Harry Potter and the Self-Concept Clarity: Examining Fandom, Queer Readings, and Self-Acceptance Among LGBTQ+ Fans

The Harry Potter media franchise has recently come under fire because of author J. K. Rowling’s transphobic commentary. LGBTQ+ fans have been particularly affected by Rowling’s bigotry. To reconcile the dissonance surrounding a once beloved childhood text and the author’s transphobic statements, LGBTQ+ fans likely engage in subversive fan behaviors (i.e. queer readings) to reclaim the wizarding world as their own. In the present study, we wanted to understand how subversive fan behaviors are related to identity cohesion and self-acceptance among LGBTQ+ Harry Potter/Marauders fans (i.e. fans of the Harry Potter media franchise and other extra-textual fandoms within). Based on the findings from a cross-sectional sample (N = 361) of fans, queer readings were negatively associated with both self-concept clarity and unconditional self-acceptance. Contact with other fans in the Harry Potter/Marauders community did not moderate either of the proposed relationships and was negatively correlated with self-concept clarity. Broadly, our results suggest that queer readings among LGBTQ+ Harry Potter/Marauders fans are associated with negative identity-related outcomes.