rita skeeter transphobia

Rita also wrote primarily for the Daily Prophet, though some of her articles have also appeared in other sources, such as Witch Weekly and The Quibbler. All Bellatrix Lestrange did to Molly was taunt her about how her son was killed by somebody else. Starting in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so many more interesting characters die to protect him that I ended up hating Harry for it. Hermione Granger, whom she disliked and publicly shamed. A former journalist for the Daily Prophet. Albus Dumbledore in particular described her writing as "enchantingly nasty" after she wrote an unfavourable article about him.[9]. Imagine if someone repeatedly called their cis co-worker by the wrong gender; theyd likely be fired for harassment. Animagus In response, muggle-born Hermione starts the Wizarding Worlds first ever anti-slavery organization. Rita Skeeter used a long, acid green Quick-Quotes Quill when interviewing people for the Daily Prophet. Rita implied that Hermione was toying with the affections of both Harry and Krum. This includes Hermione. Theres also a vaguely pretentious air that becomes prominent in the later books. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Pure-blood or half-blood (possibly)[2] Indeed, a surprising number of them die protecting the great Harry Potter. she was known as unregistered animagus. The school already thinks Harry cheated to get in. 27 4 The romance between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley both began and ended in Book Six, and then they get married some time between the last chapter and the epilogue. While she had a huge disregard for her interviewee's reputations and journalistic integrity, Rita deeply feared her own status as an unregistered animagus being revealed to the world. Throughout the Harry Potter series, characters and concepts are routinely introduced just before they become important. Skeeter was not revealed to be an animagus in the, Although Rita has three gold teeth in the books, she does not in the. Instead, good slaveowner that he is, Harry Potter wonders whether Kreacher might bring him a sandwich. In the German audio books, Rita speaks with an American accent. This is a relatively minor grievance when compared with the others, but in keeping with the theme of Harry and his friends always ensuring their hands remain clean, Harry Potter doesnt even kill Voldemort at the end. Instead of focusing on the players, she spent the match spying on VIP Box Two in which the most prominent members of Dumbledore's Army were watching the game. [18], Rita covered the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference during the summer of 1994, describing Albus Dumbledore as an "obsolete dingbat".[9]. I love this truly fabulous Ickabog, with its bat ears, mismatched eyes, and terrifying bloodstained teeth! That concept is personified in Rita Skeeter, Jo's oddly prescient satire of unscrupulous journalism. seamus finnigan, the only irish character, who happens to turn everything into an explosive. The later books attempts at adult fantasy clash with the inherent childishness of the Wizarding World. She immediately tried to get an interview with Harry Potter, but did not get the chance until the the Weighing of the Wands, which she did inside a small broom cupboard. In this series of short articles, I talk about the various ways Tolkiens books differ from the film adaptations. In addition, she had pencilled-on eyebrows and three gold teeth, as well as large, masculine hands. Remember that for later. I was somewhat younger than eleven when I first started reading Harry Potterperhaps six or sevenso for most of that time I was considerably younger than Harry was. Re-read the descriptions of Rita Skeeter, for instance. Both are characters whose arc supposedly ends in their redemption, but neither one is redeemed in any way. But as far as that bookish young boy was aware, the problems started with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. [7], Rita was an unregistered Animagus, wherein she took the form of a beetle and was able to slip around undetected and spy on unsuspecting company so she could obtain gossip for her articles which she later exaggerated and exploited to gain the attention of the masses. Rita Skeeter Trans women existing is not misogyny, despite the lies that TERFs want you to believe. Because of J.K. Rowlings tweets, a lot of ordinary Harry Potter fans are going to type Is J.K. Rowling a TERF? into the YouTube search. [24], Rita was present at the funeral of Albus Dumbledore, Rita made a brief appearance at the end of the 19961997 school year, where Harry was infuriated to notice her clutching a notebook at Dumbledore's funeral in June 1997. Its because, as weve already discussed, Hermionea black womanis wrong about slavery in the context of Rowlings moral framework. Also, most of the stuff that should be interesting happens off-page, and character relationships are woefully underdeveloped. Like Harry Potter (well, not Harry as he really is, but the things Rowling tells us about Harry), Samwise Gamgee is brave, loyal, and selfless. Sasuke just sort of gives up on his evil plans, hinting that he might turn evil again, but whatever. Her blonde curls were curiously rigid, suggesting it was styled with the magical equivalent of hairspray. Rita Skeeter clashed with Hermione several times during both The Triwizard Tournament, and during the denial of Lord Voldemort's return. The killer is a man who dresses as a woman so as to sneak up on his unsuspecting female victims who think hes a trans woman. Well, it was back then, at least. They werent much different from many other childrens books in that regard. Rita then interviewed Rubeus Hagrid, asking