updating my philosophy on harry potter

[@talistheintrovert]

Had some weird audio issues while making this one, so I apologise to any headphone users.

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

i thought i was going cray

[@bellowingsilence]

The amusing (and sort of sad) irony is that my acceptance of trans people was greatly influenced by J.K. Rowling’s own writing. “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” That quote popped into my head when reflecting on the issue years ago, and pretty much settled it for me. And… sadly, the woman who wrote those words feels the need to be an outspoken, inflammatory transphobe and outright anti-trans activist throwing her money around on behalf of her personal agenda.

[@CorwinFound]

It's truly bizarre and ironic that Rowling would come out as extremely anti-trans given how influential her work was with the LGBT+ community. The themes of being true to who you are, found family, and beauty in otherness are core to many people's queer identity. The only thing I can think of that is equivalent is Orson Scott Card's venomous and truly repugnant homophobia. His books exemplified the idea that if you truly know and understand someone you can't help but love them and that tolerance and empathy is the greatest human trait. From a man who has literally called for violence towards "the gays." It's utterly baffling.

[@falconeshield]

And yet people could let go of Ender's Game dude but not Harry Potter. The hypocrisy is astounding

[@CorwinFound]

@@falconeshield I think there are some differences. Although Ender's Game is treated like a YA book, it's pretty borderline. This isn't a book that was read to 7 year olds. And the later books are absolutely not YA. So the comparison is one book read by 13-18+ people and seven books read to/by 7-15+ year olds. Additionally you have 8 generally well received movies that came out while the books were still being written, gigantically boosting their mainstream popularity. You have a conjunction of duration of influence, impressionability of the age group, and the wild discrepancy in just how many people read these books. I'd also add that people never liked Card. He was never lionized as a bootstrapping literary visionary with a heart of gold. Even before his homophobia was widely known he had a rep as a dick. Rowling on the other hand was considered a virtual saint. At the end of it all, more people have given up on Harry Potter due to Rowling's views and actions than have ever even read Ender's Game. (Maybe an exaggeration but not a huge one.) One niche, albeit beloved book, written by a not beloved author mostly read by youngish adults is a lot easier to give up than a previously beloved author of a series of books that quite literally shaped the childhoods of hundreds of millions of people.

[@johncolton2516]

Dumbledore also refused to accommodate Tom Riddles change of identity to Lord Voldemord. I am not sure if a blanket statement along the lines of "your thoughts matter" solves issues around self identification that well. The beauty of art is how all encompassing it can be and how it can leave us emotionally shell shocked. Finding a way to see a work of art divorced off the creator is sometimes important - thinking about the controversies around the kink of pop while he still changed music, or Hayao Miyazaki who was quite the piece of "work" at work, some say he was a tyrant, but his movies are magic.

[@CorwinFound]

@@johncolton2516 It's the old rehash of Auteur Theory vs Death of the Author. Both are valid and a nuanced approach to criticism is important. Regardless though, in Rowling's case it's not merely a matter of theory. There are practical consequences to supporting her work that in my opinion supercede analytical interest. When she's gone and no longer able to benefit we can all go to town on Auteur vs Death.

[@julesk1567]

we need to get rid of billionaires. we must tax them out of existence. no single person should have that much money to single-handedly finance political influence campaigns or buy a media platform with global reach to elevate their personally held “opinions”, no matter how wrong, misogynist, racist, antis-semitic, transphobic etc. they are.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏👏✊️✊️✊️✊️

[@wiselioness322]

Since I live in the US and have no plans on visiting terf island, I will call JK a bigot, a liar, a transphobe, and utterly evil. JK is a genocidal demon who knows exactly what she’s doing and takes sadistic joy fin the harm she inflicts.

[@paularoth4915]

THIS.

[@sillygo0oser]

They pay off our politicians. What do we even do about it?

[@leyonthemoon9891]

I wholeheartedly agree to that!!

[@amasterofone]

As a trans person who used to be THE Harry Potter person that people knew I feel this deeply. It really is like having a famous abusive ex.

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@selectedshipper8282]

As someone who was really into Harry Potter as a kid, it’s kinda painful to look back on. Harry Potter was my first fandom and I have so many good memories from it. But now… Like, I can’t even read Harry Potter fanfiction anymore. When my friends bring it up I low-key feel uncomfortable and just want to change the topic. I guess I’m too old for HP now but I still have very mixed feelings on it, especially with the new show coming out soon, god help us all

[@talistheintrovert]

🤌🤌💜

[@atinyevil1383]

I have the same feelings. The Harry Potter series were the books I learned to read with. They were the only remaining good memory of my mother that I had. And now the only good thing my mother did for me has been tainted. It hurts. It feels like a slap in the face. And that's not even the half of it.

[@atuvera9021]

Yeah, for me even silly moments like Bogart Snape wearing grandma clothes in Prisoner of Azkaban, are now forever stained by Rowling's transphobic remarks. I can see now that she was always like this.

[@angelaholmes8888]

You are not alone I haven't been able to reread the series anymore

[@catdragon2584]

You’re never too old to enjoy something you loved as a kid, but I feel you on the HP cringe. Even if you could separate the series from the author (and good luck with that), there’s just too much in the story that has only aged more poorly over time.

[@remy2718]

When she first posted that letter, I told myself, fine, I'll just stop supporting her financially, I can still enjoy the books I already own. Harry Potter was a big part of my youth as well, so I didn't want to let go of it entirely... But I just can't enjoy it anymore. As you said, it's all been tainted. I wasn't even really a fan of JKR as a person, I just loved the world she'd created, but I simply can't disconnect the two. My books have been in the back of my cupboard rather than on my bookshelf because I can't even look at them without getting upset about the fact that this major part of my childhood has been tainted. On the bright side though, at least I learned about her transphobia before getting a HP tattoo...

[@talistheintrovert]

omg exactly, I was SO lucky the pandemic hit before my first tattoo appointment, can you IMAGINE??? I have a lot of queer (and nonbinary and trans friends) with HP tattoos and it sucks so much, they're all looking to get them covered up.

[@marle102]

@@talistheintrovertI’m in the camp of people who got a hallows tattoo pre-terf era, but it’s also intertwined with native wildflowers from my home state. I’m not sure what I’ll do with this tattoo if anything, but at least it’s covered by clothing

[@ida6950]

Exactly the same for me. It just doesn’t spark joy anymore. The only HP related things I still like are Starkid‘s AVPM and Coldmirrors parodies (German YT icon✨)

[@catsrambling]

I shared a post recently about going through the 5 stages of grief with HP and "will no longer be basing part of my identity on her intellectual property!" but I will still look back on my memories related to HP with fondness. She CANNOT change those, they were never about her to begin with, mostly about the "platform" she provided for my imagination, and my friends' imagination, to run wild. It's a learning curve though, some people just live in denial - but are still not buying official merch, so good, I guess??

[@talistheintrovert]

💚❤️💙💛

[@LadySnowfaerie]

I decided years ago, that the only way I'd interact with the Wizarding World was through fanfic. No more money to JKR, no reading her books, playing the licensed games, watching the movies etc. I kind of enjoy the idea of fanfic writers slowly taking WW away from her one chapter at a time, with not a penny going to her, and rewriting it to be more inclusive.

[@BaddeGrasse]

Hey cheers, this was a rough thing to do myself as a trans guy back then, it means a lot to see more of the queer community taking this hard step

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@SamBryans128]

I really struggled when Jo came out as a terf. I still have my HP things, I still have shirts but I don't use them anymore. The last HP merch I bought was a Luna Lovegood wand for my cousin for Christmas one year. I was so excited for one of my younger cousins to turn out to be a Potterhead like me. Now we don't talk about it anymore. I don't live near my cousins but when I do see them we struggle to find anything to talk about. HP was supposed to be our bonding thing and we don't have it anymore. I didn't even see the most recent Fantastic Beasts in theaters. First WW film I refused to see. One day my mom asked me if I wanted to watch it on HBO Max. It's my mom, so I obliged. I have never not cared about a movie I was watching more than Secrets of Dumbledore. I also watched the 20th Anniversary reunion and it broke my heart in more ways than one.

