I might have said this before but really JKR does NOT get enough credit for how accurately she writes gender expression. All too often i find that writers either resort to stereotypes OR, in wanting to subvert gender expectations, end up creating characters that don't feel quite right - the prince too charming, the "girlboss", etc. Jo writes in a way that lets characters feel distinctly male or female, with recognisable experiences and pressures, but she never flattens them into stereotypes either. And she clearly puts so much care into it – i want to say effort but she makes it feel effortless because she's so good at it!
A lot has been said about her female characters already (for example, Hermione is brilliant but also anxious, controlling, and emotionally intense in a very recognisably adolescent-girl way. Molly, Fleur, Bellatrix, Umbridge… So many of the women and girls in HP fit this bill, and beyond. Strike obviously is much more direct with this – Robin's arc is ALL about navigating a male-dominated environment while managing the trauma of her rape and trying to reach fulfillment in spite of it all.)
But i rarely see it discussed about the male characters, even though she's also excellent at representing them imo.
Take Ron: anyone can relate with feeling insecure as a teen, but his insecurities are really about status (the money problems, his place amongst his siblings, his attitude with girls), in a way that feels tied to male self-worth and hierarchy, and he's able to grow from boy to man when he manages to shed or at least learn to deal with those insecurities.
Snape who gets called an "incel" by the fandom so much, is shaped by a very specifically masculine trajectory around pride, loyalty, humiliation (from other men), and emotional repression.
And then there's Dumbledore who is gender non conforming in many ways (and not just because of his sexuality), although a very classic male mentor figure. There’s a distinctly masculine sense of control and emotional restraint in how he operates (sometimes shocking even someone like McGonagall, who is herself a very professional, level-headed and witty person, with his apparent detachment), prioritising duty and strategy over openness. At the same time, that restraint has consequences, it comes with repression, guilt, and moral compromise, especially when his past with Grindelwald is revealed.
None of these men are softened into neutrality: they’re all battling with recognisably male-coded struggles and failures.
That’s really the pattern across all Jo's work: characters aren’t stripped of gender, but they also aren’t confined by it. Women are written as women dealing with female-coded social dynamics, men have masculine vulnerabilities and expectations, and both "sides" are allowed full emotional range and unique personalities on top of that. Even the villains feel like specific human beings rather than symbolic types. And i really appreciate that, i think it's quite rare.
