Why I Don't Support...

Racism:

Throughout her career, JK Rowling has created harmful allegories in her writing. The blatant racism and homophobia portrayed in the Harry Potter series is not often discussed, but it is something that is disgusting. For one, JKR has detrimentally perpetuated racist stereotypes in her writing and casting. There is very little representation in the books and movies for people of color, and the minimal representation of POC is flawed. Dean Thomas, one of the only canonically black characters is written to not have a dad, which is a stereotype often used towards black individuals. JKR's misrepresentation of POC extends over to various marginalized groups. The character Cho Chang as a whole is a lack-lustre representation of the Asian community. Not only do Asian individuals tend to be sorted into the "smart house" of Ravenclaw, but Cho's name was lazily chosen and misguided. The name "Cho Chang" is composed of two surnames (Cho of Korean descent and Chang of Chinese descent). If Cho was supposed to be a representation for Asians in her books, JK Rowling could have chosen a name that had cultural or linguistic significance. Additionally, the "representation" of POC in Harry Potter are all minor roles that are greatly misrepresented. In the movies, Lavender Brown was originally played by Kathleen Cauley, but when given an actual speaking role was recast by Jessica Cave, a white woman. Rowling also stated years after casting "Hermione" as a white woman that the character was intended to be black. Again, Rowling only gives representation to POC when it makes her look progressive. If JKR wanted to include Hermione as representation for the black community, she should have done more than clumsily stating it in a tweet. Through all of Rowling's works it is clear that her representation of marginalized groups are purely performative.

Homophobia:

In Harry Potter, JK Rowling's depiction of werewolves can be directly correlated to the stigma towards gay men. Rowling promotes the idea that gay men are predatory through the idea of lycanthropy. JKR has explicitly stated that Remus Lupin's struggle with his lycanthropy is a mirror for those who live with HIV or AIDS. While this representation may be seen as positive, JKR twisted that stigma and misrepresents the LGBT community by including ideas of predation. Another werewolf in the series, Fenrir Greyback preys on children and is a beacon of terror in the wizarding community. Another aspect of JKR's homophobia is based on how she has queer-coded particularly characters, but then has made them to be straight. Remus Lupin is supposed to be a representation of the stigma that people have towards gay men who are HIV or AIDS positive, but canonically JKR romantically involves him with Nymphadora Tonks. Besides that, the one openly gay character, Dumbledore is a poor representation of the LGBT community. JKR waited until the very end of the series to state that Dumbledore was apart of the LGBT community, and provided very little context to this throughout the stories. JKR should not have mentioned this aspect of the character without trying to give a genuine representation of the LGBTQ+ community. Rowling cherry picks the moments when Dumbledore's queerness is relevant and worth mentioning to the story. It is unfair to state that JKR has representation of minorities when the struggles of these minorities are not discussed and are misshown. The act of defining Dumbledore as gay after the series had already been given acclaim is performative activism.

Transphobia:

JK Rowling has been very open about her transphobic views in recent years. For one, JKR insists on a version of feminism that views gender in only a binary and biological view. In one of her tweets, JKR critiques the usage of the words "person who menstruates" by stating that the word woman is sufficient enough to use. This is disrespectful towards the trans community because there are many men and gender non-conforming individuals that menstruate. In addition, JKR has extended the idea that trans individuals are "faking" their gender in order to prey on cisgender women. In an essay, Rowling states that she believes that majority of trans women are men that want to be able to infiltrate women only spaces. This belief is incorrect and invalidates trans individuals. Also in this essay, Rowling inaccurately depicts people who have "detransitioned". Finally, Rowling has openly supported businesses and pages that believe in excluding transgender individuals in their feminism.

Anti-semitism:

Unsurprisingly, JKR misrepresents the Jewish community through her portrayal of goblins and deatheaters.The Gringott's goblins are caricatures of the detrimental stereotypes that are pushed onto Jewish individuals. Goblins are shown as hook-nosed, greedy, and bank-controlling, which are terrible stereotypes towards Jewish people. Even if this was purely coincidental, in the scenes at Gringotts bank, the patterns on the floor resemble the Star of David. In addition to this, Rowling's storyline of Deatheaters can be directly paralleled to Nazis. The ideas of "blood purity" in Harry Potter is similar to the ideas of Nazism. While fiction can often emulate real life experiences, JK Rowling entertains the romanticization of death eaters, which is inherently wrong. Rowling has explicitly empathized with characters that are supposed to encompass the ideals of fascism, such as Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. JKR should never have written this allegory, but did so anyways.

I do not support Tom Felton due to his passiveness towards JK Rowling's transphobic comments. Not only has Tom "liked" one of Rowling's transphobic tweets, but when directly asked about JKR's comments, Tom has completely avoided it. In an interview Tom states, "I don't have a reaction to that (JKR's transphobic comments) I'm afraid. Like I said, I'm not Mr. Social Affair. I didn't even know that was a thing." It is one thing for Tom to be unaware of JKR's comments, but even after the interviewer explained it to him, Felton did not seem to denounce her comments. Many other of the Harry Potter cast (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Katie Leung) have openly stated that they do not share JKR's transphobic views, but Tom has yet to do so. Another issue I have with Tom's statement is due to his involvement with the Harry Potter community. To this day, Tom profits off of his time on Harry Potter, thus it is his job to acknowledge the harmfulness that JKR has brought onto the LGBTQ+ community. Tom also states that he "stands up for the community whenever possible", but hasn't outwardly expressed his support for transgender individuals. Many Tom stans state that Tom supports the community due to his statement that "love is love", but that does not outwardly express support for the TRANS community. Besides this, I also have an issue with how Tom interacts with his audience. Many trans individuals have asked him to speak up, but he hasn't. Plus, it seems that Tom's only way to remain relevant is to sexualize himself as a minor, which is very strange ??

Sean Biggerstaff has made many insensitive comments towards the Jewish community and has yet to refute them. In many of his tweets he has joked about the Holocaust (not including the direct statements as they can be triggering), and has also invalidated the opinions of Jewish people by speaking on issues that do not directly impact him. After facing backlash for his cruel jokes, Biggerstaff has been known to gaslight and ostracize people who criticize him.

contact me on tiktok (gredandforgesmischief) or instagram (jadalyn_rosee), and i'll try to the best of my abilities to answer your questions and concerns <3