If it is not related to fanfiction and fan creation, I want nothing to do with Harry Potter. I actively avoid supporting J.K. Rowling in every way I possibly can. Her power and influence is insidious, and permeates almost every aspect of my life, but I cannot abide what she has said and done.
At this point, it is a cliche to say that I am unsurprised by the actions and ideology of J.K. Rowling when it comes to trans individuals and their identities. I have lost much of my hope regarding whether or not she will come to see us as we see ourselves, and not as the grotesque caricatures that she writes about in her novels.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix used to be my least favorite book in the Harry Potter series, but as I have grown older, it has wiggled its way up to the top of the list. This book is long; at over 800 pages, it is the longest of any of the Harry Potter books, and the text is rich with details that make up a story that I have poured over many times in my life, and I continue to read and reread with care and rigor.
In many ways, Harry Potter taught me how to be. And yet, it wasn’t really the books that taught me that, was it? Because the thing is, so much of what I learned from Harry Potter, I also learned from outside Harry Potter. So many of the lessons I learned from the series were not quite things I learned from the books directly, but because I took my love of the books, and sought out others like myself.
Last Friday night I was invited to participate in what ended up being a great Twitter Chat organized by Black Girls Create to discuss critical fandom as part of their month-long #BlackWizardHistory campaign. I really enjoyed the discussion, but I realized afterward that because it was such a great back and forth, the cohesiveness of the responses I had created got a little lost, and after reading what other people had to say, there is even more that I want to say. So I’ve strung together below an archive of my responses to the questions, with a short paragraph afterwards digging a bit deeper into the experience.
There is no functional difference between UPG/ SPG and headcanon/ fanon; it is only because people perceive fandom and religion as distinct entities that they are not allowed to fully coexist. My perception is that this is because people may think that comparing religion to fandom delegitimizes religious practice, but that strikes me as nonsense and I don’t at all agree.
Fanfiction was my solace, and my rescue, and it showed me that everything was OK. It gave me happy endings, as well as one’s that weren’t so happy, and a way to explore the darkest parts of myself with no consequence. In fanfiction I found a friend and a partner in myself and in my writing, as there were no stakes, no pressure, and yet plenty of reward. Escapism, but also family, and creation.
Writing this review was a struggle, because Sorted was a very personal read for me. (I’m pretty sure I cried at least twice.) Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place is a memoir written by Jackson Bird about his experiences growing up that led directly to his inevitable transition from the gender he […]
This is a short exploratory paper I wrote for my English class in my senior year of High School, arguing for the need to read and study fiction. It has been slightly edited for clarity and punctuation, but for the most part the content is identical to what I turned in to my teacher on […]
I’ve been getting into Tarot cards lately, and I’ve always been into Harry Potter, so it is only natural that eventually I was going to combine the two. The first thing you need to understand is that when I decide to pick up a new hobby, I commit. So when I decided to take up […]
“The people you love will CHANGE you, the things you have learned will GUIDE YOU, and nothing on Earth can silence the quiet voice still INSIDE YOU.” — I Am Moana I’m at the Granger Leadership Academy this weekend, and I’m looking forward to all that I’ve got ahead of me. More to come on […]
It’s remarkably easy to get distracted. Look at me, right now, writing a blog post instead of reading Spivak. The issue isn’t that I don’t want to read Spivak. The issue is that I’ll be reading Spivak, and all of a sudden she’ll mention something about myth and then next thing you know I’m thinking […]
Talia got concussed again and She Is. Not. Amused. This time it was only a mild concussion, sparked by a few tumbles and burst into being by someone on the commuter rail who was carrying a duffel bag big enough to hide a body and, from the sensation Talia felt when it made contact with […]
No matter how many times I have to write a paper for class, there is always a point at which I sit in front of my computer, stare at my screen, watch that little line blink and wonder “how do I write a paper again?” Cue the reviewing my notes from that semester, looking over […]
The great thing about an independent study is that I get to focus on what most interests me about a given topic, and time and time again it seems that I am finding myself drawn to Harry Potter. I’ve often joked that given six degrees I can connect anything to the series thematically, and my […]