transphobiaHaven't read it yet, but this looks like another interesting #fanfic: Harry Potter and The Great Escape To China - Part 1 by naughtypixie "Snape decides to save Lily's son. The measures are a touch drastic, but Harry isn't minding the results." archiveofourown.org/works/37143376/chapters/92664745#hp#harrypotter
transphobia@fastfinge Are we really marking anything remotely related to harry Potter as transphobic? That feels like going a bit far. I welcome disagreement from someone who has more skin in the game but I feel like it promotes the idea that supporting anything related to Harry Potter is also supporting the author as a person. Nothing about this post is transphobic, unless the fanfic is, which is something we'd probably want to know.
transphobia@TheQuinbox@simon Yup, as I said a bit down the thread, I don't CW fics by trans authors with trans characters. And I won't CW at all once JKR is dead and gone. But right now, she's a clear and present danger, and actively harmful.
transphobia@fastfinge I agree re: JKR herself. But I'm struggling to follow the thought process that leads to a CW being placed on any derivative work based on her creations.
I'm not trying to start an argument, I truly would like to understand it. Given your comments about JKR's status as a living being, I don't think you're purely asserting that Harry Potter itself contains transphobic aspects and therefore there's a risk that anything branching off from it will contain those as well.
It seems to go much deeper than that. Your comments read as though you think this is an issue of safety, and that you may not be the ally you hope to be unless you take these steps. But that doesn't compute in my brain at present, so happy to take some reading materials or further thoughts if you have and feel like providing them. @TheQuinbox@simon
transphobia@jscholes@TheQuinbox@simon Okay, let's start with the ways that a particular worldview is reflected in Harry Potter. , as a practicing Christian, I'm well grounded in fundamentalist beliefs. While Harry Potter was condemned by unthinking religious reactionaries, it is utterly, utterly soaking in both the good and true parts of the Christian faith, as well as the worst of our hatred and misguided heresy. From the Goblins that are obvious antisemitic Jew stand-ins (they have long noses and fingers, control all the money, have to be kept down to prevent rebellion, etc.) to the way the entire story depends on the existence of the soul (and a morality beyond death), to the pro-slavery allegory of house-elves ("Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart." -- Ephesians 6:5), to the way the only gay characters are either celibate or evil (Dumbledore, the celibate good gay and priest stand-in has to defeat Gellert Grindelwald, the evil gay), to the way the entire story is rooted in medieval alchemy and the concept of the alchemists journey of purification through Christe's refining fire. Without both the good and terrible of Christianity, you don't get Harry Potter. And it's not possible to remove that baggage from it. If that's something that interests you, I strongly recommend the book How Harry Cast His Spell by John Granger.
transphobia@jscholes@TheQuinbox@simon Well, actually, I'll walk that back a tiny bit. You can remove or twist everything Christian in Harry Potter. If you Do, you get Methods of Rationality, an equally problematic work that claims that the western/European worldview that came down to us from the enlightenment is the only correct worldview, that emotions are bad, that nothing exists if it can't be measured, that people with low IQ are worthless and should die, along with a host of other unsavory implications. Though as someone who does believe in a soul, life after death, and objective morality, I will freely admit that as hateful as some of the things in Harry Potter might be, I'm still biased in favour of it over Methods of Rationality, and I find MIRI, LessWrong, and Eliezer Yudkowsky's other cults nearly physically sickening.
transphobia@jscholes@TheQuinbox@simon The various rationality cults, breeding hypocritical ideas like effective altruism and worse, are the biggest threat both to Christianity and the human race today. But most Christians are too busy fighting the gays and trans people to see what's coming as more and more of these people come to power. And, of course, banning stuff like Harry Potter because reasons, when it's way closer to the worldview of the people banning it than anything written in the past 50 years. Oh, good grief. I'm ranting. I could honestly do this for hours and hours. I'll stop, now. Thanks for listening to my TED talk. I sure am fun at parties! But the way people fail to understand Harry Potter always gets me going. And that always leads to me ranting about Methods of Rationality.
transphobia@jscholes@TheQuinbox@simon Now onto the aspects of safety. JKR spends the majority of her time posting on social media, and fundraising, for anti-transe causes. While she continues to do this, and remains in the forefront of the media and cultural zeitgeist, unexpected mentions of people enjoying works based on JKR's original books could absolutely be psychologically damaging. Especially if you grew up loving Harry Potter, as I and so many millions did, only to discover you're trans as an adult, and were betrayed by the author of a work you hold dear. If you love Harry Potter as much as I still do (and wish I didn't), those feelings of betrayal and grief aren't going to fade quickly. Especially because as someone who isn't trans, I still get to enjoy those things without that personal baggage. So I'm sure there's also some bitterness and Jealousy to go along with everything else. And yet, I, and many others, aren't going to just give up Harry Potter, a friend we've had from childhood. But the verry least we can do is CW discussion of the works.
transphobia@simon@fastfinge It isn't so common anymore unfortunately, at least not that I've seen, but I used to love when fanfic authors would make it clear in the summaries of their stories that they did not support JKR or the things she stood for.
transphobia@Fragglemuppet@simon Even then, though, the basic premise of the work is infected with the opinions of the person who authored it. Yes, it's possible to be transformational and remove those views, or for them not to come into it. However, JKR is a clear and present danger. I'll stop putting content warnings when: 1. She's dead, and can thus do no more harm. 2. If I'm linking a fic written by a trans author with trans characters.
Death of the author as a literary theory kind of requires that the author, you know, die. Especially in the case of JKR, where she still exerts control over the Harry Potter world, still makes money off of it, and spends that money in ways that support her views. When she's gone, none of those things will apply, and I would agree that at that point, a content warning is no longer a requirement.
transphobia@fastfinge@simon But I'm wondering if I missed something. Did I maybe not see the first post? Quite possible the way Mastodon works. What made you post this story in the first place then?
transphobia@Fragglemuppet@simon Because not being a trans person, I am still able to read and enjoy Harry Potter and its related fanfics and works. However, I don't give the author any money, and I put a content warning on any Harry Potter related post I make, because I recognize that this aspect of my personality is harmful and unsafe for others. So the best way for me to be a person who's safe to be around is to put a warning on Harry Potter related posts.
transphobia@Fragglemuppet@simon Though Simon has a good point that I should be more specific. In future I'll probably use something like "Transphobia due to views expressed by the author of the original work" or something. Because he's correct that just slapping "transphobia" on the post is tarring the fanfic author with a brush they may not deserve.
