[HPforGrownups] Re: Lusting After Snape

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 129469

Evil Sushi:
> I have to say that I think it is the nuturing side of women rather
> that the vindicative, repressed side of women that, like any 'bad-
> boy' Snape appeals to.

I don't think this answers the question of *why* a woman might feel the 
need to "nuture" someone "bad".  I think Porphyria's argument was that 
it is a psychological reaction to their own "cast-off animus" (to use 
Jungian-speak).  Interestingly, I think, the Bad-Boy phenomenon that 
you are speaking of is relatively relegated to literature -- most women 
who are attracted to Snape would have little interest in a similar RL 
man.

> I suppose that everyone has their own
> theories about Snape's past- quite blatantly bullying, which can be
> bad enough without anything additional.

Many have argued that the uncertainty about Snape's 
past/motivations/feelings/etc. is *precisely* what makes him so 
appealing as a character.  That is, he appears complex, but the reader 
is allowed to fill in the details according to his or her own desires.  
The fact Snape fans have such trouble agreeing over *what* it is, 
exactly, that attracts them to him is probably a function of this.

> I think that the appeal of
> Snape to women can be a) that they want to mother him and look after 
> him.
> OR b) they want to be his lover because they feel that Snape's
> feelings are repressed, and love could overcome that and Snape
> would be the more positive person which he is deep down.

OR, c) Lusting after him is a way of indulging in their darker 
tendencies -- a "walk on the wild side," if you will. OR, d) As 
Tonks_op explained, they see him as a powerful figure and take pleasure 
in the idea of "conquering" him with love.

Honestly, I think all of these options need a YMMV sticker attached to 
them -- some women may tend toward one of these reason more than the 
others, while others may have different reasons altogether.  I would 
point out, however, that a) and b) don't satisfactorily explain why 
some women find Snape *sexy*.

> Psychologically, I would say that women want to 'save' Snape, from
> their interpretation of his personality.

See, you're actually dealing with two different, but closely related, 
concepts here.  One is the Bad-Boy phenomenon, which I've addressed 
above, but the other is what we here at HPfGU affectionately term 
Hurt-Comfort (Or, How Women Are Really Bent).  It used to be a very big 
topic back in the day.  You may want to try searching the archives for 
"hurt-comfort" or "hurt/comfort", although I'm not sure that you'll 
have any success (Yahoomort's search feature is incredibly bad).  Oh, 
let me see . . .

Okay, Elkins touches on Hurt-Comfort in the later portion of "Draco 
Malfoy Is Ever So Lame.  Yet Sympathetic.  And Dead, Too." (you can 
find it at:
http://www.theennead.com/elkins/hp/archives/000109.html).  She merely 
uses the concept as support for her Draco analysis, but she summarizes 
it quite well:

***
Finally, the text often seems to me to actively encourage the reader—or 
at the very least its adolescent female readership—to not only 
sympathize with Draco but also to find him slightly erotically 
appealing, by the mere virtue of showing him getting physically hurt so 
very often.

Oh, come on now! Don't look at me like that. You all know what I'm 
saying here. It's the old "Hurt-Comfort" phenomenon, is what this is, 
and we all know about it, even if we like to pretend that we don't.

What "Hurt-Comfort" comes down to is the fact that women are just plain 
Bent, and adolescent girls even more so. They like to see male 
characters suffer, so long as they do so with some degree of manly 
dignity, because it turns them on. Male vulnerability garners their 
sympathy, and it also kind of excites them. They like it. No one ever 
wants to 'fess up to this, but it's true. Just look at the characters 
most often fixated upon as drool-worthy by JKR's adult female readers, 
will you? Lupin. Sirius. Snape.
***

Would you say you agree with this argument?  Do you think that's all 
there is to Snape-lusting?

> And, as women are (mostly)
> good at all things intuitive, I wouldn't doubt their interpretations. 
> <g>
>
> Just a thought~ Evil sushi

Eh.  You realize that's all just propaganda, right? ^_~  By the by, 
*EVIL* sushi?  What is evil sushi?  Like, sushi that attacks you with 
its little octopus bits and . . . oh, I don't know . . . suctions off 
your taste buds?  'Cause *that* would be pretty evil of it, IMO.

Laura (who doesn't much care for sushi, anyway.)