---
articleTitle: Anti-Harry Potter and Anti-J. K. Rowling Masterlist
date: 2023-03-19
updated: 2024-12-10T15:42:05+0800
desc: My masterlist of criticisms of the Harry Potter series and J. K. Rowling.
categories: ["harry potter", "jk rowling"]
toc: true
---

{% imgFigure "/assets/banners/harry-potter-free-site.png", "An anime girl crossing arms with a sidelong look and a Harry Potter-free message" %}
This site is Harry Potter free. Lookin [<i>sic</i>] for it? Leave.
{% endimgFigure %}

(Credit to Tumblr user [comradesaucegay](https://comradesaucegay.tumblr.com/post/621403039459426304) ([Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241122135107/https://comradesaucegay.tumblr.com/post/621403039459426304/grumpsaesthetics-you-know-those-old-hentai-free)) for this Harry Potter-free website banner){.center-text}

Like many millennials, I grew up with the {% cite "Harry Potter" %} series and was a major fan of the series. I had read the original 7 books and watched their film adaptations. The series was a passion of mine during my early- to mid-teen years. While the {% cite "Harry Potter" %} novels were far from the first books I read, they were the first fantasy novels I read, and the series’ concept of a magical world set in a contemporary setting fascinated teenage me.

However, even during my {% cite "Harry Potter" %} fixation years, there were things from the series that bothered me, from the idea of house elves being a slave race that naturally love being slaves, to Snape’s unconvincing “redemption” arc. As I got older and became more aware of social issues, I started to notice more problems with the series. In addition, reading more books has also made me realise that even on a technical writing level, the {% cite "Harry Potter" %} series was mediocre at best. As a result, I had stopped becoming a {% cite "Harry Potter" %} fan even before J. K. Rowling’s transphobia got mainstream attention.

Unfortunately, many adults with nostalgia goggles still refuse to let go of {% cite "Harry Potter" %}, and they believe {% cite "Harry Potter" %} can be separated or “reclaimed” by J. K. Rowling, despite how much Rowling’s worldview and prejudice are inextricably linked to her writing.

Therefore, I am compiling this masterlist by curating various materials that are critical of the {% cite "Harry Potter" %} series and J. K. Rowling. Items are ordered in chronological order. This is far from a comprehensive list of all the pieces that criticise {% cite "Harry Potter" %} and Rowling; this list is my curated list of ones that I have read, watched or listened to, and I personally endorse.

## Articles

* [Harry Potter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights](https://alinautrata.medium.com/all-the-things-that-are-fucked-up-about-harry-potter-58267e1bf3ee) by Alina Utrata (28 October 2016)
* [Addressing The Claims In JK Rowling’s Justification For Transphobia](https://katymontgomerie.medium.com/addressing-the-claims-in-jk-rowlings-justification-for-transphobia-7b6f761e8f8f) by Katy Montgomerie (16 June 2020)
* [The Antisemitism of ‘Harry Potter’ Returns in ‘Hogwarts Legacy’](https://www.themarysue.com/is-hogwarts-legacy-anti-semitic-hogwarts-legacy-anti-semitic-allegations-explained/) by Jack Doyle (8 February 2023)
* [Hogwarts Legacy wants to make everyone happy, but Harry Potter gets in the way](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23603142/hogwarts-legacy-review-harry-potter-jk-rowling-transphobic-ps5-pc-xbox) by by Gita Jackson (17 February 2023)
* [Is J.K. Rowling transphobic? Let’s let her speak for herself.](https://www.vox.com/culture/23622610/jk-rowling-transphobic-statements-timeline-history-controversy) by Aja Romano (3 March 2023)
* [Talking Shit About Harry Potter](https://starbreaker.org/blog/entertainment/talking-shit-about-harry-potter/index.html) by Matthew Graybosch (19 June 2024)

    This post was in fact prompted by this very masterlist and our email exchange about the topic.{.item-list__indent}

## Videos

* [Harry Potter is GARBAGE, and Here's Why](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPwWb9z3XSY) by satenmadpun (25 August 2020)
* [We need to talk about Dudley Dursley- Harry Potter and Fatphobia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AziZgoi3q0) by Ok2BeFat (30 May 2021)
* [Harry Potter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1iaJWSwUZs) by Shaun (4 March 2022)
* [JK Rowling's New Friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou_xvXJJk7k) by Shaun (14 October 2022)
* [Is Harry Potter Bad?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3dE0sYZqvI) by hoots (30 December 2022)
* [The Consumerist Dystopia of Harry Potter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBftW7FzOVI) by verilybitchie (21 January 2023)
* [Explaining JK Rowling’s Transphobia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GBUArD51KY) by Jessie Gender (27 January 2023)
* [Hogwarts Legacy and the Politics of Potter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1mHwn6eUUk) by Wisecrack (11 February 2023)
* [Hogwarts: A Legacy Of Hate (The Jimquisition)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNKyQVsgKLg) by James Stephanie Sterling (13 February 2023)
* [The ALLEGED Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling (What The Megan Phelps Podcast Won't Tell You)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ncYTEY7aVk) by Caelan Conrad (18 March 2023)
* [The Harry Potter Villains Were Trans?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xJF4XYarzI) by Brigitte Empire (3 April 2023)
* [Maybe The Wizard Game Just Wasn't Very Good (The Jimquisition)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pggtSI_95A) by James Stephanie Sterling (20 November 2023)
* [J.K. Rowling & Holocaust Denial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whJJGqVtkEk) by Caelan Conrad (16 March 2024)
* [Did J.K. Rowling STEAL Harry Potter (Rip-off? Plagiarism?!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmx_YSPcujE) by Caelan Conrad (3 June 2024)

## Podcasts

* [The Shrieking Shack](https://soundcloud.com/shriekingshack), hosted by Xeecee and Liz

    A book reading podcast that originally started out as a {% cite "Harry Potter" %} reread podcast made by and for lapsed fans that goes through every chapter of the {% cite "Harry Potter" %} books and their film adaptations and analyses the writing and politics of the series and J. K. Rowling.{.item-list__indent}