About My Look
Hermione Granger, who stands up for the marginalized.
Saturday the 16th, I went to Salem, MA with my family. It was more crowded than we expected, but everyone respected the mask rules and it was a beautiful day. Of course, I had to be a witch to visit Witch City and my Wanda wasn’t ready so I went with Hermione. I actually had a more substantial plan for this, two additional looks, to show the ‘variance’ between the book and movie versions of Hermione Granger. I changed my mind due to the crowds, but I have the others in my back pocket (watch this space around Yule time!).
I’ve struggled with my HP fandom given J.K. Rowling’s terrible, and dangerous, stance on trans rights. I love the characters and the universe they inhabit. I spent a lot of time, money, and energy interacting with it. I’ve written fic, drawn art, created vids, performed songs, cosplayed various characters, and spent years in a slew of online communities. I have a substantial collection of merchandise, much of it official. And while it was mainly purchased prior to the controversy, I don’t want to even passively support JKR’s TERF agenda. So this look includes a few pieces I use to make my position clear.
First, these earrings by Happening Inside that read “trans rights” and were made out of actual Harry Potter books. I love the idea of using the author’s product to push back on her rhetoric. It’s literally reclaiming and reframing her words for ourselves.
And then these absolutely adorable stickers by HouseofXiety, one of my favorite shops on Etsy. Everything is super cute and the artist is incredibly creative and kind. I initially got the Sneks Against Terfs to display alongside my Potter collection (I’m a proud Snek). But I decided I needed all of them so now I have the set. The pins use the same art to show off vaccination status (LOVE). I’m wearing the lion one as Hermione.
My lion mask is actually from Game of Thrones, by CoolBedding. It never fails to amuse me that the extremely Slytherin House Lannister has the same logo as the Gryffindors. I also have a Harry Potter t-shirt in red and gold (purchased secondhand) that I intend to wear as Cersei.
My sweater and jeans were purchased secondhand. My bag and wand are official Harry Potter merchandise, replicas of the props used in the films. However, you can get unofficial ones on Etsy. There are many pages of wands and this excellent reproduction of the bag. If you still want the “real” one — look, I get it, I’ve spent some thousands of dollars over the last twenty years — please consider also making a donation to a charity that supports transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse persons. Here is one based in the UK that specifically supports kids the same age as those in Hogwarts.
Remember “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Choose to be Hermione Granger, not J.K. Rowling.