‘Harry Potter’ books make kids more tolerant of gays
By Will Stroude
Reading Harry Potter books makes children more accepting of gay people, a new research study has found.
The study found that there was correlation between the number of Harry Potter books children had read and their tolerance of stigmatised groups such as gays and immigrants, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
In one experiment, researchers asked a group of primary school-age children to read excerpts from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for six weeks, and found that their was a significant reduction in their prejudice towards immigrants afterwards.
“Harry has meaningful contact belonging to stigmatised groups,” researchers from the Italian university that conducted the study said. “He tries to understand and appreciate their difficulties… and fights for a world free of social inequalities.”
In the Harry Potter series, the wizarding world is portrayed as a place where tangible prejudice exists: the books explore attitudes towards supposed ‘mudbloods’ such as Hermione Granger, whose parents are non-wizarding ‘muggles’, as well as characters such as Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid, who faces discrimination for being half-giant and half-human.
The series also includes an ongoing sub-plot about Hermione’s attempt to free house elves such as Dobby from their enforced state of servitude.
However, researchers found that the effect of reading the books had less effect on those children who identified with the series’ primary antagonist, Lord Voldemort.
Though the Harry Potter books never expressly mention homosexuality, author J.K. Rowling revealed in 2007 that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay, and that the series was a “prolonged argument for tolerance.”
It was revealed last month (June) that actor David Legeno, who starred as Fenrir Greyback in the Harry Potter films, has been found dead in California – find out more here.
Related stories:
Who want’s to see Harry Potter’s Matthew Lewis grab his package?
Harry Potter’s Neville as we’ve never seen him before.