Why need more? Re: [HPforGrownups] Stereotyping

[Kathryn Cawte]

No: HPFGUIDX 84649

Joan
>
> Why do you think the book need more strong female role-models?
> It's not like there isn't any strong female characters at all in the
Potterverse, there
> are plenty already. Would adding more strong female role-models enhance
the story or make
> the plot better?
> Also, do you think if some of the existed characters in potterverse were
written as
> females, such as Lupin (I pick him because a majority of readers consider
him as a
> positive, nice, strong and perfect person), do you think the HP series
will suddenly
> become a better book just because Lupin was a female? Or how about
Dumbledore? May be if
> Dumbledore was a female than no one would complaint because he's afterall
one of the
> strongest (power and position-wise) person in the potterverse. Do you
think the HP seires
> will be much better with Dumbledore being a female than?
>

K

No you're right there is *a* strong female character in HP, Hermione, but
until OoP that was it. And yes I think having more than one female we knew
something about *would* make the books better, in fact it was one of the
things I loved about OoP. And you're missing my point about strong
characters - to be a strong character the character doesn't have to be
powerful, just fully-fleshed out and in 3d. My point about the women being
nurses, teachers and mums is that's *all* they are. We don't get to see them
as actual people with emotions. We get no insight into their motivations and
desires, we don't know how they think. All we know is the flat 2d image of
'woman as nurturer'. With the exception of Hermione pre-OoP all the female
characters faded into the background. After OoP I can see Molly as a strong
charactr - JKR hasn't changed anything about her 'job' or role in life to
make me see that where I couldn't see it before but she has let me see into
her head. I feel I know her know where i didn't before - and frankly I
wouldn't want to be on her bad side either.

Joan
> So if Molly was written as a working mom, earning as much money, if not
more, than
> Arthur. Does that make the book suddenly all better? What can the fact
Molly being a
> working mom bring into the story? How can the fact she, a working
professional, offer
> more what Harry needs than what she has been already offering in the
series right now:
> motherly love? It really makes no difference to me, working or not
working.
>
K

Not if we didn't knwo any more about her than we do already. I don't *care*
whether she has a job or not I care that she is a person in her own right
and that we see her as that not just 'the mum'.

Joan
> Being a female reader myself, I can never understand all these complaints
and criticism
> about the need of more strong female role-models. (Hello? Hermione?
McGonagal? don't they
> exist? What more do you need? there are already almost too many characters
in the
> Potterverse already and many don't to get to be developed)  I'm just
curious why do you
> think there's such a "need".  Do you think it's giving wrong messages to
little girls or
> something? If you think so than can you cite evidence of how little girls
won't grow up
> as strong female just because they read HP? or is it more of a personal
thing that you
> feel you can't related to any of the character because none of the female
character are
> like you, even if you do find a character you feel related to they're
males, so that
> doesn't count? For me, that is never a issue as I don't care what the
gender these
> characters are, I can identify with any character regardless what his/her
gender is.
>

K
Well yes to a certain extent I do believe that there should be female
characters that girls can identify with - why should the guys get to have
all the 'fun' after all. I didn't like the view we were getting about the WW
not because I thought real-world girls would have a problem but because
women in the books seemed to get the short end of the stick and have no real
opportunities (stereotypical jobs in 'caring' professions or mums and
nothing else).
And I'm perfectly capable of identifying with characters of all genders and
races, it's 2d background characters I can't identify with and it seems a
shame to me that pre-Oop that's all the female characters (other than
Hermione) were.
Please tell me how you could possibly relate to any of the female characters
other than Hermione before OoP, it's not possible to relate to someone you
know *nothing* about.

K