Harry Potter Question on Dumbledore?

Question

Ok, so we have learned that Dumbledore is gay. I have no problem with this, and I think it is great for equality. JKR's book are all about tolerence and understanding so its no surprise that someone is gay. But I havent actually seen in the stories anything that would make me think he was gay. Can someone please point me to instances where he says, does, gives a hint that he is indeed gay?

I have no problem with him being gay, i just wanted to see some clues or hints. Are there any? He ever conjure a purple teddy bear, or complement snapes backside or something? anything guys?

Mac, you suck. I love this character and find nothing wrong with him. I am simply looking for evidence to support the fact.

Answer 1

Well, glad we agree on the point that we don't have a problem with Dumbledore being gay.

Having said that, the books are always from Harry Potter's point of view, and he had no reason to know that Dumbledore is gay. As much as I love Harry, he's not the brightest and sometimes doesn't see things when they could be dancing in an elf's tea-cosy in front of his eyes (e.g. that Gryffindor was from Godric's hollow)

So I wouldn't put a lot of trust in Harry's perceptiveness - he shared a dorm with Dean for 6 years and didn't know that Dean's father had left his mom.

Dumbledore's sexuality is for him to know, and of course, Rowling knows the back stories on all characters. So it doesn't concern me that there aren't a lot of hints about Dumbledore being gay, except from what Harry observes:
the magnificent robes, the high heeled boots and a liking for knitting patterns!

Answer 2

No, there isn't any implication in the text, except that the only close personal relationship that was mentioned was with Grindelwald. There aren't any pink elephants running around the text or anything!

And wouldn't it be fantastic to see Snape's reaction to an advance by Dumbledore? Or a conjured purple teddy bear? I shall have to search for fan-fiction regarding this, or write one myself!

And WL, I think you're cheating a bit by pasting the same answer into every question that pertains to Dumbledore's sexuality. It is written very well and I like what you have to say, but I'm getting tired of seeing it as an answer to every single question about Dumbledore.

Answer 3

There is no evidence in the texts. There is no "ah-ha!" moment. Apart from the Rita Skeeter comment, and vague allusions to his friendship with Grindelwald, the closest thing to proof is that we never see a reference to a wife or love interest (of either gender), though, by that logic, all of the teachers at Hogwarts could be gay, because unless I am misremembering, (with the exception of Lupin) we never hear any mention of any of the professors having a spouse.

I think that is the point. The story is about Harry. Details like a teacher's love life (gay or straight) simply have nothing to do with the story. There is no secret gay agenda in the book. The suggestion is simply ridiculous. He was a teacher, not a secret recruiter for the homosexual wizards union.

Answer 4

First, homosexuals are no more emotionally damaged than some heterosexuals, Mac1Hull, and there is growing scientific belief that homosexuality is a stage that everyone goes through at some point in their development. There are even examples of it in the animal kingdom. If, as most people seem to believe, the predisposition to be homosexual occurs in about 10% of the population, then for every 1 emotionally deranged homosexual out there, there are 9 emotionally deranged heterosexuals.

As to Dumbledore exhibiting any outward signs of homosexualtiy, let me assure you that many homosexuals today do not exhibit any outward signs of being homosexual (probably due to the possibility of being thought to be "emotionally damaged" by uninformed yahoos). They don't go around with a limp wrist held at their waist; they don't all speak with an effeminate lisp; and they don't all wear pink. Many are big, burly, fat hairy men (known within the gay community as "bears"), some are slender young boys (known as "twinks"). Within the two extremes of this spectrum are a multitude of appearances and behaviors. If we go back to the 10% / 90% argument, if you know 100 people, you can probably assume that 10 are gay. Now, if, as I imagine, you cannot think of 10 of your acquantances as being gay, then I guess they are doing a pretty good job at not showng any outward signs to you or anyone else who they believe may behave differently towards them once they know.

JKR says that Dumbledore's homosexuality is evidenced in his adoration of his childhood friend Grindelwald. If that is so, and I guess we kind of have to take her word for it, then why do you now have to read something into every student-teacher conference that he ever had with Harry or Ron or anyone? He isn't described as some sort of pedophile, preying on young boys under his tutelage. (Oh, and p.s., pedophiles come in heterosexual colors too!) He sounds like someone who is infatuated with and maybe in love with someone who is his equal in magical abilities, desire, thoughts, and since their duel, Dumbledore has had no equal. The general "Don't Mess With Albus" attitude at the ministry and his refusal to accept posts their over the years simply uphold this. Even Voldemort is scared of Dumbledore. His decision to stay at Hogwarts is more about where he can do the most good and not about a steady flow of new "recruits."

Now can we PLEASE get past this issue and move on?!

