Smash the heterosexual orthodoxy

[donnaimmaculata]

Following the confirmation of the Remus/Tonks canon and the subsequent - to use a polite term - discussions about whether or not Rowling has merely submitted to society's heterosexist pressure, I would like to ask a question that's always interested me: What makes Remus gay?

I am asking this, because there are many readers who read the character Remus Lupin as gay. And I don't mean the character's being coded as representing the idea of homosexuality on an allegorical level, which is quite a different thing. (A worrying one as well if people assume that making someone a vicious man-eating monster means that they stand for homosexuality, but this is neither here nor there.) What I am interested to know is what, exactly, about Lupin's characterisation makes readers think he's as gay as a tree full of monkey.

Because, as much as I like writing and reading Remus in slash pairings, I've never read the character in the novel as gay. (He reminds me far too much of my ex-BF for that, but this, again, is neither here nor there.) He's polite, understanding and witty, which, I realise, are qualities that are often contributed to gay men, because they are oh so full of understanding for us women, quite unlike their rude, insensitive, grumpy straight counterparts.

This is a serious question. I'm honestly interested.

Comments

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

but I think that the images and sensibilities are so pervasive that the fandom as a *whole* can't help but be

Oh yes, I know what you mean. And there are many aspects of movie canon that have been implemented into "real" canon I don't care about at all. With regard to Remus, however, it annoys me, because movie!Remus has hardly anything in common with my idea of Remus. I wouldn't mind the occasional exploration of, say, the gay subtext, or the use of scars or even the cardigan in fanfiction, but I don't like that they have become established as common knowledge.

The same applies to Sirius/Remus, BTW. I don't dislike the pairing as such, but there is hardly a Remus fic out there these days which does not refer to Remus' tragic relationship with Sirius. Ah well.

and more likely to be involved with neither.

That's my impression, as well. He's so detached and uninvolved. My major quibble with Remus/Tonks is probably (the ramifications for slash fiction aside) the holding hands at the funeral. I so never saw Remus as a holding-hands sort of guy; it's hard to wrap my mind around the concept.

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

but there is hardly a Remus fic out there these days which does not refer to Remus' tragic relationship with Sirius.

With the exception of the couple of Remus/Sirius stories I've written, my Remus never has a relationship, tragic or otherwise with Sirius, even in backstory. I think it's a small militant rebellion on my part against so many people setting Remus/Sirius as a default pairing, which I don't agree with. LOL

I never saw them as a couple in PoA even though I was reading and writing slash in another fandom at the time, and I don't think Remus reads as gay. I'm puzzled by the "Remus is Teh Gay in canon" idea, too; I've always read him as a quiet man who craves companionship but is an outsider due to his curse, developing protective walls between himself and the rest of the world out of necessity. Which, yes, could be symbolic of homosexuality, but it doesn't mean he's actually gay. And that's coming from someone who loves slashing him with at least four different men on a regular basis, but I figure that's what fandom is for. *G*

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

With the exception of the couple of Remus/Sirius stories I've written, my Remus never has a relationship, tragic or otherwise with Sirius, even in backstory. I think it's a small militant rebellion on my part against so many people setting Remus/Sirius as a default pairing, which I don't agree with.

Me too. Absolutely. But I often have other characters assume that Sirius and Remus have been involved at some point, which, in my universe, they have not.

And that's coming from someone who loves slashing him with at least four different men on a regular basis

There are three different levels around which the aspect of homosexuality revolves: The character is inherently gay, the character is a metaphor of homosexuality, and the character is slashable. Seeing as in HP each and every character is slashable, this was not what my question was aiming at. I think that this is a rather different thing than considering Remus-the-person as gay.