Alex, don't tell me you're onto another gay thing. Who is it this time Mmh? Who's gay? Shut up Brian this one's real! Alex, that's what you always say. You go on a 30-minute, rant about how gay they are and then I'm supposed to believe it. It's different this time! Whatever you say, man. ~Obviously... Assuming that you aren't the gay relative, a lot of us have those gay uncles that your relatives gossip to and mention when they want to prove they're not homophobic Sirius and Remus are those gay uncles. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are two characters from the Harry Potter books. If you don't know what Harry Potter
is because you did things like... ...go outside... It's a book series about a boy wizard
who goes to a wizarding school. Over the years people have advocated that some of the characters -like Sirius and Remus- are confirmed gays. Now perhaps they weren't confirmed
married with seven cats... Well actually- Now perhaps some people think they weren't confirmed married with seven cats, but maybe we should take
a second to reconsider their... Some wonder whether Sirius
and Remus are individually gay. We can analyze the books like the Bible but J.K.Rowling the author of the Harry Potter series wanted to confirm the idea one way or another When J.K.Rowling said that Sirius wasn't gay over Twitter and in the books paired Remus with Tonks, in the spirit of forgetting the bisexuals, people then concluded Remus and
Sirius' immovable heterosexuality. But as the wacky bisexual
degenerate you all know and love, I know that liking one gender
doesn't mean you can't like others. Let's take a look at Sirius and Remus' relationship as it's developed in the books. Including all of those unsaid no-homos and questionable prolongs stares. ♫ Catchy music ♫ So, the prisoner of Azkaban is when we're first introduced to the pair. Well there's really not a pair in the beginning considering Sirius is like, in a maximum-security prison. We're introduced to Lupin as a dude who's all but *i dunno* and who likes to sleep! We're introduced to Sirius because he
actually escaped Askaban even though it's not supposed to be possible, but you
know what the plot needs to move on. So Sirius does be impossible, so you're thinking: "STOP!!" What is the homoerotic bro hugging come in if they're in completely separate places? We'll get to that. Remus Lupin is the new defense against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry And the kids -including Harry Potter- all love professor Lupin because he's honestly a lovely person! It's a wonder no one snatched him up yet away. Oh wait. Harry forms a close bond with Lupin. Lupin is very understanding with Harry's situation and agrees to help him learn self-defense. It's a pretty good idea since the most powerful and evil wizard in existence is after him. Let's get into some important characterization of Lupin: We all know that he is kind and considerate, but he also avoids things he doesn't want to talk about. As somebody who's learned to repress
their sexuality for half their life, I can tell when some classic gay repression is going on. Now this isn't exactly a gay thing, but it shows us Remus' classic maneuvering techniques. If it's a touchy subject, he ignores it,
unless it's too much to handle. He's reserved, very calm, and doesn't let out emotional outbursts when he doesn't need to. That is unless his old estranged husband is mentioned. So remus isn't usually like this. For one thing he's a werewolf
and he hides that pretty well. He doesn't get too worked up about that
even though it will work up most people. He's collected and in the face of danger he does what needs to be done and doesn't even flinch. Except when Sirius comes up. He literally drops everything in as well, shock(??) There's got to be some real juicy emotions
going on there if this is his reaction... and yes, there is juicy emotions. They used to be friends in High school They were friends for years until
apparently (as we learned in the book) Sirius allegedly betrayed his friends for no-nose Tommy. Harry gets curious about the gay adventures Remus had in high school, and they start a conversation. Harry asks Remus if he was friends with his dad and Sirius and Remus tells him that he was. Now when Harry asks him about his dad Remus is a little sad about it and does his classic deflection technique. But when he mentions Sirius, oh boy is Remus alert. A bit of a touchy subject he? That poor man thinking about for a second the good times that he in Sirius had and then remembering how betrayed and hurt he was. It's bittersweet. Talking about Harry's Dad James didn't
evoke the same kind of response, but Sirius? That requires a scene. As remus collects himself and becomes less... ALERT. He does his classic deflection again,
