Why Snape appeals (mainly) to women

[ats_fhc3 <the.gremlin@verizon.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 47919

Porphyria wrote:
"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."

I disagree with this, because we can be affected by the way a 
certain character is described. Snape's voice is often described 
as "silky", he is always wearing black, sweeping in and out of 
rooms, talking in a "soft, dangerous" voice, and looking through his 
curtain of black, and sometimes greasy, hair. All these 
characteristics have a mysterious tone about them. While he isn't 
physically attractive, his mannerisms are somewhat seductive in that 
tall dark stranger sort of way.

He also has a dangerous past. Women like bad boys. However, he is no 
longer (or some hope he isn't) bad. He has repented, and is now 
working on the side of good. He turned his back aganist Voldemort. 
That's bravery. Bravery, added to the characteristic of having a 
dangerous, somewhat mysterious past, is sexy. He's a man who won't 
run screaming the other way in the face of danger. And, the fact 
that we don't know anything about his past, other than the fact that 
he was a DE, makes him all the more attractive because we can 
fantasize about what makes him tick.

"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. <snip wonderful evidence to back up 
theory that would make this post far too long if included>"

These sort of women *sympathize* with Snape. I know I do. I hate 
kids. I would teach, but I don't have the patience for it. So, in 
short, I completely agree with your theory.

The one thing that just bothers me about your theory is that it 
makes Snape sound a little feminine...well, indirectly feminine. But 
I really do like your theory.

-Acire, who finds Sherlock Holmes (a mysogonist, for anyone who 
doesn't know) appealing in the same way she finds Snape appealing.