Answer 5

The reason Michael S. is asking (or I imagine he's asking) is because there must be evidence in the text that would bring the reader to conclude that Dumbledore is gay. I never got that impression. I almost feel as if Rowling failed her readers by telling them because if she didn't make it clear enough in the text for readers to conclude that Dumbledore is gay then its out of her hands. Even more so with telling her readers the characters' jobs and futures when she didn't write it in to the book. If she wanted her readers to know, she should have included it.

Answer 6

According to JKR, she gave clues to Dumbledore loving Grindelwald in Book 7. But you have to read between the lines.

And if we start reading between the lines of the entire series, we can come up with the following conclusions:

Dumbledore is not only gay, he is also a pedophile. Rita Skeeter makes this observations (through JKR's words, of course) by referring to his affections towards Harry was sinister and inappropriate.

Dumbledore not only loved Grindelwald but he was in love with Snape as well. How else can you explain his trust for such a vile man? It's obvious Dumbledore was into the "bad boys."

His brother, Alberforth, was into bestiality with his goats. So was Hagrid with his love for his magical creatures and so was Mr. Filch. He was in love with his cat, Mrs. Norris.

McGonagall, the herbology teacher, the nurse and all the other Hogwarts teachers who did not marry was either gay or lesbian. Read between the lines, it'll tell you all of this.

Bellatrix cheated on her husband and became Voldemort's lover. Why else would Voldemort be so devastated when Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix?

Goyle and Crabbe were homosexuals also. No other girl at Hogwarts wanted them so they fell into each other's arms. You have to read between the lines to get all this, though.

Millions of fans missed all these clues. But thanks to JKR, we have them now!

Answer 7

jkr said at carnegie hall that she first mentioned dumbledore's sexual orientation when a scriptmonkey for the half-blood-prince film tried to introduce a girl albus had a crush on during his early adulthood.

the evidence for dumbledore's homosexuality is that he never had an intimate relationship with any female. that is all there is, and all there need be.

dumbledore's gayness is a minor aspect of his character, not his defining feature.

this is how it usually is: gay people are mainly just people (as are straight people).

Answer 8

There are implications that Rita Skeeter thought the same thing as the poster above. In the excerpts from her "Dumbledore" book Rita says that Dumbledore's relationship with Harry was sinister. I didn't pick up on that the first time I read the book but now I think that's the implication.

Otherwise I didn't see any hints.

Answer 9

I don't think that JKR has an agenda, or is seeking more publicity. According to the story I read, she had told the writer of the screenplay for HBP that Dumbledore was gay because there was mention of a female love interest in the screenplay and she had to set them right. Having done that, she might as well have made it public, since it would have eventually come out anyway--she could control when and how it was done. and in any case, this story came out because she was directly asked if Dumbledore loved anyone.

Throughout the series, we know Dumbledore as a tireless and seemingly single-minded fighter against Dark Wizards (at least from Harry's perspective; we do have to remember that Albus is also a great teacher, an alchemist, and important theoretical Wizard--remember the tools and instruments he made himself). But how did Albus become that way?

We learn much about this in DH, with Arianna's story, Aberforth's story and the story of the friendship between Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. In reading DH, it was clear that Grindelwald seduced Dumbledore on a number of levels; intellectually, ideologically, and, by JKR's new revelation, emotionally. We don't know if that seduction was sexual as well, and I'm not sure it is important for us to know.

The revelation completes the picture for us of a man who felt betrayed, injured by one he loved, ashamed at how far he went from rational thought and behavior, how far he really was from what he thought he was.

The up shot is that we now know more completely Dumbledore's motivations for fighting Dark Wizards--his shame at his own tangential contribution to Grindelwald's career, his reluctance to fight him, and, when Voldemort rose, his determination to not to repeat his prior mistake of inaction and to fight Voldemort from the start.

So in summery, It was part of the way JKR viewed Dumbledore and understood him. I don't think it was something that would have come out voluntarily--more likely something that would have made a scholarly article 50 or 60 years from now after she was gone and literary scholar had access to her full notes (assuming she left them to be investigated).

BTW, there is some inkling of this in DH, where Rita Skeeter talks about devoting a chapter in her book about Dumbledore to the Dumbledore/Harry relationship. This is not to say that there was anything improper--but that JKR did put out a hint.

wl

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/10...

Answer 10

Oh, here's a suggestion. You know how Dumbledore went along with everything Grindelwald said? He agreed to torturing Muggles, he agreed with killing and such. That's not Dumbledore, even if he has changed tremenously. Love makes one blind. He went along becuase he had a crush on Grindelwald. Ever done something so stupid you don't know why, just becuase your crush is atching? That's kind of what happened.