telling Harry that it's getting late. Even though sirius is a man who betrayed his best friends, Remus still defends him. He did one of the worst things imaginable and yet something tells remus in his heart -maybe something gay- That sirius is still worth defending. By coincidence of the plot, Harry comes into contact with something called the marauders map. It's a map that a few hooligans in
the olden days of the 70s made, and by Hooligans I mean Remus, Sirius,
James and a dude named Peter. By another coincidence of the plot,
Remus has to confiscate it from Harry
after Snape catches him with the map. The fact that remus has the map will become important later. After some weird stuff with the greatest bird-like thing ever there's a big confrontation. Harry and his buds, Hermione and Ron, are led into this spooky place called the Shrieking Shack after a dog drags Ron into it. But it turns out that the dog is actually... SIRIUS BLACK. And Harry, thinking that Sirius is an evil
dude who betrayed all his friends and
his lover(??), threatens to kill Sirius. And he really considers killing Sirius! But since Sirius just leaks of bro, Harry is hesitant. but guess who comes and save the day before shit starts going down? Remus Lupin. No, he doesn't deserve such an ominous sound. Lupin bursts in like a fabulous bisexual and uses his magic to desarm Harry of his wand. Even though like three seconds ago he thought Sirius was a jerk, He now seems to think he's not so bad. And then- Come on Alex. Are you just going to tell me about the part, how sexual tensed his voice was? And some other indicate sexual tension? What are you talking about? According to my copy he's spoken in an: What do you think that means you homophobe?? Some suppressed emotion? Obviously it indicates homoeroticism! Or something... What?? O-okay, let me check with my copy. It says here my nationalist American Patriot special edition that he spoke in a tense voice! Wait. So you're telling me that in the American version they changed the wording of a particular part that would have otherwise made it seem slightly gay? Do you think that... America could possibly be... H-homophobic?! America? Homophobic?! Well that's a surprise to me!! We interrupt your program for
a flash "Are they gay" episode! Seamus and Dean! We've consulted our world-class
scientists to find the answer! Y-yeah I'd say so. This has been: "Are they gay" on the go! Now there's a story to why Lupin has suddenly burst in and told Harry to back off his man. But instead of taking the time to explain this -to Harry and the gang- Remus is so overcome with that he decides instead to give Sirius
the gayest bro embrace ever. And keep in mind that the book didn't exactly describes the sign of affection as a "hug", so embrace could mean anything. They could be looking into each other's eyes and stroking each other's faces. In fact, that's exactly what the embrace action does in the Sims 3. A-a-a friend told me about that.
I don't actually play this game. ... like a lo-brother. Wait, did the book just... No-homo us...? So naturally if you see your professor sensually embracing a world-class criminal, you'd probably wonder why
they haven't tied the knot yet- You'd also be wondering why your professor is sensually embracing a world-class criminal in the first place. And so Lupin tries to explain the whole scenario like a gay kid trying to explain why his mom just walked in on him and his boyfriend eating whipped cream off each other- Turns out that Lupin believes Sirius is innocent. Why? Because the story is that Sirius Black killed Peter Pettigrew right after he had just assisted egghead. People all thought this was true until Lupin saw the Marauders map. The map tells you everyone's
location and name in hogwarts. So once Remus saw Peter Pettigrew's name on the map, he probably realized his love was innocent all along! And that the story of Sirius killing
Peter Pettigrew was crap. And realizing that your bro was innocent after all
these years immediately after seeing
one guy's name on a map, that's a pretty big leap of faith for Lupin to take. Imagine how much Lupin wanted to
believe that Sirius was innocent. Imagine how much Sirius must mean to him. Sirius and Remus tell their gay love story together about how Remus is a werewolf and how his friends
-Sirius included- made themselves into shapeshifters so that they could be animals with
Remus when the full moon was out. Sirius, being a dog, Harry's dad
James, a stag, and Peter Pettigrew, a rat. To be more specific, Ron's pet rat Scabbers within the room with them. Explaining this whole thing gets Sirius angry because it's a pretty jerk move on Peter's part to let his friend die... And Lupin knows just how to calm him. Lupin is the calming balance to Sirius' emotions. He knows exactly what to do and what to say.