many questions about Harry that Hagrid refused to answer. Molly has no connection to Bellatrix, and saying in an interview that theyre foils of one another doesnt change that. Remember that Harry Potter is supposed to be the hero. rita skeeter transphobia. He doesnt redeem himself, but Rowling seems to think he has. Jacob's sibling told her a student was trapped in a locker, which Rita believed, thinking it would make a good story, and she opened it, being showered with frogs, causing her to flee in horror. Again, saying your story is diverse doesnt make it so. As it was Rita who laid the foundation for the Prophet's defamation of Harry, with her initial stories about him, Hermione wanted her to also be the one to set the record straight. This blatantly contradicts the prophecy that the whole story is built on: The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not, and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives, the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies. Isnt that nice? Life would be so much easier if saying My books are diverse in an interview made your books diverse. She made her name painting Harry as an unhinged madman, but stopped her crusade when Hermione figured out that Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus and threatened to expose her to the Ministry. Because Hermione was able to blackmail Rita with the threat of reporting her unregistered Animagus status to the Ministry, Rita grudgingly complied and wrote the article. However, this didn't stop her from writing an article that exposed the criminal identity of Daniel's family members. By this point, J.K. Rowlings writing style has become almost indistinguishable from that of Russian-American author and cult leader Ayn Rand. Also, why is it relevant that hes never told anyone? Let us not forget the time Harry threatened to strangle Dobby, who was a slave at the time. Kreacher, it turns out, was partly responsible for Sirius Blacks death, allowing Rowling to frame Harry as justified in how he treats his slave. Sadly, as we might come to expect from this author, she forgot to give Severus a redemption arc. Hermiones arc therefore involves her coming to accept that slavery is good and just. as a review. Im writing this in June 2020 so please forgive me if there are any examples of Rowlings bigotry that I missed. These stories tended to be based on false information and misreported interviews while she worked for the Daily Prophet, as well authoring a few tell-all biographies. Also sometime in her early career, Skeeter provided a quote for the critical acclaim for Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, when she wrote "I've read worse." All is well, supposedly, because most slaveowners are good slaveowners.. It isnt hate to speak the truth. Queen of the Quills[4] I and many others felt like we were growing up alongside Harry and his friends, who got older at around the same time we did. Troublingly, even when they conspire to cheat and steal from Griphook the goblin, our heroes are absolved when Griphook betrays them first. By contrast, if we look at the example of Samwise Gamgee, the chief protagonist in The Lord of the Rings, we see a character who saves the world by overcoming his character flaws. They were joined by Harry after his date with Cho Chang. Viewing Frodos mercy as a sign of some weakness is, as I think we can all agree, a meaningful character flaw. Ive read all the arguments about femaleness not residing in the sexed body, and the assertions that biological women dont have common experiences, and I find them, too, deeply misogynistic and regressive. If youre used to TERF rhetoric, it should come as no surprise that Maya Forstater wasnt fired for saying that Sex is real, whatever that means. Like many other children at the time, I was swept up in a wondrous world where magical children attend a boarding school filled with secrets and adventure. However, while Hermione thought this one year of abstinence would curb Skeeter's ill-habit of writing hurtful articles, she was wrong, as once the deal has reached its end, she swiftly and shamelessly returned to her old ways of writing sensationalist and dishonest journalism. With Albus Dumbledore, our beloved national treasure, Rita went one worse, cashing in on his family tragedies with a full book all about it: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore convinced her to return to human form and they all came to an agreement to not expose Rita's abilities in exchange for her not publishing her book critical of Hogwarts. Lets examine why, in making Hermione black, J.K. Rowling has actually managed to make her theme of benevolent slavery in Harry Potter even worse. [9], Rita with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in the tent during the first task. [Source]. Hermione Granger wanted to get the truth to the public, and thus instructed Rita to meet her and Luna Lovegood in Hogsmeade on 14 February 1996, in the Three Broomsticks Inn. To use it, Skeeter sucked on the end and then placed it upright on parchment.. One notable use of the Quick-Quotes Quill was when Skeeter interviewed Harry Potter after he had been chosen to compete in the 1994-1995 Triwizard Tournament. During her early days as an author, Skeeter wrote a biography on Armando Dippet, entitled Armando Dippet: Master or Moron?. Far from giving her fans a gay hero, Rowling gave them a coded-gay villain in Grindelwald. Lets get right down to it; Hermiones abolitionism suddenly makes a whole lot more sense. Only when Samwise himself has carried the One Ring for a day and felt the temptation of ultimate strength does he begin to understand why Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf all felt such