I don’t normally try to speed through a blog to be released in time for a relevant issue, but current events have inspired me to write this and get it posted as soon as possible. There’s still a good chance that this will get out too late, but that's hardly stopped me before. So, without further ado: my thoughts on the “Malfoid” meme and its cultural significance.
For those who don’t spend too much time on the internet, about a month ago an artist started a major trend by getting bullied on Bluesky (the left’s twitter clone). They had posted an image of Draco Malfoy as a woman and this had caused an uproar that resulted in the original poster being forced to take down the original post. The artist tried to be graceful, but the internet wasn’t going to be as kind to the bullies.
For context: gender swapping characters is a concept as old as time (Rule 63), but this got particular attention because of the history of Harry Potter’s author and the transgender movement. JK Rowling was a notorious supporter of diversity initiatives back in the day, but she drew the line at supporting the transgender movement. As a result, many pro-trans activists, “fans,” and journalists started attacking Rowling across the internet and openly trying to cancel both Harry Potter and its creator. Fortunately, they never succeeded but Harry Potter becoming an anti-leftist boogeyman dominated a lot of popular public discourse on the series with plenty of online activists using love for the series as a litmus test for how “right thinking” you are on the subject.
So when a foreign artist casually made a gender swapped version of Draco Malfoy, it got backlash. The meme both promoted a series that the anti-gender norms crowd hated and made gender swapped artwork of a character that wasn’t a trans version so the left hated it. Sick of watching the left continue its inevitable quest for cultural control and ruining the lives of anyone to the right of Stalin, Twitter/X responded.
Almost immediately, large swaths of the internet responded by making content and art based on the concept of a female Draco Malfoy (or Draconia/Dracena/Lyra Malfoy depending on the artist’s preference). There was fanart, fanfiction, fanimation, AI generated artistry, and more. This got especially prominent on right wing Twitter/X as they were ready to start “owning the libtards” (or whatever the 2026 equivalent is) and this gave them an avenue to start punching back. So this started as an opportunity to show solidarity with the artist and defend freedom of expression.
The meme took off and became a trend almost immediately. So it was dubbed the name “Malfoid” which was a combination of Draco’s name and the internet word “Foid” which is slang for woman (it started off as a slur, but over time became more casual; kind of like “dame,” “broad,” or “chick”). One need only look up the Malfoid hashtag on social media, and they’ll find countless amounts of content discussing it, and it is quite good and fun to see.
This isn’t even the first time someone has made a gender swapped Draco as (previously mentioned) people have been gender swapping all sorts of characters for years, including Harry Potter. However, this was the perfect storm for that with where we are in our culture, and it was only a matter of time before some discussion on gender started a fight between normal people and trans activists. This was that moment, and it is glorious.
Yet, along the way, the fanfiction and discourse led to analysis. People actually started reanalyzing Harry Potter and wondering if there were any story repercussions to making Malfoy a girl. This led to fan theories and discussions that ended up recontextualizing large portions of Harry Potter and its characters. Surprisingly, the change was a lot more meaningful than most people might suspect.
So here’s sort of an overview of what supporters of the idea of the “Malfoid” character are saying:
Swapping out Draco Malfoy with a female equivalent makes sense as he’s very mean-girl coded. He’s obsessed with status and presentation, he has two side-kick best friends that are his inferiors, he comes from a wealthy family, has too much of a relationship with his father, he wimps out when things get hard, and tends to get put in his place a lot. Traditionally, the male rival/popular kid is either the big, dumb jock or what the hero wishes he could be, except evil, as they’re something the hero will eventually have to overcome to reach maturity. Taking a look at his personality, he’s got more in common with Mandy from Totally Spies, Bonnie from Kim Possible, or Heather Chandler from Heathers than he would with a Gary Oak/Paul from Pokemon or a Biff Tanen from Back to the Future.
Also, his initial rivalry takes a backseat to the rest of the story once Voldemort comes back, so his initial role as a threatening antagonist starts to fade. He’s easily defeated by other characters, his need as an antagonist is transferred to Voldemort, and a lot of his inner turmoil gets downplayed so it could be because he either wants to do the right thing or because he’s a coward. Point is, there’s a lot of potential that gets lost once the story starts to change in Goblet of Fire, so he’s not as fully realized as he could be since what made him a compelling rival starts to be transferred.