They're perfect for each other. Now here's an interesting thing: Lupin knew that Sirius could transform
into a dog at will, but no one else did. And that's why sirius was able to lay low. So even when he thought Sirius was guilty, Lupin didn't want to tell anyone about it. He could have told Dumbledore. What? You thought I was really going to let such an unoriginal Gandalf-Dumbledore joke slide? You think too little of me. Lupin could have told Dumbledore
about Sirius, but why didn't he? He said it was because he was too cowardly, But on some level, maybe he still saw Sirius as a *f r i e n d* After Snape, aka the *inaudible..?* on their intimate moment, they knock him unconscious because they can't deal with him at the moment. So, Sirius and Lupin grab Scabbers to prove Peter Pettigrew has been secretly alive this whole time. And they could just do it immediately and get it over with but they want to do it slowly. One step at a time. Together. Yes, I am still describing magic. The language here is so peculiar. Now Sirius is emphasizing their togetherness and lupin seems a little hesitant because he used to think that Sirius was guilty for all those years. But that "I think so" is like solidifying their love for each other and that their trust is easily reestablished. There are many ways to the tone in which Lupin said this could have altered the meaning, but we aren't exactly given that description. We're made to gather it from the context because the feelings in the air are so strong! And he definitely shows a lot
less mercy when Peter is around. See with Sirius and the dementors kiss, Lupin wasn't very sure of his hatred of Sirius. He knew he should for the betrayal, but something felt off when the culprit is Peter. He's fine with showing no Mercy He's willing to kill him on the spot. When the culprit is Sirius, he's unsure
about bringing harm to him. And all this time, even if Sirius was really fond of James, he thought of him and Remus as their own little group. After all those years behind them they're, quick to forgive each other. And notice Lupin's "I think so"
has a description here: He's more sure of himself But what he feels about Sirius? Harry is able to stop them from killing Peter. Harry tells them he doesn't want them to become killers A silent communication passes through them, they look at each other and they know. They're in sync. And then some stuff happens with the time travel and the bird things and stuff. Snape wakes up And then lupin turns because it's a full moon. *inaudible resume of the plot,
but come on we all know it* And there's something at the end of prisoner of Azkaban which is very interesting: There are many things that bond could be, but it certainly exists between Lupin and Sirius. Lupin saved him from Harry, Lupin saved him from dementors, Lupin saved him just by being there. While it may not be a romantic or sexual bond, -as I like the joke it is- it certainly is something. Sure maybe it's brotherhood, but it might not be. And it's okay to see it either way. The first gay moment- Well... All the moments are gay actually. - in The Order of the Phoenix is a quite infamous one. Let me explain: So some stuff is going down in the wizarding world,
but no one's told Harry because of... ...reasons... Sirius and Mrs.Weasley -Ron's Mom- are fighting about what Harry should or shouldn't know. Now Lupin, who is very... in the conversation, decides to stare at his bro. That's 40 lines. Yes, 40 lines of staring. Now I understand the need to stare at your bro. Me and my bros gaze into each
other's eyes for hours at a time! But really, at least do it in the privacy of your bedroom. Jesus. And this is just one of the ways
they act all couply with each other. Sirius has been hiding out at the order of the Phoenix headquarters for a while, since he's still highly sought after criminal. Also in recent events: Lord Vladimir Putin has sort of re-risen... So they had to start up the wizard army again. You know. Just wizard drama. Anyways what I'm saying is: Sirius and Lupin really act like a couple. Like, every time sirius has an outburst Lupin knows exactly how to calm his man. *winky winky* And Sirius is only willing to listen
to someone when it's Lupin. They literally spend time alone together in headquarters! Do you know how much secret
groping could be going on??! In this book we get a bigger glimpse into Sirius in Remus' lives, as teenagers, James and Sirius were the edgy outgoing ones, and were essentially bullies. Peter was also a part of the group as
the little guy who cheered them on, and Lupin was the judging bystander. They're kind of opposites in a way. Lupin was reserved, while Sirius was really outgoing. It's kind of like the juxtaposition of James and Lily. Lily doesn't like James actions,
but still ends up falling for him. Lupin doesn't like what Sirius does either, but ends up being his lifelong friend. And lover- Is Lupin like Sirius' Lily? Maybe. You know what they say! It's also worth noting that in all of these flashbacks we get James looking at girls and noticing them. J.K.Rowling really wants us
to know that James is straight! But when some girl is trying to get Sirius to notice him, Sirius couldn't care less! Is this a sign of gayness? Maybe not! Asexual? Perhaps. But it certainly isn't a sign of straightness. Even if Sirius used to be a jerkbag,
he still feels like an outcast. It's been a lonely 12 years in Azkaban, and when he got out his greatest friends in the world either betrayed him or passed away. Except for remus. Sirius has no family except for Harry, and besides him only Remus to rely on. Sirius holds Remus in a really
