OMG! Dumbledore is GAY?!?

[dumbldor]

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[dumbldor]

My goodness, how jealousy brings out the worst in people. I am so hurt. NOT!

[ABMAC]

Daremo is Paul, right, not Austin, and why would either of them want to take a cheap shot at me? OK, Paul, you keep that up and I will have to challenge you in the Arcade! Or I will come by your house and... and... probably take you out for a beer. So there!

Daremo is Paul, except when Austin logs in to his account.

Paul, change your password. If Austin logs in to your account again, I'll suspend both of you.

[dumbldor]

Dumbledore was already a character worthy of respect before this announcement, right? It shouldn't change anything, but Rowling knows that people will rethink the character now, this time filtered through their prejudices and phobias. For some, it'll change their level of acceptance of gay characters, whether positively or negatively. It's sensationalism at its worst because it will do as much harm as good. I'm sure it will sell more copies of the books.

I understand your point about positive role models, but Dumbledore isn't sexually active in any of the books, so the question of his sexual orientation seems to be entirely moot at this point. If you can't tell he's gay when you read the books, what's the point of making this announcement now, other than, as Russ said, to keep Rowling in the spotlight? When the buzz over this dies down, will she announce that Harry Potter hates muslims, or that Hermione agrees with Bush's foreign policy? Will Austin continue to keep us informed about Rowling's announcements after the opportunities to take cheap shots at Dan have passed?

Daremo is Paul, right, not Austin, and why would either of them want to take a cheap shot at me? OK, Paul, you keep that up and I will have to challenge you in the Arcade! Or I will come by your house and... and... probably take you out for a beer. So there!

I am obviously a big Harry Potter fan, and I am probably as close to an expert on the subject as you could find here. I agree with many of the thoughts in this thread:

a. I don't see any need to add any depth to a character after the series has been completed. If it were any important element of the story, she should have worked it into the story at some point. Book 7 would have been a natural place for it. As for the potential backlash from right wingers, why would she care? The series would have been done at that point, and she has taken a lot of heat anyway for introducing 'magic' to kids.

b. I also agree that anything verbalized by the author that is not actually in the books is not canon and is therefore completely moot. I applaud her for the diversity of characters in her books, but anything new she throws out there now is irrelevant unless she is going to publish more books in which these revelations are included.

c. Although her initial target audience may not have been children, by book 7 (and after the series has been completely published) she should understand that a LARGE portion of her audience are under the age of 12 and that the books were and are still marketed to children. Sexual orientation or preferences really have no place in children's books IMO.

d. It remains to be seen how this announcement will change the views of her fans. I can only speak for myself that I still love that big gay wizard headmaster!

[Vortigern99]

Someone not seeming to have a love interest and being asexual equals being gay? I'm pretty sure that homosexuality and asexuality are completely different things.

Ahem. What I meant is that in the books, Rowling avoids the issue of Dumbledore's past loves or companions, while nearly every other character of importance has some mention of a partner of some sort: wife, husband, girlfriend, etc. Dumbledore is a major character, especially in the last two books, both of which explore his past -- and there is not a single mention of a romantic link in any of it.

I did not mean that asexuality equals homosexuality, but in my own experience I have known gay men who, afraid to come out, chose to present themselves publicly as though they had no interest in either sex. Rowling seems to have taken that tact here with Dumbledore.

All that said, the revelation does deepen a reader's understanding of Dumbledore's relationship with a certain wizard ('GG') in his youth. It is not an essential plot point, but it does strengthen D's characterization, and casts light on certain choices he made when he was a young man.

PS What del said, above! :-)

[Bizarro Amy]

Honestly, Dumbledore's sexual orientation doesn't make a difference to me either way. However, if JK Rowling wrote it into the storyline, it would have made a difference in the way people saw Dumbledore. Sadly, it would just have given people more to protest - Not only was the school teaching kids about magic, but the headmaster was GAY! I can already imagine the jokes that would have been made about him and Harry. I like the idea that his sexuality was not made an issue in the books, although it was part of his backstory. There was really no reason to mention his orientation, because it would seem that very few characters in his life would have known or discussed it. No one seemed to understandy the quick, intense friendship between Albus and Grindelwald. A young man wouldn't necessarily go around telling everyone when he had feelings for another man. I think it's an interesting addition to Dumbledore's history, and I'm eternally grateful that he was created by a writer who is skilled enough to tell stories without resorting to stereotypes.