Making a female Malfoy, meanwhile, changes the story quite a bit. As mentioned, Malfoy comes across as something of a mean girl so it fully realizes that side of him. However, it recontextualizes what they did in the first couple stories quite a bit. Most of “Malfoid” Twitter/X has already rewritten the story with this in mind, so we'll do a brief recap of what most people are saying, followed by some of my favorite rewrites.
In addition to realizing his personality more fully, it adds the opportunity for Romance. So the scene where Harry tells “Draconia” that he doesn’t want to be friends has infinitely more weight since he’s snubbing a rich girl.
From there, it’s not merely a rivalry to prove who’s the best, but instead a quest for his affection to get his attention. She bullies him to get him to notice her, making scenes like the one with Neville’s Remberall still happen. She joins the Quidditch team to get closer to Harry and this probably also heightens her hatred of Hermione who she sees as a romantic rival. Keeping in mind that magic can be the great equalizer, scenes like the dueling scene can still happen as well since the physical divide between men and women isn’t going to keep Harry and Draconia from confrontation. Most of the first three books stay the same, but the reasoning is different.
Which brings us to things that could change in the first couple stories. Perhaps, during detention in the Dark Forest, Draconia clings to Harry because she’s scared and he saves her again when they’re confronted by Voldemort. The scene of the dead unicorn could impact her more since her wand includes unicorn hair and instead of merely running away, she runs to get Hagrid in the hopes to save Harry.
Perhaps throughout the next two books, she starts to second guess her behavior because she realizes that it’s upsetting Harry. She could start to regret how she treats Hermione or what she caused to happen to Buckbeak, even if for self-interested reasons, and starts to realize how her actions affect others. From there, she starts to make an effort to change. Slowly and quietly, but still progressing.
That all comes to a head during Goblet of Fire when they start to admit they have feelings for each other. The Yule Ball is an opportunity to get together so a lot of the fan works focus on Harry and Draconia at that. He could go with her, reject her, or she could look on with jealousy. This, though, is the moment where they have to acknowledge that they’re more than just rivals or enemies but something more.
This is also why there’s a debate on whether or not it should be Ron in the lake or Draconia. Your best friend, or the new love interest. It’s a possible avenue for the story to go, but there’s no consistent view on if it should change.
Their relationship also changes as well once Voldemort returns. Malfoy’s family is on the side of the dark lord while Harry is his arch nemesis. As a result, their feelings lead to a forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet style.
The most prominent concept for their character in Order of the Phoenix, then, is the idea that Draconia starts covering Harry and Dumbledore’s Army’s tracks to protect her love interest. Cho Chang sometimes adds love triangle drama, or she’s written out entirely, depending on the author. Regardless, though Harry and Draconia can’t be together, they still care for each other and try to make it work.
In Half-Blood Prince, though, it takes a turn for the worse when Voldemort still picks Draconia to kill Dumbledore. She now has to actively choose between her family and the love of her life, and that eats her alive.
That heightens scenes like the “Sectumsempra” scene because instead of Harry accidentally using it on an enemy, he uses it on someone he loves. It also raises the stakes in Deathly Hallows when she refuses to identify Harry because she doesn’t want him to die. It can also heighten the scene where Harry and Draconia fight in the Room of Requirement as now they’re laying their entire relationship down and having a lover’s quarrel.
Other scenes though still continue the same. We still learn Tom Riddle’s backstory through Dumbledore, Snape still kills Dumbledore, Harry still has to find the Deathly Hallows, and no one’s truly sure what any of this means anymore. However, now the stakes are raised infinitely higher in part because the struggle of good versus evil is reflected in a personal relationship.
