Canon Veelas WAS Re: More thoughts on the Elder Wand subplot - Owner?

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 187410

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" <dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Magpie:
> > Whether or not there are supposed to be male veelas the fact that we only see them as females and they're consistently associated with feminine wiles etc. I think makes them all-female in this universe. And it just seems like given all we see of Veelas, the idea that Veela hair is too tempermental links to those Veela turning into harpie-like creatures when they get angry etc., which Arthur cheerfully makes into a lesson about why you shouldn't just go for the pretty face etc.
> > 
> > I don't think it's meant to be a big sexist jab, but it does seem to me to go along with the characterization of Veela, which in turn fits into a lot of the basic characterization of the female sex in the books. 
> 
> Alla:
> But I was wondering if male veelas are mentioned in canon. If they are not, then I certainly agree with you, but if they are, even if as a footnote somewhere, I do not see why I should make a conclusion that only female veelas exist if they are not.

Montavilla47:
I'm 99% sure that only female Veela are mentioned in the books.  I just 
checked the online HP Lexicon (which would include reference to 
Fantastic Beasts), and there is no mention of male Veela.  

Fleur's relation to the Veela is through her mother's line.  Her grand-
mother was a Veela, and her mother had only daughters.  So, I suppose
it's quite possible that there are only female Veela and that they 
reproduce in pure form either asexually or that, like bees, they employ
a type of Veela drone?

Alla:
> I am not asking anybody to *imagine* male veelas, I am asking if they exist in Potterverse. And if they are, so we see female veelas as guests to Hogwarts, why can't male veelas be elsewhere.

Montavilla47:
By all evidence, no.  There aren't male Veela.  Or, if they do exist at all, they
are very different from the female, possibly very rare, and the primary 
association with Veela is as a female.

Another possibility is that "Veela" is the feminine name, and the masculine
name for a member of the same species is different.  For example, we don't
talk about male cows.  A cow is female.  A male member of the cow species is
a bull.  Likewise bees.  Male bees are called drones and their only function is 
to impregnate the female queen.  All the other bees are technically female and
they do a variety of functions in the hive, including gathering, nurturing the 
young, and fighting anything that threatens the hive.


Alla:
> However, again, let me stress if they do not exist, I think you are right and it can be easily construed as having sexist connotation IMO.

Montavilla47:
I find it pretty sexist whether male Veela do or don't exist.  The literary
point of including Veela, it seems to me, is to embody the idea of the 
feminine and make it grotesque.

But, then, I suppose the same thing could be said about the trolls and
male stereotypes.  The only difference is that there is no specific line
between trolls and something masculine, as there is between the Veela
and a "pretty face."