Why Snape appeals (mainly) to women

[Porphyria]

No: HPFGUIDX 47913

Long ago, back on 10/3 (#44915), GulPlum noted that a preponderance of 
Snape's (and Sirius's and Lupin's) fans were female. He wondered "whether 
it's because men generally seem not to go beyond the obvious, the broad 
strokes, while women seem to be more interested in hints and background 
characters?" Then he wondered "<treading on more dangerous ground> Or are 
women principally going for characters who might conform to or fulfill 
their sexual fantasies?"

He remarked:

> I'm honestly curious about what people's views on the above are and why 
> (beyond the usual literary reasons) we feel attracted to the characters 
> who appeal to us.

I wanted to answer this long ago but didn't have time, and since today it 
came up in an offlist discussion and I *do* have a bit of time, I thought 
I'd answer it now. I shall necessarily generalize about gender roles from 
my own perspective in the paragraphs below; if you disagree with me please 
argue your own view but please don't take offense where there is none 
intended.

For starters, my whole reply is predicated on the belief that, very often,
  people prefer characters with whom they identify. This can be positive or 
negative; we like characters who embody the characteristics we wish to 
have, and we feel deep empathy for characters who embody our own faults. 
Well, I'm sure some people *hate* characters who embody their own faults, 
but I for one love them quite pathetically, and I know I'm not alone.

I would also like to add, re GulPlum's question about sexual fantasies, 
that infatuation with literary characters has *nothing to do* with sexual 
attraction in its simplest sense. These characters have no physical 
presence; they do not infect us with their pheromones or put the moves on 
us. They are only as attractive as we imagine them. Our impression of them 
is rooted purely in language, which means it is symbolic and analyzable. 
Otherwise, we'd all have hopeless crushes on Gilderoy Lockhart, which does 
not seem to be the case. :-) Snape, in particular, *is supposed to be ugly,
* so there must be something *else* going on with his legion of female 
crushers for them to feel as they do.

The following is only one theory among many for Snape's appeal, but I 
think it's worth giving a shot: Snape is the cast-off animus of an 
individual who has been socialized as female. OK, plain English: Snape 
appeals to some women because he is exactly  what a woman cannot be if she 
is to be recognized as "feminine" in our society.

Let's consider Snape's depiction in the books. We know from some offhand 
remarks that Snape is considered brilliant in his field: Lupin's 
explanation of how difficult Wolfsbane Potion is to brew, Sirius's 
admission that Snape knew more curses as  a child, etc. We also get the 
impression he's brilliant from his poetic, mannered speech, his pride in 
his craft and, via Real Life contamination, he reminds us of that type of 
professor who would much rather be researching than teaching. So, he 
strikes me as being the Potterverse equivalent of a brilliant scientist.

However, what is is we typically see Snape doing? He gets to teach 11 year 
olds Boil-Curing Potion *over and over and over.* He has to herd them from 
class to class when there is some danger in the castle. He has to keep 
them in line and break up fights. He has to babysit. He has to make sure 
they get medical treatment when they injure themselves, and protect them 
from their own recklessness. And, in what I think is one of the series' 
moments of pure comic genius, Snape has to play hyper-conscientious 
nursemaid to Lupin, someone he'd just as soon poison.

Now, being a grade school teacher, a caretaker and a nurse are all noble 
professions, but do they suit Snape's personality? No, they require 
patience, compassion, empathy and affection, all qualities he notably 
lacks. He is deeply unsuited for his job. Snape appears to despise little 
children and resents being stuck 'taking care of' people who need extra 
attention like Lupin, Harry or Neville. He doesn't seem to have a 
nurturing bone in his body. But he is protective and dutiful, and his job 
duties wrench appropriate behavior out of his as best as he can manage 
(which often isn't very well).

So my argument states that Snape appeals to *some* women who feel 
frustrated that society, their families, or life in general obliges them 
into a caretaker role when they privately feel that they are better suited 
for more intellectual work. Some of these women might reject caretaker 
roles for themselves, and others might be *extremely dutiful* mothers, 
teachers and nurses who simply feel the pressure to be compassionate and 
tender-hearted all the time. It's a heavy burden for anyone not 100% 
sweetness and light in the first place. But what if women actually acted 
like Snape! It's hardly an option for any of us who care about what our 
loved ones think of us. (If only the world were as accepting as Dumbledore!
) So Snape is deliciously enjoyable because, as a literary character, he 
can get away with all the nastiness he wants and we can enjoy it 
vicariously without actually hurting anyone in the Real World.

So I think the reason that the vast majority of Snape's admirers are 
female is that he represents the vindictive, resentful flipside of the 
"female" role that is foreclosed to real women who feel obliged to appear 
"feminine" by typical cultural standards. I think this explains why some 
of Snape's fans are infatuated straight women, but also why some of his 
fans are lesbians. I also think this explains why some female readers 
*despise* Snape, because he constitutes an absolute scandal for someone 
entrusted with the role of rearing young people. (It's not a subject women 
typically feel neutral about.) And lastly, I think this explains why so 
few (to my knowledge) of Snape's fans are gay men, because (I imagine) 
they have a whole ton of other gender-role obligations to contend with, 
which have nothing to do with Snape's character. Same probably goes for 
straight men. :-)

Again, that's only one theory among many possible for why people like his 
character, and it need not apply to absolutely everyone. Let me know what 
you think.

~Porphyria