Utopian vision vs realism in fiction

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 33392

Luke wrote:

> So, regarding HP and the gender presentations therein, what is more 
> important to me than the statistical representation of non-
> stereotypical female characters, or the presence (or lack) of good 
> female role models, or even the presentation of gender roles in 
> general, is whether or not the negative effects of those gender 
roles 
> are condoned or rejected.  <snip> In other words, the 
> biggest question for me is not, "how many this or how much that?", 
> but straight to the big enchilada of "Does HP endorse sexist 
views?"  
> The answer, as best as I can tell, is no.

Although I agree with what Luke has written, there seems to be an 
additional issue that makes the question "how many this and how much 
that" relevant to me.  I'm not sure I agree that asking only (or 
primarily) the question "Does HP endorse sexist views?" goes far 
enough.

I'm not sure I can articulate this issue well, but I also think it is 
important to consider the era in which a book was written and the 
social structure in place at that time.  I have read plenty of 
children's fiction written many years ago (and continue to read it to 
my kids) in which the women have stereotypical roles.  But those 
roles are entirely consistent with the era in which the books were 
written.  That makes the author's approach to gender both 
understandable and forgiveable to me.  

Similarly, members of this list sometimes take up the question of 
racial diversity at Hogwarts, asking whether it reflects racial 
diversity in Britain.  Clearly, HP does not condone racism (if 
anything, HP condones equality), so why do people continue to ask the 
question?  I'm not sure exactly, but I think that some people (myself 
included) do take note of whether a piece of fiction reflects the 
racial make-up of the subject population.  In other words, if HP were 
set in New York City and had the same racial distribution that we see 
at Hogwarts, I would raise an eyebrow and wonder why.  The answers 
probably would not be flattering to JKR.  

Are the issues and my expectations different for a fantasy book?  Can 
someone envision and write a fantasy book in which everyone is male 
and white and, when criticized for this, shrug it off by 
saying, "Sorry, but that's the way it is in Fantasyland"?  Probably 
so.  What I do know is that authors (and filmmakers) who fail to 
include diverse characters apparently are not seeking a diverse 
audience, so I oblige by electing not to be part of the audience for 
their work.  

Had JKR included no minority characters, I definitely would have 
noticed this omission and my enthusiasm for the books would be 
substantially more muted.  The same holds true for female 
characters.  As it stands, the minority characters have almost 
nothing to do (none of the major characters fighting evil are 
minority).  However, as Luke notes, the books have a theme that 
prejudice is wrong, and that does go a long way toward helping me 
accept the limited presence of characters of color.

In the end, an author's decision about the gender of certain 
characters and what they should do is important to me because it 
implictly says something about what the author considers to be 
normal.  In HP, it seems to me that JKR has given her fantasy world 
many of the attributes of the real world.  Consequently, I think it 
is reasonable to ask that she also treat issues of gender and race in 
a way consistent with the real world.  That means that there ought to 
be women in both traditional and non-traditional roles, and that 
there ought to be racial diversity.

Judyserenity wrote (regarding the influence of popular culture on 
kids):

>I'd say that parents who 
> try to oppose popular culture are usually fighting a losing battle.
> 

A *losing* battle?  An uphill battle, perhaps, but I'm not willing to 
raise the white flag quite so quickly. :-)  

Regarding gender issues, I actually have few concerns that media 
perceptions and portrayals of women pose a risk for my own daughters 
or other young girls growing up today.  Young girls are surrounded by 
women who have made all sorts of choices in what they wish to 
become.  Sure, there are professions and roles in which women are 
underrepresented, but I'd have to think hard to come up with a 
profession in which there aren't women who serve as role models.  Not 
too long ago, there were almost no women professionals.  Now, my 
neighborhood is full of them.  I think the day-to-day experiences of 
girls go a long way to help them understand that they have options 
beyond traditional roles, despite what popular culture says.

So (to bring this back on-topic), if the HP books continue to have 
roles for women that are traditional or stereotypical, I wouldn't 
think that they were an inappropriate influence for my daughters.  I 
could shrug it off by noting that my daughters already have plenty of 
positive female role models, and whatever they observe in a fictional 
book probably won't have a negative influence on them.  Score one for 
the parents in the uphill battle!  :-)

Cindy