Slut!Seamus and other ships

[jeffl1965]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Morgan D." 
<morgan_d_yyh at y...> wrote:
> >    From: "jeffl1965" <jeffl1965 at s...>
> > 
      Jeff:
> >     So, I've seen that I'm not the only one curious about this, 
so I 
> > wanted to ask if anybody wants to guess why Seamus is made a 
slut, 
> > regardless as to the nature of the story or his realtionship. 
Even if
> > he's het, he's a slut, and usually even if the story is het, 
Seamus 
> > is gay and with Dean or in some cases with Percy! Why is that? 
> 
   Morgan:
> First thing, it's always complicated to claim there is *one* reason 
why
> many ficwriters write similar plots or similar characterisations.
> Unfortunately, many people are very fond of such generalisations and
> end up inadvertently offending lots of writers. So what I'm saying 
here
> is not what happened, but what *might* have happened. 
> 
> Slut!Character is a plot function, a stereotype common to many 
kinds of
> fiction, particularly TV shows. There's a group? Then there's 
likely to
> be one character, either a male or a female, that dates pretty much
> everyone that comes around. The Slut!Character is useful to plots 
that
> deal with jealousy, with the conflict between sex drive and true 
love,
> or with smut, pure and simple... So it's not really surprising to me
> that some ficwriters would introduce that function in their HP 
fics. 
> 
> Now, why Slut!Seamus? Well, in my humble opinion, the reasons to 
write
> Slut!Seamus are different from the ones to write Slut!Harry. The 
latter
> is likely to be a result of speculation about canon: could Harry's
> dysfunctional background lead him to promiscuity? It's a valid
> question, whether you might say "yes" or "no". 
> 
> But what do we know about Seamus? We have but a simple profile of 
his.
> Muggle dad, witch mother, Irish... doesn't go much farther, does 
it? So
> if you need a Slut!Character in a secondary role to a plot that 
takes
> place mostly in Harry's dorm, he's a good candidate.
> 
> Why Seamus and not the others? Well, assuming the protagonist is
> Harry... Ron might have been written out because he was supposed to
> take another role (Harry's true love, for example), or because the
> author felt canon discourages the idea of a Slut!Ron (his 
unsuccessful
> date at the Yule Ball). Slut!Neville? The author might have thought 
he
> was too clumsy for the role. So we end up with only Slut!Dean and
> Slut!Seamus as possibilities. 
> 
> Why not Dean? Well, maybe it was a silly word association: Slut/Sex
> starts with an S, Seamus starts (and ends!) with an S. Or maybe the
> author loathed football and didn't want to write about Dean because 
of
> that. Or maybe the author had conscious or unconscious bias against
> writing Harry having sex with a black boy. Or maybe the author had
> conscious or unconscious bias against both Irishmen and sluts, so if
> someone has to be the slut, let it be the Irish kid.
> 
> And then you have to remember that ficwriters are mutually 
influenced.
> After reading three or four fics with Slut!Seamus, if you need that
> particular plot function you'll automatically think of Seamus 
because,
> hey!, the guy has a reputation already! ^__^
> 
> So if you're looking about canonical suggestions that he's a slut...
> no, I don't think there are any, and I don't think that's how the
> phenomenon started. (I could be wrong, of course.)
> 
> 
     Jeff:
> >    Another thing, I'm curious as to why many seem to think that 
its 
> > quite cool for Dean and Seamus to be together, yet not for Harry 
and 
> > Ron? The same arguments I always hear can apply to them as 
> > well. "They're best mates, and it would ruin things", "They're 
> > obviously straight", hello? Sometimes things happen. There aren't 
> > even obvious clues many times. So why is it really ok for D/S, 
but 
> > not H/R? Even H/D or D/R makes less sense to me than the other 
pairs,
> > and they even squick me a bit. ;) I won't even touch the subject 
of 
> > *anybody* with Snape. :)
> 
   Morgan:
> If you find someone (as in one single person) that says both
> "Seamus/Dean is cool" AND "Ron/Harry can't be lovers because they 
are
> best mates", you please ask that person to explain this. But if 
you're
> talking about different people... you know, one ficwriter can't be
> responsible for the opinion of another ficwriter. 
> 
> Why some fans like this pairing and detest the other... Why some 
fans
> think this pairing "makes more sense" than that other one.... that's
> all VERY subjective. I could tell you about *my* preferences. They
> might make you understand, in a rational way, why I think the way I 
do,
> but it doesn't mean you'll start thinking my chosen pairings will
> become appealing to you. 
> 
> Hope this helped somehow,
> 
> Morgan D.
> Hogwarts Letters - http://www.hogwartsletters.hpg.com.br
> 
>

   Jeff:

    Ok, somehow either my copy of this didn't make it to my mailbox, 
or my reply didn't make it which might be the case. Some emails were 
bouncing, and of course there's the case of too many Elves and nobody 
to watch them since I had several posts that were sent back to be 
edited by 2 elves, and in some cases each one found different things 
to complain about and in some cases I decided not to bother doing 
more than one edit. No sense in getting mad and then deleting the 
Elf's email account. ;)
   Now, you did clear up some things for me, and gave a view that 
while I see your point, doesn't make it sound fair to me. :) Poor 
Seamus!!! Being made to wanna shag anything that breathes all the 
time is just terrible. I knew some randy lads before, but none were 
ever that bad. :)
   I can agree that poor Neville wouldn't be right for it, since I 
think he'd be too embarrased to even get naked in front of another, 
boy or girl, and would most likely faint at the sight of another 
naked body anyway. ;) That's another reason why I think that Hogwarts 
should have tubs, that way he won't fall and hit his head on the hard 
tile floor the first time he sees one of the older lads naked. :) 
True, he might start to drown, but I think that he'd revive quickly 
in the water. :) As for Dean not being the slut, ok, I can see those 
points too and there's also the fact that in america, anyway, blacks 
are stereotyped to being very promiscuious anyway, so that might've 
caused problems as well, and I would agree.
  Anyway, I am curious as to what other thoughts you have or what 
ships you like. I don't expect to be converted, but I am eager to 
hear what others have to say about it. You are welcomed to reply off-
list if you so desire. 
   My thanks for replying and my apologies for having somehow missed 
this post in the first place!! :)


  Jeff