General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Maybe Don't Dress Your Kid Up As Moana This Halloween? [View all]Hekate
(91,292 posts)...was an unruly mass of "bushy" brown hair. I had that when I was an adolescent, too, and I am of Irish descent. Nothing in the way of clues about race.
One of Rowling's gifts as a writer and as a human being is how she encourages readers to have a fluidity of interpretation of her characters. She encourages her readers to see themselves in the story. She does not tell all she knows, or saves it for the opportune time. Who knew Albus Dumbledore was gay? Until Jo Rowling mentioned it.
When the play came out and she was questioned about the casting, her response was why shouldn't there be a black Hermione?
If all you know about the text of the original books is something someone told you, I suggest you read at least the first one. Harry has coarse black hair and bright green eyes. Ron, like all the Weasleys, has bright red hair and freckles.
I recently read a very interesting and thoughtful essay on Mugglenet, in which a Potter fan with an Indian name talked about the sheer joy and sense of liberation he was feeling at some of the fanfic and fan illustrations depicting Harry as biracial, Indian and English. The fans were reading themselves into the story. Who knows? Jo Rowling isn't saying.