Fleur Delacour & The Price of Pretty Privilege
Wed Feb 04 2026
Fleur Delacour is one of the most misunderstood women in the Harry Potter series. She's often blamed for her beauty, scrutinized for her confidence, and held responsible for the reactions of everyone around her. In this episode, we examine how Fleur becomes a lightning rod for gendered blame, punished not for what she does, but for what others assume about her beauty, her Veela ancestry, and her femininity.
Drawing on listener survey data, we unpack why Fleur’s competence as a Triwizard Champion is questioned, why her confidence is read as arrogance, and why both men and women are so quick to fault her for male desire. We also return to our earlier conversation about Lavender Brown to explore how readers inherit Hermione Granger’s gendered lens, and how that lens teaches us which women are worthy of empathy and which are not.
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Fleur Delacour is one of the most misunderstood women in the Harry Potter series. She's often blamed for her beauty, scrutinized for her confidence, and held responsible for the reactions of everyone around her. In this episode, we examine how Fleur becomes a lightning rod for gendered blame, punished not for what she does, but for what others assume about her beauty, her Veela ancestry, and her femininity. Drawing on listener survey data, we unpack why Fleur’s competence as a Triwizard Champion is questioned, why her confidence is read as arrogance, and why both men and women are so quick to fault her for male desire. We also return to our earlier conversation about Lavender Brown to explore how readers inherit Hermione Granger’s gendered lens, and how that lens teaches us which women are worthy of empathy and which are not.