457 Are So Harrymort Coded

As a descendant of sea sponges, whose ancestors were ruthlessly exploited by Roman patricians for their decadent baths, as someone whose great-great-great-sponge ancestors experienced the full weight of class oppression when rich Romans used them in their thermal baths, as someone with deep sponge trauma, I understand better than anyone the dynamics between different social classes.

And I declare — James Potter didn't “bully” Snape because he was poor

"Also I think there's a slightly worrying tendency on the liberal 'left' (which is typically the majority in most fandom spaces) to shut down conversation and discussion in general, particularly if those conversations are uncomfortable. You see thought-terminating clichés frequently deployed in such spaces and I think it's just not helpful. Seeing posts from supposed leftists trying to convince people that it's morally wrong to even THINK about Harry Potter is pretty wild to me, tbh. I think that for a while now there's been much more of a focus among the left on idealism over materialism, to the point where material reality is totally ignored in favour of, essentially, trying to get everyone to think the correct thoughts. To me this just isn't a productive or intellectually responsible approach."

I have seen this tendency in every leftist space: no productivity whatsoever, just shaming people and policing their thoughts, completely hindering any reach beyond the likable.

What your opinion on all this talk of leaving the hp/marauder fandom because it directly/indirectly supports JKR? Do you have any desire to leave?

Well my opinion is that I can understand it completely if people choose to do so, but personally I have no desire to leave nor intention of leaving. I understand that it might bother individual people but I'm not asking anyone to look at this blog; in fact the reason I started to use this sideblog is so I could keep everything HP-related away from people who choose not to see it. While I think HP's cultural relevance today is such that it's impossible to avoid entirely, I do empathise with people who'd rather not see it. If someone wished to block me for continuing to blog about HP, I think that might be the healthiest option for everyone involved.

Anyway, I understand why this is happening and I think it's important to discuss. But that's the point. It's important to discuss, not stick our fingers in our ears.

I think this is a great post about it! Here are my own (long-winded) thoughts:

Personally I fundamentally disagree with the idea that we should stop reading and discussing works written by bad people. I don't believe that's a constructive or healthy way to engage with literature. If nobody's left to discuss something as culturally relevant as HP (or LotR, or whatever) critically, then what is the point of literature in the first place? Is it pure entertainment and therefore easily discarded? Ftr I'm also firmly against banning (even socially 'banning') literature of ANY sort, for ANY reason. "You shouldn't read X because it's morally wrong" is to me ultimately a conservative belief.

Anyway: I find it pretty obvious that JKR said 'if you like my books you agree with me' PURPOSEFULLY to cause this kind of a reaction, because she knew it would cause her detractors to become hyperfocused on pointing fingers at each other and thought policing each other over a kids book rather than focusing on what's actually going on. I don't think we should be playing into it, and I don't think even JKR believes it herself-- I think it was deliberate. And tbh from what I can see it has had the exact effect she intended.

The other thing I'll say is that (and tbf I can't say for sure) but I suspect that the online HP fandom might be exaggerating its own importance a little bit. Tbh I think that even if the online (and more liberal) fandom disappeared overnight there would still be tens of thousands of kids (the target audience, after all) discovering and reading Harry Potter for themselves across the globe. Scores of parents and aunts and grandparents who know nothing about JKR buying those books for the kids in their family. And that's not counting the people who actually do agree with JKR. Yes fandom disappearing might have some small impact, but tbh I think it would be all but insignificant. It would be much more, like infinitely more, materially significant for people in fandom to donate time and/or money to trans organisations in their own countries. ((I also think what would be somewhat helpful is for fandom to take responsibility in encouraging people not to watch the HBO series. The success of the series is imo more contingent on online opinion than the books.))

There are also millions of people still using twitter, instagram, and amazon, despite the very real material damage caused by Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos, and that's a MUCH more direct cause-and-effect than simply talking about Harry Potter because using those platforms LITERALLY lines the pockets of those individuals. I will say that if you're on twitter telling people they should stop talking about Harry Potter I simply will not take you seriously loll 😂

I guess there is probably some amount of people who discovered HP through, idk, Marauders tiktok and decided to read the series, but how significant is this number? It's incredibly difficult to grow up in most countries around the world and not come across Harry Potter in some way. For good or ill I do think HP is en route to becoming a children's classic. If tumblr goes down and my blog and all the blogs I interact with on here disappear, I don't think this would change.

On the other hand, simply for posterity I do think there's some value in continuing to discuss it-- all of it, including the reality of who the author is, the cultural relevance of HP, the text itself and what this all means given its significance in our culture. And it's important to discuss it critically, honestly, and constructively. It's remarkably easy with HP to avoid giving money to the author, which is something I believe to be worthwhile, so tbh I can't bring myself to agree with 'it would be better if we stopped talking about it' in a general sense. Personally I don't think the only people left discussing it should be right wing maniacs lol-- again, for posterity if nothing else.

Also I think there's a slightly worrying tendency on the liberal 'left' (which is typically the majority in most fandom spaces) to shut down conversation and discussion in general, particularly if those conversations are uncomfortable. You see thought-terminating clichés frequently deployed in such spaces and I think it's just not helpful. Seeing posts from supposed leftists trying to convince people that it's morally wrong to even THINK about Harry Potter is pretty wild to me, tbh. I think that for a while now there's been much more of a focus among the left on idealism over materialism, to the point where material reality is totally ignored in favour of, essentially, trying to get everyone to think the correct thoughts. To me this just isn't a productive or intellectually responsible approach.