compassion for the wretched creature. Biographical authorGossip Correspondent for the Daily Prophet[11] Chapter Nineteen Quotes. If thats not horrifying enough for you, when house elves get too old to work, their masters mount their heads on the wall. Patronus Harry is always framed as a good person who is all the better for having suffered. J.K. Rowling, whether she realizes it or not, has caused some portion of her fanbase to drift into the alt-right. Viewed through the lense of a black woman wanting to end the practice of chattel slavery, the case against Harry Potter seems all the more damning. By the time Harry faces Voldemort for the last time, the boy wizard has become further purified as a christ figure. However, she could also be very vindictive and spiteful towards those she disliked. More than that, the text of Harry Potter is blatantly and inherently pro-slavery. We shouldnt forget it, but the characters sure do. In the entire history of the Wizarding World, not one wizard has ever questioned the rightness of slavery. She usually wore magenta-coloured robes but also wore clothes of green leather with maroon furs at the collar and sleeves. She also stated regarding the Daily Prophet that it "exists to sell itself.". Even in the Harry Potter series, Rowling included a character called Rita Skeeter, described as having man hands. Rita is a shape-shifter who uses her powers to violate the privacy of Rowlings cis heroes. Far worse is her inability to provide proper buildup or payoff across multiple books, which likely stems from an inability (or unwillingness) to adequately plan her series overall. When Hermione confronted and insulted Rita for having written horrible untruths about her friends, Rita vindictively responded by writing an article that painted Hermione as a "scarlet woman" who used her intellect and charm to toy with the affections of famous wizards. While much is said of her scarlet fingernails, her penciled on eyebrows, and her blond curly hair, she is also described as having large, masculine hands the same as Pippa, perhaps and an "an oddly square-jawed face." This caused Hermione to receive a large amount of hate mail, at least two of which were intended to cause significant harm to her, and be treated coldly by Molly Weasley who otherwise was very nice to her. Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill taking notes. Dobby dies, and his last words are Harry Potter: Such a beautiful place, to be with friends. In return, Hermione furiously vowed to get revenge on Rita if it was the last thing she ever did. Ive always wondered as to the point of this bit. The first few books were almost entirely episodic: stories about Harry repeatedly defeating Voldemort and preventing him from restoring his former powers. But as hes now experienced some tiny fraction of the power that drove Gollum mad, Sam can no longer bring himself to kill Gollum. In 1981, at the fall of Voldemort and end of the War, Skeeter reported on the Death Eater trials before the Council of Magical Law; people such as Igor Karkaroff and Ludovic Bagman. Marital status Troubled Blood is a story about how abortion is murder, trans women are feigning femininity, and fourth-wave feminism exists to allow these men in dresses to sexually assault real women. J.K. Rowling is a bigot, and her fame gives her a huge audience for her bigotry. [7], Skeeter was born into a half-blood or pure-blood family[2] in 1951. Rita was interviewed by Betty Braithwaite, a fellow Daily Prophet reporter in her home, whom she treated very warmly, serving her tea and Pound cake and informing her of much gossip surrounding the book's release. Giants really were vicious and brutal, but Hagrid obviously wasn't, so Professor Dumbledore insisted Hagrid deny any insults and return to work, as Harry and his friends didn't care about Hagrid's family due to their knowledge of him as a person.[20]. She then gave a speech about the general wizarding world being curious about the happenings within Hogwarts; Cursed Vaults aside, there apparently were talks about Hogwarts having the most promising assemblage of students in years, and that, in order to find out who the brightest student was, Professor Dumbledore had given the Prophet permission to observe and conduct a friendly competition, with the winner featuring on a front page article in the Prophet to start. Theres no buildup and no payoff. Jacob's sibling and Tulip Karasu thought that in order to get rid of her so they could unblock Warbeck's blocked throat, they would spook her with frogs spawned with Frog Spawn Soap, as Tulip heard frogs made her uneasy. First, the whole thing is vague in all the wrong ways. Rita's tendency to write sensationalised and untrue stories about high profile members of the wizarding community is similar to (and may be a direct parody of) tabloid magazines stirring up stories about celebrities, politicians, and the economic elite. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. This resulted in Hermione receiving hate mail, but she eventually got her revenge and blackmailed Rita into refraining from writing for a year. Her ability to turn into a beetle also reflected how irritating and bothersome she was to other people, particularly Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, and it also displayed her dishonest and cunning characteristics. The idea that women like me, whove been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because theyre vulnerable in the same way as women ie, to male violence hate trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences is a nonsense. Of all the characters who have a grudge against Bellatrix, not one of them duels her in the final battle. Rita Skeeter Character Analysis. A central theme in The Silkworm is that a family that includes a trans person is not a real familyonly a pathetic imitation of one. