Lilly a Lesbian?

[blpurdom at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 20805

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Alexandra Y. Kwan" <litalex at y...> wrote:
 > 
 > Also, it relates to gay people in the way it relates to every 
> minority group that had been discriminated against.  Because the 
> books do deal with such issues, therefore Hermy's conclusion.
> 
> Other than that, anyone else want to chime in?
> 

I think the best equivalent to gays in the canon books are Squibs.  
They are born into wizarding families and have a deep, shameful 
secret: they are different.  They cannot help it.  It can potentially 
create a huge rift between them and their families, their friends.  
They are simply incapable of behaving the same as "normal" witches 
and wizards.  Filch even had that owl-post magic course that Harry 
found in his office, which in retrospect reminds me of (largely 
religiously-based) programs that exist to "change" gay people.  

I think it is no coincidence that it was said in GoF (by D. Malfoy?)
that Squibs and Mudbloods would be targeted first, just as gays and 
Gypsies were first to be put in concentration camps in the thirties 
in Germany (one is a marginalized group in the community; the other 
is an "ethnic" group which is insinuating itself into wizarding 
society).  I've also noticed that Voldemort is not unlike Hitler (who 
I seem to remember was part Jewish) in that his heritage (Muggle 
father) includes a group he is actively targeting.  More than one 
dangerous person in history acted out of self-hatred.

I feel confident that Rowling will not directly address issues 
concerning sexual minorities; instead, I think she is using her 
soapbox to create an allegory that may be read one way by kids, and 
another by adults who are more attuned to the things she is saying 
about human beings' prejudices and fearful reactions.