918
protect trans kids rule (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 3 weeks ago by vantablack to c/196
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[-] qaz@lemmy.world 23 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Just in case anyone doesn't know:

J.K. Rowling uses personal wealth to fund anti-trans org

J.K. Rowling is using her wealth attained from the Harry Potter series to create an organization dedicated to removing transgender people's rights "in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces.”

You can "seperate the art from the artist", but can't seperate the Harry Potter royalties from the anti-trans funding.

[-] EldritchFeminity 8 points 3 weeks ago

Don't forget that she also has publicly said that she considers consumption of Harry Potter media as support for her political ideology. She herself literally made it a political stance.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 127 points 3 weeks ago

There's a real dark irony in a book about a young boy quite literally coming out of the closet to discover his true self written by a woman who might as well be a Dursley.

[-] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 46 points 3 weeks ago

Harry Potter has no true self to discover. From the first to the last page of this pile of rags he is a wizarding Mary Sue with near-infinite privilege and the personality of an oyster. The story opens with "yer a wizard" in the first 50 pages and that's the end of his character arc. From then on he's a mere vessel for the reader to experience the world and the author to move the plot along.

.... As a matter of fact, what even is the biggest character arc in that story? I don't remember much, but Neville and Hermione have a glowup and Harry's uncle dies or something? And the weasleys open a shop? I certainly don't recall anything that lends credence to the idea that Rowling even believes that either individual people or societies are capable of profound change. The story begins and ends basically in the exact same place except the characters are 10ish years older.

[-] WizardofFrobozz@lemmy.ca 26 points 3 weeks ago

And then he grows up to become… a cop.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

From the first to the last page of this pile of rags he is a wizarding Mary Sue with near-infinite privilege and the personality of an oyster.

I disagree.

As a matter of fact, what even is the biggest character arc in that story? I don’t remember much

:-/

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 27 points 3 weeks ago

that really doesn't add much to the conversation. you're just
https://c.tenor.com/dGrqkdDWyeEAAAAd/tenor.gif
-ing. why do you disagree, Jo?

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

It's a generic critique of any fantasy novel protagonist. Potter isn't any more of a Mary Sue than Aragorn or Rand Al'Thor.

And "The plot was bad, I don't even remember what happened". Bro, what do I even say to that?

The story wasn't so bad that it failed to sell tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

And “The plot was bad, I don’t even remember what happened”. Bro, what do I even say to that?

The story wasn’t so bad that it failed to sell tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages.

Thanks, i can respond to that. It may have not had the best written story, but it was a story that resonated with people (even though we, on reflection, found a lot to pick apart in it) and that's really, really hard to do. Tens of millions of copies each volume indeed.

From then on he’s a mere vessel for the reader to experience the world and the author to move the plot along.

I mean i'm exposing my writing naivete here but if we get rid of the word mere above, isn't the primary job of the MC to be a vessel for the reader to experience the world and the author to move the plot? we kind of come back to the same idea. give a bland protag that the reader can feed their emotions and reasoning into and they connect a little more. the more they connect the better the book sells. it seems like a decent writing strategy if nothing else is working.

given that thought, maybe i should write a novel about me. i can't think of anything blander. maybe that's why they say everyone's first novel is about themselves.

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[-] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 weeks ago

Write what you know.

[-] GalacticSushi 18 points 3 weeks ago

At least it's not more explicit. It's not like there's some potion that lets you change your physical appearance at will that is even capable of turning you into a furry. Or a type of witch/wizard whose special ability is to change their appearance at will, as shown by a slightly androgynous woman who regularly changes her appearance based on how she's feeling in the moment.

[-] pachrist@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago

The irony disappears slightly when the whole slave liberation arc was literally Confederate propaganda that was so distasteful and irrelevant to the plot, it was cut from the movies.

The house elves love being slaves. It's the natural order of things.

[-] edible_funk@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 weeks ago

The real dark irony is Jo saying they probably would have transitioned when they were younger if they were aware of gender expression.

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[-] hoch@lemmy.world 28 points 3 weeks ago

As much as the author sucks, I enjoy the series too much to throw it away :/

[-] Nikki 61 points 3 weeks ago

pirate the media and dont give it exposure then :) any dollar given to that franchise is a dollar spent to harm trans people

[-] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago

It harms much more than just trans people. Firstly transphobes think even the slightest form of gender-noncomformity is transgenderism, secondly many of those TERF orgs also oppose other things (wondering if Collective Shout got any money from her, but probably she already blames porn for trans people).

