J.K. Rowling Has Become Professor Umbridge
By: Kristen Poli
Tags: Harry Potter, LGBT Rights, Gaming, Books, Writing

J.K. Rowling Has Become Professor Umbridge

And how her bigotry is skewing the magical world of Harry Potter.

Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

J.K. Rowling has become to our world what Dolores Umbridge is to Hogwarts.

For those who may not have joined the phenomenon that is Harry Potter, Dolores Umbridge was arguably more despised than Voldemort.

She was a Ministry of Magic employee who infiltrated Hogwarts as the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and taught by theory rather than practice. Aside from trying to downplay and hush-up the return of Voldemort, she became a major player in propagating pureblood status in the wizarding world in the following years at the ministry.

To Umbridge, wizards with muggle — or non-wizard parents — didn’t and shouldn’t exist. To ignore such an existence is akin to how J.K. Rowling is showcasing her transphobia.

Her transphobic comments have recently come under fire again with the plot line of her new book under her Robert Galbraith pen name — where a male serial killer dresses as a woman for murdering — colliding with the announcement of a long-awaited Hogwarts RPG from WB Games.

While Hogwarts Legacy looks amazing and seems to be a dream come true for the majority of Harry Potter fans, Rowling’s recent actions and words have soured the announcement, so much so that the top stories regarding the game speak of boycotting it and the predicted results of said boycott:

Google results captured by author, September 21, 2020

Rowling’s recent actions are a far cry from half a dozen years ago when, asked by a fan about the LGBT youth in Hogwarts, Rowling’s response was to show an image that stated: “If Harry Potter taught us anything, it’s that no one should live in a closet.”

It’s a shame that Rowling did not continue to practice what she taught so many readers throughout Harry Potter’s years at Hogwarts.

Yet, like how Harry Potter and his friends taught themselves how to defend and protect others from the dark arts when Professor Umbridge dismissed them, so too will the fandom protect one another and their love of the Harry Potter community when J.K. Rowling degrades them.

Some folks are indeed boycotting the new game entirely, willing to sever any and all ties with Rowling. Others are still planning on buying it, not willing to let go of the magical world of Hogwarts, and to also support those who worked on the game, even if it will still give Rowling money. Many are planning to match, if not double, the game’s price in donations to transgender and LGBTQIA+ organizations.

The legacy of Hogwarts will not be tarnished by Rowling’s current actions. Rather, it will be preserved by the fans who wholeheartedly believe in the original message of her works. The fandom has always been open, particularly with those of the LGBTQIA+ community, a magical world that accepts them just as wizards are accepted.

Hogwarts was a refuge, an escape, and Rowling’s actions have attempted — whether intentional or not — to rip that safety net away. Yet, the fandom is still strong. If the author of the original works will not continue to harbor the inclusive nature that helped to make her famous, it will be the fandom that casts her away and continue to build upon the stage that Rowling started.

As Hermione Granger once said, “Books and cleverness. There are more important things: friendship and bravery.”

Have the courage to stand up against hatred and remember that love is the most powerful force of all.