Fandom Snowflake Challenge #3

[tjs_whatnot]

 Challenge #3

In your own space, talk about a fannish opinion you hold that has changed over time. 

 

So, remember in the last challenge when I said I was waiting for a different challenge to talk about my origin story? This is the challenge I was waiting for. And, yes, this is going to be another post about Harry Potter. I’m thinking it might be my very last one. Ever.

 

I used to never think I could say that because who I was as a writer, a reader, a friend and a person--even a queer person was tied up to that fandom. And it still is, but not to the franchise itself. And that hasn’t been for a long time. I’m not going to repeat myself and will link to a previous Snowflake where I talked about Harry Potter Despite It All (I forgot just how long JKR has been a piece of shit).

 

But, that’s just it. I had dismissed her, left Twitter because of her (and Elon and just *waves* everything), and hadn’t really realized that she’s gone past doubling down, she’s turned being a hateful, misinformed, entitled devil into her whole personality.

 

And then I saw this video: 

 

And it hit me like a brick. Or more, cemented something I have been thinking about for a long time. It was this part:

 

If you can't do that (let the HP IP die/ take HP out of your bio) you're sending a message to the queer community that your allyship has limits.

 

It was that, and the actual tweet that he highlights in this video that is making me question what I'm even doing with my fandom life. I don't want to fight about HP. I don't want to stop people from doing what they're going to do, but I am going to change how I interact with the source, while also still loving all my queer-writing, queer-being HP friends. 

 

That is the only reason I'm not going to be deleting my stories, or walking away from them. They helped me define my queerness, they were gifts written to other queer people who wanted to see themselves in mainstream media and were afraid they never would. I like to think they can continue to be that. I am going to address it though, either in the stories themselves or in my profile. But yeah, definitely a fannish opinion that is ever evolving. And I kind of hate JKR for that. 

Comments

[barbaratp]

Eu troquei meu nome de usuário no Tumblr por conta disso, para me desvencilhar desse passado HP, mesmo assim ainda mantenho tudo que criei naquela época pois faz parte de mim, me moldou e formou quem sou hoje. É triste que algo que moldou a queerness de tantos hoje seja fonte de tristeza para muitos deles e outros mais. Lhe entendo e fico grata por sua contribuição pois faz a gente pensar que não somos os únicos com esses mesmos problemas a resolver.

[tjs_whatnot]

Yes, I imagine all of us HP fans are having similar struggles, especially creators. Nice to know I'm not alone. ❤️❤️

[sheenianni]

I'll watch the video later, but as a queer person with my limited one-person perspective: I still love Harry Potter. It was this fandom that helped me overcome internalized homophobia and changed my views on many things (including, ironically, trans rights). It brought me joy, and I'd go as far and say some of those stories and fannish things made me a better person.

JKR is awful and that’s putting it mildly. I try and challenge the bullshit she spews whenever it comes up in a discussion, point people to actual legitimate sources, speak up where I might actually make a difference. And yes, her being a hating bigot has definitely limited how much I interract with the fandom. Every time a HP story comes to my head, I hesitate whether I want to deal with all this again. If you burn your books, delete your stories etc., I 100% respect that.

But there are still many queer people (like me) who enjoy parts of the fandom. I wrote a slash HP fic this year for Fandom Trumps Hate (money went to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth) and I refuse to feel bad about it. JKR already took a lot from us by being TERF and spreading hatred - please don't hold it against us who try to hold on to the parts that we still enjoy and find comfort in.

[gingicat]

Speaking only for myself, I definitely don't hold engaging with the fandom against anyone.

[sherylyn]

I love alllll of this. <3

[tjs_whatnot]

please don't hold it against us who try to hold on to the parts that we still enjoy and find comfort in.

Absolutely not! I'm just trying to find my own line in the sand and the way around loving all the content myself and my friends created without it being seen in ANYWAY as condoning or belittling the real harm JKR has done.

I love that you wrote a queer HP story for Fandom Trumps Hate and I'd 💯 do the same subversive stuff if I was ever inclined again to write in the Fandom.

