#all about pica
I’m tired, y'all. Tired of posts calling people who are still in the Harry Potter fandom “stupid”. Tired of people using JKR’s racist and TERFy bullshit as an excuse to treat the HP fandom community like shit.
Because here’s the thing: many queer and trans kids, and kids of color, grew up reading and loving the HP series. The series meant something important to them during what was in some cases a very dark and difficult time in their lives. Some people have been a part of the fandom for multiple decades at this point. They have made friends, found community, drawn strength, created fanworks, and been inspired to acts of kindness and bravery because of this series.
The people who have written the most nuanced and incisive criticism of JKR over the years are people in the HP fandom. Many of the people most harmed by her behavior are fans who have been betrayed by someone they looked up to – someone who wrote about the importance of being yourself, about the power of love, and about making a stand against injustice and cruelty – but who does not have their backs in real life.
When you tell people who disagree with JKR’s regressive views that they are morally obligated to turn their backs on the fandom, or else they are complicit, you are telling people to walk away from communities and connections that have given them joy and meaning. That there should be no voices within the fandom pushing back against JKR’s views. That when young people inevitably enter the fandom in the future, they should find no nuanced criticism or trans-positive fanworks; only content that echoes and conforms to JKR’s views, or posts by people telling them they are wrong and stupid for liking a thing.
You should not have to feel guilty if these books meant something, or continue to mean something to you.
You should not have to feel guilty about holding onto your created community.
You should not have to feel guilty about continuing to create fanworks for the series.
JKR will never see another dime from me, but I’m not walking away from the community I’ve been a part of for 20 years. I have fanfic to write.
Writing fic is 80% daydreaming 19% sitting with bad posture 1% typing
I have reached the point in my journey where I am giving all my HP merch to my sister’s kids. I don’t need it anymore, and I don’t want people to get the wrong idea when they see I have it. I will continue to participate in fandom as a writer, because I have so many stories that are mine and that I still want to tell, but that’s it.
