Sexist JKR? Was Re: ESE!McGonagall (not what you think)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 164753

Cas-e
> 
> There are a lot of interviews in the record in which JKR has promised 
> us new and fascinating information on both Lilly and Petunia, and 
> (thanks to Pippen), apparently, even Minerva, but so far, as far as 
> I'm concerned, she's delivered bupkiss. And she's down to her last 
> book. If I don't see some substantial effort at making good on these  
> teasing hints in the final installment (and why do we even have to 
> wait this long?) I'm going to be very disappointed, and will have to 
> revise my opinion of JKR's talents and literary contribution 
> accordingly, downward. 
> 

Pippin:
JKR has herself worked as a teacher, a stay-home mom, and has
said she put a lot of herself into Hermione and Ginny. Maybe what 
concerns her is not seeing women as limited to traditional roles 
but raising our consciousness about the way we view traditional 
roles for women as limiting.  

For example, just because Molly isn't Stepford perfect
doesn't mean she's a desperate housewife who would rather
be doing anything else. 

Ginny was shy in CoS, but canon never said she was
sweet, simple and unassuming. In fact there are things in CoS
that can't be explained except by Devious!Ginny. But the
assumption that shy little girls must be sweet and simple
is so powerful that many people complained that Ginny 
had a personality tranplant.

Swottiness and being a goody two shoes don't necessarily go
together, but the assumption that they do is so powerful that
some readers are wondering whether JKR thinks everything
Hermione does is okay.

As for McGonagall, I think the possibility of ESE!ness is 
a red herring for the real ESE!Character.  But though it's
easy to see her as limited to the role of Dumbledore's faithful
second (as Umbridge did) I think we're going to see now that 
she has ideas of her own. She seems to have a more collegiate,
consensus building management style than Dumbledore did.

If she starts warming up to Slughorn or Slytherin House in an
attempt to unite the Houses as the Sorting Hat advised,  I
can see Harry starting to suspect her of ESE!ness. But
it may be left to McGonagall to do what Dumbledore, with
his (as I see it) rather rigid heirarchical approach, could not.

Pippin