Fandom Snowflake Challenge #3
Jan. 7th, 2025 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-08 05:31 am (UTC)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.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-08 01:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-09 02:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-09 06:27 am (UTC)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.
❤️❤️