[@talistheintrovert]

💛💙💚❤️

[@falconeshield]

To be rejected from her own party.....if that's not a wakeup call I don't know what. I hate how the loud boycott towards HL accidentally introduced HP to a new generation. It feels we lost them to Hogwash already.

[@queendsheena1]

Harry Potter helped me realize my queerness and aesexuality. I'm not sure where I would be today without it. But I put it aside years ago because the author's unfettered decision to be a Terf isn't something I can ignore or tolerate.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@rvnest0ne]

as a kid i was absolutely obsessed with everything harry potter, me and my brother would spend days writing down every individual spell by going thru the books so we could have fake duels out in our yard, i totally identified with my sorting hat house, i even wrote a fuck ton of drarry fanfiction (lol), but as soon as jk made her views on trans people clear, i no longer felt welcome in that space and found all the years of love i poured into hp just gone. i couldn’t bring myself to respect or care at all about this series after it’s creator had shown she clearly has no respect or care for me as a human being. these books and even the movies really helped me thru a lot of my childhood, but all my love for it has been taken away by the dangerous bullshit its creator spews (and once you start looking for her bullshit, it’s everywhere in those books, but that’s a whole different rant)

[@talistheintrovert]

✊️✊️✊️✊️✊️✊️

[@falconeshield]

Oh boy you can never unsee the fatphobia once you see it

[@rvnest0ne]

@@falconeshield the blaring antisemitism does it for me

[@ravenwolf2220]

Harry Potter was very important to me as a child. I remember running around my village with my friends role playing the characters. And going to see the last couple of films with my family in cinemas. My dad use to call us all into the living room when "Harry Potter Goes Camping" came on (Deathly Hallows P1) The other week I was chatting to dad about it. And he was saying how upset he was that he felt he was losing something that was not only important to me but also to him through those connections. But I can't say how proud I was when dad looked at me and went "But the harm Rowling has done isn't worth holding onto it." And he's absolutely right.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏

[@cactus2260]

I was never into harry potter. But i grew up listening to kanye, he was a big part of why i became christian. I used to tell ppl how he was against homophobia and how he called out george bush. But then he, like jkr, became a billionaire and came out as an undeniably evil person. And it does taint a lot of what i hear in his music, knowing how he treats women, and what he thinks of jewish people, and thst he has dinner with trump and nick fuentes. I just havent even listened to any of the new music because it just doesnt feel like the same guy i used to listen to.

[@talistheintrovert]

I'm sorry you have to deal with that, I empathise a lot ❤️❤️

[@angelaholmes8888]

I understand I use to been a fan of kanye but once I found out how evil he really is I lost my respect for him no longer a fan

[@Merdragoon]

When the whole Harry Potter Legancy game came out, I remember that's when a lot more context came out of overall issues. Such as the Goblins were created using the Jewish Sterotypes and even one of the things the Goblins do are based on a particular ritual that people accuse the Jews do even though it's a bit more complicated, It also came out even more so about the actual tweet that specificly had JKR saying "If you are buying Harry Potter Merch, you're agreeing with my views." Word for word. (by a DnD KZbinr actually weirdly enough and that whole community is going through issues themselves thanks to the OGL debocal and other issues. Supergeek Mike's Video "How Creators Become their Villians" is where I was brought to attention to this if you are curious. It's actually a really good video that dedicates discussions about the "artist vs the creation" conversation.) And coming to terms being Agender-Fem Fluid Demisexual/Asexual, it's hard to realize that one of the authors you look up to would see you as an abomination to women kind since you were born a woman. It's hard to realize that... even in her own hp world there is so many micro prejudices within things. Such as Nagini being the ONLY Korean woman through out the Fantastic Beast charaters and she turns into the god damn snake that belongs to Voldemort. She talks about Skinwalkers in the ilvery concept without actually doing the research of how the Native Americans view or even how America would even handle their schools (vastly different from the UK). These smaller details make me view the books in a very different light because that means she ment for those moments be hinted within the origonal books, but you end up blissfully not see them because we didn't know this is how she actually felt. I have not touched the origonal books for years, I would actually grab books I've read before and reread them... but it's hard to let go becuse those were books that my very catholic grandmother would listen too when she got sick and we enjoyed them together. We bonded over the story. But yet I can't bring myself to even open their pages again because I know the truth on how JKR actually feels. Be gentle on yourself as you process this new philiophy because it's not easy. Hell you're doing far better then me as you actually put them in a box. I have yet to get that far. But I do not buy anything else that is HP related nor shut down anyone who want to speak their mind about their issues with it. At least I've accepted that much and proud for it.

[@duncandownham4726]

This is heartbreaking to watch, my condolences on some clearly rough timea. The rise in Trans hate crime has been on my mind a bit lately, it's certainly something to consider, take care all and thanks for the vid.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@carpevinum8645]

My daughter picked up mine and my brithers love for HP. She has most of our remainingcmerch now. We've each kept a couple of sentimental things (special presents). She asked if I could read her the books. I tried. I couldn’t. We're a few series into the Riordan verse now, so that's nice. But not the same as it was.

[@literaterose6731]

For what it’s worth, I can recommend a couple of series that your daughter (and you!) would likely really enjoy reading together, both favorites of my family (me, my kids and my grandkids!): First and foremost, The Prydain Chronicles (5 books) by Lloyd Alexander. They’re loosely based on the ancient Welsh legends of the Mabinogion, and are marvelous, adventurous, warm and exciting, with plenty of danger, grief, joy and wonder along the way. They’re centered around an adolescent boy’s journey into adulthood, and the group of close companions he forms along the way. They’re easily my family’s favorite books, and many others as well. Alexander was quite ahead of his time in the way he writes about relationships and ideas, and his books are largely free of many of the toxic elements JK sadly seemed unable to resist in her opus. He was such a admirable, remarkable person that when I chose a new name, I decided to honor him by choosing Lloyd! There’s also the Wise Child books by Monica Furlong, set in very early Middle Ages British Isles, full of magic and intensity and thoughtfulness. They’re really gripping; I just got them on audio and have been unable to stop listening even though I’ve read them many times before. (Both series are available as audiobooks, wonderfully read, as well as in print, just fyi) Anyway, hope these are helpful as you look for alternative series to read with your kid. Happy reading!

[@carpevinum8645]

@literaterose6731 thank you 😊 One's you may enjoy are the quartets by Tamora Pierce. She created a couple of brilliant universes.

[@escritora84]

The 5 stages of grief with Harry Potter has been long, conflicting and difficult - it was my first official fandom, and the first thing that my family all collectively bonded over. Funny enough, most of the things I loved about Harry Potter didn't come from Rowling herself, but through other creatives in the fandom (ie John Williams, the Starkid musicals, HP Puppet Pals, RP sites).. She can't take those memories away from me. Still, her involvement in demonizing trans people made it clear that I can't engage with the franchise anymore. She is a legitimate threat to trans and nonbinary lives. It's no longer about some goofy out of touch woman having questionable opinions. Her power and influence are only escalating this situation and I gleefully await the day she passes this mortal coil and gets tossed into the 7th circle of hell where she belongs.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@ArrowOdenn]

This was a thought-provoking listen. I enjoyed the Harry Potter books and films. I've been subscribing to the "death of the author" notion, whereby I can detach HP from JKR and her political views so that I can still reread the HP novels from time to time... which I know is a cop out. But I won't be reading any of her further books or watching anymore Fantastic Beasts movies (which seem to be dead in the water anyway). I have a Quidditch jumper which I am now uncomfortable wearing in public, so I hate to think how difficult it must feel for those with HP-related tattoos. MAYBE she will see the error of her ways someday and rebuild her brand... I hope she will. But I doubt it. On the one hand I wish she had never said anything about her views on gender. On the other I don't think I have the right to tell anyone, especially a woman, not a express an opinion. Ugh, I want to bury my head in the sand and ignore all the problematic stuff and just enjoy media like I did when I was a child...

[@BettyColclough]

Sending so much love and light to you, I'm so sorry something you loved so much has been tainted. You, and so many others, deserve so much better from the authors you love! Thank you for speaking so eloquently on this topic, I agree with you completely and want to share this video with everyone!

