(Untitled)

[lyras]

Comments

[shocolate]

I think 'wizard' includes both if you're including both - but you'd still call a witch a witch!

And, while I am one million percent sure that all the women changed their names on marriage, we met them as girls, and they should be indexed under their maiden names.

[lyras]

Thanks - that clarifies my nebulous thoughts a bit!

And yeah, knowing JKR the girls probably did change their names - but as you say, that's not how we know them in canon.

[shocolate]

Well, we both went hyphenated, but every other woman I know took her husband's name - and the WW is more old fashioned than the rest of Britain.

[red_squared]

Neville marrying Hannah in interviews

He what? O.o

Oh man, I don't keep up with non-book canon at all (unless it's something that the fandom is sp00ging about, like Dumbledore's gayness) so this is brand new information to me! As is this:

Luna Scamander

@.@

[red_squared]

Oh, and -- is "wizard" used as the catch-all like the "man" in "mankind", but individuals are referred to as wizards or witches?

Just a thought...

[lyras]

As far as interview canon involving Neville goes, I generally confine myself to the information in this icon. :D

Luna marries Newt Scamander (author of Fantastic Beasts)'s great-great-something son, which is kind of awesome in a way!

And yes, I think you have it right re wizard being used like mankind. Cheers!

[nineveh_uk]

I didn't know Luna married Newt Scamander - I assumed you were joking.

Lily Evans Potter irritates me like nothing on earth. Except for Bellatrix Black Lestrange.

[werewolfsfan]

I'm not usually bothered by wizards/ witch. I use wizards as plural like mankind but as an individual, like Bellatrix, I would describe her as a witch.

I am guilty of Lily Evans Potter because Lily Potter could be Harry's mother or his daughter! As for Bellatrix, in JKR's world, being a member of the "Black" family seemed to have been a very defining characteristic especially with their dark arts background and hereditary madness so it's never far from thoughts when talking about Bella, Narcissa or even to some extent, Andromeda.

[lyras]

I can see why people think of the women's families as being very much part of their personalities, especially with the Blacks. But I am firmly of the belief that this doesn't mean they'd refer to themselves in that way, and therefore nor should fanfic writers.

I seem to have been using "wizard" incorrectly to some extent, so I'm glad everyone is coming out of the woodwork to explain my mistake!

[archon_mentha]

The wizard/witch thing has always irritated me to a ridiculous extent. Lily Evans Potter and Bellatrix Black Lestrange don't bother me though because I think that was a lot more common in that generation - I may be wrong about that, but the wizarding world seems socially pretty far behind ours, so it seems to fit...

[lyras]

I think that was a lot more common in that generation

Is this a US thing? Because I honestly have never heard of British women keeping their maiden names as a sort of middle name, in the twentieth century or earlier. It's probably more common now in some respects, as more people choose to hyphenate their names.

[archon_mentha]

I remember hearing it fairly often as a girl, actually. Maybe my experience is different? It's interesting that secondsilk references her mother's Catholic friend - I was raised Catholic, so maybe it's more common ethnically? And it was used as a sort-of middle name, not like a hyphenated last name.

[lyras]

Thanks! I wonder if it is a Catholic thing? Of course, Spanish (and Latin American?) people also take their mother's surnames in certain cases, so perhaps it really is down to Catholicism.

[secondsilk]

Lily Evans Potter bugs me. No one I know who change their surname kept their maiden name, except the mother a friend of mine. She was raise Catholic, so her name goes: Christian name, Middle name, Confirmation name, Maiden name, Husband's surname. (So I don't mind Bellatrix Black Lestrange, although I prefer her to be referred to as Bellatrix Lestrange or Bellatrix [some ridiculous middle name (perhaps her mother's maiden name, although wasn't that also Black?] Black Lestrange. If you're going to use one of someone's middle names, use them all

[lyras]

The assumption that women will change their names (whatever arguments you want to make about the traditionalism in the wizarding world) bothers me hugely.

This is totally not a dig at you, because you're making plenty of valid points here about the wizarding world, but I just knew this post would turn into a discussion on whether women would or wouldn't change their names. *g*

Draco's last given name is Black, and that Dumbledore's mother's maiden name was Brian.

*sporfle*

I was just thinking that it was kind of odd that there wasn't a word to mean magic-person that wasn't gendered.

Yes, and it's a little unfortunate that we can't de-gender "wizard" the way we have begun to with mankind, which is often changed to humankind these days.

[secondsilk]

Oh, you can dig at me, because I'm not going to let the slightest opportunity to pass if I can at least state my position.

Well, we could have "wizardkind", but "man" used to be used for mixed groups, as wizard no doubt is, so even "mankind" is a step away from that. "Magickind" perhaps? I'm torn between thinking of the Wizarding world as unreconstructed regarding gender roles and thinking of it as not needing reconstruction, not having the same history of sexism. But, they did lose the 1960s and 70s to Voldemort and the DEs.