Witchvspatriarchy - Witches Vs Patriarchy

“We need to understand there is no one formula for how women should lead our lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her own God-given potential. But we must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected. Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all”.

“Para un habitante de Nueva York, París, o Londres, la muerte es la palabra que jamás se pronuncia porque quema los labios. El mexicano, en cambio, la frecuenta, la burla, la acaricia, duerme con ella, la festeja, es uno de sus juguetes favoritos y su amor más permanente. Cierto, en su actitud hay quizá tanto miedo como en la de otros; más al menos no se esconde ni la esconde; la contempla cara a cara con impaciencia, desdén o ironía: ‘si me han de matar mañana, que me maten de una vez’.” - Octavio Paz (El Laberinto de la Soledad, 1950)

a good take

they teached us to fear the witches but not the people who burned them alive

“Recently, a friend of mine told me that she felt guilty that she hadn’t accomplished more during the last year of the pandemic. Now, I’ve heard that a few times. And I have a feeling we’re gonna be hearing that more and more.”

The Amber Ruffin Show (May 21, 2021)

The year is 2021, nearly 2022, and JK Rowling has posted yet more TERF bullshit.

I'm not going to post it here. If you're trans, you've probably already seen it, and if you're cis, you don't need to see it.

It is far, far, FAR past time for you to drop Harry Potter if you haven't already.

I get it. Harry Potter was an important piece of many of our lives. It shaped many of our formative years. Choosing your house became a form of self identification for a not insignificant portion of the population. And you're allowed to feel mixed feelings. But there's one thing that needs to be clear:

Harry Potter fandom, in any form, especially done by TME people, harms trans women.

Now I understand what you may say. "Oh I'm not gonna spend any money on it but I'm still gonna make posts/fanfiction/etc about it"

And sure, not giving money that'll go to its TERF creator to fund her TERF desires is just about the bare minimum. But by continuing to engage with the work, by continuing to maintain a fandom presence, you are giving your tacit support to JK Rowling and anyone that agrees with her.

Your trans followers will see this, and the vast majority will be made to feel unsafe as a result.

But perhaps you don't care about trans women. You certainly wouldn't be the only one. So it only seems fair to mention a few other bigotries transphobia is joined by in the Harry Potter series:

Antisemitism: Goblins as a whole, trying to claim "Anthony Goldstein" as Jewish rep despite him barely being relevant and having an incredibly stereotypical name, and once again, GOBLINS AS A WHOLE

Racism: The name "Cho Chang", Lavender Brown starting out as Black in the movies before being whitewashed as soon as she became relevant to the plot

Homophobia: The use of werewolves as an HIV/AIDS metaphor, but where the infection actually IS dangerous to others, not to mention a character who actively targets children to "infect", trying to claim Dumbledore is gay and it never showing up anywhere in text

Sexism: Hermione's whole "not like other girls" schtick that's backed up by the universe itself, traditionally feminine characters being villainized (Lavender Brown, Umbridge)

These are by no means an exhaustive list, but worth mentioning nonetheless.

If you're looking to read other YA books instead, here's a few recommendations to get you started

Diane Duane's Young Wizards series is my top pick for anyone looking for another series about wizards coming of age while they face down the forces of darkness. It's been ongoing since 1983, and the author has shown an admirable willingness to go back and fix plot points that include topics she wasn't well informed enough to be sensitive about at the time. The author herself is actually active on this website, her url is @dduane

Katherine "KA" Applegate's Animorphs will always hold a special place in my heart. If you like sci-fi, aliens, and the horrors of war, this series is for you. The author is fairly vocal of her support for the trans community, and has a trans daughter herself. Her husband is Michael Grant, who both did some work on Animorphs and is the author of the Gone series which is also worth highlighting here

Tamora Pierce has multiple universes of book series largely focused on growing up in magical worlds. While her Song of the Lioness quartet and following series in the same world were great, I was always a big fan of the Circle of Magic books myself

Rick Riordan is well known for his mythology-based series. Starting with Percy Jackson, he contextualized Greek mythology in a modern setting, from the outset giving representation to people with ADHD and dyslexia. As he continued, writing series focusing on Egyptian, Roman, and Norse mythology, he added more representation into his books. While he has sometimes had issues with how he has portrayed these marginalized groups, he has largely shown himself to be receptive to criticism

Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series is another fantasy series that I quite enjoy who's author has shown explicit support for the trans community. While I am not up to date with the most recent books, it is my understanding that they include an explicitly trans and genderfluid character, and the books' magic system and themes goes into the nature of identity and names many times, in a way that even when it isn't explicitly trans, often FEELS very trans

The TL;DR is this: however you may try to justify it, participating in Harry Potter fandom in any way IS harmful to trans women, and there's a world of other series to go for instead

The fact that people are boycotting JK Rowling for her blatant transphobia and not mentioning her blatant racism exemplifies why people are white before they are trans or gay.

The Wizarding school North America (Ivermory) is riddled with blatant appropriation of Native American cultures, but no one gave a shit.

Study Breaks

The Blatant Racism of JK Rowling’s Ilvermorny Houses

An in-depth look at cultural appropriation in the American houses from an overly involved Harry Potter fan.

The Geek Anthropologist

Magical Maladies and Injuries: Cultural Appropriation in J. K. Rowling’s Ilvermorny

Although the final book in the Harry Potter saga, The Deathly Hallows, was published almost a decade ago, J. K. Rowling has been quietly bui

But no one gave a shit until she started starting transphobic rhetoric.

She literally takes Native American beliefs and... I don't know what the words are for this bullshit. Misrepresents them to capitalize on them? Appropriates them? Completely ignores the original beliefs in order to make up her own?

the Guardian

JK Rowling under fire for writing about 'Native American wizards'

History of Magic in North America, being serialised on Rowling’s Pottermore website, attacked for using an ancient culture ‘as a convenient

Although the new insights into the universe of Harry Potter were welcomed by many, the author was strongly criticised online by a number of voices from Native American communities, particularly over her writing about skinwalkers, which in Navajo legend are said to be evil witches or wizards who can take on the form of animals.

Rowling writes that the myth “has its basis in fact … A legend grew up around the Native American Animagi, that they had sacrificed close family members to gain their powers of transformation. In fact, the majority of Animagi assumed animal forms to escape persecution or to hunt for the tribe. Such derogatory rumours often originated with No-Maj medicine men, who were sometimes faking magical powers themselves, and fearful of exposure.”

Responding to a question on Twitter, Rowling said that “in my wizarding world, there were no skinwalkers”, with the legend created by those without magic “to demonise wizards”.

But yeah. The transphobia is why we're boycotting her.

(This isn't to say the transphobia is okay or to minimize trans issues. This is to point out that white people only care about issues that effect other white people.)

Look. All I'm saying is if you're going to make a post about why we don't like JK Rowling. Say "we aren't going to support JK Rowling because of her racism and transphobia."

Not to mention. How shitty of a writer must you be if you can't create b your own myths and legends? The fact that she's gotta steal from others completely exemplifies how shitty of an author she is.

-fae

follow @the-future-now

Genderqueer/non-binary celebrities

Amandla Stenberg: non-binary actress and singer (The Hate U Give, The Hunger Games) [she/her; they/them]

Ezra Miller: genderqueer actor (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Justice League) [prefers he/him but is comfortable with all pronouns]

Chella Man: genderqueer YouTuber, actor & model (Titans) [he/him]

Brigette Lundy-Paine: non-binary actor (Atypical, The Glass Castle) [they/them]

Angel Haze: agender rapper & singer (Battle Cry, Cleaning out my Closet) [she/her; he/him]

Indya Moore: non-binary actor & model (Pose, Queen & Slim) [they/them]

Ruby Rose: genderfluid actress, model, talk show host, DJane (Batwoman, OitnB) [she/her]

Asia Kate Dillon: non-binary actor (Billions, OitnB) [they/them]

Quintessa Swindell: non-binary actor (Trinkets, Euphoria) [they, them]

Jonathan Van Ness: non-binary television personality, podcaster & hairdresser (Queer Eye) [prefers he/him but is also okay with they/them & she/her]

Feel free to add other celebrities or to correct me if I’ve got something wrong!