Many avid Harry Potter readers see J.K. Rowling cast a shadow over the magical world of Hogwarts. But that doesn't have to be the case. She may have written the Harry, Ron and Hermione stories, but they are no longer hers.
There aren't many books that have shaped as many lives as Harry Potter. Young and old have always been able to immerse themselves in the magical world of Hogwarts - and in return understand each other better in the real world: the stories of Harry, Ron and Hermione have united and connected. It is all the more disappointing that the author behind this masterpiece has for several years been promoting transphobic ideas that are not only dangerous but also largely wrong.
It all started, as is so often the case these days, with a tweet: J.K. Rowling doesn't want to call trans women women because they don't menstruate. Then comes a blog post listing "Five reasons to be concerned about the new trans activism." And she obviously didn't want to stop at Twitter threads and blog posts. So she wrote a whole book about it. Trouble Blood follows a detective on a hunt for a male serial killer who disguises himself as a woman to murder women.
The backlash against the author was great. Most of the Harry Potter cast, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, have since distanced themselves from Rowling. Few people jumped at the author's side in the course of her statements - until Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the case: In a speech in March this year he lamented that the Western elites had "cancelled" the Harry Potter author (on German: canceled or destroyed). And now the West is busy "cancelling" Russia.
Firstly, if the Russian President suddenly jumps to your side in these times, you can be pretty sure that you are not on the right side of history. Second: It is doubtful that Rowling was "cancelled". Because the author still has a huge platform and reach and still earns millions with the books. In mid-2020, sales rose again by around 27 percent after the author was allegedly "cancelled".
Nevertheless, the question often arises whether it is still possible to love the magical world of Hogwarts under the new circumstances. The answer: yes. Because this world no longer belongs to the author. She may have invented them, created them, and written them. But the meaning of the stories, the experiences and memories each individual has through these books, exist without J.K. Rowling.
Whether it's remembering the smell of freshly laundered bedclothes while Mom or Dad read you the Sorting Hat for the first time; whether the love story between Ginny and Harry gave one a brief moment of escapism during the bad years of puberty; or whether as an adult you are lulled to sleep after a long day by the voice of Rufus Beck, as he describes the Room of Requirement in the audio book - J.K. Rowling has nothing to do with that. She can't take those memories away.
And if you don't want to believe the author of this text, you can listen to Harry Potter yourself. Daniel Radcliffe wrote after J.K. Rowling's first tweet: "To anyone who feels that their experience of the books has been marred or diminished, I deeply regret the pain these comments have caused," he wrote. "I really hope you don't completely lose what was precious to you about these stories... I don't think anyone can shake that."
