How J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter influence feminism in media today - Draft #2

Pen names have always been a common trend in the writing world. This is due to the fact that authors wanted their works to be judged by their writing not by who they were or where they were from or what nationality they were. Authors have abbreviated their names since the earliest of records for both ease of memorization and neural views by the public. This includes C.S. Lewis, Homer, and one of today most well known author, J.K. Rowling. One does not even have to get to her last name before an image of Harry Potter appears. But the author is not the sole decision maker in pen names. Before the world knew of Harry Potter and J.K Rowling, Joanne Rowling was simply trying to make a living by writing stories. In her case, it was the publisher who insisted on the use of a pen name in order to appeal to a larger audience. A larger audience in this case meaning both boys and girls because, according to her publisher, boys are less likely to read novels by female authors. Whether or not this strategy worked better than not having the pen name, no one will ever know however it does give insight into our society. As adults do we encourage this behavior of discriminating authors based on their gender or is this an idea formed from within? This male perspective on everything, or the male gaze, then becomes inherent. Now, does the same thing apply but to girls wanting to read Harry Potte

Another thing to note is the absence of an about the author column on the back page of all Harry Potter book covers (see Image 1). Whether this was intentional for the sake of eliminating discrimination or in order to have a full picture of the story, I cannot quite be sure. As a fan of Harry Potter, I love being able to see J.K Rowling’s depiction of the story. It is a look into her vision of the wizarding world. It also brings up the question of whether the publisher did this on purpose or not. Despite the popular phrase, almost everyone judges a book by its cover. In advertising, the book jacket is a vital part in attracting readers and gaining a fan base. As a book intended for children, the images displayed on the book jacket are cartoon-like and are gender neutral, displaying no ‘male gaze’ point of view.r? Women and girls are often portrayed as the fragile and pure members of society. When authors such as Joanne Rowling publish under a pen name J.K Rowling, we as a society are settling. It is often hard pressed to get into the writing business, especially as a female, but settling for a pen name in order to ‘get in’ can be considered unproductive in strict feminist views. However, J.K Rowling did a great thing by gaining a seat for “women at the proverbial table,” inspiring young authors that anyone with a goal in mind can achieve that which they set out to do (Zeisler, 2008, p 21).

Harry Potter as a whole is a gateway to new realms of feminism and outlooks of the roles of women. When discussing the topic of feminism, my girlfriends and I concluded that we as females want to be recognized as strong and able yet men should continue to be chivalrous towards us. Rowling effectively used female supporting characters to carry the story and display this modern view on feminism. The most obvious of female characters is Hermione Granger. From the start she is a book worm, a nerd, a geek, an outlier. As a reader you are put into the situation of wanting to root for the outcasts and are given a sense of the humiliation they go through. Throughout the course of all seven books, Rowling builds Hermione in all aspects. Her smarts are appreciated and life saving in many situations while she also matures in her looks and becomes attractive while maintaining her geeky ways. The second major female character in Harry Potter is Ginny Weasley. Growing up as the only girl born in the family line and having five brothers, Ginny was always on her own, fighting for her place in a house full of boys. Although her brothers never let her play quidditch with them, she would sneak outside to practice, defying all rules set by her mother and traditional role. Despite the many strong modern female characters, Rowling also introduces the reader to more traditional female roles. As the caregiver and motherly figure in the books, Madam Pomfery is the typical school nurse who is both kind yet strict. She is essential to the Harry Potter books as she keeps Harry alive multiple times throughout his schooling.

Harry Potter Book Cover Art. N.d. JPEG file.

Zeisler, Andi. Feminism and Pop Culture. Berkeley: Seal Press, 2008. Print.