I read Harry Potter as a teenager, but my interest in the series faded as I got older. From time to time, I rewatched one of the films out of pure nostalgia, but honestly, I found the world-building very weak and the plot nonsensical, even for a children’s story. So when I learned that Rowling was a TERF, I just stopped caring.

So, I’m pretty clueless about how the franchise and its fandom have evolved. When I heard about “Malfoid,” a female version of Malfoy, I assumed it was meant to mock Rowling: making one of her main characters trans would certainly infuriate her. I’m not sure how I felt about the idea, but it made sense. However, someone said that it was actually a right-wing thing, a way to “own the libs.” I just don’t understand why Malfoy as a girl would be insulting to left-leaning people. Could anyone explain me?

  • MolochAlter@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    1 day ago

    From all the conversations I’ve seen the 3 big reasons for it being viral are:

    1. People, very online millennial libs and lefties specifically, got super pissed about the “foid” part of the name because incels, not realising it has already taken an ironic bend in gen alpha slang.
    2. Hot mean girls are a turn on to a lot of people, men and women.
    3. It’s uncanny how much more fitting a lot of the jabs and snide remarks Malfoy makes in the books feel when coming out of a girl instead of a boy.

    I have long been proposing the theory that J.K. Rowling knows fuckall about boy socialization and social dynamics, and essentially made Malfoy a mean girl stereotype by accident, and I am feeling pretty vindicated right about now.

    • Godric@lemmy.world
      4·
      20 hours ago

      I stumbled upon it a few weeks ago; great summation, especially at the end! Malfoy does bully like a girl would.