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necessarian) wrote2020-06-09 10:07 pm
necessarian) wrote2020-06-09 10:07 pm
Entry tags:
hp fandom: still here, apparently
tonight, for the first time in literally months, i managed to write fic again. two thousand words in one big stretch. i'm continuing work on the hufflepuff draco series, and i will once again apologise for my glacial pace, as i noticed it's been over two years since i posted the first part. in all fairness, the newly minted dr. renaissance (i'll stop showing off about it soon, i promise) has been doing other things. but hopefully i can put something out again soon! i know this sounds corny, but i have been kind of humbled by my weird little genfic about hufflepuff draco learning to be a good kid reaching 300 kudos. i promise you he makes even more progress in part 2. (who among us hasn't daydreamed about deradicalising draco malfoy at the tender age of twelve?)
the other thing: it's a weird time to be a hp fan right now. there are plenty of terrible takes floating around, not least of all jkr's. some people think we have to abandon the books/fandom wholesale. some people have decided hp doesn't belong to jkr anymore; others have rightly pointed out that there have always been flaws in the series, and that we can't separate the author from the works. mostly i have been feeling uncomfortable because it's been widely known that jkr is a terf for quite a while now, but i guess it took a "fuck it, mask off" moment for people to pay attention on such a grand scale. i first worked through a version of this many years ago, as a teen, when i became more aware of racist and antisemitic tropes and the way they're employed in hp. could i have chalked that up to ignorance? not after she kept perpetuating those tropes in the fantastic beasts movies. with jkr's terf activity on twitter, i don't think there's ever been any question about it. so to that end, i'm glad people are finally taking it seriously.
my stance on it is basically, people who need to step away from the fandom can and should be given the space to do that peacefully and quietly. i don't seek to defend my participation in a fandom for a series of books made by someone i fundamentally dislike and disagree with for her bigoted views. it's just, with childhood nostalgia, things get sticky. as much as we can't separate jkr's harmful beliefs from the hp series and its flaws, it's also hard for many of us to separate ourselves (and our fic, and our headcanons) from our love for the series. yes, the hp series has antisemitic features to it. yes, i projected on anthony goldstein as a jewish kid because i recognised his jewish surname, and no, i cannot excise my love for the version of his character and his world that i've created. harry potter, the series, cannot exist independently of jkr's bigotry. but the fandom can, and on many levels does, and has for years.
i've revisited my feelings on this, as i do every time jkr's bigotry is in the spotlight. maybe one day i'll change my mind and be on my way, but for now, i'm still here. i have devoted so much time and love to hp fic and the hp fandom. i will continue to put love into my works, and to uplift everyone else in this community: especially lgbt fans, fans of colour, and jewish fans.
so anyway, if you need me, i'll be expanding the anthony goldstein cinematic universe. (yes, huffledraco will also have him in it eventually.) peace.
the other thing: it's a weird time to be a hp fan right now. there are plenty of terrible takes floating around, not least of all jkr's. some people think we have to abandon the books/fandom wholesale. some people have decided hp doesn't belong to jkr anymore; others have rightly pointed out that there have always been flaws in the series, and that we can't separate the author from the works. mostly i have been feeling uncomfortable because it's been widely known that jkr is a terf for quite a while now, but i guess it took a "fuck it, mask off" moment for people to pay attention on such a grand scale. i first worked through a version of this many years ago, as a teen, when i became more aware of racist and antisemitic tropes and the way they're employed in hp. could i have chalked that up to ignorance? not after she kept perpetuating those tropes in the fantastic beasts movies. with jkr's terf activity on twitter, i don't think there's ever been any question about it. so to that end, i'm glad people are finally taking it seriously.
my stance on it is basically, people who need to step away from the fandom can and should be given the space to do that peacefully and quietly. i don't seek to defend my participation in a fandom for a series of books made by someone i fundamentally dislike and disagree with for her bigoted views. it's just, with childhood nostalgia, things get sticky. as much as we can't separate jkr's harmful beliefs from the hp series and its flaws, it's also hard for many of us to separate ourselves (and our fic, and our headcanons) from our love for the series. yes, the hp series has antisemitic features to it. yes, i projected on anthony goldstein as a jewish kid because i recognised his jewish surname, and no, i cannot excise my love for the version of his character and his world that i've created. harry potter, the series, cannot exist independently of jkr's bigotry. but the fandom can, and on many levels does, and has for years.
i've revisited my feelings on this, as i do every time jkr's bigotry is in the spotlight. maybe one day i'll change my mind and be on my way, but for now, i'm still here. i have devoted so much time and love to hp fic and the hp fandom. i will continue to put love into my works, and to uplift everyone else in this community: especially lgbt fans, fans of colour, and jewish fans.
so anyway, if you need me, i'll be expanding the anthony goldstein cinematic universe. (yes, huffledraco will also have him in it eventually.) peace.