This finalizes in the last battle where after Draconia sees Harry possibly dead in Hagrid’s arms, she finally gives up on the death eaters and fights alongside the good. Though there’s split opinion on this, some fan works also have Draconia and Harry working together to take down Voldemort, unified by the power of love. It also makes more sense, then, that Draconia is still the real wielder of the elder wand. So, just as it was Harry’s mother’s love that killed Voldemort for the first time, it was Harry and Draconia’s love that sent him away forever. Again, it’s not something every “Malfoid” fan agrees with but it is extremely emotionally satisfying.
From there, they get together like Harry and Ginny did in the books. They get married, have kids, and still name a kid after their two heroes: Albus and Severus. It’s a final happy ending with loving conquering all like it should.
With that complete, there’s a lot of other changes that can crop up in the story or characters that can get recontextualized. Lucius Malfoy, for example, can be portrayed as either an abusive monster who is in complete service to the dark lord, or a loving father who views his daughter’s relationship with “that boy” as a threat to his family. Slytherin can be as bad as it is in the books, or, perhaps, a house with a love of tradition and heritage that, at times, uses that love poorly (which is a lost view in the modern day). Snape can also have an interest in Harry and Draconia’s relationship since it parallels his own with Lilly’s. It adds so much to those alone.
Then there are some less popular, but still interesting ideas for other changes. One idea is that Malfoy becomes a part of the trio and that the group becomes a quartet, like Harry’s father group with Lupin, Sirius, and Pettigrew. Perhaps each one of the kids is in a different house and together the four represent the best (and worst) of each house (Harry represents courage and stubbornness in Gryffindor, Ron represents the everyman of Hufflepuff, Hermione represents the intelligence and lack of social awareness of Ravenclaw, and Draconia represents the ambition and ego of Slytherin). Perhaps Harry’s friends and family are split on his relationship. Perhaps Draconia finally gets Harry’s revenge on uncle Vernon. The possibilities are endless, but do stray further from the original books, so they tend to be more divisive.
Still, the fact that there is such a way to fit this concept in and still keep 90% of the story the same. It’s compelling to see just how well it works in the original story, and how such a change could heighten an existing story (or cheapen it if that isn’t your thing). I heard one YouTuber say that it takes the story from being “an 8/10 to a 10/10” and that’s the best way to look at it. For me, and for many, it adds a layer that completes the story and fully realizes the themes of love, friendship, adds a redemption arc, and still feels authentic to the story.
All the same, another question is why does this resonate with so many people? Sure, I mentioned the culture war fight at the beginning of the post, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to inspire so much fan works, especially good ones. So why does “Malfoid” resonate with so many parts of Twitter/X that it inspires art, debate, and a renewed appreciation of Harry Potter? Well, it’s because it brings up a lot of themes that aren’t as appreciated in the modern day.
First is the fact that it does complete Draco Malfoy’s arc. Though there is a case that he did change, he was never given a full redemption arc in the story and it holds him back from being one of the greater Harry Potter Characters alongside Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Voldemort, insert 90% of the Harry Potter cast here, etc. It also gives more justification to his emotional scenes since women are more emotionally expressive than men (as Hermione reminds us) so it makes some sense of him being more emotional as understandable. Really, it elevates the character.
Second, it adds a romance element that heightens the story. It adds to the theme of the power of love and makes Harry’s fight all the stronger. There has been some criticism I’ve seen that a lot of Harry’s journey is more about opposing evil than championing good. This would complete that arc and remind the reader what the story was always about.
Third, continuing on romance, there’s a disappointing lack of it in our culture today. Going back to the original stories, it’s not necessary for it to work. After all, the stories are still compelling and inspire millions. Besides, it’s the story J. K. Rowling wanted to tell and if it wasn’t where SHE wanted it to go, then that’s fine.
However, one needs to remember where the culture was when Rowling first wrote her stories. The first Harry Potter book released in the 1990s when Disney was at the tail end of its renaissance with couples such as Aladdin and Jasmine, Belle and the Beast, Tarzan and Jane, Meg and Hercules, and others. The films released alongside movies like the Star Wars prequels which was heavily focused on the love between Anakin and Padme, the Dark Knight which had the love triangle between Harvey Dent, Batman, and Rachel, and both Shrek and Wall-e which both dealt with an atypical romances. There were also very prominently released romance stories like Pride and Prejudice, The Notebook, and countless romcoms that are too numerous to mention here. There were a lot of portrayals of love back then so it didn’t matter if the guy getting the girl wasn’t the focus of one movie franchise.
