Why all the hatred toward Cho Chang?
Even though I've been in the Harry Potter Fandom since virutally day one, there is something that remains a mystery to me even today. Why do so many people hate Cho Chang?
I've looked at all the most common reasons fan cite, but none seem very valid to me. Let's look at them in detail, shall we? Here they are in FAQ Format.
We hate Cho because...
1)She cries too much-
Rebuttal: Cho only cried a total of four times in the entire series. Once at the end of the fourth book during Dumbledore's Remember Cedric speech, and thrice throughout the course of book five. She cried over the death of Cedric, who may or may not have been her "boyfriend," but at least seemed a reasonably close friend to her. One would not scoff at some one who lost a friend or loved one to murder, a war, or a natural disaster, so why do readers scoff at Cho when she does this? If that was JK Rowling's intent to have readers follow Harry's lead in thinking Cho was a human hosepipe for crying over some one's death, than that is extremely irresponsible of her. I wonder if she would dare write something like that now, in the aftermath of the London bombings?
If crying is indeed a valid reason for hating people, then shouldn't we hate Hermione Granger(she cried at least 15 times), Ginny Weasley(she cried 9 times), Hagrid(he cried at least 6 times), Molly Weasley (she cried roughtly 6 times), and Neville Longbottom (he cried about five times) more, since they all cried more than Cho Chang did over the course of the six books?
2)She has too many boyfriends, and is therefore a whore/slut/tramp/etc
Rebuttal:Cho is known to have dated only Cedric Diggory, and Harry Potter (and maybe Michael Corner, but it is not certain, as it is only Ginny Weasley's word on that, and we never see Cho and Michael together, and for all we know, Michael might only be her friend, not her boyfriend). If having only two boyfriends is a logical reason to call a character any of those derogatory names, then Hermione should also be one, as she dated Victor Krum, and sabotaged Ron's dates with Lavendar because she wanted Ron for herself. And what about Ginny, who went to the Yule Ball with Neville Longbottom, and dated Michael Corner, Dean Thomas, and Harry Potter? Do readers fault Hermione and Ginny for the same offenses they ostracize Cho for?
3)Cho used Harry Potter
Rebuttal:How did she use him? Harry liked Cho, and though she needed closure over the Cedric's death, she was kind to Harry, and in the end seemed to at least reciprocate some of his affections. If you look at their relationship closely, it seems that Harry's foul disposition was equally, if not more to blame for their relationship's shortcomings.
4)Cho was jealous of Hermione, so therefore Cho=Bad
Rebuttal:Harry made known his intent to meet Hermione...while he was supposed to be in the middle of a date with Cho. I would have been very surprised if Cho hadn't been jealous! If I had been on a date with a woman who acted fidgety and sulky the whole time, and said she had to go meet with a guy I knew she spent most of her time with anyway, I'd be jealous too, especially if it was right in the middle of a date! Wouldn't you be as well?
5)Cho is a vindictive bitch
Rebuttal:When exactly was she a bitch? I don't recall her ever being physically violent or insulting anyone outright. If that is a reason for hating some one, shouldn't we then hate Hermione for chewing out Harry and Ron so often? Shouldn't we hate Harry from book five for vandalising Dumbledore's office in book five? Shouldn't we hate Ron for pouting after Harry was chosen as one of the Tri-Wizard champions? Shouldn't we hate Ginny for flying her broom into the Quidditch Commentator's stand simply because she didn't like Zacharius Smith's anti-Gryffindor commentary? Bear in mind, not even Draco behaved that badly when Lee Jordan made his infamous Pro-Gryffindor or Pro-Potter commentaries.
That is all the most common reasons for hating Cho that I can think of. I still cannot understand the hatred toward her. I sincerely hope we are beyond the point of hating her on her colour alone?
X-Posted to my journal and other places
I've looked at all the most common reasons fan cite, but none seem very valid to me. Let's look at them in detail, shall we? Here they are in FAQ Format.
We hate Cho because...
1)She cries too much-
Rebuttal: Cho only cried a total of four times in the entire series. Once at the end of the fourth book during Dumbledore's Remember Cedric speech, and thrice throughout the course of book five. She cried over the death of Cedric, who may or may not have been her "boyfriend," but at least seemed a reasonably close friend to her. One would not scoff at some one who lost a friend or loved one to murder, a war, or a natural disaster, so why do readers scoff at Cho when she does this? If that was JK Rowling's intent to have readers follow Harry's lead in thinking Cho was a human hosepipe for crying over some one's death, than that is extremely irresponsible of her. I wonder if she would dare write something like that now, in the aftermath of the London bombings?
If crying is indeed a valid reason for hating people, then shouldn't we hate Hermione Granger(she cried at least 15 times), Ginny Weasley(she cried 9 times), Hagrid(he cried at least 6 times), Molly Weasley (she cried roughtly 6 times), and Neville Longbottom (he cried about five times) more, since they all cried more than Cho Chang did over the course of the six books?
2)She has too many boyfriends, and is therefore a whore/slut/tramp/etc
Rebuttal:Cho is known to have dated only Cedric Diggory, and Harry Potter (and maybe Michael Corner, but it is not certain, as it is only Ginny Weasley's word on that, and we never see Cho and Michael together, and for all we know, Michael might only be her friend, not her boyfriend). If having only two boyfriends is a logical reason to call a character any of those derogatory names, then Hermione should also be one, as she dated Victor Krum, and sabotaged Ron's dates with Lavendar because she wanted Ron for herself. And what about Ginny, who went to the Yule Ball with Neville Longbottom, and dated Michael Corner, Dean Thomas, and Harry Potter? Do readers fault Hermione and Ginny for the same offenses they ostracize Cho for?
3)Cho used Harry Potter
Rebuttal:How did she use him? Harry liked Cho, and though she needed closure over the Cedric's death, she was kind to Harry, and in the end seemed to at least reciprocate some of his affections. If you look at their relationship closely, it seems that Harry's foul disposition was equally, if not more to blame for their relationship's shortcomings.
4)Cho was jealous of Hermione, so therefore Cho=Bad
Rebuttal:Harry made known his intent to meet Hermione...while he was supposed to be in the middle of a date with Cho. I would have been very surprised if Cho hadn't been jealous! If I had been on a date with a woman who acted fidgety and sulky the whole time, and said she had to go meet with a guy I knew she spent most of her time with anyway, I'd be jealous too, especially if it was right in the middle of a date! Wouldn't you be as well?
5)Cho is a vindictive bitch
Rebuttal:When exactly was she a bitch? I don't recall her ever being physically violent or insulting anyone outright. If that is a reason for hating some one, shouldn't we then hate Hermione for chewing out Harry and Ron so often? Shouldn't we hate Harry from book five for vandalising Dumbledore's office in book five? Shouldn't we hate Ron for pouting after Harry was chosen as one of the Tri-Wizard champions? Shouldn't we hate Ginny for flying her broom into the Quidditch Commentator's stand simply because she didn't like Zacharius Smith's anti-Gryffindor commentary? Bear in mind, not even Draco behaved that badly when Lee Jordan made his infamous Pro-Gryffindor or Pro-Potter commentaries.
That is all the most common reasons for hating Cho that I can think of. I still cannot understand the hatred toward her. I sincerely hope we are beyond the point of hating her on her colour alone?
X-Posted to my journal and other places