her books were always about her "real beliefs" just hidden behind her writing. family guy joked about her writing-anti-trans years before she went full terf.

I mean yeah, so long as you're not actually giving money to the evil woman that wrote those books in any way, nobody's stopping you from enjoying your old Harry Potter books and DVDs.

Heck, if you're missing one you can buy it on eBay second hand, just so long as you're not supporting the evil woman with a shiny new purchase, ya know? That woman doesn't deserve a penny.

There's a separate conversation you might want to have with yourself on whether your can separate the author from the work while you're reading it, of course, and whether you're comfortable doing so or not is a personal decision you'll have to make for yourself.

I WAS that Harry Potter fan. The overly obsessed nerd who was waaaaaay to into it. But now I'm over it because fuck Rowling.

The Sorting Hat really sells it.
Kudos Erin🥂

A better alternative.

It might work better if you recommend them an alternative. "Don't do this" is bad instruction. "You can do this instead" is better.

I've heard good things about Discworld, for one.

You want comfort British wizard comfort characters: read the Rivers of London series.

I am going to admit I enjoyed the series a lot 20 years ago, can't say I've read ger stuff since the series ended and haven't done anything to support her since the whole TERF thing came out and she started showing what sort of person she was. I recently picked up my old books to see if they held up and by god is it filled with bigoted stereotypes, Cho Chang (two last names) for the Chinese girl, Goblins being the obvious stereotype/alehory of Jews from a European who was "open minded" about Jews pre ww2 but still wanted to make sure that they deserved some of the bad shit that happened to them because they're vicious even if unfair wizard laws were passed, the black auror being called Shackelbolt, the wezeleys being very much catholics for being poor with too many kids, the french being snobbish bafoons but classy, the Centaurs being either polytheists or gypsies, the list just goes on and Harry being the hero just gets rid of the head Nazi while leaving the institutions and culture in place, doesn't even think about the slavery aspect except for Dobby, and he and Ron make fun of Hermione for her pushing for their freedom. I guess the reason why people enjoy the series is because the world feels somewhat real and magical because she put her imagination and bigotry into the story and never thought of trying to have the protagonists actually solve a major issue and will let it fester.

The really weird thing is how many LGBTQ folks latched onto HP in its early releases as what was recognized to be a kind-of pro-queer YA novel.

You had a young boy who was literally in the closet, disowned and disrespected by family, who is spirited away to a magical school where his differences are valued and cultivated. He's got a bunch of friends who could easily sub in for queer icons. There are gender-bending magical spells, the bad guys are explicitly fascist, most books end with some kind of "The power of friendship and love will triumph!" rejoinder. FFS, Dumbledore is canonically gay.

It is far more a testament to the psychologically corrosive power of plutocracy that JK Rowling went off the rails. I don't think it's unfair for people to like the books and hate the author. Just remember not to pay for anything and you're fine.

O don't mind anyone enjoying media from problematic figures if they enjoy it. I just don't want those fans to monetarily support those figures.

Sail the high seas if you wanna partake in such content.

I don't know, but as I grew older and the world became more harsh, out of cynicism I stopped investing in so much pop culture and especially personalities who have or could possibly make an about-face.

I get there are workarounds like piracy and buying second-hand, but also boycotting a book-series and some merch shouldn't be that hard surely?

There’s a plethora of artists to choose from that aren’t assholes. These folks keep talking about opening mind to other points of view. If that’s their stance then they can open mind to new options.

The best way to enjoy something that may benefit a problematic person is to simply acquire it in a way that doesn't benefit them. Perhaps whilst on board a ship with a nice barrel of grog.

OK, this is a tough one and what I'm about to say might get me some dislikes. Let me just say something that might soften the blow: Fuck Rowling, her transphobia, and the bigots that defend her wretched views. Even if she decided, in an alternative timeline, to keep her loudmouth shut, she would still be the scum of the earth for her views on trans people. I repeat, Fuck Rowling.

Now, with that out the way, let's address the crux of the issue. I know that many of you in the LGBTQ+ community grew up with the franchise and enjoyed it long before Rowling exposed her true colors. If you're LGBTQ+ and you decide to reconcile, in some way, with the franchise without directly supporting Rowling, you're well within your rights to do so. The nostalgia you feel for something that brought you joy in your youth is yours to keep. No one, not even the creator themselves, can take that from you. As for the products themselves? You can: buy the books secondhand, pirate the movies, pirate the EPUBs if you have an e reader and buy fan-made merch from LGBTQ+-friendly sellers.

If decided to not reconcile with the franchise, you're also well within your rights to do so. Rowling has to made aware of the damage her views have on people. Demonstrate the hypocrisy of writing about a group of outsiders finding a place of acceptance and discovering their true selves and espousing bigoted rhetoric towards a discriminated group wanting acceptance for their true selves. There's plenty of other fictional universes you can draw your attention towards (more on that in a moment) that are far less problematic and worthier of your time.

If you're an ally (like myself), it's best that we don't engage with the franchise all together out of support. For me, this isn't a problem since I didn't engage with the franchise all that much in my youth (I was more of a LOTR fan). If you do decide to reconcile, much of what I have already said still applies.

In short, the question of reconciliation is a personal matter. So long as Rowling isn't benefiting, you should be happy with your decision and the stand you take. As for alternatives? Well...

The already mentioned Lord of The Rings

Dune series

Discworld

Elric of Melniboné

Wheel of Time

I'll confess to keeping one item of HP merch. It's a cup that we use for scooping car litter.

I've lost a lot of favorite musicians that turned out to be either creepy abusers or rabid zionists; I think HP fans can read another fucking book.

I read the books, but I was 14 and it was 2000. Haven't consumed any of it since.