Nel Question #9: Gender

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 127433


>>Catkind: 
>If we're discussing gender issues, I hope I'm allowed to give the 
link to Maya's hilarious essay on Girl Power in (mainly) OotP.   
>It's called Witches Are Doing It For Themselves: A Study of the 
Portrayal of Women In the Harry Potter Universe and is found here: 
http://www.lasairandmaya.com/mayaraves/witches.html <

Betsy:
Right - LMAO on that one.  It's funny, 'cause it's *true*!  That's why 
I tend to boggle when it's suggested that the Harry Potter books are 
sexist.  How can Hermione get any more powerful?  Oh, she shrieks a 
little while flying?  Doesn't calmly leading an enemy into the 
Forbidden Forest to be taken down by hostile Centaurs negate that 
little flaw, just a tad?  (And maybe the Centaurs' were correct in 
their outrage.  They *knew* Hermione was using them like a shiny new 
tool.  Grawp, of course, was just thrilled to be used.)

Then there's the whole, "Yes Hermione's smart, but she's got bushy 
hair!  Why can't smart be beautiful, you sexist pigs?"  And yet, 
there's Hermione pulling down the international sports star.  The man 
all of Hogwarts was swooning over.  Including Ron.

I agree with the end of the piece where Maya suggests that the women 
are sometimes *too* You Go Girl! at times, and some real weaknesses 
might have been nice and a bit more wellrounded too.  And maybe that's 
why JKR made Harry a boy.  She may have well recognized her reluctance 
to give her women true weaknesses so she concentrated on the men.  

And just 'cause I want to, most favorite line in Maya's essay:  "Only 
Even Cooler Women can defeat women [...] Harry gets to die of 
mortification, Hermione gets to make Rita Skeeter her bitch."

Betsy