The AG Wiki Supports Trans Youth. Trans Rights are Human Rights.
Given the September 2022 release of Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed items, the American Girl Wiki feels it right to address the bigoted, transphobic views held by the creator of Harry Potter regarding trans and nonbinary people. The partnership between American Girl and Warner Bros/the creator is not something that the AG Wiki can control, but it is something we can openly address. For the head Admin here, addressing the situation is very direct and simple.
The American Girl Wiki believes in equality, diversity, and inclusion of all and support full rights for all people of the LGBTQ+/queer community, including trans people. We are disturbed by the many anti-gay and anti-trans bills that have been proposed and passed in the United States in the past several years in backlash to their visibility. Trans and nonbinary people are real and valid. They are part of the American Girl community, our society, and our world. There is no space here to support anyone--creators included--who actively denigrates and oppresses trans people. Trans people have the right to be allowed to exist in peace as who they are and no social minority--regardless of race, gender, or ability--should be bullied or hurt. Trans rights are human rights.
This is not a debatable situation. There's nothing to be debated. Every person, at every age, has the right to live as who they are no matter where or whom they are on the gender spectrum. This includes trans and nonbinary youth as well as adults. There is nothing wrong with children, from any age, to know that trans people and LGBTQ+ and queer people exist. We and they always have, even if society has historically suppressed this information in bigoted ways. Trans people are a real, truthful, honest part of our world. Children have the right to know not only about trans people, but about themselves.
Furthermore, American Girl has shown support for trans youth in two of their published books: A Smart Girl's Guide: Body Image and A Smart Girl's Guide: Tough Stuff, both of which include discussions of and support for trans youth and are aimed at the same target audience as this collaboration. While the books are no longer sold through the company, they are available on secondary markets.
We encourage all visitors to the American Girl Wiki to find truthful, valid information that supports trans voices and to make themselves aware of the Harry Potter creator's continued bigoted statements against trans people (and those she suspects of being so by stereotyped assumptions)--including her statements on how continued support of the franchise and products related to it is interpreted by the creator as quiet support of their anti-trans positions and bigotry--the Harry Potter fandom's open distancing from the creator and other creators' responses, and the ongoing talk surrounding the creator, other anti-trans mentalities, and the abusiveness of anti-trans agendas.
Here are selected online resources on trans people's support and rights and its intertwining with Harry Potter media:
If you wish to personally address the issues with the collaboration with Mattel or American Girl, we encourage you to send both e-mail contacts and direct mail to the company.
Regarding Associated Product
Regarding the collaboration, the American Girl Wiki will, as our task requires, document any and all items that are released. This means that there is the potential that visitors will wish to purchase these Harry Potter items, and thus that the creator will receive some small degree of profits from these sales. This means that we bear some degree of responsibility. We also bear some degree of mitigation, which we can control, and so we will downplay the products and collaboration as much as possible.
No promotional images will be uploaded to the front page on either sliders or news about releases. A corporation article will not be made for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (or its media company Warner Bros.) as is done with other collaborations, so as to minimize displaying items or emphasis beyond necessary documentation. These products are being documented because they must be, not out of any desire to promote, support, or encourage the collaboration. Every page or picture discussing items released as part of the collaboration will be headed with the following template, linking to this page:
The transphobic views expressed by the creator of Harry Potter do not align with that of the American Girl Wiki. Trans rights are human rights. Please see our stance here. Items are only documented for informational purposes.
For those on mobile:
The transphobic views expressed by the creator of Harry Potter do not align with that of the American Girl Wiki. Trans rights are human rights. Please see our stance here. Items are only documented for informational purposes.
Any editor caught removing any of the templates used to warn other users will be removed from the project under vandalism. Again, this is not a topic that is up for debate.
