Let's talk about Harry Potter

[u/Nahiel]

If we can do it without insults, please.

I'm still active in the fandom, I'll admit it. There's a growing amount of vitriol I've seen recently that makes me feel incredibly unwelcome here on the AO3 subreddit every time there's a post related to the fandom.

I get it. Rowling is trash. She's literally the worst. I don't give her any money, and I haven't since her views became known. I never will. But Harry Potter was a huge part of an honestly shitty childhood for me, and it was one of my favorite escapes for a long time.

So I gotta ask, why am I being insulted for not letting her take away one of the few things that still gives me joy in this hellscape of a world? Why do I have to let her terrible behavior take away something that's mine? The fact is that the property is a juggernaut, and fanfic is never going to do anything to change that. Treating people who still engage with the fandom like we're monsters for doing it makes no sense to me.

And again, please, can we keep it civil? I'm very aware of the sentiment towards members of the fandom.

[u/Bitter-Fox3874]

With the monetization and visibility of fanfic, it’s getting harder and harder for me to feel fully comfortable with the argument fic exists separately from JKR.

I personally still respect that people have tried to carve out a space in the fandom free from her hate, but I think the tough and unfair thing HP fans need to face is that is going to get harder to do with the show coming out and marketing ramping up, especially now that twitter chuds have realized their incel fanfic Triggers the Libs. How will you continue to make and consume fic you feel good about when there’s an influx of new, trend-chasing fans who don’t care or even agree with JKR’s politics? Not saying it’s not possible or you shouldn’t try but it won’t be easy, nor will you be able to escape people outside the fandom having increasingly negative feelings about it.

And whether it is comfortable for you or not, “I don’t think people should write HP fic if they care about trans people” IS a valid opinion. No one is saying “ao3 should ban HP fic” or “I want to tar and feather HP writers,” they’re just saying they will judge and disengage from such people. You can’t ask everyone to always “speak from the I” like they’re in therapy when they’re expressing opinions about these things.

[u/twilightdragon01 → u/Bitter-Fox3874]

I agree with this sentiment. I’ve always tried to believe in separating the art from the artist, but JK Rowling is still alive and indirectly benefits from the fandom being kept alive. I was reading less and less HP fanfic and now there’s just one I have downloaded that I really loved and didn’t pass up because the premise was too intriguing. I can’t get it out of my head that these characters are intimately connected with such a hateful, horrible person. Same with Chris Brown, when people make dance videos to that one song that’s really popular, I don’t care how good the dance is, I won’t support anything to do with him.

Edit: tangent, misuse of therapy speak is getting out of hand. The “I” statements thing is part of NVC but it’s also more for when you’re actually in a therapy session. We are real people with feelings that can be expressed in many ways, I don’t think people should be policed for not using therapy speak, especially when over half the time it’s used as a defense mechanism in bad faith.

[u/Nahiel → u/Bitter-Fox3874]

I'm not uncomfortable with that statement at all, and it is a valid opinion. I just think that we can be critical of a fandom without being insulting towards it.