One (1) Query and One (1) Grrrr.

[ashinae]

Wolfsbane potion. Remus takes it. I know that at the time of the full moon, he'll turn into a wolf, then curl up and go to sleep. Now, what I'm pondering is, does he curl up and go to sleep because:

(a) the potion essentially knocks him unconscious (it's like Contac C for werewolves!)
or
(b) when you're a werewolf with no desire to hunt human prey, it's better than spending all night scratching your ears and licking your bum.

I can't remember having the explanation for this in-text, but then, I'm a pretty typical dumb blonde and could have possibly missed it. Hee! Ahem, yes. Or has it been said anywhere, or is there one that makes more sense, or... what?

---

It's sad when you're reading a genuinely funny essay about the frustrations of fandom and fanfiction and poor characterisation and bad sex scenes when BAM! Everything is destroyed once again by yet another writer saying something about "badfic" writers turning grown men into weepy thirteen-year-old girls. GAH. Dude, do NOT make me write another essay about the inherent sexism in that.

Weepy != girly

Got that?

Weepy = baby. Weepy = immature.

How could saying otherwise, that someone who cannot control their emotional reactions must be a girl -- how can that possibly be anything but a sexist remark? The one person I have known in my life who cried over every little thing that went wrong was a very emotionally fragile teenage boy, whereas my two best girl friends only ever cry when they are under extreme stress because they've always had good, mature, adult coping skills. The people who have absolutely no control over their reaction to cry over every upset, who have such poor emotional coping abilities, are infants. Children. People who are very, very immature.

It is not. a. female. thing. All right? Stop giving in to society's gender expectations by saying it is. Just stop.

Comments

[thisside.livejournal.com]

I'd always just heard it stated as it helps him "keep his mind," so that would just suggest to me that he has nothing better to do, or perhaps even no desire to do anything but just sleep (since it is night time and that's when people usually do sleep). Whereas without the Wolfsbane, he doesn't keep his human mind and therefore the nocturnal instincts of the wolf demand he go out, hunt, etc.

That's how I see it.

[ashinae.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for your input :) It is much appreciated. I'm still not entirely certain how much of his own mind he keeps and all that, but I'm pondering.

I could ponder Remus all day. *snerk*

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

It does not say, exactly in Canon. Remus says he takes it, and then curls up and goes to sleep. My guess? Harry describes him as looking peaky leading up to the change, so I think that condition may make him tired, and the potion acts as a type of sedative/healant.

To your 'grr' there is also a lesser known argument that the British do not feel things as intensely, and so these british characters will not be so 'emotional' about XYZ.
Bullshit. These are incredible emotional characters; Severus belts off whenever he feels threatened, Remus employs distancing and hiding,HErmione tries to employ her warmth and conenction to people, Sirius is rash and thus rather stupid, and Harry often feels profoundly lonely. That they don't talk about their feelings does not mean that they are not feeling anything.

[ashinae.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your wolfsbane input :) Much appreciated.

To your 'grr' there is also a lesser known argument that the British do not feel things as intensely, and so these british characters will not be so 'emotional' about XYZ.

I think about all I can say in response to that is BZUH? Even if these people don't know any British folk personally (I am pleased to say that I do, whee!), have they seen no other British-made movies? Television? Have they actually read HP?

The mind boggles...

[ghazalah.livejournal.com]

...and there's Spanish Stephen (Spanish, for all love!) complaining about how the English are so ooky and emotional and yuck.

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Backwards:

There is a consensus in Britain that there is something wrong with the Nation's mental well being ( see the Princess Diana outpouring); but when I was there ( just in time for the Princess Di outpouring) It did seem worse or better than the US, just different. Ack- I could spend hours on this! Must ,must y!m or something.

And the whole wolfsbane issue is intriguing. Why did someone set about finding this treatment? Why can only a few wizards in all of britain make it?Why still have discrimination if this exists?

