Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, for the Brits)

Bloomsbury (UK) & Scholastic (US)

Book released 26 June 1997 (UK) & 1 September 1998 (US)

Written by JK Rowling

Warner Bros.

Film released 2001

Director: Chris Columbus

Writer: Steve Kloves

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, every British actor ever

Rated: PG

Grade: 5/5

I, like many a Millennial, grew up on Harry Potter. I went to midnight showings. I re-read the books over and over and over and over again until my copy of The Goblet of Fire broke into sections that I would take to school with me to re-read again between classes. To a queer ten-year-old bespectacled me, his distinctive frames made my slight blindness seem cool for a change. To this day, I am still constantly re-reading. I’ve lost count. You could say I treat Harry Potter books like a devout Christian treats their bible. No hyperbole. Diving into the world of Witchcraft and Wizardry will never get old for me. I’m still waiting for that letter from Hogwarts. I think going to grad school in London was my way of attempting to fulfil that fantasy. I got as close as I probably could to that dream at the studio tour. I cried. It was beautiful. I’m a sucker for nostalgia, if you couldn’t tell from the fact that I’ve been watching two kids movies a week for the past few months…

But enough about me. LET’S GET TO HARRY POTTER!

The first one is by far the queerest of them all.

HARRY LITERALLY LIVES IN A CLOSET HIS ENTIRE CHILDHOOD!  Let me repeat: he lives in the closet. Got it? Good. (Okay, yes technically it's a "cupboard" but that's basically a closet, right?)

Oh woe is me

The Dursleys are the definition of the patriarchy/norm. First off, they keep Harry in the closet. And there is some intense oppression going on here (alongside the child abuse and class commentary). Dudley complains about numbers of presents in the double digits as Harry eye rolls behind him while being sure not to burn his precious birthday breakfast sausages. The Dursleys abuse and mistreat Harry because he is a wizard. He is not their definition of “normal.” They abuse and oppress and hide him in a closet because he is queer. My most vivid memory of my mom reading the first book to me was Hagrid’s pounding on the door to the cottage in the middle of the lake where the Dursleys and Harry went to hide from the onslaught of Dumbledore’s letters. That knock meant Harry’s saviour had come at last. “You’re a wizard, ‘Arry.” The four magic words. Might as well be: “You’re a queer, ‘Arry.”

I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS

WIZARDS ARE QUEER!

JK Rowling is a genius (duh). She’s spread the queer message to billions of kids all over the world, and the patriarchy never saw it coming. Who would suspect a boy wizard, right?

Harry goes on his journey of queer discovery with Hagrid, learning the ways of the wizards and their whole underground world. 

I will never look at a stick the same way again

Finally he’s found a place where he fits in and is even famous. What?!? Harry’s fame takes on a life of its own throughout the series but in the first book, it serves as validation of all the hurt he went through at the Dursley’s hands. Talk about sticking it to the man.  It’s the ultimate coming out party.  The whole wizarding world knows his name.

Then he goes off to Hogwarts. And he meets Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. She was definitely my first feminist icon. If you haven’t seen this awesome Buzzfeed video yet, click it now. Hermione is a boss ass witch. She taught me that if I knew the answer to a question in class, I should raise my damn hand and use my brain. That girls aren’t just supposed to be princesses, which is what every other kids’ story shoves down girls’ throats. Hermione taught me conviction and strength and I can’t pay her enough homage. Hermione is my hero.

Does she know the answer, or does she need to pee? We will never know.

Ron is the token ginger. Also, his class status gives him an interesting intersectionality (including his queerness as a wizard) rare for a white heterosexual guy.

Weasley. Ronald, Weasley.

Here’s the part you knew was coming: Dumbledore. One of the rare canonized LGBTQ characters in kids’ media. He’s by far the wisest and most powerful wizard in the wizarding world. And he’s a big ol’ gaymo. AND his sexuality is totally NBD. Which is rare for an LGBTQ character. Depictions of out characters easily fall into the trap of their queerness being their defining characteristic. They become caricatures feeding harmful stereotypes. But I do wish JK had at least mentioned or slipped it somewhere in the books. Even though it’s canonized, Dumbledore isn’t technically out in the actual content of any of the seven books. That would have given his sexuality a powerful position in a global story. Even if it was unintentional, there is a hierarchy to the content surrounding the Harry Potter world. The books and movies are raised high above all. Not one word in the books or one line in the movies even hints at Dumbledore’s sexuality. A parent who is reading the books to their kid could easily get through the whole series without mentioning it and the kid would be none the wiser unless they take to the internet for themselves. That process takes up far more time than adding in a sentence to one of the prized tomes. More on this in a later post. RIP Richard Harris, the superior Dumbledore. 

That's why his beard is so big, it's full of secrets!

There’s a lot more I could talk about. The wizarding world is a vast queer cornucopia. But I’m gonna save some of the goodies for the rest of the series. (If you were wondering, I’m saving Malfoy for book #2). So, until the next one.

MVQ: Harry’s glasses. I love that JK gave him this little imperfection that, surprisingly, can’t be cured with a simple spell.

OTP: Me and Hermione. Mhmmmmmm

Favorite Moment: “You’re A Wizard, ‘Arry.” That whole scene is excellent.