The 'Other' in the HP books (was: Harry's Sexual Preference SHIP) - LONG

[psychic_serpent]

No: HPFGUIDX 78021

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "severusbook4" 
<severusbook4 at y...> wrote:
>      The under currents could be read by any persecuted minority 
> group as references to them.  Anyone that has been singled out 
> because of their genetic, religous, sexual, or racial differences 
> can identify with Harry and his want of a place where he feels he 
> belongs.  

Actually, that's not true.  As I said, normally, minorities have 
company.  They are in a family or community in which there is a 
shared heritage, religion, language, etc.  Sexual minorities are 
unique in that they are born into a family where they are the ones 
who are different from everyone else (although there have been some 
documented cases of same-gender orientation seeming to 'run' in a 
family).  The 'ordinary' minorities who are depicted as oppressed or 
marginalized in the HP series are elves, werewolves and giants (or 
part-giants).  These individuals undergo an entirely different 
experience from Muggle-raised Harry or the 'blood-traitor' Sirius.  
These minorities are being marginalized by people outside their 
group, not by other elves, werewolves, etc.  There is a difference 
between being rejected by one's culture and being rejected by one's 
own family, which would normally be a refuge from rejection from the 
larger culture.  (Dobby is the metaphorical gay in the elf 
community!  He still enjoys cleaning as much as the next elf, but he 
ENJOYS being free, and other elves are highly suspicious of him 
because of this difference.  I do not think that it is a coincidence 
that she repeats this theme so many times in the books.)

Harry is different from his aunt, uncle and cousin.  He is magical 
while the rest of them are not.  Filch is a Squib, which means he is 
a non-magical person born into a magical family.  Now, wizards as a 
community are like a minority existing in a larger society, but most 
of them seem to have a superiority complex about this, not an 
inferiority complex, and their segregation is wholly voluntary.  
They do not suffer discrimination at the hands of Muggles because 
Muggles do not know about them (although they once did and there WAS 
persecution, but we are told that true witches and wizards did 
things like use flame-freezing charms when they were burned at the 
stake and were never really at risk).  They are a minority, but 
these days they are a minority like the very wealthy, who do not 
actually WANT to be a part of the great unwashed masses and relish 
their separateness and the fact that they are virtually untouchable.

--Barb

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent
http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb