[HPforGrownups] Re: Shippers and Non-Shippers

[tillrules at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 28151

In a message dated 10/23/2001 4:39:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
john at walton.vu writes:

<<  Actually, from talking to kids in the target age range for the
 > series, it seems as if they actually care more about the romances
 > than we do.  I think if you took a poll, you'd find that
 > proportionately more adults are no-shippers.
 
 Possibly because they feel more involved? i.e. they are much more likely to
 say "wow, wouldn't Ron make a crap boyfriend?" -- "Yeah, especially for
 Hermione", because it's their age group.
  >>

This seems to be true.  I also think there is a wish fulfilment element here. 
  I go to Fanfiction.net, a lot and I can't count how many stories that you 
see with "a new girl with a mysterious past who holds the secret to beating 
Voldemort" and it's invariably a young female writer and the character 
invariably ends up as Harry's love interest.  

Or take the Draco can be reformed by love argument.  How many young girls 
dream of changing the class bad boy, especially when he's handsome, rich and 
witty?  This is not to say that all Draco isn't equal folks are secretly in 
love with him or some such, but there is an an element of that in younger 
readers.  It certainly fits a teen female romantic mold (the reformed rogue, 
who's only bad because of some dark secret, Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer 
for example).

David (who since everyone else is putting this out is a OBHWF, thinks Draco 
is evil and will not be redeemed  [at least in part because JKR already said 
so]  and thinks Hermione is probably the same age give or take a few months 
as Harry)