Dumbledore is Gay!!?

Question

yea i know it's old news, but my question is, i know Rowling said it herself, but other people say the way he was and things he did were gay now that we know..could someone enlighten me on this!? i mean what types of things are there in the books that could hint that he's gay? just wondering! thanks!

Answer 1

JK Rowling is a media ho. She is now adding all kinds of details to her books to keep people's interest in her future projects. So on the biggest stage of all - in front of the NYC media, she casually lets it drop that she always thought of Dumbledore as gay. Clearly, she wasn't thinking rationally when she said it because it opens up all kinds of interpretations to all Harry's private meetings with the headmaster. However she knew what she was doing and even commented "I cannot wait to see what the fan fictions do with that one". It is all a joke to her. There was not a shred of evidence in any of the 7 books, and yes I read them all, that Dumbledore was anything but a classic academic - focused on his pupils and not his personal life. I have known many academic types like that in my life. That doesn't make them gay.

NO describing his elaborate robes doesn't make him gay. It just makes him a person of authority who stands out over the rest. Franco Zefferelli the movie director came out this week criticizing the Pope for wearing ermine trimmed robes and Prada shoes, but that doesn't make him gay. That just makes him an authority figure who stands out. If you have ever been to a college graduation particularly a PhD graduation, you would see more elaborate robes on faculty than on the graduates. It is a way of determining their standing - nothing more. The man is a wizard and a very powerful one. I found nothing "gay" in his wearing elaborate robes. You are reading WAY too much into it. Did you find that "gay" at the time or are you only seeing it as "gay" in retrospect after JK's silly comment?

JK is reaching for straws here now. Her writing career started going downhill on the 4th book. The last one was terrible. So bad that she has to write an encyclopedia to explain it to her readers. I am sorry but I have never had to write an encyclopedia to explain any of my books - they contain all the details to explain themselves. I totally lost respect for the woman when she said that. There are NO things in the books that point to him being gay. And I would LOVE to see an interview with the actor who plays him that discusses whether or not he was told to gay up the part. Yes, the current actor IS gay, but the original actor chosen for the part - Richard Harris - who sadly passed on - was decidedly NOT gay.
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

There's the Grindelwald thing.

I really believe though, that looking for evidence of gayness is not necessary. I didn't need any evidence to believe(assume) that he was straight. It's just that simple.
Being gay doesn't mean that he will act in any certain way outside of a bedroom. Just like real gay people.

It doesn't indicate that Harry's time with Dumbledore is open to new interpretation, unless the reader is a bigot who assumes that gay= molestor.
This is also not an example of a female author feminizing a male character. She did not give him feminine/womanly traits. She mentioned that she thought of him as gay. A gay man is NOT a woman.

Answer 3

Well, since the usually given estimated figure for the number of gays in the human population is 10%, I think it's safe to say that Dumbledore isn't the only Hogswarts resident who is of that sexual inclination.

There may well be lots of closets at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

I'm not gay, but I am a teacher, and in my 30 years of teaching I've known a good number of gays in that profession. Based on my experience only, I'd have to say that the ones I've encountered have been among the best.

P.S. I don't know if we'll ever have a reliable estimate on the number of gays/lesbians, but there's this:

"In the current world of census and polling the largest sampling done of the gay and lesbian population was accomplished inadvertently during the U.S. Census 2000.For the first time on the Census they asked if you had an unmarried partner. Based on whether you checked male or female for your partner, the Census Bureau was able to extrapolate same-sex couple data. It had never been done before. It provides the clearest, most reliable national dataon gays and lesbians to date.The results were remarkable. Using the 2000 Census data, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the total number of gays and lesbians in the United States for 2006 is around 11,000,000."

But no matter what the number, I agree completely with j153e's closing sentence.

But regarding female authors writing male characters and male authors writing female characters, I disagree because I believe that we have both states of mind in our heads from birth onward. To put it another way, men are women, too.
Probably the most famous example of this is "Madame Bovary" and, after that, perhaps, "Anna Karenina." But look at what George Eliot does with her MALE characters, and Joyce Carol Oates, as well. Women are men, too."

Answer 4

Media ho?

Take it easy Persiphone. Red hair is not a license for name calling.

Besides, you never expose your own writing to critique, do you?
Be careful, or someone may be writing about YOU, my dear.

As to the question, writers need to work out detailed backgrounds on characters. It seems Rowling's had this one be gay, but it never needed to be part of the plot in any of the books. So what if she mentioned it later? If she mentioned the name of Harry's grandpa, it would just be part of his background that never got into the books. So what? It has no impact on the plot.
Why did she mention it? Again, who cares? Maybe she thought someone would be interested, and, judging from all the questions about it, she was right.
Some may criticize Rowling's talent, but it's hard to argue with success. Maybe no one will remember HP 100 years from now, but people today are enjoying reading the books.

CDB

Answer 5

I would suggest re-reading the books: now that you have this knowledge things will pop out at you as gay. For example, if you read the part where J.K. Rowling describes the relationship Dumbledore had with Grindelwald, the passion that they had for each other (or at least that Dumbledore had for Grindelwald) was more than just friends. Also, it was never mentioned that he had a girlfriend and he never expressed interest in any female characters in the books. It all really makes sense, it just wasn't told to us until recently.

Answer 6

It was never relevant so I dont think there were any hints, just people picking up on things and interpreting them as gay. Kinda funny really. I'm sure if she had come out and said Harry or Neville or some other character was gay everyone would have found hints everywhere

Answer 7

Wouldn't his name (Dumbledork) be a clue?

He had a gender identity crisis--being J. K.'s only real competitor for head honcho and Harry's control--so she emasculated Dumberdork to retain a more complete authorial control of Harry and present her own monopolar creative vision.

Also, a sign of a female writer who handles male characters somewhat inauthentically, i.e., they are variously feminized, or male versions of a particularly female perspective.

Most writers are basically at this level of handling gender in characters.

Shakespeare, despite his sexist situations, may be a noteworthy exception, particularly given the (Elizabethan era) times and attitudes.

"Soul Mates and Twin Flames," Elizabeth Clare Prophet, and "Sexual Force or the Winged Dragon," O. M. Aivanhov, are worthwhile.

p.s. Point of fact: the "10% number" was made of whole cloth, based on biased sampling. The currently accepted figure lies between 1 and 3 per cent. Useful for teaching purposes, e.g. how numbers can be made up, become part of the common "knowledge" base, and be wildly erroneous. Whether there were one or no gays/lesbians in the world, a person's political right to freedom from "bashing" or other social pressure to conform, would still obtain.

Answer 8

I think that she just said that to start controversy. He behaved professionally and like a professor should. As a teacher I think that people need to realize that a person's sexuality does not make you a "different" type of teacher.

He showed interest in his students interests and he cared about their well being and protected them when they needed to be protected. Any good teacher would do this regardless of sexuality and it bugs me that people would even think any differently.

Answer 9

i remember him saying that he thought grindlewald looked " pretty " but i can't remember where !!! ^_^ .........

but anyways why do ppl care about his sexual life ??? i mean that doesn't affect the whole story .. and what if he is gay .. she probably answered somebody question about that ..

but what made me mad that some parents forbid their kids from reading this great masterpiece cuz of that information ...

it didn't even cross my mind that he might be gay until JK said so !!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^

Answer 10

Another key was the ornament robes he would wear. Rowling pent more time detailing his clothing than some of the other characters.