[@lilpetz500]

Thankyou so much for adding your unique experience to this important discussion. I havent consumed anything supportive of the franchise for a very long time, but feel this insatiable need to learn as much as I can about the many aspects of harm from the franchise, consume every video essay, read every thread. And I feel like its because it's just such a big concept to process, that such a widely loved and comforting series for a generation that loved the fantasy of being taken somewhere where they are important and loved, by a woman praised as a feminist and a rare generous billionaire that came from little, can hurt so many communities in many aspects of the franchise and her influence. It's this disbelief, this complete flip of my perception, and this feeling of needing to be careful to be as educated and analytical as I can about all media from now on. Because I don't want to go through the experience of unravelling my ties to something my inner child loves because I can't unsee the moments of bigotry infused in it anymore. I wasnt the biggest into the franchise, but Luna was a comfort character, she felt incredibly ND coded in a way that felt like a mirror of myself. As was Hermione as kind of a role model as a kid, a relatably academic and empathetic young girl, except with the confidence to speak up that I wanted to emulate. As much as Hermione was JK's favourite character, I do wonder if that same advocate, who a sa young teen started an anti-slavery protest group until a fantasy lore reason had to be written in to dismantle it, would be one of the loudest advocates against her today.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@zljmbo]

I relate to your feelings greatly here, HP meant so much to me too. It was the frst book I started reading that wasn't related with school when I was 11, and it was a reason I started going in the library, where I found mythology books and afterward realized I believe in magic-based system. So with a long reach that terf influenced me to become a pagan. hogwarts was also my happy place where I would dissociate when things were tough. It was super hard processing all these emotions but I would recommend everyone to watch Lily Simpson 10-hour long video called "Brief look at Harry Potter" and it is great destruction of something you may hold sacred before. really, nothing of true value has been lost here

[@talistheintrovert]

that's such a brilliant video, I endorse this message!!

[@pheebo42]

This is the perfect explanation of how I’ve been feeling. Thank you ❤

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@tikimillie]

Time to move on to “Trans Wizard Harriet Porber and the Bad Boy Parasaurolophus”

[@talistheintrovert]

OH HELL YEAH, TINGLE FOR LIFE BABEYYYY

[@quackinton]

i’ve kind of fallen off of harry potter, probably because i’ve grown older since i’ve read the books and i kinda grew out of it, im not planning on going back, probably because it won’t be very interesting to me XD (i’m working on lord of the rings rn lmao) so yeah, i don’t like jk, im a trans woman and the stuff she says about people like me are very hurtful, and i agree that your love of harry potter is YOURS and not hers, that’s a great way to put it!!

[@quackinton]

(quick funny tidbit: we had to do a project in middle school about a “good virtuous person” and i did jk rowling XD i was in 6th grade ok i didn’t know what trans people even were lmao)

[@electronics-girl]

If you need another adult fantasy series, I recommend The Dresden Files.

[@faeriegraver]

I was homeless for just over two decades. I think it was last Christmas but it might have been the one before, but there was this really nice older woman, who always used to buy be vouchers for hot drinks. For Christmas she gave me a pile of gifts. I could tell one was a book. I was excited, so I saved it to unwrap last. It was "Troubled Blood" in hardcover. I had no idea what to do with it. I wouldn't donate it to a charity shop. I didn't want to read it. I'd heard enough about the blatant transphobia. So I still have it, and I've settled on wanting to turn it into a piece of art. I haven't got a concrete idea in mind yet. But I'd like to turn it into a sculpture, collage, paper cuts, or some other kind of mixed media piece. The only thing I know for sure is I want it to be explicitly against transphobia. Any people with ideas? I'd love to hear them.

[@artvandelay6711]

itsdivya made a video of ways to use old problematic youtuber books maybe you could get some ideas from there. One idea she had was to write blackout poety.

[@faeriegraver]

@@artvandelay6711 thanks I will definitely go check it out. Appreciate it.

[@awesmazingable]

I would like to deeply thank you for making this video. As a trans person in 2023 it's been very difficult to get used to the idea that the world doesn't care about you. That books and a damn video game are more important than peoples lives. So thank you so much for expressing the importance of empathy and compassion towards others. Giving up something you love so deeply is a very difficult thing to do, I understand why people struggle to give up Harry Potter. But nothing can change and nothing will get better until we all stand up for each other and do the difficult things. So again, thank you so much for doing the difficult thing 💚💚.

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@fivesilvercoins]

Oh, boy. For the last six years (time flies) I've been in the process of breaking off and recontextualising a lot of bad and/or regrettable relationships from my past, and the JKR trash fire landed in the middle of that. I read the first book in '98 as a young child, and was immediately hooked. A lot of millennials like me talk about 'growing up alongside' the golden trio, and that's exactly what it felt like. Saying the books were formative for me feels like an understatement. I've been writing fiction for as long as I've been able to write, and I can't say it started with HP exactly, but Philosopher's Stone was still the first 'real' novel I got through on my own. I found so much joy and comfort in that world throughout my childhood and young adulthood, in a way I can only really compare to the sense of safety and belonging the LGBT+ community fills me with. I genuinely don't know how to disentangle HP from my sense of self. It's like it was woven into me from the start. When the last book came out, I started the habit of re-reading the entire series once a year. Every time I did, I was able to read it more critically, and picked up on so many things that either went over my head as a child, or that I had previously decided to just ignore because I didn't know how to address what felt off about it. It felt like a healthy thing to do with an ageing piece of media. I was only ever vaguely aware of JKR spiralling out of control on twitter at the time, because I tend to only engage with social media in very controlled ways. But when I found out she had outed herself as a full-on transphobe, it felt comparable to when I realised I would never again be able to trust my own mother. I can safely say I’m never spending money on anything HP related ever again. The thought of supporting her in any way makes me feel nauseous even three years later. I haven’t been able to re-read the books since either, and even though I feel like I should be okay with that, it feels like shit, if I’m honest. The books left a hole in my life that I’m not sure how to fill except with fanfiction. As a coping mechanism when JKR dropped her article, I went looking for HP fanfics featuring trans characters. Long story short, I fell down the Marauders' Era rabbit hole. Since there is so little confirmed canon attached, the community has basically been collectively shaping what is treated as ‘canon’. It got me back into writing fanfics, which after over a decade of clinical depression and CPTSD eroding away my creativity, I really needed. And, it allows me to spend time in the HP fandom in a way that feels mostly removed from JKR. At least I can feel like I have agency over it if I’m the one writing. I may one day decide to cut out HP altogether, but for now, this is where I’ve drawn the line in the sand for myself.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️💛💚💙

[@sarahloomis2034]

I finally donated my HP books last year. I had been holding on to them telling myself my son might want to read them one day. But if that happens theres the library and thrift stores. And he might not want to at all. That might be for the best. After all theres a lot of other books our there that i want to share with him without the baggage that JKR has created

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏👏

[@Luc.Hewett]

Harry Potter was one of my biggest autistic special interests for 18 odd years but them moment the Rita Skita wanna be posted the first transphobic tweet I felt all love for the series disappear in an instant but that doesn't mean I haven't still been greaving what I lost and constantly HORRIFIED by the things she has been tweeting such as the recent like about "the taliban know what a real woman is" it just feels shit to know someone you used to like is *such* a terrible person

[@talistheintrovert]

GOD LITERALLY 👏👏👏

[@RedSpade37]

She said WHAT?

[@Luc.Hewett]

@@RedSpade37 she didn't say it but she liked a tweet from someone who did 💀

[@ghost8974]

i’ve had such a complicated relationship w harry potter. i too, worshipped it as a child. it brought me so much joy. and as a transmasc person, i refuse to let joanne stop me from enjoying it. i still watch the movies, i will still read the books, i won’t support her financially but i cannot let this part of me go. it was my entire life from age 4 to about 14 (i’m 18 now).

