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

[Pen Robinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 41185

A very timely argument, this, since I have been participating in a similar
one on the SugarQuill (Veritaserum, Is JKR Sexist?).   Wonder if any of the
HPfG participants have that in common with me?

I've been interested in the arguments about whether or not there are strong
female characters.  My own opinion is that there is an equal society
depicted in the books, and it is Hogwarts.  The staff seem to be
male/female in pretty well equal proportions.  There are admirable and
not-admirable teachers and pupils in roughly equal proportions too -
balance Professor Binns against Prof Trelawney on the 'useless' side, and
Flitwick and McGonagall on the 'capable' side.  (I know Flitwick is a bit
fluttery, but he's definitely capable.)  The students are a similarly mixed
bunch.

When we go beyond Hogwarts, things are a little less equal.  The Ministry
of Magic, for instance, seems to be largely composed of men (we know of, I
think, two witches in the MoM) - at any rate, the people who *do* anything
as MoM members are men (she mumbled).  All those harassed chaps at the
World Cup, for instance.  Frank Longbottom was an Auror - and his wife
(what was her name again?) was, um, also tortured.  It doesn't mean that
the magical women we see outside Hogwarts are not strong characters (Molly
Weasley, Rita Skeeter, and I have some hopes of Arabella Figg), but except
for Rita they don't, so far, have a proactive role in society.

Voldemort obviously has no time for women, so it is no surprise that all
his acolytes are male (except for  that one witch, who's obviously one of
those "man's woman" types who probably has as much contempt for her own sex
as any chauvinist).

However, I think it is clear that the wizarding world is a somewhat
old-fashioned place, and it seems natural enough that women should be
somewhat peripheral.  It needn't make a difference...

Wait, I'm getting there.

What I think is a shame is that the female characters are not strong
characters *within the action*.  Never mind about Harry's point of view,
never mind about the restrictions of society, the fact is that by and large
the female characters don't matter to the plot.

The two exceptions I can think of are Hermione and Rita Skeeter.  I have
hopes that Ginny will develop, and that we'll find out more about Lily, and
that Arabella Figg, Molly Weasley and a couple of others will take a more
active role in future.  But who do we have so far?

The main character is male.  Fair enough, he has to be one thing or the
other.  His best friends are one of each, so far so good.  But then we
have: Dumbledore (wise mentor), Voldemort (ultimate foe), Snape
(persecutor), Draco Malfoy (peer antagonist), Sirius (misunderstood ally),
Remus (affectionate tutor), Hagrid (adult friend)....   We also have the
various Weasley brothers, Quirrell, Lockhart, Cornelius Fudge, the
Crouches, Dobby, Cedric,  and so forth.    Set against this lot, what is
McGonagall's role?  What does Madam Hooch do, or Professor Sprout?  They
are important characters within *Hogwarts*, but not in the books.

I'm not saying that half of the above list should be female - but there are
some instances in which it wouldn't, surely, have hurt to use a female
character instead of a male.   Unless the long white beard is going to
prove crucial at some point, why couldn't the Head of Hogwarts have been a
wise old witch instead of a wizard?  If Remus Lupin had been a woman, how
would her interaction with Harry have been different?  (Hey, if Harry can
have a female best friend, why couldn't James have done the same?)  Did
Dobby the house-elf have to be a male?  Really?  (After all, I don't mean
that proactive characters cannot be irritating.)

My point is that the most important roles in the book are almost always
filled by male characters.  JKR has painted them well enough for me to say
that I like them all, in different ways - but it still seems to me rather a
shame that the proactive characters are so overwhelmingly males.

Pen