Dumbledore=Gay?

Question

Why is everyone freaking out about Dumbledore being gay...I mean seriously what does it matter...

Peach L...J.K. said that Dumbledore was gay!

Answer 1

i agree, even tho it was a little shocking at first, get over it, hes gay, big deal, my best friend is, and it didnt change anything, just that i could talk about guys with him 2 now. honestly people, its just sexuality, big deal

Answer 2

JK Rowling was quite hypocritical is telling everyone that Dumbledore is gay AFTER the books have sold.

I don't care that he's gay. What ticks me off is her telling the world after she'd made her billion dollars.

And she's a major liar because she cannot serve two masters. Either she's lying about being a Christian or she's lying about Dumbledore always being gay as she saw him in her back story. Either one of the other is true--not both. No practicing Christian would ever think about making a character in her book a gay man.

Answer 3

I'm not freaking out, but I am disturbed by the revelation. Not because I am against homosexually, because quite the contrary is true, but because Rowling made no reference to Dumbledore's sexuality IN THE BOOKS! Had she included his sexual preference in one of the books it would have been fine, but to bring him out of the closet after the fact and now have people speculating that he was some sort of pervert for hanging around a little boy all the time is just wrong! Why does sexuality have to play a part at all? Why couldn't he stay a simple man, but powerful wizard who has a passion for teaching children and protecting others from Voldemort? I just don't understand WHY she did it........

Answer 4

It didn't bother me. I was a bit surprised at all the negative comment toward JKR. I don't think that JKR has an agenda, or is seeking more publicity. I think it speaks to the popularity of the series and the amount of emotional energy that fans have put into the books, that it became a big story.

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 5

I was surprised.
Mainly because I didn't know all along.
It's not like I am homophobic, but I wish she expanded more on his history.
But then again, I wish she hadn't of said that he was gay, because it left a mystery in dumbledores life... that everyone could have different perspectives on.
So it leaves readers wondering.
You're right, it doesn't matter - but I think people are just surprised, like they never saw it coming. =D

Answer 6

To be honest I was surprised at first as I think everyone was, but it really is not a big deal. Dumbledore's character doesn't change, he is still wise and helped Harry. Who cares who he falls in love with? guy or girl....it shouldn't affect anyone's view of him.

Answer 7

It totally changed his character for me, ruining the entire series. Well, I enjoyed the first 4 books. The others sucked anyway, gay Dumbledore or not. I think the author just did it for publicity.

Answer 8

Rowling just wanted more attention so she told everyone Dumbledore was gay... I mean that doesn't change his character does it? What does it matter, like you say... and people who have nothing else to talk about are the only ones who really care.

Answer 9

Dumbledore wasn't gay! Oh my, someone must have misunderstood J. K. Rowling. Don't believe everything you hear.

Answer 10

It doesn't really make a huge difference to the story. I mean, it's a little surprising, but I really don't see what the big deal is.