Gay characters (Was "Harry's Sexual preference")

[Haggridd]

No: HPFGUIDX 78728

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at a...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Lee" <dee_dolly7 at y...> 
wrote:
> > *snip*
 
> Lee: 
> > Harry's feelings obviously go deeper. From the moment we meet 
> Cedric, 
> > we learn from Harry's perspective that the boy is good looking, 
a 
> > much better, "Champion" figure than Harry could ever be. Harry 
> seems 
> > to be harbouring feelings of resentment, begrudging friendship, 
and 
> > after his death, a pang of regret, possibly love, and is very 
VERY 
> > quick to defend Cedric, who has died with Harry as the sole 
(light) 
> > witness. Its something very personal to him.
> > 
> 
> 

Haggridd; 
 All of the items you mention are more easily explained by Harry's 
envy of Cedric and Cho, her imagined preference for Cedric, as are 
the feeilngs you attribute to Harry.  I agree that these instances 
and these feelings can be found in the book, but they are all 
attributable to an insecure straight boy beginning adolescence.  I 
think is is a long stretch to attribute any of these feelings to 
homosexuality, latent or overt.  If there were even one overt 
manifestation by any same sex pair in the book, just one boy-on-boy 
or girl-on-girl kiss, I would more readily accept your thesis, but 
there is not.  JKR readily writes openly of straight romantic 
relationships:  Percy and Penelope, Draco and Pansy-- even Uncle 
Vernon and Aunt Petunia--  but nowhere is there a gay relationship 
to indicate that she ever meant the reader to think of homosexual 
ideation in other contexts.  Slash fanfics is another matter, but I 
don't see it in canon.


> Geoff:
> When I was younger, I often envied guys who were better at things 
> (esp. sport) or were better looking than me, because I had to work 
> harder at these things.
> 
> I'm not knocking the idea but how many of us go around during an 
> average day, meeting people in business or shops or casually and 
> start thinking "is he gay?" .