We are all Harry Potter, and yet we aren’t
The wizarding world isn’t exactly diverse, and though we all grew up with these characters as role models, the lack of representation is still glaring.
I grew up with Harry. In fact, I was more or less the ideal audience for that story, as I was pretty much Harry’s age as I read his adventures. My life was heavily influenced by the wizarding world and by J.K. Rowling’s writings, and I don’t regret the love or the time I have dedicated to this obsession.
But adulthood has made me stop and think about the wizarding world J.K. Rowling created, and who is it for.
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Presumably, for all of us. Stories like this one are universal in the best way, because some things we can all relate to, and I enjoyed those moments, I fell in love with these characters, I laughed and cheered and cried as much as anyone.
But I never felt seen. I never felt understood. The story, as enjoyable as it’s always been, was never about me. It couldn’t be.
Of course, back when I was a kid I didn’t even understand how that experience felt like, would have never thought to ask for representation of my favorite authors, because it was a given that I just wouldn’t get it.
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Now, with perspective, and faced with the increasingly problematic ways J.K. Rowling has attempted to inject diversity into the wizarding world, I’m left to conclude that you can, of course, love something that doesn’t represent you, but you can ever truly feel part of something that doesn’t even attempt to include you.
We are all Harry Potter, in many ways. We’re all part of the wizarding world, we all dream of that Hogwarts letter, and we always will. And yet, in the most important way, we really and truly aren’t.
Next. Harry Potter and the Lack of Diversity in the Film Franchise. dark
In the most important ways, Harry Potter is still a story about others, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.