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, were introduced to the character of Dobby. If you think it's a reach to label Rowling's depiction of Rita Skeeter as trans coding, consider her description of Pippa Midgely in the second Cormoran Strike novel, The Silkworm. However, when she learned she was expected to conduct the interview free of charge, she was furious. In December of 2019, Rowling defended a known TERF called Maya Forstater after a long time quietly liking tweets from other TERFs. From their fealty ceremonies to their treatment of their respective heirs omer and Faramir, Tolkien draws our attention to how different Thoden and Denethor are from each other. The character of Luna Lovegood is a perfect example, entering the story at the start of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and then fading into the background just as quickly. Rita Skeeter Character Analysis. Prior to the reveal, the identity of the speaker generated quite a buzz throughout the school, with Rowan Khanna's guess being an Auror, the Minister for Magic, or a random Arithmancer, while Jacob's sibling thought to perhaps be the person Albus Dumbledore had been searching for throughout the school year. After doing almost nothing of note, Bellatrix is killed by Molly Weasley, whose son Fred was killed shortly before. Dobby, for example, later appears to serve Harry and other slaveowners like a Confederates ideal former slave. I was certainly too young to see some of the more toxic themes of the story, but I began to lose my taste for Rowlings work all the same. From students and teachers being petrified one-by-one to the diary of Tom Riddle, from the comedy of Gilderoy Lockhart to Harrys battle with the basilisk, it was by far the most engaging and thrilling of the series. The information is out there, and shes still spewing hate. until Viktor makes a big decision. A nasty sensationalist journalist who, a mere four weeks after Dumbledore 's death, publishes her 900-page biography on him. Unlike her white classmates, Hermione comes from a background where shes had to live with the consequences of white people having enslaved her ancestors. This wouldnt necessarily be a huge problem, but the vast majority of the story revolves around him. I know now that this is what we call a shift in genre, and its not always a problem. This flies in the face of everything the books have established up to this point. Wand Skeeter was present on the Hogsmeade station platform when Warbeck arrived disguised with a feather boa, and Jacob's sibling escorted her away from the scene for Skeeter could spot her. Throughout the books, Dumbledore is established as a character whos right about things, and he repeatedly states that its healthier for Harry Potter to grow up abused than to grow up famous. Signature Rarely does J.K. Rowling plant or sow any seeds in her story. It is likely she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, and she spent time training to become an Animagus. When Harry begins showing him even the smallest degree of compassion, Kreacher begins to serve him as a loyal slave and even fights for him in the Battle of Hogwarts. Indeed, Rowling treats her black heroine as an unworldly child. This book turned out to be a best-seller, with numerous copies sold. I have a lot of issues with this prophecy. Unknown length, wood and core[9] So much for your favourite boy wizard being a good person. Thus, he doesnt have to overcome any personal flaws to fulfill his destiny. Rowling never does this, instead choosing to reveal all-important plot details on her website, leaving the text of her books without much meaning or detail of its own. The goblins are the bad guys. Notice the part where one of them has to die at the hand of the other there? All this suggests quite convincingly that Hermione is, in fact, white. Non-corporeal[8][10] Community content is available under. Characters like Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom arent built up at all until its far too late to build anything up. Snape, on the other hand, goes from Death Eater to triple agent, and through all of it, hes a child abuser. This would have been a weighty payoff had Bellatrix been the one to kill Fred, but he died in an explosion presumably caused by an unnamed Death Eater. Well, the epilogue sees Harry and his friends as theyre sending their own children off to Hogwarts. Firstly, Rowling has a long history of liking transphobic tweets and following known TERFs. My best advice when it comes to ending a story is this: dont end your book with All was well. As far as Im aware, its the worst line you could possibly end a book with. But unlike Harry, Samwise has a number of character flaws that make him an interesting protagonist. Magical characteristics Instead, she said Dumbledore is gay in an interview, and then the author wrote a screenplay where Dumbledore is never shown to be gay. Were told and shown numerous times that the house elves like being enslaved, as Ron Weasley so callously put it. Also, the goblins are greedy bankers with large noses who only care about money, and they have a different concept of ownership than we do. Hair colour Even the prophecy predicting his fateful battle is worded in such a way as to make Harrys character traits pretty much irrelevant. Most of the time, they die off-page. [5], That year, Rita was given the opportunity to interview the Triwizard Tournament contestants for an article in the Daily Prophet. Why should it be any different if the victim is trans? He makes few meaningful choices, as Dumbledore arguably planned out his whole journey