[HPforGrownups] Re: JKR prone to old preconceptions about females?

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 41140

Yeah...it's me again..don't look at me like that, I can be long-winded if I wanna be. ^_~

Claudia:
>I agree to a certain extent. While it's definitely important 
>to slowly separate the undefined Gryffindor bunch into 
>adolescent boys and girls, and maybe even exaggerate this 
>separation by using stereotypes I still think that JKR 
>overdid that a little. It's one thing to show that girls 
>have different interests (Parvati, Lavender) but a wholly 
>different thing to have them fail all the time when it's 
>really important.

I disagree.  I feel that Parvarti and Lavender were supposed to be caricatures the way boys such as Neville, Colin, and Dennis are.  We aren't supposed to think they way they are is admirable or good...mostly (with the possible exception of Neville) they just serve as a contrast for the people that ARE GOOD and DO MATTER. 

I think this was Darrin:
> Quidditch. Notice that Slytherin -- the villains of the school -- 
has 
> no girls on the Quidditch team while Gryffndor has three 

Claudia replied:
>Well, but I don't think that this is because they think women are 
>inferior (well, they do think so) but in this instance they prefer 
>physical strength and the ability to throw the opponent off of their 
>broom to actually winning by tactical finesse. And I think we can 
>agree on the fact that boys fit better into a physically imposing 
>team than girls...

Well...what about Millicent?  Talk about imposing.  No, I feel that JKR at one point (was it the mudblood/slugs incident?) made a distinct and very pronounced effort to point out that THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE SLYTHERIN TEAM right after it the three girls on Gryfinndor are mentioned one after another...and this was before the passage in PoA in which Lee Jordan says, "And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's Made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill --" and Harry thinks that Draco is easily the smallest on the team.

This suggests that they *weren't* as big before the aforementioned changes.



Darrin (again, I'm not sure b/c I'm quoting a quote and the name wasn't given):
> AND... speaking of houses, two women were founders at a time when 
> Muggle women were certainly not given such rights.

Charlotte:
>Agreed. But again those 2 houses aren't the important ones.

*tilts head* Not important, how?  I can see where you would put a distinction between Slytherin and the other three...not of importance so much as just..difference, but Gryfinndor more important than Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?  How do you figure?  It's are focused on more b/c well..It's where Harry is.  Alot of times they take the lead for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff when it comes to trying to beat out Slytherin in Quidditch (b/c everyone wants Slytherin to die die die apparently) but that's only because (just since Harry joined) they have the best team of the three.  But it hasn't always been this way.  They hadn't won a Quidditch match in 7 years before PoA.  People *do* tend to look down on Hufflepuff...but I would think that with Hogwarts being a *school*, Ravenclaw would be the special house..you know, akin to a special place for very intelligent, motivated students.

laura


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