J. K. Rowling and Lesbian Literature

I’ve spent much of the past few days reading the U.K. “adult” edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (“Adult” refers only to a difference in jacket cover, not content.) The photo of author J. K. Rowling on the back of the dust jacket, the same one that’s been used in the past, shows her standing in front of a bookcase that includes a copy of Radclyffe Hall’s lesbian classic, The Well of Loneliness, just to the left (viewer’s right) of Rowling’s head. In searching for further information about this (is it Rowling’s bookcase? has she mentioned Hall before?), I discovered that Pinknews.co.uk posted about this same photo last Wednesday.

It’s not a stretch, of course, to see a theme of social justice running throughout the Harry Potter books. Many readers have also seen a strong gay subtext in the works. My take is that it’s a mark of the works’ universal appeal that the LGBT community, among others, sees itself reflected in them, both in Harry’s “coming out” as a wizard and in the fight for the rights of Muggles, house elves, werewolves, and other creatures. I don’t believe Rowling wrote them with LGBT rights specifically in mind, however, at least no more so than the rights of other oppressed groups. Parallels with Nazi Germany stand out throughout the series, especially towards the end, as Voldemort rises to power and seeks to create a world for the pure of blood. The LGBT community was only one of many that the Nazis persecuted.

Still, it’s nice to think that Rowling included at least a dash of LGBT awareness in her epic. One more thing for those who wish to ban the books to complain about—but one more reason I’m looking forward to passing on the series to my son.