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[-] joyjoy@lemmy.zip 9 points 3 weeks ago

I consume it purely through fanfiction and AO3.

[-] anothercatgirl 24 points 3 weeks ago

as a transfem academic who enjoyed HPMoR, I dislike JKR's Harry Potter series because it's poorly written and is not critical enough of the ethical problems it contains

[-] Baggie@lemmy.zip 24 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Oh you mean the fascistic nightmare world where it turns out the only problem is bad actors, not the fact that it's systemically rotten to the core?

Motherfucker becomes a cop ffs

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[-] theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 3 weeks ago

outside of nostalgia which is hard to quantify what is the appeal compared to thousands of better series in the genre? Its not just written by a bigoted monster who uses her platform for harming others its filled with lackluster world building and empty characters.

[-] Colalextrast@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

I've never understood this argument. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not spending another penny on this franchise for the foreseeable future, but... I'm still a fan of the books. I've read my copies so often most of them are held together with duct tape and chewing gum. I have my old dvds and I give them a watch here and there. Probably gonna watch them with my kid once he's old enough.

I'm a fan of Harry Potter. Its not about if a different series is better or worse. And the books aren't bad, but that was never the issue. No one who is really a fan of something is gonna transfer their love for that thing to a "better" version that easily.

What do those other series not have? They're not Harry Potter. They're a different thing. And it doesn't have to be nostalgia for you to like a thing. And if you can replace it that easily, you're not much of a fan. Which is fine! Everyone has their own tastes.. But think about something you actually are a fan of. There's no replacement for it.

Hope this didn't come off too strong, I'm not mad or anything, but its really an argument that I don't understand when people make. There are so many good arguments for voting with your wallet on this thing, but this doesn't seem to be one of them.

[-] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 weeks ago

Now we're talking!

I'm first:

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, by Fritz Leiber.

Very 1980-ish fantasy for adults.

Your turn!

[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

YAaaarrr, we be enjoying content from slimey, bilge-bucket creators without spending a single doubloon on their barnacle-covered arses. 🏴‍☠️

[-] iamthetot@piefed.ca 10 points 3 weeks ago

Do you have any trans people in your life?

[-] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 13 points 3 weeks ago

Are you assuming that there aren't trans people that like Harry Potter? Do YOU have any trans people in your life?

[-] iamthetot@piefed.ca 9 points 3 weeks ago

I didn't assume anything, I just asked a question.

I do have a handful of trans people in my life, yes.

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[-] deltaspawn0040@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 weeks ago

Can I come over and poke you with a pitchfork? I know it'd be painful, but I feel like I'd really enjoy it.

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[-] 2hundredpancakes 22 points 3 weeks ago

People seemed to have no trouble dropping Gaiman after his horrendous behavior came to light, but even suggest people drop their beloved nostalgia books and it's all "but my blorbo! JK bad I guess, but I like my blorbo!".

The sad part is that the HP-verse is so clearly not for us -- that is, not for anyone besides straight white liberal Christians. The stereotypes, the handwaves, the defense of the status quo. But people choose to engage with and perpetuate this media anyway.

People would rather just enjoy the blorbo than take a stand against what it represents/supports. Comfort is "easier" than tension.

[-] Kage520@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago

My Christian mom didn't let us watch Harry Potter because our church said it was evil. I guess it's not for Christians either, though I think that has changed and it's fine now.

[-] 2hundredpancakes 7 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, I forgot about that satanic panic stuff around HP. Maybe those xtians feel more comfortable now knowing she hates the same people they do.

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[-] Bazell@lemmy.zip 17 points 3 weeks ago
[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

what about potter puppet pals. can we still watch that?

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[-] DylanMc6@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Rocky Horror is a bit better than Harry Potter. DON'T dream it, be it.

[-] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago

Is there something about stuffed animals in the Harry Potter books I am missing?

[-] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 27 points 3 weeks ago

The lion, snake, badger, and raven are the animals of the Hogwarts houses.

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[-] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 weeks ago

No. The context is the houses.

[-] goodboyjojo@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Trans rights and stuff

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this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
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