Now, we have a dearth of romance in modern society. After Tangled, the only Disney animated (non-Pixar) franchise that dealt with a love interest was Frozen as no other other film has the guy getting together with the girl. Most of the relationships that get media attention any more are usually non-traditional so it’s not something our culture prioritizes. Heck, the most famous dating story of this year was Obsession which is literally about a creepy, manipulative male getting his life ruined when he turns the girl he wants into a crazed she-devil who makes his life hell, which people see as what dating market is like today. In short, we live in a world where romance feels like it’s been taken from us and there’s no desire in Hollywood to bring it back.
(For the record, I haven’t watched Obsession and I refuse to. My own experiences getting a date were awful and I don’t want to relive them).
In a way, adding romance to Harry Potter feels like it’s reclaiming something that was lost. It nostalgically references a time that is long forgotten where films and books were better, adds an element missing from modern society, and shows it in a way that’s compelling. It’s healing a piece of society that’s actively been suppressed or shamed.
Fourth, it’s actually starting a conversation on femininity and masculinity. Rewriting Harry Potter with a Draconia Malfoy requires more than just slapping a wig on Draco and calling it a day. Again, he is mean girl coded, but it needs to be more than just superficial for the story to work. People are analyzing parts of femininity and masculinity to make the change happen.
Part of the divide between Draconia and Draco is less the “what” and the “why.” As discussed earlier, the events can still happen, but the reasons why they do things can get recontextualized depending on who’s doing them. So it requires a fundamental understanding of the psychology of the characters.
It helps that most of the best fanfics I’ve read from this trend are written by women, so they can say and do things from their perspective. It can show the characters in ways I wouldn’t have considered as a guy and show little details that can have big impacts. Discussing whether or not any of this is how a character would act even shows us how the writer is thinking and can provide some unique perspective.
It goes back to a problem with modern society. Femininity is usually portrayed as a lesser trait in the modern day, so women are being pressed into more masculine roles. It’s why characters like Rey from Star Wars, Carole Danvers from Captain Marvel, and Abby from Last of Us: Part 2 fall flat. They’re written like emotionless robots that only serve to accomplish the feminist power fantasies of the writers. Men, on the other hand, get to be treated like they’re defective girls where if they have an arc, it’s just to get more in touch with their emotions. They have no purpose besides being there as part of the fantasy.
Men truly want someone who yearns for them and someone they can love so much that they’ll go through hell just to tell her “I love you.” Women, meanwhile, want a man who will protect her, lead her, and, most importantly, love her. The romance portrayed across the adjusted story does just that, while modern culture doesn't try anymore. In a world that is telling women to be more like (toxic) men and men to just give up, this story serves that need and reminds both sexes what they are.
Admittedly, most of these are conversations on twitter so they should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, considering some of the crazy statements about men and women that have come out of academia in the past two decades, it’s much more compelling. Honestly, what makes a lot of the conversations on “Malfoid” great are purely their authenticity. That alone makes them worth it.
Fifth, what also makes the meme work is its surprising wholesomeness. The relationship is portrayed as a proper romance and it’s one that people want to see actually succeed in a proper context. In a way, people are seeing the type of relationship they want and it’s usually a healthy one. So that shows that there’s a desire for wholesome relationships.
For context, there’s been some sexualization of the meme. The internet being the internet means that that’s always going to happen. However, the fandom seems to be openly fighting back against it. It will openly tell those doing that to get out, or avoid making it popular. It seems that there is a desire to protect the genuineness of the moment, and that’s a healthy sign in society.
A lot of the “Malfoid” art and fanfics focus on healthy, couple moments between Harry and Draconia. A lot of it can also involve poor flirting at school as well as defining their relationship. Some also focused on them as parents since Harry did get married and have kids in the book.
The reason this is how the meme is being interpreted is because it’s a reminder of what people want and aren’t having. We live in a society where marriage rates are low, divorce is more common than we care to admit, and birth rates are down too. As a result, a lot of what millennials’ and zoomers’ parents and grandparents had is increasingly becoming uncommon.