for him. These stories tended to be based on false information and misreported interviews. The character of Rita Skeeter, a "poison pen" journalist seen throughout the series, is curiously described. She uses a Quick-Quotes Quill to write in flowery prose filled with innuendos and veiled accusations ().Rita was a reporter at the Death Eater trials after the first fall of the Dark Lord and has filled the pages of the Daily Prophet with her snide and nasty words; she once called . In response to the ensuing criticism she received, Rowling claimed that TERF was a misogynistic slur. Not much, it turns out. [30], In the same school year, following the employment and sacking of Professor Elspeth MacGillony, Skeeter wrote about the incident and voiced her concern of the continued employment of controversial teachers not unlike when Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster. Theres a lot more to most of the characters and plot elements in the book, and even a twelve-hour masterpiece of a movie just cant compare. Harry did not see Rita Skeeter again until the next year where he gave her an interview for The Quibbler announcing the return of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, which she did bitterly. But in Harry Potter, it is. But instead, everything proceeds almost exactly as the reader expects it to proceed, with Harry duelling Voldemort only for the villain to kill himself instead. 1951)[1] was a British witch and journalist who specialised in writing poison-pen stories. Supposedly this is because she wanted to contrast Mollys love for her husband and children with Bellatrixs sick love for Voldemort. Severus Snape, the one remaining character whos even remotely interesting (at least till you examine his motivations and realize they make no sense), is killed in an entirely forgettable scene. As I said earlier, hes literally the most important person in the magical world. As an article by Constance Grady for Vox pointed out, Rowling routinely and increasingly writes about womanhood as if it were a disability. J.K. Rowling writes like an alt-right blogger, pretending to be rational while distorting the facts, wielding emotional arguments and misleading buzzwords, and demonizing societys most vulnerable. And when Hermione quite rightly campaigns against one of humanitys utmost crimes, the author frames her as annoying and out-of-touch. In The Goblet of Fire, Rita is described as having a 'heavily jawed face', 'mannish hands', and 'a surprisingly strong grip' as well as very fake nails, very fake hair, and a few very fake teeth. Rita Skeeter (b. But for characters to undergo character development, they need to start out with flaws. The solution, according to Rowling, is for everyone to just treat their slaves well. Allowing house elves to be slaves is portrayed as a kindness, which is all the more disgusting when you consider that the legacy of slavery is still poisoning the real world. And hes not alone; apart from Hermione, every character either owns slaves or aspires to own slaves. Harry Potter owns a slave. Severus Snape is a fan-favourite, and at first he does seem like the most interesting character in the books. She exploited a terrified 14-year-old Harry for column inches, she let her bigoted opinions damn the likes of poor Hagrid, and to top it off she wrote a 900-page tell-all hatchet job on Albus Dumbledore after he died. She also took advantage of elderly Bathilda Bagshot's possibly fragile state of mind (even giving her Veritaserum)[27] in order to dig up dirt on the late Albus Dumbledore for her extremely critical biography. It, based on many of her later books, was presumably also an exaggerated history of him to gain controversy and by extension, popularity and fame. Rita, in retaliation, then wrote a nasty story about the "devious Miss Granger" based on false rumours provided by Pansy Parkinson, making her out to be a plain but skilled witch who used Love Potions to satisfy her "taste for famous wizards". Because, as it happens, Hermione Granger is black! What does that mean? For my part, Im ashamed to say I knew nothing. After overpowering his enemy, the heros first impulse is to kill the creature as he begs for mercy. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey, LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World, LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story, Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World, Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, International Confederation of Wizard's Conference, As Rita was not imprisoned in Azkaban by the, Newt Scamander refered to Rita as Miss Skeeter in, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, International Confederation of Wizards' Conference, Dumbledore's Army: The Dark Side of the Demob, Man or Monster? All things considered, hes really just a manipulative bastard who went from being a teenage Nazi to a puppetmaster willing to plot out the deaths of children years in advance. In fact, so much of the story happens off-page that it becomes difficult to care about what one is actually reading. Skeeter was described as having blonde hair set in elaborate curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. Rowling presents us with nearly all the arguments put forward by slaveowners in the American South and then asks us to agree with perhaps the worst institution in human history. The books make a big deal of every minor characters death, and yet most of them only exist in relation to Harry. Theres also something that appears to be Rowlings own drawing of her main characters, and Hermione appears to be the same colour as her friends (whether or not that proves anything).

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