Song of the disgruntled fangirl

[changeling]

JKR has revealed Blaise's gender sex. He's male. Well, that's just disappointing. I liked the fact that you never find out in the books. So what mystery is left us now? Bah.

If I ever have children, I'm naming a daughter Blaise.

Comments

[gadge.livejournal.com]

Erm.

Who's Blaise?

Not Blaise Pascal, the JKR one...

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin in Harry's year level.

[crantz.livejournal.com]

o.O it was a mystery?

I thought it was just Blaise being unimportant enough to not get any descriptives. Plus Blaise being a boy's name anyway, so...

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

It was amongst the fandom. And just because Blaise has traditionally been used as a boy's name doesn't preclude it from being used as a girl's name. Artemis Fowl, anyone? And it wasn't the lack of descriptives, it was the lack of pronouns...

[scott-wells.livejournal.com]

Artemis has been used as a male name for quite a long time. I am reminded of the old Wild Wild West TV series that had the secondary lead character named Artemis Gordon.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Yes, but this still doesn't change the fact that Artemis was a GODDESS. And pretty damn close to a man-hating one at that.

Try "Cameron Diaz" then. Or a woman I met on the internet called "Shawn". There are definitely precedents for gender-crossing names.

[naewinter.livejournal.com]

My name is Non Gender Specific.

Blaise could be a hamaphradite hermaphrodite? Is it certain from JKR that Blaise is a he? Wasn't it just from the translators?

*pokes the quickly dying embers*

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

JKR clarified for some translators that Blaise was a guy.

[naewinter.livejournal.com]

oh well.

[crantz.livejournal.com]

Artemis is actually kind of unisex, especially after that old Wild Wild West show.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

But it wasn't originally. This is my point. Blaise is not exactly a common name, and it wouldn't take much of a stretch for it to be given to a girl. There's a small girl at my sisters' ballet school called Jameson, for fuck's sake.

I know a couple blaises, actually.

[crantz.livejournal.com]

oh, all right then. I still never saw it as a non-gendered character, just a bit-part. Just like they never had to tell us Susan Bones was a girl.

Re: I know a couple blaises, actually.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

It's a fandom thing. It's just the fandom who liked speculating.

[crantz.livejournal.com]

oh, that makes sense. carry on.

[scott-wells.livejournal.com]

You could have 2 girls... Modesty and Blaise...!

...

(Going to hide now)

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

That's really annoying, because I know that I should recognise that, but I just CAN'T. So now it's niggling at me.

Explain yourself! Please!

[scott-wells.livejournal.com]

Modesty Blaise was/is a popular British Female James Bond-type superspy/Private eye from the 60s. There have been movies, books, comics, etc... :)

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Aha. So Modesty was Before My Time, and so I have probably only heard of her In Passing. Excellent.

"Modesty" as a girl's name creeps me the fuck out. It's a bit too "Close your eyes and think of England" and everything that feminism has been fighting to destroy.