What is the material benefit of all of us simply shutting up about Harry Potter forever? How does this actually help anyone beyond yourself and your own conscience? To me it seems like ultimately a performative and virtue signalling action that is pretty meaningless when you're not doing anything else, and is particularly meaningless when you're not applying this to literally anything else in your life. Fandom isn't activism, but by extension NOT-fandom also isn't activism haha. Personally I dislike Marvel films and think they're barely-disguised propaganda for the American military-industrial complex, but I don't think it's evil for people to write their Bucky/Steve fanfiction or whatever lmao. And I certainly don't think it's wrong to discuss Marvel films, the opposite in fact, I think they should be critically discussed.

So, basically, I think it's perfectly understandable that people would want to leave the fandom. But ultimately I think that's an action you're taking for yourself, and I don't think there's much to be gained from refusing to discuss things deemed 'morally wrong.' I think to a certain extent it's natural and probably healthy to feel some guilt about it all, but also perhaps it's worth questioning why we feel such extreme guilt about this, which is really just people talking to each other about books, and not about the 486948736 other much more unambiguously destructive things we do with our time and money on a daily basis.

As long as we're willing to discuss this topic honestly and constructively, to be conscious and empathetic towards others, and to refrain from spending any money on HP-related products, I don't think it's wrong to remain in the fandom tbh. To deny HP's impact on today's literary landscape would be, imo, dishonest, so therefore somebody has to discuss it. And I'd much rather there be a variety of opinions within that discussion.

Operation Femme Freeze

RECLAIMING OUR WORTH. DEFINING OUR SPACES.

PURPOSE: TO AVOID MALE-CENTERED SPACES, ENHANCE WOMEN'S SAFETY, PRESERVE WEALTH, AND FOSTER GREATER ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE FOR WOMEN.

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Why do Dramione fans confuse Draco's persona with Blaise's? Blaise is the canonical ice prince, the arrogant, nonchalant, and cold Slytherin who looks like he can't be bothered with anything and treats everyone as beneath him. Draco, on the other hand, is too much of a tryhard, desperately seeking validation at every turn, and it’s painfully obvious. He’s a drama queen, wannabe ice prince, while Blaise does it effortlessly, and Draco resents him for that.

I like shipping people that almost nobody ever thought of shipping together and have the potential to be really interesting.

Like Molly x Voldemort, Molly x Sirius, Ron x Voldemort, Andromeda x Bellatrix, Lucius x Hermione, Blaise x Ron and so much more 😄

So, last night I got to thinking what I want Snape in my interpretation to look like, so please take this offering with my thought process

And after that I also made a rough sketch for a fun idea with a late night sneaking around that I l've got, so here's that as well

"Detention, Potter."

Everytime I see Snape posts that include Rickman's face I get the urge to cry and throw up.

Harry’s problem with authority and his “saving people thing”

Harry has a problem with authority in general. He grew up being ordered around by the Dursleys, and does not appreciate it when people try to exert authority over him, even when they do so with good intentions. He’s touched by Mrs. Weasley saying he’s as good as a son, but impatient with her mollycoddling because he’s not used to the idea of being shielded from information for his own good. He cares for Hermione, but ignores her or lashes out when she nags him.

He’s much more willing to openly contradict authority figures. Snape, Umbridge, Scrimgeour, Dumbledore, and even Lupin in DH. He’s polite, but he does not take it for granted that authority figures deserve respect because they’re authority figures.

He does have adults in his life that care deeply for him, but the problem is that Harry already knows that adults don’t have all of the answers.

And his attitude toward authority is closely related to his “saving people thing.”

Harry learned from a young age that adults could not or would not solve his problems for him. He learned that if he needed help or someone else needed help, he was going to have to do it himself.

So he learned to solve his own problems. And if someone is in danger, he can’t just blindly trust that adults will handle the situation. He doesn’t have that implicit knee-jerk “adults will solve this problem for us” reaction. This is perfectly illustrated when he pulls Gabrielle from the lake in GoF. Ron and Hermione are exasperated with him for not realizing that of course Dumbledore wouldn’t actually let them drown. Harry attributes this to the general creepiness of the lake, but I think it’s deeper than that. It simply doesn’t occur to him that of course the headmaster of the school wouldn’t put an 8-year-old girl at risk for a school event like that.

When you’re little and you think there’s a monster under your bed, you usually run to your parents. Because you see them as infallible human beings and trust implicitly that they’re capable of handling whatever horrible creature is under your bed.

Harry never had that. He had to handle his own monsters. And Voldemort is no different.

Harry is the only person who came close to truly knowing who Voldemort is. That’s why I ship Harrymort.

Not all kinks have to be accepted. We should accept that it's normal to have these kinks and not shame the people for it, but some practices of kinks shouldn’t be supported or normalized as a good thing. Talking about cnc mostly. It is dangerous to participate in it and people should be wary to even consider it if they have these fantasies. It's okay to have all types of fantasies, but not every fantasy is good for the person or anyone involved. Critical thinking is important in this context. But I agree with the rest.

Boundary setting, LGBTQIA acceptance, and kink positivity, and enthusiastic consent are requirements of a sex positive culture.