J.K. Rowling disappointed a legion of Internet “shippers” today when she confirmed that Sirius Black, one of the main characters in her Harry Potter series, is not gay.
Apparently, social justice warriors on Twitter and elsewhere had decided that the prisoner of Azkaban and driving force in the fight against Voldemort was also a pioneering LGBT wizard. But when a Twitter user got the chance to ask Rowling about Black’s sexual orientation, she confirmed that he’s definitely heterosexual.
@jk_rowling 4) "Will Robin actually marry Matthew?"
5. "Is Sirius Black gay?"
6. "Are you sure he's not gay?"
7. "Are you REALLY sure?"2/2
— Ardit Haliti (@ardit_haliti) September 6, 2016
The announcement left plenty of Tumblr users, shippers and SJWs so crushed, they started a hashtag, “#JKRowlingIsOverParty, where they commiserated about their favorite author’s lack of interest in validating weird fan theories.
They declared her a traitor to the LGBT cause, no friend to the gay community, and, occasionally a “homophobe”—all because, as the author of the Harry Potter works, she had a different vision from her fans about the sexuality of a wholly fictional character.
https://twitter.com/HobbitLindsey/status/771007980082958336
https://twitter.com/kingwallywest/status/771005251339980800
remember that time when JK Rowling represented & supported our community and made LGBT+ youth everywhere feel empowered? me neither
— Rob (@robnoon7) September 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/jamesmadiSIN/status/773228729484972032
Of course, Rowling is no stranger to controversy over gay characters in her books, but she’s not usually confronted with social media users angry that there isn’t enough diversity in Harry Potter. Rowling made some more conservative fans mad when she declared the beloved Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, to be gay, right after the final Harry Potter film hit theaters.
"jk rowling is a homophobe because sirius isn't gay" #JKRowlingIsOverParty pic.twitter.com/Tq7SfNIXvN
— ♞ (@ARASHlNARUKAMI) September 6, 2016
She’s also noted, regularly, that the reason you wouldn’t know her characters are gay is because gay characters don’t appear different from straight characters.
#ThrowbackThursday @jk_rowling's perfect response to a fan´s question about Dumbledore being gay. #LGBT #HarryPotter pic.twitter.com/hBy7b0OaPW
— One Love, All Equal (@OneLoveAllEqual) May 21, 2015
Weirdly, Rowling herself is also a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, most recently standing up to anti-gay bullies intent on harassing British Olympic diver Tom Daley after he failed to qualify for medal contention.
But that’s not enough for Twitter’s horde of social justice warriors. They want Harry Potter rewritten to incorporate a crowd of sexually ambiguous characters, and they want it now, whether or not Rowling is prepared to alter an entire universe she created to meet the ever-changing whims of Internet activists.
Her critics also don’t seem to recognize that their own odd request might cheapen Rowling’s complex story. Sirius Black’s character isn’t changed by his sexuality—he’s far too busy escaping a wizard prison, dodging the creepy demon prison guards, breaking free from the clutches of Voldemort’s minions and battling the forces of pure evil to have much of a social life, anyway. Noting that he’s gay would be no better than noting that he had blonde hair: it might make people feel better, but it’s completely immaterial to the story.
Instead, Potter‘s social justice critics should probably push for more well-developed, meaningful gay relationships in fictional works—story lines that promote their cause and recognize their humanity, rather than fill an affirmative action quotient for key characters.
https://twitter.com/hesology/status/773240484558938112
