Because of Harry Potter
I understand why some Harry Potter fans are distancing themselves from the fandom. It saddens me because I Harry Potter so much.
I learned in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
I’ve said the following many times. I’ve posted it on Instagram and previous iterations of my blog. It’s very rare I don’t think about Harry Potter around July 31. I don’t always say anything, except maybe in passing, but usually I think about the books that changed my life. I normally say Stephenie Meyer’s TWILIGHT got me reading and that’s true only to a point. TWILIGHT got me reading voraciously; I wouldn’t have read TWILIGHT if Harry Potter hadn’t opened my mind to the possibility that reading could be fun. Harry Potter paved the way.
It’s because of Harry Potter I joined the Twilight Lexicon and met an awesome group of friends, some of whom I’ll be friends with my entire life. It’s because of Harry Potter I have this blog and I’ve met all my blogger friends. It’s because of Harry Potter I’m part of my IRL book club. It’s because of Harry Potter I’m friends with some of my favorite people. It’s because of Harry Potter I’ve met some of the most awesome authors around the world. And, it’s because of Harry Potter I can pick up a book and immerse myself in its story.
Happy birthday tomorrow, Harry!
What book or series catapulted your love of reading?
P.S. I know some may not agree with my viewpoint. I’m sorry if my posts about Harry Potter trigger you. It’s not my intention AND if you prefer to stop following my blog, I understand.
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Ok so here is where my issue is. My solidarity with the trans community is far more important to me than to ever speak publicly or draw attention to HP/JKR. This is triggering for trans people. Not all trans people but you have no idea who is following you who is devastated by your posts about HP. I choose to blanket never post about HP because that is the only way to not hurt ANYONE who has already been hurt by JKR’s betrayal. What I do with my HP books and previously purchased merch in my personal life is my own business but I will not glow or rave about it, bringing attention to it, possibly having some cis person start buying HP books/merch by my influence and in so doing, fuel JKR’s pockets and hatred more. I’m not here to attack you about your HP posts. I just want to show you that you could possibly be doing harm to your followers because you’re putting your nostalgia in front of their pain and maybe you haven’t looked at it that way before. If you still insist on posting about HP, you could put a large trigger warning at the top of the blog posts just like you put trigger warnings in your book reviews. Every time you make a post about HP, include HP in your Top Tuesday posts, etc. It’s just a suggestion, I enjoy your blog, but I do hate seeing HP mentioned in your posts.
Thank you for your feedback, Elyse. I appreciate your viewpoint AND I don’t participate in cancel culture. I try to put the focus of my posts with HP on HP and not JKR. (I have removed the part in my post thanking JKR for changing my life because I realized that changed the focus to her.) I think it’s okay to acknowledge problematic viewpoints and still continue to enjoy media with issues either because of content, who the actors / actresses are, or who the author is.
I’m sorry if my posts about Harry Potter are triggering. It’s not my intention AND I believe it’s not good to treat people as fragile. Let me explain what I mean. When the Amber Heard / Johnny Depp trial was in full swing, Amber Heard was labeled as someone with Borderline Personality Disorder. People then began perpetuating the stigma that all people with BPD are violent like her. It was very triggering for me. I posted about how it was triggering AND I used the skills I learned in DBT to help me cope with what was being said rather than expect people to stop talking about the trial or Amber Heard’s possible BPD.
Not only am I an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, I’m also part of it. I will continue to fight for trans rights by voting out politicians who pass bills that are harmful, I’ll continue to speak out against transphobic comments, and I’ll let others manage their own feelings because I can’t manage both mine and theirs and stay mentally healthy.
I understand if you don’t agree with my viewpoint and if you decide to stop following me on Instagram and my blog. I also understand if others stop following me because of my posts. If that helps their mental health, then they should absolutely do what they need to do.
I think it is OK to enjoy the books but disagree with the author. Her views came out a long time after I’d bought her books. What I won’t do is buy any future work or buy any other copies of her books, but I would read the ones I already own again and I will watch the films again. I don’t believe speaking about her books is standing against the trans community. Condoning her opinion would be problematic but you very clearly stated that you do not support her views.
I’m sorry but I don’t agree with the commenter above – your post title is Harry Potter. Anyone who potentially may be triggered has a responsibility to not read the post. You can’t be held responsible for how people might potentially react to every word you write. Someone may have a bad experience with DBT, does that mean you can’t share how important it is to you? I talk about my family – should I not in order to not upset the recently bereaved? To add some background I work with trans and LGBTQ+ young people, my daughter is gay, my son is bi, we love and support them both. One of our gender-fluid students dressed as a Slytherin character on world book day – I think to suggest one should never mention HP is being far too oversensitive and not actually focusing on what is important.
I guess my point is there are potential triggers in just about ANYTHING we write and so long as those pieces do not contain discriminatory views or hate speech then that is where our responsibility ends. Just like with a book, if you don’t like something… don’t read it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 💜 It’s good to feel like I’m not alone in thinking that we can be oversensitive in our desire to fight for others and lose the focus on what’s important–fighting against hate speech and laws that harm others based on their race, religion, sexuality, etc.
Great post. Something my co-librarian at my last school and I used to have a lot of discussions about was how hard it is to separate the artist and their work sometimes. He was a big fan of Sherman Alexie, but then things came out about him. I love Harry Potter and always will. It got so many kids reading and still does. I personally tried reading the Fifty Shades of Grey and the writing was so horrible, but I will always give them the credit for getting so many more readers into the romance world. I started reading very young, like 3, but the first books I remember a lot about are the Nancy Drew series.
Yes, agreed. It can be so hard to separate the artist from their work. Because of that, I don’t fault anyone who chooses not to read or talk about HP anymore. It does make me sad that a once, vibrant, and beautiful fandom has suffered as much as it has because of the situation JKR has created. 😢
I haven’t read any of the Nancy Drew series. I love the CW show, but I think it probably strays very far from the books. LOL.