Dumbledore is gay!?!?

Question

check out this websites:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2196020,00.html
http://www.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=69194&newsChannel=entertainmentNews
what do you think? Do you think that it is a suitable book for children?
And did Rowling mean to say that Gellert Grindelwald was gay too??????

just to say: I AM NOT AGAINST GAY PEOPLE> AND I DID NOT SAY THAT IT IS NOT A SUITABLE BOOK FOR CHILDREN. I was only asking for YOUR opinion!

Answer 1

I'm not against gays in any way but I found this disgraceful. Why on earth would she have to say that after the books are all finished. What on earth has that got to do with anything? She doesn't finish the book telling us all about what happens to all the other characters but has to bring this up now. Very stupid as far as I'm concerned. It says a lot about our society today when something like that has to be brought up in a fantasy book . Why would anyone care if he's gay or not in the first place? I never even considered it. Maybe she just needs more publicity now that the books are finished. I don't know. I just think it's absolutlely ridiculous and she just fell way down on my list of good authors. Can't wait to hear what happened to all the other characters in the series. I heard she's writing an encyclopedia for charity regading that. Hagrad will probably be revealed as a child molester or something and Professor McGonagle a lesbian.

I felt that it was a great book for kids. However, as the books progressed they outgrew the younger set. I felt it was up to the parents to decide whether their kids should continue reading them. If she would have sad he was gay in the beginnning and opened up that can of worms, I probably would say no to the kids reading it. More so than the magic portion of it. Let them keep their innocence as long as they can. They can decide for themselves when they are older what they feel about gay rights, etc. Don't bring it into a fantasy book.

I wonder when all the fairy tales we grew up with as a kid will be picked apart by someone ruining our memories of them by casting aspersions on the chararcters.

Answer 2

That's a good question about Gellert. We don't really know if Dumbledore's love was returned. I would say not, but I guess only JK knows!

Many authors will compile a great amount of information about their characters to help them understand them better. Some of this information may never reach the light of day, but the author always knows. Thus, I don't think it's a trick.

I think it's good for children to see a strong gay male character- possibly one of he first in children's literature.

I, personally, have a problem with children reading the later books anyway, as I think there's a lot of violence/death and inappropriate choices made by characters (i.e. using magic to get back at someone for petty things). I think that's the reason young children should not read the later books, not because the author's notes said a main character was gay. Honestly, every one is surprised because it isn't obvious. In other words, they won't know unless you tell them.

Answer 3

I think that really strict Christians are going to have one more reason to bash Rowling. I happen to be a nondenominational Christian myself, but I have family who are not allowed to read the Potter books because of the witchcraft and magic that they believe is "for the devil." Now, with Dumbledore being gay, they will all be saying "see, told you these books were bad news." (Sigh!) All of us who live in the real world and understand Rowling and her writing process probably went, "oh, I can see it" rather than being shocked and horrified that the beloved school master is gay. Does it really matter that much? These characters grew and grew as the books went on. What took shape is probably more than we dared hope for, a book for all ages with realistic, human, complex characters. I am sure Rowling did not mention Dumbledore's sexual preference in the book because, frankly it had no real place there, and people were likely to freak out. It is still a wonderful series of books which is suitable for people of all ages.

Answer 4

Are you kidding? There is not even a hint in the books that he is gay, no possible sexuality and you're wanting to take these books away from children based on the knowledge that a charater happens to be gay?

And no, Gellert Grindelwald is not gay. "Unrequited" means that it is only on Dumbledore's side.

Answer 5

i can't wait until she fills in the rest of the stories with some affair between dumbledore and harry... i mean why not, what goes on behind other people's door has no affect on the rest of us, right?

it's a shame that jk rowling has decided this should be turned into some vehicle for a hidden agenda. the sexual preference of the character was not a plot point, but now after all the books are done... oh btw, he's gay. jk is being an attention wh*re now, guess she shouldn't have killed off the series.

Answer 6

Yes, why not let children in this(thank god) modern and tolerant age get used to gay people? And because Dumbledore is so much loved by tthe readers I don't think that it matters wether he is gay or not. At least it doesn't mamtter to me.
I'm not sure wether Grindelwald was gay as well. She did say that Dumbledore was horribly let dow so maybe Grindelwald was strait and this broke Dumbledore's heart.

Answer 7

Why is everyone in an uproar?? What people do in the privacy of their homes is none of our business.

Why should the books be less suitable for children when they probably have a gay person or a lesbian in their families?

We are not going to grow as a society if we keep trying to bury the next generations' heads in sand. They need to learn about everyone in the world not just the sugar-coated unrealistic views their parents provide.

Answer 8

My child loved every minute of Harry Potter and when I asked her what she thought of Dumbledore, she said (way too funny). "So what? Harry would have never made it as far as he did without Dumbledore and that would not have been different whether he was gay or straight." She is so right. Teaching children that sexual orientation should not be a factor in judging whether or not a person is good or bad is a great lesson and Dumbledore was a great example to use. Thanks Ms. Rowling.

Answer 9

If you think that a book that is about:
- kids being responsible,
- kids working as a team towards a common goal,
- people helping others,
- choosing to act responsibly,
- staying on task even though the odds don't look good,
- being a good friend,
- trust, loyalty, and honor,

is not good for kids, then you have a skewed sense of priorities.

Answer 10

If we scrutinised the implied sexuality of every character in children's literature that then I doubt anyone would read anything to children.

I seem to remember that 'George' in 'The Famous Five' was a bit suspect as well. Maybe I shouldn't read that to my daughter. The subliminal implications of lesbianism might harm her fragile psyche.

/sarcasm