❤️❤️

[sherylyn]

YES. Soooo much YES to what you wrote! I hate what JKR has done to those memories, and all those beautiful moments that happened. What I hang onto, though, was that those moments weren't actually about *her*, for the most part. Yes, we came together b/c of things she created, but it's what those stories were about — the *values* that they shared — are what drew us into those close relationships with other people. Some of my best friends are from all over the place, and they're the ones I got together with in Seattle last year — over 20 years after we started an HP fanfic site together. We've left it in tact, but with a disclaimer on the front page about JKR, b/c she's an absolute ass, to put it mildly.

I love that quote you found, and overall agree with it completely. I love what HP gave us... but JKR's horribleness has just messed with so much of the actual enjoyment I used to get from it, and to me, that's also a "crime" she's committed ;-P

[gingicat]

Co-signed. So much this.

[tjs_whatnot]

I hate what she's done to this Fandom too. I wish the world can see that when some of us say we love HP, they'd see the characters we created, the characteristics we molded to fit our Othered perspectives and told each other to not feel so alone and ignored. How we transfixed it to mean so very much more. But they can't, and I can't explain it, so the least I can do is table my thoughts and feelings for certain people and places that won't see it as a betrayal of my queerness and an acceptance of her warped and horrendous reasonings.

❤️❤️

[sherylyn]

As much as a non-queer person possibly can, I fully understand what you mean. One of my dearest friends — and co-founder of our site — is a queer Black woman whose partner is trans. Yes, we also have other fandoms we enjoy, but there's something special about that history we share. Trying to somehow "balance" those things is just fucking hard, no matter how anyone does it.

[gingicat]

My sympathies. I feel the same way now about Good Omens and Fortunately the Milk. (I have such amazing memories of listening to the audiobook of the latter with kids and husband.)

[tjs_whatnot]

❤️❤️❤️

I can't even delve into the whole Neil Gaiman thing and I'm not even deeply invested, so I can't even imagine. 😭😭

[gingicat]

Two very different ways of being horrible between Gaiman and Rowling, that's for sure.

[profiterole_reads]

Tumblr in particular is very advanced on the topic (well, in certain circles, not all of them), and basically, people who still have their HP House in their bios are suspected to be TERFs and avoided.

I have a rec list of HP-like LGBT books here. A lot are for ex-Harry/Draco shippers. For ex-Marauders fans, I highly recommend Branches of Past and Future by MN Bennet. <3

[tjs_whatnot]

Having a HP house in your bio in Tumblr just sounds like a really bad idea, or that you really are a TERF. Then again, I try not to have any opinions on Tumblr, that's how scared I am if that place. 🤣🤣

And yay for your list of books! I have a Simon Snow book on my actual book shelf (which is saying something, as I own very little these days) and am excited to read.

And Cecilia Tan is awesome! I've sat on author panels with her at (you guessed it) HP conferences, and she's amazing! ❤️❤️

[profiterole_reads]

Tumblr is a pretty nice place these days. The average age of the userbase has significantly increased. What I tend to avoid is places extremely popular with teenagers, which is where there might be more harassment.

[sarajayechan]

And yay for your list of books! I have a Simon Snow book on my actual book shelf (which is saying something, as I own very little these days) and am excited to read.

YESSSSS Simon Snow. :3 That whole trilogy is amazing, I really do hope we get movies or a series someday.

[sarajayechan]

I don't want to stop people from doing what they're going to do, but I am going to change how I interact with the source, while also still loving all my queer-writing, queer-being HP friends.

That is the only reason I'm not going to be deleting my stories, or walking away from them.

That's a good stance to take. I was there when HP was the fandom that ate the internet and I know a ton of queer fans were into it, so much slash and characters realizing they were gay or bi, fans who thought Remus/Sirius might end up canon, etc. Plus in the early 2000s fandom was a big escape for people in general and HP fandom was practically tailor-made for them.

The history and impact of HP fandom deserves to be preserved, but as exactly that - history.

[tjs_whatnot]

The history and impact of HP fandom deserves to be preserved, but as exactly that - history.

So perfectly said. ❤️❤️

[muccamukk]

I'm pretty torn on this one. I was never that deeply in the fandom, so not being in the fandom is like... not a huge ask for me. Like you, I've just been slowly backing away from the whole thing until I'm no longer there at all.

However, I just know so many queer fans who still love the fandom side without supporting JKR, and it feels sometimes like the pressure that video is putting on is bullying trans people who still find solice in the story in a world that's increasingly shitty. I'm not sure what that accomplishes.

