There’s no more room for Harry Potter in my life

Harry Potter was foundational for me. I spent years in the fandom and I struggle to find the words for how important those books and movies were in shaping the person I am today. I have found friends, community, and people I consider family because of these book.

But there is no more room for Harry Potter in my life. 

J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric is not only participating in, but fueling movements geared toward the alienation, harassment, and death of trans folks. Her beliefs have a tangible and incredibly harmful effect, and I refuse to knowingly support her in any capacity. 

This is why I strongly oppose HBO’s announcement of a Harry Potter television show. The creation of such a show at this moment adds legitimacy and support to Rowling and her destructive ideology. I find such a move particularly insidious given that Daniel Radcliffe, who many see as the face of Harry Potter, has proved himself a strong ally and spoken against Rowling. In many ways this new show seeks to not only benefit Rowling financially and increase her material wealth, but also give her control over the narrative of Harry Potter. 

Many fans — including my past self — claimed that they could still love the books and movies in spite of Rowling and her rhetoric because of the community and fandom that we have built for ourselves. In my last post about Harry Potter, my stance was that fanfiction is the only Harry Potter content for me. Yet I have to admit that not even this is the case anymore. As the years have gone by, Rowling has only grown stronger in her opinions, and trans suffering has increased. Since writing that blog post two years ago, I have stopped reading fanfiction related to the series and deleted all of my own fanfics from my website, fanfiction.net, and Archive of Our Own. My fanfiction about trans Blaise Zabini is still available via Black Nerds Create.

Despite the love I once had for Harry Potter, I doubt I will ever read the books or watch the movies again. And I will not watch the Harry Potter television show. Personally, I hope it never gets made. Fans have come together to write an open letter to HBO, telling them to cancel the show — signed by not only me personally but also by The Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Podcast. I hope you’ll read it, and join me in signing to say to HBO, “No: Don’t Platform Transphobia!”