15 underappreciated ladies of Harry Potter

Lavender Brown

Lavender Brown, despite being a pureblood sorted into Gryffindor, is characterized by J.K. Rowling as a frivolous, boy-crazy goofball. Hermione repeatedly criticizes Lavender’s interests. Plus, there’s continuous subtext that Lavender is little more than that. Ugh. This perpetuation of the girl-who-only-wants-boys stereotype in a children’s series is really harmful. Beyond that, the fact that Rowling writes Lavender to seem so one-dimensional is a disgrace.

Women and girls contain multitudes. It’s a good thing that Lavender Brown is brave enough to be sorted into Gryffindor but doesn’t necessarily want to have the best grades in her year. It should be celebrated that her bravery extends to her willingness to put her heart on the line. Other characters who date more than once in the Potter-verse aren’t condemned by other women the way Lavender is. So what gives?

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Lavender’s relationship with Ron Weasley becomes a massive emotional barrier for Hermione. Her less-than-friendly feelings toward her roommate become downright hostile. Meanwhile, Lavender’s feelings are continuously ignored as Ron essentially uses her to make Hermione jealous, which is utterly unfair.

What’s worse is that when fandom talks about Lavender Brown, it’s often that relationship for which she is remembered. Never mind that she joined Dumbledore’s Army in fifth year, then again in seventh year when the group became an even more dangerous, underground resistance movement in Voldemort’s Hogwarts. Never mind that she was killed in the final battle by Fenrir Greyback, fighting alongside everyone else.

Lavender’s very real contributions to the war effort go unrecognized because she is constantly put down for liking boys and Diviniation. That’s so not okay. Frivolity does not undermine a person’s character. If anything, it enhances it.