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]

Remus certainly could be gay, but this goes for many HP characters. And I agree that the entire concept of werewolfism as something to hide could be read as a metaphor for homosexuality (to a degree), but I rather read it as a metaphor for a dangerous disease. However, what puzzles me, is that there apparently is something about his characterisation that makes people read him as gay (not as a metaphor, not as slashable). See, I make a distinction beween the metaphorical level (lycantrophy = homosexuality), the character's slashability, and the character's personality. They do intertwine, of course, but I am surprised about how many readers think that Remus is "a perfectly gay character" (to use a direct quote from fandom).

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that surprises me too. I mean, I don't think that werewolfism makes a good analogy for homosexuality for, I think, the same reasons you do--gay people do not turn into dangerous animals once a month, nor do they get "infected" with their gayness. But I wonder if something about his isolation or the way he just accepts being discriminated against pings some people as gay...?

Though that doesn't really work. When you say "perfectly gay" it seems like it should be something about his behavior that really seems gay, and I don't see that with Remus.