ron rant.

[phineasjones]

oh come on. i'm done with the self-editing. time for a mini-rant.

it's my own fault for reading opinions with which i know i'm not going to agree. but. ugh.

so. ron/harry. that's what's got me all worked up today. and no, not in that way.

i'm so sick of people saying that the pairing doesn't work because ron is so obviously straight. wtf? there is no canon support for any character being gay. NONE. because jkr never, never mentions any boy having sexual/romantic feelings for another boy. and that would be the only canon support for 'gayness' worth discussing. if you're going to tell me that ron can't be gay because he's so boyish (or sloppy or not very bright - or whatever)... just don't bother. i know what the stereotypes are, thanks, i don't need an hp-based lesson. anyone who reads hp and decides that draco can be gay because he is stuck up and a little prissy (not to mention the wizard-equivalent of a racist) but ron can't because he's not those things... is missing a huge fucking point. and i think many people need a reminder that many of the other stereotypes that lead one to easily accept draco as gay are fanon, not canon.

also. the "problem" of so many h/r fics making ron the top? um. again, jkr never delves into the sexual dynamics between these two does she? if ron as top is not believable it's because the author didn't write it convincingly - not because of some inherent character trait of harry or ron. canon harry and ron are frickin 14 years old, people. this probably hasn't really come up for them. and yes, most authors probably don't write it convincingly. i've already gone on and on about the sorry state of h/r fic.

this makes me want to take starbuckle away somewhere where we can write angsty, smutty best friend love to our hearts' content.

i mean, from a wider view, slash usually impresses me in the way it ignores stereotypes and gives any person/character a full palate of sexual possibilities. not so much with ron, though. it's too bad.

Comments

Re: well yeah.

[silviakundera.livejournal.com]

at this point, muggles are pretty much an innocent group. their ancestors, not so much maybe. but most of them aren't allowed knowledge of the wizard world and thus their reaction is untested.

Yes, I suppose that modern society's reaction remains untested but.... I dunno. Human nature tells me that the reaction wouldn't be positive. I can't *prove* this. but. er. The brief hysteria amoung the religous right over the Harry Potter books comes to mind. ahahaha. And we don't tend to treat any sort of minority well -- be it of a differing ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ect.

It's like...

(and I'm totally rambling here, train of thought off the tracks and running wild and possibly irrational. la la la.)

the character Luke in Poppy Z. Brite's novel "Exquisite Corpse" -- so angry with the hetrosexual world, calling them "breeders" and wishing fury upon them all.

Yes, he's a fucked up individual, but I can understand some of the frustration some members of minorities feel, that they have to curb all their behavior so not to get in the way of the larger power. If you're a gay man, you can't kiss your boyfriend on the street without worrying retribution. If you're a black man you can't walk up on a deserted street and ask a white woman for directions without thinking of the possibility that she might freak. You live your life constricted in order to keep things smooth and tidy for people who don't even THINK about you or notice or care.

Draco has grown up with this sharp "us" against "them" mentality in his head, in which one sadly degrades and dehumanizes the other, and I can't help but empathize a bit with his attitude... though on a moral plain I also cannot and will not condone it.

Re: well yeah.

[phineasjones.livejournal.com]

well, i've been slack about writing a response to this but it's been running around in my head. you do much toward convincing me. i can put myself into a frame of mind where wizards are the oppressed minority and thus have a reasonable amount of anger against their oppressors. and some, as it seems sadly natural at this point, would take this to an extreme and, in doing so, become worse than the oppressors.

one thing that's different - that mucks up the analogy - is that wizards are more powerful, that they have abilities and powers that muggles don't and they know things that muggles don't. most minorities and oppressed people in our world are also disenfanchised, have little money and power. that dynamic is missing from this situation.

and draco, maybe his big problem is that he is a bit of a racist, but this - as you point out - doesn't break down as a question of race. he's worried about bloodlines and such when really muggles can be born to wizards and vice versa. clearly he and his people feel threatened and they're looking for someone - some group - to blame.

and jkr herself supports your point by giving us some really nasty muggles who have horrible reactions to wizards (yeah, dursleys). yes, like i said, you're very convincing. now, to tackle the israel/palestine analogy...