[@scrollandsurf]

I'd argue that buying from Amazon or Shein fits in the "no ethical consumption under capitalism" since you can buy things from Amazon that are not available in your city or country (and buy without an outrageous shipping fee) or buy new clothes from shein since there aren't clothes that you like or fit you in thrift stores (my first pair of highrise jeans are from shein and to this day, I haven't found a single highrise jean while thrifting, and I don't have the money to fix every pair of pants that I buy). But you can't say the same thing about HP cause there are a million books in the world, a million stories, and a million stories about magic, heck I'd argue the are a shitton about magic schools. HP is not a necessity and you can easily replace it with another story (speaking in terms of consumption, I know the reason non-terf folks keep buying is because it has emotional value to them and they can't really replace those memories with another book)

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏👏

[@auxin903]

I actually do think that more folks need to buy other magical stories and make new memories and traditions. Its taking the "comfortable" route to just keep peddling to yourself the same nostalgia instead of doing the work to foster new momements and new connections. And it is so so So Painful to realize that "comfort" comes willingly at the expense of trans people.

[@dylanthompson5421]

Also, to end on a positive note: pink hair so slay 💅🏻

[@talistheintrovert]

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

'but as long as he doesn't go out and attack people' - that isn't very long. Therein lies the problem.

[@Octobris]

It's sort of unvelievable how she brought joy to literal millions of children - some of them not being able to get joy from anything else - and then, somehow, managed to crush them all. Millions.

[@karinkeeble1993]

You state your ideas so clearly. Very helpful . Thank you!

[@Zapporah85]

I'm cis, but even apart from not wanting to support Joanne further, seeing HP stuff just makes me sad now. And if it doesn't bring joy, throw it out. The only things I've kept are a Hedwig plush that I wanted so badly in 2017, and a SlytherClaw scarf a friend of mine knitted the same year. The scarf is going to be adorned with pro-trans and LGBT patches before it's ever allowed outside the house again.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜

[@Elly-z7q]

i loved hp as a child but now it is backlisted in everything (obiligitory fuck pinterest and youtube as they don't have these features) i have a lot of hp articles and I have no idea where they are when i find them i move it to the side and they will all end up being shredded probably god the new show is going to be horrible and I feel for the kids who end up being dragged into it

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️💚💙💛

[@queendsheena1]

I've had to get things via Amazon not just out of convenience or price. But also because the service I use to get packages have made it more difficult to get Non-Amazon products. But if I can get something from another place without flying to the moon. I will.

[@RedBanana_]

Honestly, it frustrates me how my autism genuinely prevents me from even thinking about Harry Potter in a positive way without feeling slightly sick. It was a major special interest of mine for *years* (like, I was actively known as “that kid who knows the Tale of The Three Brothers from The Tales of Beedle the Bard word for word” by a few teachers when I was like 10-11), I would obsessively read the books, and watch the films, and watch the behind the scenes clips, and the bloopers - I loved it. Now, however, as someone who doesn’t exactly fit the gender binary, as I’ve already said, I can’t even think of the series in a non-critical way. 　It’s very much a “thank you for creating Hermione, she got me through one of the worst years of my life. But, that doesn’t erase the pain and damage caused by your actions.” to JK Rowling. 　　- - 　On the bright side, I now have Young Royals to get me through everything, and I love that series and everyone who worked on it.

[@satunbreeze]

I agree with you saying it isnt like leaving an ex abuser. The reason why is because so many people who are completely unrelated to her and her series are being affected, myself included. I never really cared for the harry potter series, and Ive gotten to the point where I just really dont want to even hear about it anymore. I cringe when the name or characters or anything related to them is brought up, and it kinda makes me ill at ease when I meet someone who is an overt fan. I KNOW that that doesnt automatically mean that theyre transphobic, but I cant help but be wary. Ive had to learn to be wary of people and the symbols they carry around. Ive been kind of avoiding watching this video despite having this video pop into my recommended videos on the side-bar, but I appreciate you speaking on this anyway. Ive seen many of your videos at this point and though I havent finished the video yet, I trust you

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏

[@makingpixierose]

I just moved and i got to the box of Harry Potter stuff and i just.... shut it. I genuinely don't know what to do with the collection [and it is a collection, not just the 7 books of the series]

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜

[@dylanthompson5421]

When I saw this in my subscription box, I was honestly apprehensive about watching just because of how much I try to avoid talking about the franchise as much as possible. Once I start ranting, I struggle to stop, so I often find it’s best to not even bother 😭 but you articulated your points so clearly and concisely, and I’m glad I watched.

[@talistheintrovert]

it took me months to finish this video because I kept getting so annoyed and upset I couldn't write coherently, so I feel that

[@dylanthompson5421]

@@talistheintrovert I’m so glad you finished it and released it!

[@enurii]

I hate JK so much but I don’t know how to let go of Harry Potter, it’s literally always been in my life every book I read growing up, I’ve seen every movie played every game it’s a comfort. I don’t talk about it out loud anymore though aside from people I know I can trust

[@talistheintrovert]

💛💙❤️💚

[@rossmorton7002]

You should read the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne-Jones (the author of Howl's Moving Castle), a story about young orphans discovering magical powers that pre-dates Harry Potter by 20 years.

[@Call-me-Al]

There are a lot of good trans and trans-inclusive fanfics. JK's works have repeatedly been used to make a world where being transgender is no big deal and nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong with keeping your stuff because of the good things they represent for you. They're a lot more to you than what JK intended them to be, and you probably took "the wrong" lessons from the world by JK's standards (like tolerance, inclusivity, and so on) like many others did in your shoes.

[@burpingcricket]

It is such a weird thing that those books were a comfort to me when I was a child struggling with dysphoria and the feeling of not fitting in. Even as I got older and started to look at the books critically and saw the troubling stuff, I could still enjoy them for the good as long as I acknowledged the bad. I felt that the hp-community was a pretty safe and accepting space. It gave me hope. But then she broke it. I miss it. I miss the hope.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜

[@TeagueChrystie]

Fantastic as always. Old video was brilliant too.

[@sarahwatts7152]

It's so insidious that a person we trusted to show us how to do empathy...needs truckloads of practice at it. I'm glad I did my HP phase when I was much younger so that her massive change of public presence didn't steamroller my emotions

[@sleeveharveyoswald5473]

This made me tear up a little ngl Thank you for sharing. I really admire your bravery ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[@mirandaw7214]

could not agree more with everything

[@talistheintrovert]

love you so muuuuch ❤️❤️❤️

[@pipermckoon8637]

I can’t wait until JKR kicks the bucket. Once I know my money isn’t going to her, I’ll feel better about consuming Harry Potter, which was an integral part of my childhood and who I am as a person. I’ve discussed it with the trans people in my life (who were also raised on HP) about it and I think that’s the the closest I’m ever going to get. But until then my things will stay in the closet and I will wait patiently.

[@talistheintrovert]

I totally get this approach!!

[@Karishma_Unspecified]

I genuinely appreciate that you mention "not understanding" is different from "not respecting". I'm never gonna get non-binary identity and trans identity. But who fucking cares - I also don't get how most cis people work! People have the right to exist in ways that make sense to them - I will respect it, vote for their right to keep doing it, and do my best to *try* to understand. A person's existence should not be a question of politics.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@dragontears]

Listen, I'm at the point where not only have I dropped Joanne, but I'm dropping content creators that can't let go of Joanne. At this point it's like if you can't accept the verbally violent bigot is going around being a bigot using her HP-bought platform to hurt trans people, Im not going to support you.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏

[@hyenaedits3460]

Listening to this staring at the owl plush i got when my mom surprised us with a trip to universal studios. She went all out. Each of us kids got an owl and an acceptance letter and even a little treasure chest with travel stuff. That trip is one of my happiest memories. I named the owl Henrietta and it had a place of honor in my plush collection. Im still not sure what i want to do, with the plush and with the memories. Im genderqueer and many of my friends are trans. While i can somewhat mask as cis, there are people in my life who dont have that privilege. Everything thats going on in the world right now is unconscionable, and jk and her work have become a sign of support for fascists. Now i cant stop seeing the red flags that were present from the very first book. Henrietta is going in a box and might be going to goodwill.

