Breaking Rowling’s Wand

by Cassandra Kurtz

On December 19th, 2019, J.K. Rowling outed herself as a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist), confirming the fears of fans who had followed her for years on Twitter. Rowling would occasionally like a transphobic comment or follow an outspoken TERF on Twitter. When confronted, she would dismiss this behavior as a mistake or ignore the accusations of being transphobic altogether. But she finally decided to publicly support Maya Forstater, a researcher who didn’t have her contract renewed likely because of her public transphobic statements. Rowling’s support of Forstater was quite clear that she was also a TERF and agrees with Forstater’s transphobic ideology:

Not only was she backing up this transphobic ideology, but she was specifically very brutal about it with phrases like “Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.” Because of this horrible realization, many members of the transgender community have rightfully villainized her and decided to boycott anything Harry Potter or Wizarding World. An understandable choice; why support the creative properties of a woman who claims to be a feminist, yet only includes certain portions of the population in her feminism?

For some of us, this choice isn’t so easy. We grew up with Harry Potter, we’ve been fans of the materials for decades. Harry Potter art covers our walls, the collectibles on our shelves, the clothing in our closets, and the collector’s editions all lined up on the bookshelf. What do we do when the fandom we’ve gleefully participated in turns out to be created by a bigot? For many this has caused a depressing purge of memorabilia in a cleansing bonfire, sometimes symbolic and sometimes very literally. For others, we’ve taken a different approach.

Many fan sites and Potter themed fan groups have taken the stance of ejecting J.K. Rowling out of her own property. “Harry would fight for us against you” we cry, as we firmly stand shoulder-to-shoulder in defense of the transgender community. We’ve kicked Rowling out of the Potter fandom and continue to appreciate the community it has given us. We listen to the message it teaches about no one person being better than another. We echo the sentiment that we’re stronger because of our differences, and that standing together we can make a better world. We stand for the light and positivity that fights against the dark and oppressing fascist regimes looking to enforce conformity.

We will not conform. We will not be silent. We will not yield. We outnumber you Rowling, and there’s no place for you here. We’re breaking your wand and exiling you from our fandom. We’re kicking you out of our magical world. Your role as creator is finished. You’ve taught us to identify the monsters by the content of their hearts and the intent of their ideology. You’ve shown us that community is the proper path, that inclusiveness is the way forward. We’ve identified you as one of the monsters, and we won’t allow you to harm us. We’re done with you.

As we take our next steps into the future, we stand together. We celebrate each other’s creations and avoid yours. We won’t support anything that puts more money into your pocket, into the hands of hate, but we will continue to support each other with love. This may mean that the Wizarding World diminishes in our minds, but it will forever be something that taught us love, understanding, and acceptance, forever stained by your betrayal.

—Cassandra Kurtz, Slytherin