[not-vacillating.livejournal.com]

As a 100% genuine British person, I have to say that this attitude really, really annoys me. I have feelings too! Just because there's a steroetype which says that my culture suppresses emotions, doesn't mean that that's the way it is, let alone that those feelings don't exist. What do they think I am, a Vulcan?

Grrr.

[gloss]

here via friendsfriends

Dude, do NOT make me write another essay about the inherent sexism in that.
Oh, wow. I don't know if we read the same post & comments this morning - I kind of hope so, because if this happened twice in one day, that'd suck even more - but that remark has been pissing me off all day long. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's sick unto death of tossed-off sexist remarks.

As for Remus? I think the wolfsbane is both sedative and control, but I'm not able to back that up or anything.

[ashinae.livejournal.com]

I don't know if we read the same post & comments this morning

Hmm. The essay I read was linked off of a particular Harry Potter comm that does not appear to be on your flist -- and I didn't read any comments. If we in fact didn't read the same post, just oy. But it comes up a whole lot when people go off on their rants about poor writing. It was just this one tiny remark near the bottom of a very long essay. And it irked me. A lot. I didn't read the end of it, didn't read any of the comments.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's sick unto death of tossed-off sexist remarks.

Not at all. It's been a sore point for me for the entire four years I've been in fandom. Solidarity! *G*

As for Remus? I think the wolfsbane is both sedative and control, but I'm not able to back that up or anything.

Yeah, that's what I'm definitely starting to think. Will have to consider it a little more, and I certainly don't mind thinking about my Sirius's Snape's the werewolf.

[perafruit.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I just got the image of werewolf!remus reading a book because he's bored.
but other than that I have no comment.

[ashinae.livejournal.com]

I fucking LOVE you. Love you all over. You are brilliant, and I love your brilliant mind.

*preens* Well, thank you so much :) And I'm really, really glad I'm not the only one who sees it this way!

I can't get past the mental image of him scratching his ears and licking his balls all night long, just coz he CAN when he's a wolf...

*giggling madly*

Cry, Baby, Cry

[gaeta.livejournal.com]

I'm way late to the game, but I just got round to your lj today and had to comment on your discussion of crying and sexism.

Weepy != girly

Got that?

Weepy = baby. Weepy = immature.

I think there's another view to consider. It is this: women/girls do cry more than men in general and that's the reason crying is associated with weakness or, as you put it, immaturity.

Why is crying easily such a bad thing? Laughing easily certainly isn't, and even shouting easily gets less negative response than crying does. Is sadness somehow a lesser emotion? Is sentimentality?

From this perspective, it's the negative view of crying that's sexist. It's not necessarily to say one sex does this while the other does that, but it certainly is sexist to diminish what one does while elevating what the other does.

Good lord, I'm wordy. Possibly also incoherent. Sorry about that.

[ashinae.livejournal.com]

The badfic complaint I was responding to in this, is that horrid thing where a badfic writer has Male Character A breaking down and crying over every. freaking. little. mishap. And, honestly, I genuinely don't know anybody who does this, except a few people who are exceptionally emotionally immature individuals in pretty much every way -- whether they're adults, teenagers, or children.

If a person cries whenever they have a disagreement with their partner about laundry, when they get mildly reprimanded at work, when they can't find their car keys, when... anything of any degree of "bad" happens, as is essentially what this characterisation issue is about, I'm afraid that simply can't be defined as either "male" or "female" behaviour, yeah? So when someone criticises this by using the phrase "crying like a girl" ... gah!

I've actually gone on at much greater length about this before, quite some time ago. My biggest frustration is that while it is of course more likely that a woman WILL cry, we shouldn't say that she's crying just because she's a woman. If a guy started crying over a long distance commercial, he should never, ever get teased for acting like a girl. There is absolutely nothing wrong with crying.

I do understand that, yes, women do cry more than men do. I also feel that this is largely because it is socially unacceptable for men to cry. I have absolutely no negative view on crying. I do it a fair bit myself! And, hey, two of my favourite things in the world are Lord of the Rings and Farscape, where a great deal of crying goes on by members of both genders! :D