In the case of “Malfoid,” people are enjoying the goodness in a healthy relationship and its impact on people. A reminder that love is and can be transformative, for those involved as well as those around. So this is becoming one of the fewer examples of a good relationship in culture. So people should enjoy that while they can, and let them use it to yearn for something they want, even if they don’t currently have it.
Aristotle says that art can provide catharsis. In a broken culture, art like this reminds the average person what a healthy relationship is and can do. So, in a way, this might be helping provide healing.
Finally, most importantly, this is making fandom fun again. People are posting fan theories, arguing over what is good or could be changed about a property, and making new content based on old content. In other words, they’re enjoying stuff again.
This sounds normal and common, but the last ten years Hollywood has been attacking fan theories. This was especially bad during the Last Jedi, but for the past decade many in the industry have treated fan engagement as something to be attacked, shamed, or ignored. Admittedly, this was in part because Hollywood was buying/reviving intellectual properties and then making terrible versions of them that were worse than many fan ideas. For the record, they’re still doing that.
Now, people are reexamining something they love from a different angle and making exciting content that’s fun to read and watch. This was always the joy of it, and this is reminding people just how much they do love something, even if they wish parts of it were different.
For me personally though, I’ve probably talked more about Harry Potter now than I have in years. I’ve probably annoyed several of my friends and family with “Malfoid” content, but I’ve also discussed parts of the original story that I love and enjoy. The whole thing reminded me of all the great things that came from it during my childhood and onwards, like going to midnight releases for the last three books with my family, getting the first book from my grandmother, going to the films on my mother’s birthday, failing to do a year long diary project with my future wife, etc. If nothing else, this trend reminded me that I love Harry Potter, and, whatever fights J.K. Rowling finds herself getting into, always will.
So, the final point to leave on is “what does this mean for our culture?” Sure, it’s just one meme, but all ideas have implications. So what are some of the takeaways from the “Malfoid” trend and what does it mean for the average viewer?
First of all, it reminds us that Hollywood has been terrible at making these types of changes and that fans do it better. At the same time people are asking about the implications of replacing Draco with Draconia, Netflix is releasing an adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia where Aslan is voiced by Meryl Streep and based on David Bowie. Keeping in mind that Aslan is literally supposed to be Jesus, the director gender swapped God.
This has gotten defenders whose biggest case is that people are wrong for caring. However, some from the same political aisle were the ones who went crazy over the concept of replacing Malfoy with Malfoid. So, it’s a reminder that these people have no consistent values, and Hollywood’s thoughts on gender politics aren’t worth taking seriously.
However, it also shows that this can have an impact on story telling and changes like this can be used to elevate a story. Most character driven stories are driven by the relationships among the characters. Making changes like “Malfoid” opens up new opportunities for what a character can or can’t do.
This is why when constructing characters, the little details matter and can redefine character interactions. It should be used to heighten the story more than simply get headlines or promote an agenda. With enough passionate writers out there who see opportunities like Malfoid, and enough hacks in Hollywood that can’t do much other than attack the character of critics when they fail, it’s an important reminder of where the next crop of storytellers might be coming from.
Which brings up the next point that the meme represents: opportunity. Many passionate people on social media are making new content and stories based on an idea. It’s bringing out a passionate set of artists that want to make good and meaningful art.
After all, the Internet has been a place where stories, videos, and images went on to become professional art for the masses. “The Backrooms” started as a series of Internet creepypastas and that became a film, plenty of Internet artists can go on to find work, and fanfics have been turned into professional books and then movies. This could be a tree for new artistic fruits
Though it’s just fanfiction, it’s the perfect place to develop writing skills and practice ideas. Those traits can be used later for original stories or art. So this serves as an opportunity to inspire and create new writers.
Many of the fan artists are using new technology as well. The vast number of AI art based on “Malfoid” stories, from Harry and Draconia meeting to fan songs, are showing what the new technology can do to make art. It’s only improving so it’s a real sign of where entertainment could go, and these new artists are the ones learning how to make it.
