I've been thinking about this recently. Does anyone think that the Snape/Harry relationship would have different had he been a girl? Consider that the prophecy had referenced a girl being born at the end of July, so that it would make sense for the gender swap. Specifically, what if Harry looked like Lily rather than James. Do you think he would still harbour this strong antagonism against "Harry"?

 

Yes.

I'd suspect he'd feel a lot of regret and bitterness about his failures when looking at a spitting image of Lily, so to speak.

And, if Harry's personality remains the same even when gender bent, then hell no. Playing Quidditch, being lousy at Potions, etc etc. does not help his/her cause.

 

Rita Skeeter would have a field day.

 

I think it's quite obvious that there would have been less antagonism. His hate was towards James, not Lily, and Harry has the distinct disadvantage of reminding him about his childhood nemesis. How would it have been different? I don't know. The kind of opinion I hold of Snape makes me think he'd seriously consider pedophilia.

 

i think Snape would treat her differently, like being more patient with her and less likely to bully her if she reminded him of Lily. However i think that if he acted like he did in the novels i thinkhe would still treat hr with amosity as he may see her as spitting on Lily perfect image.

However it does raise the question, if Harry was a girl, how would he be treated by the Dursley's???

 

If Harry was a girl, she would not have been targeted by Voldemort, as the prophecy clearly indicates "the one" is male...

 

In b4 fanfics using the moniker "Pronglette"

 

Obviously the prophecy would be different.

Also, I know I'm in the minority but I think the books would be better if they were about a girl witch.

 

My interpretation in Alexandra Potter was that Snape idealised Lily so much that a female Harry would fail to live up to the absurdly high standards Snape would have for her. This interpretation is mainly driven by a) Snape is a bitter fuck, so the best way to be true to his character is make him a huge cunt, and b) I was fed up of female Harry meaning Snape was much better disposed towards them.

 

Lily was, by most accounts, a very competent witch, and Snape's had years to delude himself into crafting the perfect memory of his childhood friend. These two facts cause me to think that Snape would still be rather antagonistic towards a female Harry. Arguably even worse than canon if you transfer Harry's skills 1:1 (as per what Miner said) - a female Harry looking like her mother but not at all acting like her just seems more likely to enrage Snape. Something something squandering potential, disgrace to her mother, amplified by the similarity. If there are more divergences, then Snape's going to act differently, though I don't think he'll ever treat her positively unless some amazingly high standards are met, quite possibly including not being in Griffindor and being a Potions prodigy, and more than a few other tropes.

As for her stay with the Dursley's - probably less physical and more emotional-type bullying by Dudley, but also more animosity from Petunia I'd think. Probably the end result would still be at the same general level of coldness/neglect (or whatever you want to call it, really) that canon Dursley's exhibit towards Harry, just swapped because reasons. (E.g. Less hand-me-down oversized clothing, but it'd be replaced by third-hand clothing from charity shops - and possibly Petunia being mortified beyond belief that she has to go there and taking it out on Harry in general behaviour.)

 

I am fairly certain canon Harry was proven to be more like Lily than James when it came to his character. So, if female Harry looks like Lily... He would still be an asshole to her only for a different reason, because let's face it, he's a miserable cunt and I don't see that changing just 'cause the gender of the main character is flipped.

 

I find it hard to ponder this question because I feel so disgusted whenever I think about Snape's attitude towards 11 year old kids. He can go fuck himself either way.

 

Yeah, I think Snape would probably end up being more-or-less the same asshole he was in canon. His specific form of asshole-ness might manifest a bit differently, I could see him being a bit more volatile in his treatment of fem-Harry—acting even nastier at some points, but with maybe one or two slips when she manages to remind of Lily in the right way instead of the way that triggers all his issues.

 

No. Snape is an irredeemable cunt who holds childish grudges against dead people. The gender of 'Harry' would not change anything.

 

I want someone to impersonate a Taure post during this beautiful day.

 

I've always gotten the impression that Harry was a reminder of his failure to protect Lily as well as a mini-clone of James, so if female!Harry's appearance change went beyond longer hair, then it's entirely possible.

You also have to consider how different Harry would be if he had been female. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Petunia would have been kinder to him, and that Harry hunting wouldn't have been permitted. The Harry that would have come to Hogwarts may have been softer, and that change might have endeared Snape to her.

(disclaimer: obviously conjecture)

 

I always thought that JKR kinda sucked at writing young boys since she didn't quite get their mindset.

For example, while Harry wasn't abused at the Dursleys, his childhood there wasn't exactly a nice one. In a realistic scenario he'd grow up a more rough person.

Perhaps if Jo wrote about a girl the characterization would be more realistic.

 

If Harry had been a girl, I wouldn't have read it.

 

If Harry had been a girl, there wouldn't have been a need for Hermione since Rowling could have made Harry perfect as her SI instead.

 

I think we should be thankful Harry wasn't a girl, because I'm sure Harry/Snape smut fics would be disturbingly common