high regard, as if he has no faults. When he's recalling how much of a poobag him and his friends were, he calls himself and them idiots, except Remus. Because Remus to him is like this infallible amazing person who could do no wrong. He's lonely without him. He thinks he's the greatest person ever. He loves him. This book really shows that the two are
comfortable with each other. And being around each other. They're basically butt-bros. Honestly they're really complementary. Remus keep Sirius calm and Sirius gives Remus life. That is until well... No just kidding one of them died. I told you about spoilers! And this moment is important! The common collected Remus always has a soft spot when it's dealing with Sirius. And when Sirius, well... Dies. Lupin is absolutely devastated. He's at the point of breaking. Like that homoerotic movie with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The fact that a man so usually hidden and reserved displays his emotions for everyone to see his vulnerabilities, is something pretty big for Lupin. It's something he only does for a reserved few. (his butt-budy) Eventually Lupin and Tonks end up together, And you know what? Okay. Lupin ending up with a free-spirited
shapeshifter who has great hair? I would have never guessed!! But beyond this hypothetical groping, let's move on to something more profound. Like Let's talk about some literary stuff yo. Now the Harry Potter books are full of rich metaphors. Especially those dealing with marginalized groups. And yes, this includes the LGBTQ+ community. Now I'm going to touch on some touchy subjects. So I'm gonna lose that post-ironic light-hearted tone... J.K.Rowling -although let me say is not the best figure for social justice- Said that she imagined Remus Lupin as being the hiv/aids metaphor and let me make it very clear: Anyone can get hiv/aids. The condition affects a number of groups. However, the hiv/aids movement is not completely detached from the LGBTQ+ movement, because it affected a large portion of the community during the epidemic in the 80s. And with the talking point for a lot of gay rights activists in the 80s. Now this Lupin being a metaphor for hiv/aids necessarily prove my silly point about him and Sirius being in love? No. It could be completely unrelated. However, I thought it was worth mentioning because of the intersection between the Hiv/aids movement and the gay rights movement, and that type of link is important. But that's not the only thing. There's a lot of similarities to how Lupin is treated for being a werewolf, how LGBT people were treated in the 80s. Especially concerning legislation. The book talks about how some wizards
drafted anti-werewolf legislation, that made it impossible for Lupin to get a job. People with hiv/aids find much difficulty finding work, a lot of times because of the
association with being LGBTQ+ But legislation like the anti-werewolf
legislation made in the book, is a type that did appear for LGBTQ+ people,
specifically in the 80s. Especially related to education. In the wizarding world, people didn't want werewolves around their children. At certain points, there was a movement to keep queer people out of jobs, especially teaching jobs. Like I said, the werewolf metaphor is worth mentioning. There's also other things that can be taken
as relating to the queer experience. Sirius' rejection of his family, who are very intolerant of half-bloods and mixed magical folk is very akin to an LGBT+ person,
rejecting their anti-LGBT+ family. The stories within Harry Potter are not necessarily queer. However, once examining the context text and subtext, a queer reading of the source
material can start to come alive. Harry potter and the homosexuals. Oh my god next book idea! Harry Potter and the homosexuals, well,
have an interesting relationship. Well basically the entire LGBTQ+ community -and other marginalized groups- We all have interesting relationships
to the books don't we? To be more specific, there's a certain lack of representation in the Harry Potter books, and the very small representation that
minority groups get isn't exactly the best. How many people of color were
represented openly at Hogwarts? Whatever the number was, certainly not enough. Representation of LGBTQ+ people is also not enough. Now we all know how J.K.Rowling
*inaudible?* Dumbledore and told everyone that dumbledore was gay. Now, it's great that she wants representation in the books, but you got to show that representation! Dumbledore would have been great gay representation. If only we knew. There's thousands of LGBT+ people out there who will never find out unless they look it up But I don't want to do the work for representation. Why is it that straight people just end up in stories, but non-straight or non-cis people
have to fight for their existence? Kids shouldn't have to google their role models. They shouldn't have to find out their identity from a shocking headline. But that's what LGBT+ people and other minority groups have to do. And whether it's there or not, we'll continue
to see things other people didn't see. Are we crazy reading too much into it? Maybe a little. But if you can write an essay on how a green light is a symbol for the American dream and the great Gatsby, I don't see why this is such a reach. Sirius and Remus have a fantastic relationship, while people like the author like to dismiss some
people interpretations of LGBT+ stories, There are a thousands of people who think
there's something more there. I guess it's a matter of whether or not
you believe in the Death of the Author. When the story is in your hands, it's yours. So in your story, Sirius and Remus, are they gay? Bisexual? In love? In love with scaring contest? Or something else? You decide.