[@RedMagius]

I fell out of love with HP when the final book came out [I stopped reading when she killed Hedwig and never continued passed that point], so I had already let go well before all of this started. I cannot imagine how difficult this has been for young people who grew up with this series, people who have made HP a part of their lives for well over a decade now, but this is a harsh lesson to learn. Sometimes, you have to let go. It's painful, and it doesn't happen all at once, and you feel something inside you is missing. But the nice thing about making space is that, in time, you can fill it with something new.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@huh-tk9iv]

thank you for this video, the vulnerability, the sharing of terrifying but very important to know stats, very good analogy and everything. being a trans man is hella scary and its always nice to know that a creator you like is trans-supportive! i was a harry potter kid (also cried at the hp studios) but i fully stopped engaging with anything hp when jk released her statements. as a nd trans man her statement was so so cruel (the ableism and transphobia) and i could not look at anything hp again. it still makes me uncomfy to this day. i know that every hp fan is not transphobic, i do. but discerning who is and who isnt, who i am safe around and who i am not can be exhausting, so sometimes that is a line i put up. maybe that's wrong, i don't know. also i fully agree comrade, fuck kier starmer also completely off-topic but i am forever indebted to you introducing me to not me, what a fantastic show.

[@talistheintrovert]

I hope we as queer people can keep finding stories and media that DO represent us and care about us the way we deserve!! 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@braincabbage]

I'm the same. I didn't want to let go at first but at this point I can't see it innocently anymore. Harry Potter has long ago ceased to give me any pleasure, and I'm slowly getting rid of my collection as it's not giving me joy anymore. It's shocking how much money I sank into this, too. I have the full set of books in five languages, plus illustrated editions, special editions, books about the films, the screenplay, the Fantastic beasts stuff, and merch. Literally so much has gone into this and now all of it makes me feel dirty and sad.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏

[@clarasundqvist6013]

I don't think I'll ever have an experience like walking into the castle room at Harry Potter Studios. I wasn't prepared for it at all, and the genuine euphoria I felt walking through the room I haven't experienced again. I'm so angry at Joanne for choosing to go down this path, because I cannot in good faith consume any Potter media anymore. I'm a lot like you, Harry Potter was what got me into nerd culture and has shaped so much of my personality as an adult, so having to let it go is painful. But continuing to consume it just isn't an option anymore, so all you can do is watch as Joanne keeps digging her own grave

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@oldaccount90909]

Understand all of this. When jk posted her first questionable tweets, we didnt know if she was a terf or just ignorant and stating problematic things. But over time its become apparent that she is a terf unapologetically and uses her billionaire money to make people suffer. I used to be in the camp of still engaging with the fandom but not buying official merch or watching the movies. But now Ive been drifting away from it entirely. Fandom raised me and gave me the support when I needed it most. I still care about the people there, but HP feels different now. Disingenuous. Its this giant entity that leeches off my most vulnerable years and childhood nostalgia, exploiting my need to escape into something that feels like home for profit. Hogwarts doesn't feel like home anymore. Like its a place that maybe used to exist for me as a scared 8 year old who needed love and acceptance, but its gone now and has actually been gone a long time. The money the franchise makes goes toward oppressive legislation and a narcissistic billionaire who couldn't have just been satisfied with just being rich. Not to mention the sheer amount of junk merchandise thats not really the kind of quality items people want to collect-- it'll just be more trash in landfills in a few years. There's nothing really left for me now, and yeah, youre right, its time to graduate.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏👏

[@auxin903]

🎉🎉🎉

[@cristinaacosta8938]

Hey, excellent video, been wrestling with this one for a while now and I figured I might as well share this here. I'm trans, specifically agender, and I've not been able to transition since I'm still not financially independent or out of my house to do so. I wanted to air some dirty laundry because I've been feeling like a coward lately, like I betrayed someone. I have cut of Harry Potter almost in its entirety ever since I caught wind on JK's views on trans people, and I wasn't planning on playing the game. However, my cousin is still a big fan and I haven't found it in me to to express the fact that I no longer support Harry Potter and anything that comes out of that franchise. Because of this, I was dragged by him into playing the game. I could've said no, mind you, at least I think so, but I didn't, mostly because I felt like I didn't have a decent excuse to pair with my refusal to play it. And I did feel dirty, because it was important to me to keep my word, but apparently not enough when it came down to it with my family. Aside from that, I think I've done a pretty good job of stating my dislike whenever I talk to my parents and other friends, so I think I might have the conversation with my cousin at some point. A lot of our close relationship revolves around Harry Potter so that's gonna be fun to navigate. I'm sorry to put this one here, I just wanted to express something that I kind of have been repressing. I find your video to be a lot of confort to me, and I thank you for releasing it. Hope everyone is having a good day and know that you are loved 💜

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@VioletSadi]

I learnt to knit with house scarves, but I'll never look at this again, since I'm and my community are being let down and the books have become a kind of amplifying force

[@schboove2668]

My “love” of Harry Potter belongs to John Williams. And John Williams has a lot of other, arguably better, scores. Besides, I grew up in an evangelical household - so I have far more nostalgia for Narnia then some generic wizard hero kid.

[@sjbeard2941]

Thank you for going there and saying it. It is such powerful allyship!

[@gracekinsley3142]

Thank you for the great video essay. This happy trans woman appreciates your care and understanding, and I agree with what you said about how our important relations of the past often find new meaning or heartbreak as we mature

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@jakewaitart9507]

I used to be the biggest fucking HP fan. It was one of the few things that got me through the depression of being gay, closeted, and in denial throughout my entire childhood. I knew every detail of every book, my friends and I would have in depth conversations about the lore and headcanons. I wrote and read fanfiction, I illustrated the characters, I drew out plans for a whole leg sleeve tattoo, took my younger brother to the theme park in hollywood when it opened and I think I cried like 4 times that day. We each got the wands of the characters that died that hit us the hardest (I got Fred's and he got Sirius'). I had a dedicated shelf on my bookcase for the series and my wand and house flag and I was in the middle of knitting a scarf when all this shit started. Now I'm just thankful that I was too fucking broke to get that tattoo. I dropped a lot of my shit at goodwill, the rest is in boxes I rarely open, and any time the subject comes up I just shut down. I went back to universal recently with my family and we walked through, even went on the main ride, and it was just so fucking sad. A thing that was supposed to be magically and beautiful and that got me through hard times and inspired my career goals of fantasy writing and illustration is just completely tainted because of her bigotry. And like you said it would be one thing if you could separate her from it, but even just engaging in the community and not buying anything that would give her money is going to contribute to the lifespan of that community and will generate her more income and influence. The only thing I haven't been able to let go of yet are my physical copies, most of which I didn't even buy, and some are the original copies I read in like 2nd grade because my elementary school closed, and Fred's wand. I hold on to them in the hope she finds reality and apologizes for the harm she's caused. But I've found solace in other series, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell was jokingly supposed to be a parody of HP and is one of my favorite series I've ever read now. The Lightning Struck Heart by TJ Klune has taken over my top spot though. It's not for everyone because it's extremely extra and explicit, but its a beautiful fantasy series where homophobia and transphobia are nonexistent, with magic and dragons and my favorite love story ever. Reminders of that part of my life are painful but life moves on.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜💜💜

[@Whimorbood]

I was never connected to HP universe (i liked the fanmade a very potter musical) thats why it was so hard for me to understand why someone would choose a book searies or games over real people. People said that this searies taught them that friendship and love is important which i couldnt understand because if they didnt know it was important by age of reading these books then its kinda strange. You learn these things from baby books. Other people were talking how they were bullied and that Hogwarts gave them safe space they needed. So what i understood after that is that people miss that feeling of safety when they were kids and could just throw themselves into a that world. The thing is that i didnt understand the holding onto it all part. Maybe its because im neurodivergent, but i couldnt understand why someone would hold onto things that are so tightly tied together with an author that is using their platform to do bad things. Didnt she try to see if she would be as popular if she wrote a book not under her own name and it totally blew? (besides the fact that her male writing persona is after a conversion therapy guy?) Also the thing its that there are authors that made mistakes or lacked certain knowledge but tried to truly repent (like Neil Gaiman). As someone who read books a lot as a kid (i was a very slow reader but i would read harder stuff) i was putting HP on the side for the longest time, i thought i gotta get in the good mindset or get ready to have my mind blown by genius of writing (and since i was a slow reader i carefully would choose what i read) when i picked up HP for the first time i was just... so dissapointed? i think i stopped reading at GOF cos i just couldnt go any longer, i was too distracted by logical plot holes or weird undertones (names that were first thing that came to mind of a white british woman that isnt doing much research etc). Its not even that theres anything bad with liking simple/not "classical" things of course. I dont know maybe the hype for it completely missed me and it missed these crutial age whenever someone would get sucked into these things (which i dont have a struggle with regarding other books or tv shows targeted for teenagers but could be potentially liked by adults too). Im not trying to point fingers at anybody im just so tired. Its all just such a mess.