P.S."Prof. Snape hasn't had a love interest in any of the films...should we read between the lines and conjure up a theory or two."
He sort of did, at one point. If you didn't pick up on it yet, read the last book. You'll understand what I mean. Please, don't anyone put spoilers in this thread!

[toys2cool]

I liked it better when story book characters were Asexual..Why does sexual preference , straight or gay, even have to be involved in books for kids.

I think you pretty much nailed How I feel about the thing man

[ctc]

>the author can state what she had in mind, but that doesn't make it fact. Fact is what is in print, and only what is in print.

Hmmmm.... I gotta disagree with this one. For a character like Spiderman I'd say it holds true, since so many authors have had a chance to work on the character. But for a creator owned and driven character I'd have to give credence to things the author says as well as what ends up in print. It's entirely possible for a character to have a lot of back story that never makes it into the finished story. It's also possible for a creator to rethink things, or come up with unexpected facets during the creative process. Ultimately the world is THEIRS.

'Course that doesn't mean you the audience has to LIKE it; but I find it presumptuous when readers second guess a creator on their own work.

As for Dumbledore being gay? Why not? Seems like a non-issue to me. Doesn't affect the established story, and maybe the author came up with a nifty idea while writing the original series; and this is part of it. Maybe it's something she always had in mind but didin't include in the main story for some reason.

Don C.

[Count Creepyhead]

Maybe she just meant he's really happy??

[Adam West]

I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series and J.K. Rowling.

It was never her intent to write the Harry Potter series as kids books, they were marketed that way. In fact, it was the book publisher who came up with the idea of using her initials instead of her real name JoAnn since publishers believe kids prefer male to female authors. She never dumbed down anything for anyone.

She also was very meticulous about creating back stories for every character as well as what happens to them afterwards. She is not making things up on the fly for shock value. If you read any of the books, even the most obscure and seemingly irrelevant characters are interesting because she took the time to think about and create back stories for every single character in the book.

Even though the Harry Potter series is over, she is planning on writing an entire Encyclopedia of Harry Potter which will go into great detail about every single character in the book. I don't think it's going to be out for a few years but it is supposed to be a monstrous sized book and all of the profits are earmarked for charity.

I'm sure Dumbledore's love interest with Gridenwald will be mentioned in the Encyclopedia so rather than shock people later, she is answering some of the questions that will eventually be revealed anyway.

[cjefferys]

It seems kind of obvious in retrospect, what with Dumbledore never having had a love interest mentioned and basically being asexual for his entire life.

Someone not seeming to have a love interest and being asexual equals being gay? I'm pretty sure that homosexuality and asexuality are completely different things.

[MegoGeekJr]

Finally!

Something to say in school to all the kids!

[Hornet of Doom]

I hate it when writers do this. I'm not saying it's wrong for Dumbledore to be gay, but it just seems like lazy characterizing. It's like she was looking at the character and thought "You know, this character doesn't seem deep enough... What can I do to him that won't affect anything in the stories, but will make him more interesting?" Gayness should not be a crutch. If she couldn't make a character interesting without giving him some characteristic that's out of the ordinary like that, she's not as good a writer as she's made out to be.

Maybe she'll come out and announce next that Harry was left-handed. Look out, instant interest!

[ABMAC]

Or maybe she was just tired of being asked the same question over and over and just said, you know what? Stop it. Stop with the Does Dumbledore hook up with anyone crap... he's , uh, GAY, ya that's it, gay. Now stop with the asking.

Aren't gays allowed to find true love?

This thread is not going to be allowed to end pretty.

[megoscott]

Maybe she's plotting a series of prequels where Dumbledore explores his sexuality as a young wizard. She's testing the waters. Or maybe she's giving the fan-fic people something to work with.