[HPFGU-OTChatter] Character Identification (was Does JKR's portrayal of woment combat sexism?)

[Jennifer Boggess Ramon]

At 10:19 AM +0000 7/22/02, davewitley wrote:
>Pippin wrote:
>
>>  If a girl, or a woman, can't identify
>>  with Hermione, she isn't likely to enjoy the series in the first
>>  place, and she'll find something else to read.
>
>It is rare indeed for me to disagree with anything Pippin says, but
>is this really true?  Perhaps we should have a poll (men would have
>to agree not to participate for it to be accurate).

Speaking out of my personal experience and two child development 
courses, girls who enjoy reading (as opposed to casual readers, who 
*might* be turned off by not having someone "just like them" in the 
story) are perfectly capable of identifying with male heroes.  Boys 
have a much harder time identifying with a female hera (sic; yes, I 
know the etymology is wrong, but I dislike "heroine").  They 
generally can't manage it until their late teens, although there are 
exceptions.

Back when we used to play "Star Wars" as kids, lots of girls wanted 
to be Princess Leia.  But lots of girls wanted to be Luke Skywalker, 
too.  A few of us wanted to be Chewie or R2-D2.  Almost none of us 
wanted to be Han, or Obi-Wan.  Most boys wanted to be Luke or Han; I 
don't remember many takers for Obi-Wan for them, either.  Nobody 
wanted to be Mon Mothma, sadly enough . . .
-- 
  - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon			boggles at earthlink.net
=== Personal Growth Geek Code v0.4 ===
GG++ !T A-- M++s--- g+ B- C- P++++ a- b- h+ her++ E+ N n++ i f+
c++ S%++++&&># D R++ xc++ xm+ xi+ yd++ ys++(-) rt+ ro+ rp++++ rjk<+
ow+++ ofn+ oft++ op++ esk-- ey+ ek+++ pl++ pf++ pe++ U!