[@talistheintrovert]

as a neurodivergent person, surely you can understand people's attachments to hyperfixations though? I understand that you would never hold onto something if you found out something negative about it, but not everybody's brain is the same. It took me a long time to let go of it because it dominated so much of my life for so long, but I did eventually let go. some people might still not be able to, and it's hard to be compassionate of that, but it's important to try 💜

[@Whimorbood]

@@talistheintrovert im not talking about neurodivergent people, because its much harder to change hiperfixations but what i meant mostly was people who arent nd and just care about their comfort more than i about lives from my community (theres a different thats my want and thats my need for example safety and healthcare or lack of it) it is hard but if my loved one isnt doing well i wont cling onto something that can be found somewhere else f.e. in other media its just the same now with strikes that some people are thinking only about themselves and "what about my endless stream of content?" while there are more important things like yeah do whatever you want but dont expect people to stay, like you said sorry for rambling hope this comment clarifies my thought process, gotta work on that

[@ni7484]

As someone whose kid has cut off contact, the parts about your dad hurt. But I’m putting that aside to love the rest of what you said. And for those about to give me hate and say I deserved it, just stop. You don’t know me or the situation.

[@talistheintrovert]

please try not to project your own feelings about your relationship with your child onto me. My father was incredibly abusive and damaged me permanently, and my decision to cut him off was made after a lot of therapy and consideration, and is the healthiest decision for me.

[@ni7484]

@@talistheintrovert one can’t help but project. I showed no hate to you, merely expressed the pain of being on the other side of it. I never said you weren’t justified or that I have anything in common with your father, who I don’t know. I’m only expressing my side. It makes me sad. I’m not projecting. I’d call it, upon reflection, being triggered, which is different for us all, isn’t it?

[@justdont-et9ed]

Amazing video queen 💗😚

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩵🩵🩵

[@AmAppleton]

One thing I have pointed out to cis het people who will only get behind something if it affects them is to point out that transphobia affects cis women are affected by transphobia too - if they don't look conventionally female they might get challenged and physically harassed going into the ladies loos, for example. And it sucks that there are people out there with that lack of empathy and this is what it can take to get through to them

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏

[@YuesWoman]

Me too. I just can’t bring myself to look at those books anymore because my dislike and disappointment in JK Rowling is so strong.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@Alikeablepeach]

Why is everything you say just so spot on

[@witchcharming792]

I was never really into the fandom as a child but my older sister and aunt were. My knowledge of harry potter was mostly from catching a few scenes of the movies and this one author who wrote really good crossovers between a fandom i was in and harry potter, but then people started talking about jkr being transphobic. Since i didn’t really care that much about harry potter, it was easy for me to seprate myself from it. Then i found out i was trans and it became very personal whenever i heard anyone talk about harry potter. I was and still am so anrgy at how someone who was so beloved and so influencial could be so dismissive and hateful towards people like me. Now whenever i talk to my sister or my aunt, its always in the back of my head, the idea that they would follow a similar ideology to their beloved author. That author who wrote those crossovers discontinued their hp works (saying “i tried playing in a sandbox but the smell of cat piss got to me” which is iconic and i love them for that). I have been dipping my toes on the surface of the harry potter fandom and how fic authors kill the creator and there’s a lot of fun concepts and im enjoying the fics. I’ve of the opinion that since fics don’t give money to just kidding rowling, theyre free game.I don’t think i could stomach reading the books or watching the movies though even if i do pirate them. The original creator will always loom in the back of my mind if i ever try, at least with fics i could focus on the additions the author put in rather than whatever world john katherine rowling (or whatever her name is) created.

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@saradeer8620]

I can relate to this to some degree, although not with the same central idea. I devour books. So I read HP as a young teen, seeing it being advertised so much. I'm lucky that it wasn't as big of a foundation for my youth and so even before I was aware of all these issues associated with it, it has been easy for me to let it go. But I that isn't to say that I haven't come across something similar. If you've watched Word of Honor, you'll know that for the restrictions it needs to conform to, it was brilliantly done. I LOVED THAT SERIES. I rewatched it 3 times in a row. I was impressed by the acting and started looking up the actors. Unfortunately, I came across the scandal between the 2 MCs. Just the scandal itself cost one actor almost their entire career. I have no idea who did what with which intentions. But it was clear that the scandal had severe consequences for one and not the other. An expression of empathy from one could've healed a lot, but I never came across one. It made my feelings of something I really enjoyed and was impressed by really take a nosedive. I still can't watch it without feeling frustration and hurt. Anytime I see the thumbnail of the series, those feelings pop up again. It has engendered a huge dislike for something I enjoyed and would've always enjoyed had I been unaware of this. I really can't watch that show anymore. And it hurts that something outside the sphere of relevance to the show itself (still relevant because the people involved but that's it) can influence how I feel about it so strongly. It's like finding a very nice person whom you could be really good friends with and then discover that they buy rabbits just to hurt them. No matter everything else, you just can't overlook that fact and see them the same way again.

[@talistheintrovert]

similarly, I love word of honor and have managed to compartmentalise that the way you have with HP

[@saradeer8620]

I'm glad you're still able to enjoy that show. It really was brilliantly done. Maybe at some point in the future, I'll not be so affected by outside factors and can watch it again with fresh eyes. I can only hope. Thank you for your reply!

[@JZBeasty]

Honestly, personally I wish I didn’t fall in love with the series so hard as a kid. I read the books so many times that they became almost engrained in my memory. My connection based ADHD memory that is constantly forced to recall stuff from the series due to random connections and reminders. She did retroactively taint my childhood because I can’t separate it. I can’t separate the good memories from the looming monster that is the author.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜💜

[@SarastistheSerpent]

To be honest, I bought Hogwarts legacy and played it, and I’m feeling major buyer’s remorse for it now. Like you, I deeply love Harry Potter. It shaped me more than anything else in my life and Rowling was an inspiration to me once. I even met her when I was 12. But I can’t sit by and watch trans people get hurt. My feelings for the series matter, but they don’t matter more than the lives of trans people lost because of this rhetoric.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜💜

[@paularoth4915]

Haven't watched the video yet so I'm not sure if you're mentioning it, BUT Rowling is also EXTREMELY fatphobic in the Harry Potter books. And I feel like she herself hates women and thinks young girls are shallow, seen in The Chamber of Secrets when every single female in existence is a sucker for Lockhard and every male in existence makes fun of them for it (it would have been a lot more in character if Harry was a gullible child looking up to him and Hermione was seeing right through him, I think) (also what's up with literal CHILDREN thirsting after a grown ass man in a childrens book) and as seen in The Prisoner of Azkaban when Lavender and Parvati are made fun of because they believe in Trewlanys phrophecies and are a sucker for her lessons. Probably a lot more incidences. Stop it with the girl on girl hate, PLEASE. Let young girls have their fun without making them look dumb for it. I just wanted to tell y'all about these things, to further paint Rowling as a terrible fucking person.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏✊️✊️

[@dali-dog]

I totally agree, and I feel like there is a really weird undercurrent of sexism in all the Harry Potter books. JKR really does like to generalize the female students and make them seem shallow and romance-obsessed, which is especially weird coming from a woman author who for a long time was seen as a progressive icon. There’s a lot of little problems that have always been there, and it’s a real shame. However for the record, just a little detail about your comment, I don’t think it’s an inherently terrible thing for child characters to be shown crushing on adults in media like Lockhart. Teacher crushes aren’t an uncommon thing in real life and though I don’t personally relate to it, it can be relatable to some people, and it’s not the kid’s fault or even weird for them to have a crush on somebody it’d be bad for them to actually be with. It’d only be a problem to have this in the story if the teacher/adult is shown to reciprocate, or if the message is that it wouldn’t be that bad, and as far as I remember there’s nothing like that when it comes to Lockhart. I’m pretty sure it was just a fairly innocent one-sided crush that none of the students were encouraged to seriously pursue, they just thought he was handsome or whatever, which isn’t bad. But yeah, overall it does bother me how a lot of girls and women are portrayed in HP and you’re totally right that JKR treats girls as if they’re all the same in these kinds of scenarios.

