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

[misachan.livejournal.com]

here from metafandom

Thank you! Sirius is gay and Remus bi in my fanon, so the hoopla over Remus/Tonks is lost on me.

I wish I knew where the "Sirus is a huge man whore" fanon is coming from, with him being the Wizarding world's Fonz, strutting around with a girl on each arm. There's no support for it, at all. The two most intense, non-familial relationships he had were both with men (James and Remus). What sealed the deal for me was that JKR was explicit that Sirius was totally oblivious to the girls making eyes at him in the pensieve scene. If JKR had wanted us to think of him as a lady's man, she would have had him flirt back, or done something like have someone comment on a string of girlfriends or have an ex show up.

[archon-mentha.livejournal.com]

If JKR had wanted us to think of him as a lady's man, she would have had him flirt back, or done something like have someone comment on a string of girlfriends or have an ex show up.

Exactly! It almost sounds like Harry's gotten more action than Sirius. Which (to twist a quote from a very bad 80s movie) means he was either a gentleman or a fag. Really, what are the odds? *g*