So this meme could be what starts some artistic careers. Plenty of artists picked up writing again or started new accounts, so it is bringing out the artistic side in many. So, maybe this will help bring about a new generation of artists.
The final worthwhile note is that cultural criticism, while it may offer some insight into the ills of our times, is somewhat irrelevant in the modern. That may seem like an extreme statement, but certain reactions to the “Malfoid” meme from certain parts of the “right” have been unhelpful, to say the least. As a result, we may need to start reconsidering who we get our pop culture news from, if we even still want it.
Certain channels that traditionally criticize “woke” entertainment started attacking “Malfoid” fans as well. It wasn’t too surprising since most of them spent years whining about how modern entertainment sucks without actually offering a solution. As a result, when the right found its “next big thing,” they attacked that too.
I want to stress that not every critic of the meme is just a “hater.” No one has to like something and if it’s not their cup of tea then that’s fine. An example of this would be the YouTuber “The Real Life Fake Wizard” who let noted YouTuber “Shad M. Brooks” onto his channel to discuss the meme despite not being enthralled with it. Both men had disagreements on the trend, but were respectful and had a clear understanding of culture and an interest in the topic, at least for the vid. So not every person who criticizes the meme is doing so for clicks.
However, there are others who seemed to just start dunking the followers of the meme. This does seem to represent a trend though among certain parts of the “right” that I’ve personally gotten sick of over the years. Joker gets popular on the anti-woke right so a conservative news publication attacks it. Anne Hathaway makes a vaguely anti-male film so another “anti-woke” YouTuber defends it. Again, not every person has to like/hate what I like/hate and their opinions don’t make them haters. However, it’s enough of something I noticed that it’s worth commenting on at this point.
The “Malfoid” trend is important because at a time when the entertainment industry is dropping the ball on telling compelling stories, the common man is picking up the slack by making what they aren’t, which is important. In privation theory, evil is the absence of good, not the other way around. So those making fanfics, fanart, etc. are trying to do good in the absence of it. Meanwhile, an Anglican priest once said “Living well is the best revenge.” Those making the content are living well.
The point is, it’s time for the right to start rethinking its approach towards entertainment and cultural criticism. Plenty of people, like the Real Life Fake Wizard, can provide compelling analysis about the ills of modern entertainment and provide a lot to learn from. However, the only way the right will win the culture war is if it starts doing things it loves. For that reason, we need to make sure the people we follow are actually doing something good, not just complaining. Bonding over things we hate will never change nor have the impact that bonding over things we love will.
So, the final question is, what does all this mean? What impact will the trend have? Is it a flash-in-the-pan or is nature healing?
Personally, I doubt this will be the end and cultural triumph that the right has been waiting for. Most trends fizzle out in chaos and there’s often a lot of regret when what made something great leaves while it’s replaced by shameless imitation. Inherently, this could fizzle out just like everything else.
However, this does offer opportunity. People writing, drawing, and making are developing skills that could be useful later. It’s clearly igniting a passion in people to do good and make good. So there’s a chance that this will cause good things in the future, even if indirectly.
As for me, though I hate to call a meme “life changing,” I’d say this one was. It taught me that I love romance and care deeply about the connection among others. So I’ll probably start reading more of it and adding it to my own stories. It also made me appreciate wholesomeness and try to make sure that what I’m engaged in is wholesome. Time will tell if that’s longterm, but for now I’ll be grateful for it and that’s enough.
To the rest of the fans and lovers out there, enjoy it while it lasts. Now’s the time to make a change and start engaging. It’s a moment in the culture war where we get to make things for a change and make an impact. So remember, keep writing, keep drawing, and keep yearning.
Finally, just a list of some “Malfoid” fics I’ve been enjoying in case anyone wants some to read. This isn’t an exhaustive list, just what I’m enjoying right now:
“Harry Potter and the Serpent's Heart” by Sensurround
“Draconia Malfoy and the Boy Who Said No” by nomoontwo
More may come, but I’ll be leaving this here for now. To all the fans out there, enjoy, make, and never stop yearning!
