[HPforGrownups] SHIP: Shippers and Non-Shippers

[Kanna Ophelia]

No: HPFGUIDX 28085

Original message from: "Cindy C." <cynthiaanncoe at home.com>

Ooh! As a rampant romantic fanfic fan, although definitely on the
slash/femmeslash side of things, I couldn't resist this... (I bear
allegiance to no specific pairings forums, but I do belong to
hpfemmeslash, which is devoted to sapphic HP pairings in general.)

> Does most people on the list look forward to 
>more ships?  If so, why would Ships enhance the books for you?  

Speaking for myself...

I would definitely prefer no romantic focus in later books.  For a
number of reasons...

Firstly, I thought the whole Yule Ball thing was handled, well, not
wonderfully.  I could only come to terms with it by telling myself
that if Rowling was pastiching various children's book forms, well,
she could hardly leave teen romance novels out...  But I found the
whole thing rather embarassing, especially the parts that were
obviously meant to be funny, and I'm not looking forward to more of
the same.  It was the only extended period I wasn't caught up in the
story or the action.

(And this is from someone addicted to teen romances)

Secondly - well, it would spoil a lot of fun.  One of the things I
love about fandoms is speculating on relationships, making up
romances, reading and writing fanfic.  Canon pairings in fiction bore
me.  It's selfish but... there you go.  I don't want the options for
discussion, argument and speculation cut off.  Especially as whoever
Harry, Hermione or Ron end up with, some fans are going to be
seriously put out. <g>

(Of course, the only HP pairing I've ever written was unrequited
Narcissa/Molly, which I consider even less likely to be canonical than
Ginny/Fleur or say.. Hermione/Draco...  But it was fun working it out
to be convincing, for the space of a story, to a reader.  And for me,
that's where much of the pleasure of fanfic lies...)

Thirdly: If it happens, it's likely to be overwhelmingly heterosexist.
We've already had a kind of absurdly archaic rule about opposite-sex
partners at the Yule Ball.  And, what, not *one* female responded to
the Veela, and not one male was immune? I watched the discussion on
future non0het characters with interest and didn't really want to get
into it.   I don't agree, though, that not wanting to annoy extremists
is an acceptable reason for ignoring the other 10% of teens - even
Sweet Valley High has its token gay characters. <g>  (Not that I'd
like to see Homosexuality as an Issue in Harry Potter, just some
queerish teens who hopefully *don't* agonise and get sent off to
counseling like their SVH counterparts.)

But it's not even the lack of gay characters that's likely to bother
me, but just too much emphasis on heterosexual pairing off.  (After
all, I wouldn't tend to notice the lack of boy/boy and girl/girl if
there wasn't intrusive amounts of girl./boy.)  A friend of mine is
celibate by nature, and just as (bisexual myself) I tend to tag
Hermione, the usual transitory crushes aside, as stereotypically dyke,
she chooses in the same way to recognise her as a spinster figure...
and why not? Natural (non-religious) celibates are not a group who get
much recognition in our culture.  And I understand that she found the
pairing-off imperative in our pop culture rather oppressive, to say
the least.  We get the whole serial monogamy thing poured down our
throats as it is... we don't really need another tube for it.  That's
what romance novels and soap operas are for.  

And, after all, not everyone dated in High School, although you
wouldn't believe it form the media. And I know I'm not the only one
who dated more from a sense of peer pressure/duty (Thats What
Teenagers Do) than pleasure, until bam I met my True Love at 24.
Having dating and crushes presented as the be-all and end-of all every
adolescent's existence is irritating.  Especially when said
adolescents are, you know, saving the world 'n'stuff, and probably
have other things on their minds.

Amber wrote:

<< And before I'm told off, I 
do realize that the Trio and other students are at that hormonal age
and 
that romance and pairings at this point are practically inevitable.
I'm just 
hoping that JKR keeps it muted.>>

Yep, that sounds ideal to me.  After all this ranting, I admit that  I
could live quite happily with Ron/Hermione or Harry/Ginny.  I might
even applaud Parvarti/Lavender or Remus/Sirius.  But overall, I'd
prefer that the focus in these books remained on friendship and love
that doesn't need to be romantic and sexual and let the fans play
ourselves.



XXX Kanna-Ophelia  cleffa at start.com.au
www.geocities.com/diversiontactics/
ffnet: KannaOphelia

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