Which isn't what you're doing! I just find it frustrating at times.

[tjs_whatnot]

Yeah. I wonder at the audience for the video, because if it's for average Joe Schmoe sorta fan, than yes, message received. But, it was shared in my FB from some of my trans-previous-HP people and their allies. And while I definitely agree with the sentiment that JKRs relevance needs to go and people need to stop giving her money and clout, I wasn't going to share it on my FB because like you said, I'm not about to shame trans people who still love HP and I'm not going to share it without caveats. ❤️❤️

[stardust_rifle]

It's not even in the top thirty list of bad things that JKR's anti-trans turn did, but her systemically nuking her entire fan culture and cultural impact from orbit is pretty damn notable.

[tjs_whatnot]

Right? Like... I'm just flabbergasted at her very existence.

[nuclearpolymer]

I'd agree that taking HP-related stuff out of any profile info or background pictures makes sense, because unless you also have a prominent trans pride flag, you have to assume that anyone seeing just the profile info or picture will assume you are fine with JKR's actions.

I'm personally at the point where engaging with the fandom, particularly on events that are fundraisers for non-profits to serve trans youth, feels really different than paying money for commercial activities or merchandise. I'm also personally ok with offsetting any purchase that you can't resist with a larger donation to a trans charity. Because that $15 movie ticket matters a lot less to JKR than a $20 donation from a new donor will matter to a small non-profit.

To be honest, most of anyone's allyship or support for any cause does have a limit. Very few of us are donating our entire paycheck to a cause, nor working full time to advance it, and that is ok. People are allowed to have other things that also matter in their life. So I'd look at it as thinking about what your personal limits are, not aspiring to be limitless.

[tjs_whatnot]

I'm personally at the point where engaging with the fandom, particularly on events that are fundraisers for non-profits to serve trans youth, feels really different than paying money for commercial activities or merchandise.

Absolutely! I will pay cash money to be subversive and flaunt and elevate trans causes in the name of HP. That was why the last Misti-Con was so powerful for me. ❤️❤️ I'm also trying to think of subversive ways to re-purpose my books.

People are allowed to have other things that also matter in their life. So I'd look at it as thinking about what your personal limits are, not aspiring to be limitless.

So. Well. Said! Thank you for that! ❤️

[faitsu]

OMG JKR really ruined everything!!! She really did. Along with Elon!

Also, congrats for leaving Twitter, I also left Twitter.

[tjs_whatnot]

♥ ♥

[wenchpixie]

I feel so much for those who were in HP fandom, because of all of this - it's so sad and infuriating

[tjs_whatnot]

♥ &hearts

[silveradept]

I do not fault anyone who still wants to build a better world than the canonical author did, but I suspect the levels of pure and obvious spite needed to separate yourself from her and her continual poisoning of the space is getting to be unsustainable for a lot of fans compared to what they could still get out of the fandom.

I think some amount of work will show up when it's guaranteed the canonical author is gone and can't hurt anyone any more, in the same way that IWTV celebrated Anne Rice's demise.

[tjs_whatnot]

I suspect the levels of pure and obvious spite needed to separate yourself from her and her continual poisoning of the space is getting to be unsustainable for a lot of fans compared to what they could still get out of the fandom.

YES! This! But, haha, while I'm not one to wish for anybody's death, I will be ready to write again in that fandom when it does happen. :D

[mxcatmoon]

I'm sorry that the fandom you loved had to be ruined for you! When this kind of thing happens and creators/actors/etc. turn out to be bad people, and I see all the suffering -- not just the direct victims, but the fans of the thing whose lives were changed/improved because of the thing they loved -- I get angry. Then, some fans will turn on others and attack in vicious ways instead of showing compassion, and it adds to the count of those who have been hurt.

It's ironic: I've been in fandom a long time, from before fanfic was mainstream. In those days (YMMV, depending on fandom), we hid it from creators/actors/etc. It was subversive, illegal, underground. Maybe if a creator's evilness had come out in those days, everyone would have considered the act of participating in transformative fandom an act of rebellion and the best way to say screw you! to the person who created it. I like that way of looking at it. People are using their creation, but they aren't getting a dime from it.

Long-winded way of saying everyone needs to decide for themselves how little or how much to engage with a fandom when something like that happens. And in the ironic words of Good Omens: Be kind to each other.