[@electronics-girl]

The fatphobia is the one thing I picked up on my first read-through of HP, and it bothered me, long before the transphobia and antisemitism and other problems were brought up.

[@paularoth4915]

@@electronics-girl same I'm currently re reading the series after YEARS and it makes me so uncomfortable. Especially because with few exeptions (Molly), every fat character is a bad person and therefore it's okay to bully them? It's so strange because Harry Potter technically has an anti-bullying theme, but yet it's okay to bully fat people when they're mean? It just doesn't sit right with me. Call people out on their bullshit, but never bring things like their weight into it, otherwise you'll be just as shitty as them.

[@paularoth4915]

@@dali-dog yeah you're right, that's totally fair! I personally am not 100% on board with it, still, but I see your point! And yeah, the sexism really bothers me too!!

[@here_for_the_Chaos]

This was such a big thing for me over the last few years. I grew up reading the books and watching the movies and dressing up, but now it hurts to think about. I really wanted to get the game, but I knew it would be impossible for me to even enjoy it knowing who and what stereotypes it was supporting. I will never buy more merch, go to hogwarts at universal, watch the next fb movie (if that ever happens any way), but I don’t think I’m ready to let it go yet. I still want to appreciate the fandom and community of weirdos it gathered, and that will be enough for now. Maybe one day I’ll retire my wand for good, but I’m right now, I think I need a little magic. Fuck Joanne.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️❤️❤️

[@PlatinumAltaria]

There are so many wonderful creators and works of art that should be uplifted in the place of this unhinged bigot who happens to also be a bad writer. Of all the magic schools to attend: True Cross Academy, Luna Nova, the Unseen University, Roke, Aretuza, the Academy of Unseen Arts, Hexside... we've got options is what I'm saying. We must live in a world where Dana Terrace and ND Stevenson are more well-known.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏👏

[@NelsonStJames]

We as a species are in trouble, and we've been in trouble for a long time, but as history has taught us, the majority of people tend to not recognize a problem till it's knocking on their own door. Honestly this does create a bit of resentment from groups that had basically been fighting the good fight alone, but seriously if we're going to evolve, we got to get over that and fight together,, andf stand up for each other, because the other side seems to be on the same page when it comes to their opinions of all of us regardless of any other differences they might have.

[@RedSpade37]

I'm just so angry about everything. Where is there happiness to be had? The image the mirror reflects is not the mirror's fault...

[@aviendha1154]

She’s done this to all queer people and the cis people who don’t get this are a part of the problem.

[@noranason6521]

Rowling and Harry Potter has become such a deeply painful thing for me. It's confounded by the fact that it helped me through so much of my life. As a very young child, my big sister would read the books to me. Then she died and they were my only connection left to her. I read them to our younger brother in turn, after he was born, and although he never knew her, he also had a connection to her through Harry Potter. They were both in the same house; Hufflepuff, and both the most beautiful, kind, and loyal people I ever had the privledge to know. Not to mention, one of my biggest sources to trauma came from my father, and throughout my childhood, I related so much to Harry's situation with the Dursleys although our respective traumas stemmed from fundamentally different things, enough so that I now have a decent relationship with my father. Then as a young teen, my mother abandoned us. And once again, Harry Potter helped me through it all. My family fell into poverty after having toed the line for well over a decade, and I was stuck being a mother to my brother and wishing desperately to have my mother and sister back while my dad fell into a horrible depression where I almost lost him, too, twice. And perhaps most painfully within the context of rowling's terfness, throughout my early teens I was exploring my own gender identity as well as sexuality, and Harry Potter and his fucking closet under the stairs and Tonks' metamorphmagus powers and ships like Drarry and Wolfstar and magic and muggles and a hidden world of wizards and a racist dark lord and even Hagrid's shame with his half-giant identity helped me come to terms with my asexuality and decidedly non-cishetness. Harry Potter was what gave me hope that I wasn't broken. That I belonged. That honestly isn't even all of it. I'm a mixed-race but completely POC person whose mother imparted them with the gift of two first languages and an insight to a whole different culture before promptly fucking right off. I was a bullied outsider who at one point was so bitter and resentful towards the world that I truly believed that Draco Malfoy could be a good person, especially when my father could be a good person. I learned the hard way that family wasn't blood, but choice; the choice to love and support and work harder and be there for people, and I learned that with the help of Harry Potter. But I cannot ignore Rowling's words and actions and their subsequent consequences. And that is painful because I have trans friends and more than that, I am not a completely shit person. It is painful because I am queer, I am so Queer. It is painful because once I was a broken, traumatised girl who sought comfort in Harry Potter, and sometimes, I think I still see that very same girl when I look into the mirror. I still love Harry Potter. I still love these characters that feel like real people who would understand me. I still interact with the HP fandom and Marauders fandom in online spaces, but only the queer spaces. I still read and write fanfiction, because there are wonderful artists who were hurt by rowling but still love the characters. There are interpretations of queerness and transness and BIPOC and general beauty within these peopel and artists and writers who do not endorse rowling's beliefs and sometimes write beautiful queer stories just to spite her. And I said I wasn't a completely shit person, but maybe, because of this, I am a bit of a shit person. Maybe I am a bad person even though I no longer buy or wear and harry potter things or merchandise or content that will in any way give rowling money. maybe I am a bad person because I am a broken, traumatised girl who still holds on to this beautiful community and this world that is harry potter. and maybe the idea that i am a bad person breaks me a little bit, every single day. but i would have been dead ten years ago if not for harry potter. and maybe i might break completely if i walk away from this world.

[@talistheintrovert]

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

[@soniashapiro4827]

You're so great. I'd be interested in a video essay on any topic you'd be willing to post.

[@talistheintrovert]

that's so kind of you 🥺🥰

[@RedSpade37]

But all my own negativity aside, I think you're my favorite KZbinr, by now. There's no other channel I've watched over the past decade or more, that I've agreed with this much. Thanks for all your videos, and I hope there will continue to be more.

[@talistheintrovert]

this is so kind, thank you!! 🥰🥰

[@JP-JustSayin]

Whenever someone says "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" it's so tempting to say "show me the baby then." And it's surprising how often they can't.

[@talistheintrovert]

👏👏👏

[@nickthepeasant]

One of my least favourite people in modern culture (shit, probably ever) invented my dearest, beloved Severus - it's a frustrating thing for sure..made worse by her insistence that she isn't who she clearly is..embracing it wouldn't make her 'better' but would have some element of integrity..ish.. Sick of defending the very concept of trans-ness and dispelling myths about them, to people that I love - so I guess Joanne is a minor irritation by comparison. Sorry to ramble on, amazing video as always, peace and love.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜

[@Ginxed-coffee]

I was “not like other girls” (just agender enby) and Harry Potter helped me relate to other ppl. Girls or otherwise, it was such a popular book and usually people liked it so I could bring it up as a topic to make friends. I am still friends with those people. It helped me with my “differences” (neurodivergences) and finding magic in my own life. It helped me surviving. However, I am no longer counted as a fan, it’s kind of like talking about people from history who have done terrible horrific things but instead of just ignoring it, I talk about it, I point it out. I point out Dumbledore groomed 2 little boys as a “gay man”, that Tonks was forced to become a lady and marry a husband when she was every enby’s envy, Sirius died ans Remus married Tonks (a woman so much younger than him), Hermione’s activism was mocked, species were stuck in their “nature”, magic is fully hereditary and controllable, wizards “healed-out” all disabilities in their communities (which is horrific). There is much more, and this is like a wafer in this cake, the wager upon which she is slathering more and more bigoted cream. I can’t consume it, I can’t post around it online, I can talk about it to my friends, but that’s about it. But there is a way I found that I can enjoy some part of the series without all of this. I am currently planning out a satire book. A satire on chosen ones, prophecies, exceptionalism, worlds which purposefully remove themselves from a larger society, supremacy of races/species, nature as the prime reason for how someone is, click systems in schools, and just our ableist beliefs which spill out to the fiction, a satire on Harry Potter. My main character is the twin of the chosen one, ignored by faith and disabled in both worlds. Queer and trans but more than willing to fight for a community, not just because of few friends, but because they have been building it for everyone. They question question question and read law books and politics books and it hurts them that magic doesn’t come naturally to them (they didn’t even technically get a “Hogwarts” invitation, they sneaked in). It’s hard to write a book like this since I have to know what I’m talking about, politics, law bs, philosophies I am using. I have to know about disabilities I am writing about that my friends may have but I don’t. I want to give this to the next generation, to give them something like Harry Potter, but something updated, I want to do better. It’s what I think I have to do for myself and hopefully I will finish it before I die (I am a bioengineering major, it’s kinda hard to find time)

