Sexuality in HP (WAS So, why did Snape turn on Voldermort?)

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 40153


Amanda Geist wrote:

> > The thing that I must say, though, is that none of this, no 
inkling 
> or
> > trickle or faintest flicker of this, ever occurred to me in any 
of 
> my many
> > re-readings, until I read Elkins' post. Am I the only one who 
never 
> sees
> > things like this? Am I the only one who read this with total 
> amazement?
> 
> 
> > So my question to the list is: how many of you really got the 
sexual
> > undertones that Elkins has pointed up? *As* sexual? Because I did 
> notice the
> > particular word usage, and its effectiveness in creating a creepy
> > atmosphere, in all instances quoted--it just never struck me as 
> sexual.
> > 
> 

Celeste wrote:

> The first time I read GoF I was just horrified that 14 y.o Harry 
was 
> captured by Voldemort and that it looked like he might die a rather 
> horrifying death. I saw Voldemort in that whole sequence as high on 
> his return to a body and full power, and totally sadistic in his 
> treatment of Harry and the DE's. And I thought it was very violent. 
> As someone mentioned, power can be a great turn on and that's how I 
> viewed it. And I just relistened to that scene recently and 
continue 
> to only see the  aspects I described above. 
> 
> I look forward to how Harry is emotionally in OotP (as I'm sure 
> everyone else does!)
> 


I write:

What this argument proves to me is that sexual references can be 
found in just about anything if one looks hard enough. 

The entire notion of Voldemort looking hungrily at Harry does not 
seem to me to be sexual, but carnivorous. Voldemort is evil 
incarnate, and he wants to "devour" the good around him. 

Perhaps when Voldermort went to kill James and Harry -- canon has 
established that Lily was killed because she got in the way and was 
not a target, although V-mort might killed her after offing the 
menfolk just to be neat and tidy -- it was business. The Potters were 
a threat.

But now it's personal. Harry represents the worst defeat in V-Mort's 
history, and Da V-man wants revenge.

But let us for a moment play along with the idea that Voldemort's 
hungry eyes indicate a sexual pleasure in killing Harry. Let us 
further play along and say that Voldemort has lusts for Harry, as 
the "hungry eyes" would indicate.

Some of the early Ian Fleming James Bond novels did something similar 
with the villains. They were slightly effeminate, perhaps a bit 
ambiguous sexually, and always, always evil.

And when were they written again? The 1950s, hardly the most 
enlightened time in the world. 

If this be homoerotica, it certainly does not paint a good picture of 
homosexuals. Evil, twisted, perverted, predatory pedophiliacs, all 
notions of homosexuality that are supposed to be way in the rearview 
mirror of the culture. Adding homoerotic tendencies to Voldemort 
merely adds to those stereotypes.

The notion of Harry being most afraid of losing Ron is, as has been 
said, easily ignored. But, to point out something else: Hermione and 
Cho had already been taken. And Cedric and Krum are at least three 
years older, certainly at the age where the most important person in 
their lives would be girls they were dating. 

Hermione is Krum's most important person after one date? Certainly, 
we're talking about a Quidditch God here, who probably went through 
groupies like Ron goes through Every Flavor Beans. The rules 
obviously dictated a person be the object the contestants had to 
rescue -- how else can you insert the fear of drowning -- else Krum 
might have had his broomstick down there.

Ginny walking in on Percy while he was kissing Penelope. Of course, 
the subtle little joke is that Percy was... um, testing his wand. 
BUT... let's follow the scene through.

Percy swore Ginny to secrecy over kissing his girlfriend? How much 
more innocent, 1950s bland chastity do you want? 

Obviously, one can find sexual, heterosexual or homosexual, 
references to all forms of pop culture. I'll make a point of digging 
through my old Encyclopedia Brown books to look for things.

But I find myself remembering Jerry Falwell's rants about a 
Teletubbie being a gay pride symbol. Disney has long had to deal with 
accusations of subliminal messages in their cartoons and I've seen a 
doctoral thesis on Bugs Bunny's alleged homosexuality.

How much different is it to find homoerotic references in Harry 
Potter than it is the Teletubbies? 

The only difference it seems to me is that one quest for references 
is being made in the name of advocacy and the other is being made in 
the name of opposition.

They both strike me as a waste of time.

Darrin -
-- Was in love with Encyclopedia's partner Sally...