Gender attitudes in Harry Potter. A study of the portrayal of gender in the Harry Potter franchise, and its effect as an agent of socialization

Abstract

This essay will look at gender attitudes in J.K. Rowling’s fantasy book series Harry Potter, as well as in the Harry Potter movie adaptations. The books and the films will be compared and contrasted. We are born either male or female but our gender is learned. The society we live in is very preoccupied with gender and how we are to behave according to our sex. Socialization is the process where we gradually learn how to behave according to our gender. Socialization begins from the minute we are born and continues throughout our lives. Parents, peer groups, and the media are all agents of socialization. The media is perhaps the biggest one today. Books like Harry Potter are a major agent of socialization, without intending to be. This essay shows how males and females are represented in a different way. I will cover characters that represent different types of characters.