[@kahlilbt]

You said exactly how it felt. Can't stay at school forever

[@CatHasOpinions734]

I've been so torn about this, but have quasi-settled on staying in the fandom while being deliberately conscious and vocal about the flaws in it and the need to protect and respect trans people. This one of the first online communities I really got involved in, and at the time it felt like a revolutionarily queer one. It introduced me to slash, and femslash, and (at the risk of outing myself as a child who lied about my age so I could read horny stories written by other children who lied about their ages) the notion that your body in general and genitals in specific could be altered and that was fine and also not necessarily connected to your gender, which could also change. Granted, we were kids in the very early aughts so none of this would be considered good rep (except probably the femslash, which I'm pretty sure was mostly written by girls who are attracted to girls), but as a nerdy kid looking for a space that felt safely queer online, this was it. Less so now, Rowling has ruined a lot of that herself and we've also got better media literacy now so the flaws are more apparent, but there's still a lot of us. And while I completely respect everyone who's chosen to fully divest from this franchise, a part of me also worries (thinking in absolutes, sorry) that if everyone who's not a transphobe decides to leave the fandom, what does that mean for anyone who tries to come back to it in a dark moment of needing comfort? Which is why, for the moment anyway, I'm staying. But I do think those of us who make this choice have an obligation to be vocally pro-trans and opposed to antisemitism, in addition to (obviously) not providing financial support.

[@kalka1l]

As someone with a hen to cockerel ovotestis, it’s literally in my yard. It is truly everywhere.

[@dylanthompson5421]

I love the shirt! I’m sure this was a deliberate choice given the subject matter hehe

[@talistheintrovert]

it was!! 🥰🥰

[@dylanthompson5421]

@@talistheintrovert hehe

[@madelinevlogs5898]

I can’t really enjoy HP anymore. There’s a lot of bigotry in the books that I didn’t pick up on when I was reading them in middle school

[@iiiiitsmagreta1240]

As a trans girl who's also feeling pretty mentally fucked up about this, I offer hugs and empathy 🫂🫂🫂

[@talistheintrovert]

🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

[@RaineInChaos]

I still agree with your original point, but yeah over the last couple of years I just haven't been able to keep up my interest and original feelings for HP and I certainly just don't care enough to try. The only complication I have is that my 9 year old was old enough that we were already getting her into Harry Potter before Joanne really opened up about her transphobia. It's just... ugh...

[@talistheintrovert]

oof, that sucks, I'm sorry ❤️

[@MysticPuma1]

Sending you hugs. It sounds strange to say, but letting go of such a formative piece of media is its own form of grieving. I felt like I'd lost a best friend when I had to let go of Harry Potter, because like you... it's all tainted now. I envy those who can still read fan-works or even re-read the books or re-watch the movies, because I can't bring myself to anymore, and they RULED my childhood. But thanks to Joanne's active campaign against the lives of me and my friends, I just CAN'T enjoy it anymore. I try not to judge people who aren't close to it, who don't know trans people and don't realise what Joanne has done, because a lot of cis-het people don't get it. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me uncomfortable and SCARED when I see someone who I consider a friend throwing a Potter-themed birthday party or wearing merch of the series. I'm a non-binary person living in a small conservative British town, so I already struggle with feeling like an extremely small minority, and knowing that the cis-het friends I do have (cause most of my friends are queer, go figure) don't realise the harm the creator of that series has done hurts, because having that argument is never gonna work. Hell, I've had to watch queer people argue about it, and even they will dig their heels in and defend the series. So I don't feel like I CAN explain to a cis-het person why it hurts to see them wearing a Gryffindor scarf, or getting excited to see the Cursed Child in London. Because I know I won't get through to them. It's exhausting and it makes the grieving process worse. Sorry for the long rambling comment. It's been at least 2 years, maybe more, since I decided I was done with Harry Potter... and these feelings still simmer, because the series simply won't disappear from my social media feeds. It seems so silly when I talk about it, but it's exhausting and painful.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@axlrio]

I discovered HP as an adult and quickly fell into that world. I bought all of the teachers wands from Noble Collection (I’m a teacher) and probably re-read the series every other year. My hubby bought me the illustrated books every year for Christmas. That has all stopped. I’ve had too many friends die because of the vicious oppression launched at them from the dominant religious community in which I live. That same group is now aggressively targeting trans people. JK has aligned herself with those hateful bullies and I’m done with HP. I gave away all of my HP stuff, including those beautifully illustrated ones. This was my choice. I love my trans friends more than I loved the HP world. I’m at peace with my decision.

[@talistheintrovert]

💙💚💛❤️

[@SmilingPariah1981]

I`m 42 raised "traditionally" I had a child at 22. I was ostracized for being a young single parent and a goth. I cannot fathom how much harder trans /queer peopler must have it ...I had not to fear for my life. I am very thankful that today we are all connected via the internet and get to know that it is not "weird" to have another identity, sexaulity, attraction etc. i also had to learn that if we don't draw consequences from the fact that if some friends, relatives, authors or companies are hostile towards this diversity, then we silently give the consensus that it is "okay" to be like this. But we must not declare these people to be the center of society. Who is not willing to accept others as they are , should not be the "norm" just because old ideas can't be let go. So again like how the national socialism was discarded we must also slowly push this misanthropy to the edge. If those who are not open to´bring others the basic respect (as you already said for this understanding is not mandatory) then these should take an outsider position.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜

[@platina1502]

As a non-binary person (who has a triple membership cart to the lgbtq agenda as well as some individual cards to disability mafias) i can not stress this enough; u r not fundermentally evil because u have a hard time letting go of something that ment the world to u, it took quite some time to let go for myself even If anything helps just keep in mind, the stories have many oppressive moments comments and allegories from antisemitism being full front in the legacy game (it made literal references to irl antisemitic genocidal attacks in form of the goblins bein the jews quoting by date yet depicted them as the main villain as well as all the other stereotypes) fatphobia, support of the blue stripe system as it is, the latest film makin sure the holocaust happens, supporting abusive relationships as heroic acts to even more stuff (again cant emphasis how fucked up the game is since jkr KNOWS that ppl are not cool with the goblins yet decided to hire a known former online antisemitic content creator to be in a leading position of the games development)

[@talistheintrovert]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@dylanthompson5421]

I count myself so lucky that I never really grew up with Harry Potter as a young child (I only jumped onboard the train prior to the release of the final film). I think I would have definitely had a hard time separating myself from the franchise if I’d have had the same connection to it the majority of others have had with it.

[@talistheintrovert]

oof, definitely ❤️

[@recycledapathy7411]

Honestly, the way I feel about the Harry Potter franchise now is a lot like how I feel about, say, The Cosby Show. Sure, I liked it when it was on the air, but now that information has come to light, I can't engage with it without feeling like everything is coated with an invisible layer of slime. I just feel gross now, knowing what I know. Plus, Jo went and blocked Stephen King on Twitter for saying that trans women are women. Nobody in their right mind would ever block Uncle Stevie. 🤨 That's a separate but still related mark against her character as far as I'm concerned.

[@talistheintrovert]

🤌🤌🤌

[@angellovecharm7759]

Yeah, all of this is so true. Its hard.

[@talistheintrovert]

💜💜