CW: brief allusion to murder, mentions of transphobia, JKR references, cursing, and allusion to suicide.

March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, a day of celebration for trans people, to showcase trans joy, an opportunity to raise awareness and learn how to be a better ally. The event was created in contrast to Transgender Day of Remembrance (Nov 20) when we remember the trans lives lost to transphobia. Last year on this date I wasn’t out, but as a champion of the importance of representation and safe spaces, I’ll use my privilege to show other trans people they are not alone.

Just recently, I decided to add the rainbow and trans flags to my Twitter bio. I’ve noticed that when people display them I feel safer around them, and I want others to know they’re safe around me too. I’m a trans man from Mexico City, and while Mexico is ahead of most European countries in terms of trans legislation, even my family has struggled to accept me in this identity. Fortunately, my partner is my number one supporter and I’ve got great friends I can rely on. This is not the case for many trans people.

“We’ve seen dozens of examples of anti-trans legislation sweeping through different states across the US in recent months, and trans people’s identities are treated merely as a debating topic in the UK media.”

(Maheshwari-Aplin, 2023)

I know it’s dangerous for many people to be out as it’s hard to know whose views see our existence as a threat. Even something seemingly innocuous like someone complaining about inclusive language can feel exclusionary. This is more prominent in current days with the relentless TERF rhetoric, which brings up the subject of Harry Potter.

Many fans of the books claim they don’t support Rowling’s views, and even try to separate art from the author. With the risk of sounding over dramatic, I’ll confess that every time someone who knows me positively mentions her works, I can’t help but think “Why do you hate me?”.

“Harry Potter is so much bigger than its author. It is thousands upon thousands of fanfictions and pieces of fanart, it is movies and a theme park and childhood memories of countless readers.

But, again, none of this would exist without the author, and, unlike with Lovecraft, the author in this case is still very much involved in every aspect of this fictional world and is still very much alive.

We shouldn’t forget Lovecraft’s racism, but people remain unaware of it, because he’s been dead a long time and he’s not shouting his views all over Twitter. (…)

To many people, Harry Potter is now a threat, a reminder of a very powerful woman threatening their very humanity and the rights they are fighting for.”

(Thomas, 2020)

I have lived this exclusion firsthand when I see people in online spaces talking about reading JKR’s works on multiple occasions. Recently, I learned some people I felt comfortable with have been playing her new game.

If you support JKR by playing “the wizardly game”, keep promoting her books, or continue talking about your house, I’ll assume you don’t care about the safety of trans people. Some people wrongly believe you should walk on eggshells around us when we’re just asking for basic respect. Giving money to the loudest TERF is the opposite of that.

I won’t offer tolerance for intolerance. You can’t keep hiding behind ignorance, people are raising their voices about their pain. You just don’t want to listen. You may have the privilege to “stay out of it” but I don’t, and I won’t stay out of it. It is personal because I’m trans.

This doesn’t mean I’m going to yell at every person talking about Harry Potter (who’s got the energy for that?) but know that if you keep praising her work and continue to make her pockets even bigger, you’re making a lot of people feel unsafe.

If you’ve been following my reviews, you should’ve noticed that I don’t usually give bad ratings unless I find something very problematic. I haven’t read all her books (and won’t be) but I know this is also the case with the Harry Potter books.

“Between the lines of the hero’s journey to battle evil, you’ll find ample evidence of racism, sexism, fatphobia, and binary thinking in general.”

(Capasso, 2022)

There are many other issues with her and her work, and while it’s not my place to fight for those movements, I will listen, and I will learn.

Do I believe that the Harry Potter books are inherently evil? No. Nor does reading them make you a bad person, but there’s enough great media out there to keep hanging on these.

So, how can you be a better trans ally? Teach kids about gender diversity and allow them to play with and explore their gender; put pronouns in your bio to normalize not assuming someone’s gender; ask your local library to stack books by trans authors; use more inclusive language; stop funding transphobia; and speak up when you see someone being transphobic, even calling someone out can make them stop and question themselves. These are just a couple of small actions almost anyone can take part in.

If you’ve read this far and you’re trans, I just want to say: thanks for still being here. You matter.

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