A Post-Potter World? Where do we go from here?
I never dreamed I would ever utter the words “Post-Potter World” under any circumstances and, yet, here I am including it in the title of a blog post.
Are we living in a “Post-Potter World”? If it weren’t for the new HBO Max series that is currently in production, I think we honestly probably would be. If you haven’t been on certain social media platforms, such as Instagram or Threads, you might not know much about the controversies surrounding J.K. Rowling in recent years (because if I’m being completely honest, if these weren’t two of the apps I use most consistently, I would have no clue myself).
I won’t go into much detail about it here, but I would encourage you to research it if you haven’t already. It seems like as time goes on, the author continues to become increasingly motivated in her attempts to diminish members of the Trans community. It started with tweets and little comments here and there but has since evolved into Rowling making significant financial contributions to anti-trans agendas. There is a lot more to it than that, but I don’t want the focus of this blog post to be recounting JKR’s actions throughout the years, so I’m leaving it at that.
Naturally, this is troublesome. Naturally, I don’t love the idea of the author of the series that quite literally made me a reader being openly hateful towards anyone, much less those who have already been targets of hate for the past century. For the past several years, I have been adopting Daniel Radcliffe’s belief that we shouldn’t let authors or their actions spoil our favorite books. With that being said, I understand that not everyone holds this viewpoint and I do think each of us has to take time to reflect and ask ourselves how, according to our own moral compasses and consciences, should we respond? I don’t think the answer to this question is the same for everyone and I also think that’s okay.
Do we stop purchasing any items related to JK Rowling, regardless of if she monetarily benefits from the sales or not? (Sidenote: JKR does NOT benefit from Next Chapter sales) Do we boycott the new HBO Max series since JKR is directly involved? Do we forgo our annual HP rereads? Questions like these are valid to ask ourselves, and the answers are going to vary from person to person. At the end of the day, I think it’s important that we take up the causes that mean the most to us and positively contribute to those causes (either financially or with our time) as we are able.
And when gauging what others are doing in regard to the social justice causes that matter to me, here’s what I try to remember for the sake of my own sanity:
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Just because someone isn’t commenting publicly on something doesn’t mean they don’t care or aren’t paying attention to it. I wrote my entire dissertation for my masters degree over the racial social justice issues that were happening at the time (Pandemic era) yet I rarely commented about them on social media. Likewise there are tons of things going on in the USA right now to be outraged over and I talk about these things in my personal life with those closest to me rather than saying much about them online. In my mind, my business and my social media accounts that are attached to it are my happy place—the one place I turn to for some respite from reality. Thus, I try to remember this when the little negative voice in my mind tries to prevent me from giving someone the benefit of the doubt.
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Don’t assume that everyone knows what you know. There are SO many methods of communication and gathering news (both real and fake) these days and the fact of the matter is that not everyone can be present on every single app, so there will be instances when people truly have no clue about something (this is okay). If I hadn’t come across a Thread one day about JKR, I would have never thought to research anything related to this mess and I would truly be in the dark about it.
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Before criticizing anyone else’s viewpoints or seeming lack of action regarding social justice issues, I also like to ask myself “What have I explicitly done in my life to further this cause that I am claiming to care about?” “Have I donated my time or my money to it in some way?” “Have I had open conversations about it with members of the marginalized groups that I am claiming to defend?” If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” then I haven’t done enough to warrant criticism of anyone else. Doing this reminds me of the truth that it is suuuper easy to be a keyboard warrior, but if we are talking the talk and not walking the walk then maybe we need to give those fingers a rest.
Since I first learned about this mess with JKR, I have personally chosen to separate the creator from the creation and not let my feelings and opinions towards her affect my love for the Wizarding World (especially the movies because I love Daniel, Rupert, and Emma so much!). However, as her behavior has become increasingly troublesome, I will admit that it is becoming harder for me to do this, especially in regard to Next Chapter.
While I hate the idea of creatively parting with a series that has meant so much to me throughout my childhood and adolescence, it's becoming harder for me, personally, to continue to want to release items for a fandom whose author openly behaves in such hateful ways towards the Trans community as well as the former Harry Potter actors who dedicated their entire adolescence to bringing her stories to life on screen. Like, what? For this reason, I am currently uncertain about Next Chapter's future in regard to releasing new Wizarding World items. While I am not super well-versed in the world of HP fanfiction, I do know that it is gaining traction and I am very excited to start reading more fanfiction. Perhaps this might be an avenue I pursue eventually in the shop? Who knows what the future might hold! I am uncertain, but I’m learning to be at peace with that.
Earlier this spring, me and a designer I often work closely with began working on a “Respect the Locals” design (just like the Sarah J. Maas one that we did a few months previously!) with a plan to release the item around Harry’s birthday. I was extremely excited about this design and I truly love the way it turned out—I think it’s even more brilliant than the SJM one. If I had known then what I know now about the full extent of the controversy surrounding JK Rowling, (back when we were working on this design, I literally thought her actions and words were limited to just tweets—I had no idea she was financially contributing to anti-trans legislation and organizations) would I have gone forward with creating this design? Maybe. Maybe not. I can’t confidently answer that question. (But this is actually part of the reason I made the very tough decision to not to restock the Draco tee—the original plan was to open up a preorder for it in July).
Alas, this is the situation I find myself in. I am feeling a lot of feelings. But the reality of the situation for me, at this moment, is that I’ve invested quite a bit of money in creating the Respect the Locals design and for the health of my business and my livelihood, the show must go on. I went back and forth on whether or not I should publish this blog post. I know that at the end of the day, we do not owe strangers the thoughts that are rattling around in our brain, but you and the Next Chapter community do not feel like strangers to me. I love you, I appreciate you, I care for you, and even though I do not know most of you in real life, I wanted to expose a bit of my heart to you regarding this matter.
Whether you agree with me partially, fully, or not at all, I hope you know that you are always welcome here.
Never be so kind you forget to be clever.
Never be so clever, you forget to be kind.
- Taylor Swift
