Why need more?

[Iggy McSnurd]

No: HPFGUIDX 84679

> 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?

Iggy here:

I personally agree with this.  I think there are some pretty strong female
characters in the HP world besides Hermione, and since before OotP.  I'd
also like to point out that the stories are pretty much told from Harry's
perspective so there are a number of things he doesn't see.

Like Professor Sprout's encouraging of Neville Longbottom in the Herbology
classes and helping to make sure he knows he has talents.  She has been
noted as telling the impostor Moody that Neville is one of her best
students.

Professor MacGonagall has been a strong figure since book one, IMHO.  She
saw Harry's potential and raw talent for being a Seeker and took steps to
help him realize it... even in going so far as to make sure he was allowed
his own broom in the first year when nobody else was.  I'd also like to
point out that it was most likely she who bought Harry his Nimbus 2000.  She
has been a very strict, yet also compassionate and understanding teacher who
takes both her duties to the school, and her responsibilities for her
students very seriously.

Rita Skeeter is an independent and driven woman who reports what she feels
is important... albeit skewed for sales of papers.  She is a successful
woman in her chosen field, and it's been proven that she will stop at
nothing to get her story.  Like the Marauders, she became an unregistered
Animagus, a task which takes talent, dedication, and intelligence.  I'd also
like to point out that she most likely did this on her own and, unlike the
Marauders, didn't have a "study group" to work with, which makes it all the
more difficult and dangerous.

Petunia Dursley.  While you may not like how she treats Harry, she has shown
a determined dedication to her family... and I don't only mean Vernon and
Dudley.  She took in the orphan of the sister she despised, even though she
knew she was possibly exposing the rest of her family to magic and some
level of dager.  Yet she took him in because he is family, he needed her,
and she knew how important it was that she did so.  I have never seen in the
books a single time when she has demanded compensation for her time, effort,
and money... not to mention the hassles she's had to deal with both from the
consequences of who Harry is, and how her husband and son feel about him.
She has still made sure he was taken care of (not in four-star quality, but
better than being in an orphanage...) and has even faced down her husband
when Harry's protection was on the line.

Molly Weasley has taken both Harry and Hermione under her wing, not because
Harry was famous or Hermione might be a good match for one of her sons, but
because she wanted to.  She treated Harry kindly and with respect before she
even realized who he was, and accepted him and Hermione as though they were
her own children because she truly cares about them.  She is honest,
forthright, and is concerned for the welfare of the entire Trio, not just
her son.  She is a truly talented homemaker, confectionist, and cook.  While
we might not see her have any other jobs, for all we know she spends some
time selling the WW version of Mary Kay, Avon, or Tupperware.  Even if she
doesn't, that shouldn't matter... she's done a wonderful job raising seven
kids, as well as doing what she can to help in the upbringing of Harry and
Hermione.  Molly works hard for her family, and for the OotP... even if she
doesn't have a "day job," I don't see where that would make her any less
strong or important.

>Joan:
> 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?

Iggy here:

I agree with your point here.  No character should have to be a specific
gender in order to make the books better.  Nor does there need to be an
equal "boy / girl" ratio to make the books strong.  Dumbledore is a
grandfather figure, MacGonagall a grandmother one.  Molly is mother figure
in the books, while Arthur is a good father figure.  The other adults have
their places, as does every child.  One of the reasons you're also more
likely to see more boys being prominent int he books is because, again,
things are seen through Harry's eyes... and boys tend to associate more with
boys.  (Also, a number of things take place in the boy's dorms... If things
were written from Hermione's view, you'd see a lot more girls in
prominence.)

The gender of a person in a book, ultimately, should not matter in whether
or not you can identify with them.  Assuming so and especially trying to
convince others that this is the case, is only perpetuating a sexist
attitude that the person is supposedly trying top eliminate.  What they're
ultimately saying is that sexism shouldn't exist, but girls should only
identify with girls, boys should only identify with boys, and neither is
allowed to see a member of the other gender as a solid role-model.

(Personally, most of my role-models have been men, yes, but there are also a
great many females out there I admire greatly as well... aside from my mom.
To name a few, we have Whoppi Goldberg, Hellen Keller, Nichelle Nichols, and
Polgara the Sorceress... Yes, I know that the last one is a literary
character, but that doesn't take away from her admirable qualities, IMHO.)


> 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.

Iggy here:

Actually, IMHO, having Molly be a working mom would take away from her as a
character.  She is designed to be, among other things, a contrast to Petunia
as a caring and accepting housewife/mom.  (Which brings up the question of
why nobody had griped that Petunia is a housewife without a job as well...)
While having her work would not make her less caring, I think it would
definitely take away from this contrast aspect.  I also feel that Harry
*needs* to see what a loving and caring "stay-at-home mom" is like, since
his was taken from him... he needs to have an opportunity to experience
this, especially with what he has gone through and will go through.  If you
really think about it, the Weasley family, as they are right now, provide
Harry with more stable a foundation in his life than Hogwarts can.


> 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.

Iggy here:

See my earlier comments in this letter regarding the idea of re-writing some
characters as a different gender.

I'd also like to point out something interesting:

JKR is a *female* author who's writing books about Harry Potter.... books
that are from a *male* perspective.  This is very difficult to do, and she
is doing an admirable job at it.  One of the only other authors I have ever
read the works of that I feel this strongly about how good of a job they do
at this is Judy Blume.  No male author can completely understand a female's
perspective, just as no female can truly understand a male's perspective.
JKR has taken on this incredibly difficult writing task, and has done so
quite well so far.  If she feels that she's writing her book as it should be
written, and from the perspective of the main character, then it's her
decision.  If you enjoy her books for it, then great.  If you feel that
she's writing the stories all wrong and you could do the job better, I
suggest you try reading some other authors who have attempted her task and
failed... and then I challenge you to try writing a set of books like this
and doing a better job of it.  (And remember, you will be required to write
from a cross-gender perspective, include views, characters, and actions that
can in no way be considered sexist or prejudiced, write well enough to gain
legions of fans, inspire a series of movies, and do everything else she does
without inspiring any of the controversy... I think that's the only way any
of her serious critics will get a series of books that they feel are better,
and less offensive, than hers.)

Just to be nice, I'll give you 30 years to do it... By that time, you should
at least have 5 of the books written to everyone's satisfaction...


Iggy McSnurd

(the MLTA)