films or the video games just mean so much to you doesn’t free you from culpability.
Here’s my personal connection to Rowling’s work: When I was very young, my mother read The Philosopher’s Stone and loved it. She introduced me to the books, too, and we read them together throughout my childhood. When they were adapted into films, we saw each and every one in theaters. It was like a second birthday, for me: We’d go out to dinner, then watch the movie together (lots of excitement, lots of joy, lots of tears), then we’d get dessert and talk for hours.
My mother died in July of last year, and I miss her every single day. Our relationship was often strained and complicated (not, surprisingly, for reasons relating to transphobia; she always accepted and loved me for who I was, whoever I was), but I loved her with all my heart. Even now, more than a year later, hearing her favorite songs brings me to tears. Some days I wonder if this bone-deep sadness can ever be overcome.
J.K. Rowling’s work was, for much of my life, a bridge between my mother and I. When she failed me—and she failed me many, many times throughout my life—we could still connect through our love of fantasy. My mother had a very hard time being a person, and escapism was a huge relief for her. In this way, we are the same, so it’s unsurprising that the stories we read together take up a lot of real estate in my heart. I’m sure they will until that heart stops beating.
Yet I have no problem disavowing everything associated with Rowling. If anything, it makes it easier: I resent her deeply for poisoning a thing that I anchored my love to. I hate her for the evil work she has done to harm my community. No, I will not be hate watching HBO’s Potter, and neither should you. I won’t breathe life into this miserable bigot’s cash cow, because I don’t want to consume art created by somebody who doesn’t believe I deserve to live a happy and unbothered life.
If you are cisgender and love trans people—any trans people—I encourage you to take the same stance, and do it loudly. John Lithgow, Nick Frost, Paapa Essiedu and Warwick Davis may not possess the courage necessary to scream in evil’s face, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to be cowards, too.
