J.K. Rowling has outed Dumbledore

[jadedmetaphor]

Yes, Dumbledore is gay. Wow!

Read all about it: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071020/ap_on_en_ot/books_harry_potter;_ylt=AsRuWfMObamAHV5BDYofGESs0NUE"

ETA: I like what she says about her books promoting tolerance and the questioning of authority. I also like that the books are subtle so that parents can choose (hopefully) to talk to their kids about it when they are ready. I am curious about how the general public will react.

I <3 Dumbledore.

[literaticat]

that is awesome.

[KirstyAnn]

Well apparently the general public is okay with this ... I, however, am not.  I think that is just about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. 

You can't come out after the books are finished - it's just lame!! 

[author1day]

Very cool! Just when you thought you knew everything about the Potter characters....

[momadigan]

Interesting!

I remember thinking, "Hmmmm ..." when reading about the photo with him and Grindelwald - where he looked so happy ... then I completely forgot about it as I tore through the rest of the book.

And here I've always thought of him as kinda sexless.

[Vallyntine]

It's about time!

[hazelnut]

You can't come out after the books are finished - it's just lame!! 

I agree, it is lame. It should've either been in the last book or left to herself. His so-called unrequited love doesn't even mesh with the plot the way she wrote it, b/c Dumbledore was first friends with Grindelwald when they were young, but already Grindelwald had bigoted ideas. Years later Dumbledore decided to battle Grindelwald when he became a wizard's version of a Nazi. We all know how Nazis despised and persecuted homosexuals, so it's hard to believe Grindelwald was gay or gay-friendly since he was so Nazi-like; therefore how could Dumbedore have had a crush on him? A crush on someone else maybe, but not Grindelwald. Sorry, I can't buy it.

[Pigeon]

I love it! Establish a character as being the ultimate father figure, and then, guess what, he's gay! Way to go against stereotypes and be sneaky about showing that gay people are just as multifaceted as anyone.  :

[Elaine (aka sweetpea)]

And here I've always thought of him as kinda sexless.

Me, too.

[sruble]

I did wonder about his lack of romantic involvement, but didn't think about it much. It doesn't matter to me if he's gay or not. I still love the books and the character. I can see why she wouldn't out him before the series was over, but if she had put it in the last book, with all the revelations about his past, it would have made sense.

[EmeraldGown]

She outed him in response to a young girl's question last night in Carnegie Hall. The girl was a painfully thin (I was concerned), pale teenager, who before she asked JK her question first spoke eloquently of her graditude to JK. I mean, she memorized her little speech, and she was trembling as the camera was on her and her big closeup was on a screen behind JK, but it was truly beautiful, what she said, basically crediting JK as a lifeline for her and for teaching her about human relationships and all kinds of things as no one else had in her life. It appeared to me and I'm sure to JK that this girl's life had been unhappy and a struggle of some kind.  She had suffered.  JK looked very impressed with her and touched by her bravery and gratitude. So when the girl asked her question of the evening, she said "My question is, did Dumbledore ever find love?"  JK looked at her intently and said, "I am going to tell you the truth because I think you deserve it."

She did not just "out" Dumbledore to be in the papers.  It was an intense moment.  Besides, she did it in NY and the crowd gasped, but they also cheered and went nuts. She looked out at them, dubfounded, JK and said, "If I had known it would have made you all so happy I would have mentioned this years ago...!"

[sruble]

JK looked very impressed with her and touched by her bravery and gratitude. So when the girl asked her question of the evening, she said "My question is, did Dumbledore ever find love?"  JK looked at her intently and said, "I am going to tell you the truth because I think you deserve it."

Wow! Thanks again for sharing your experience.

[missy t]

was i the only one who thought dumbledore had a thing for minerva (the head of harry's house)?  obviously not, but that's what i thought.

[momadigan]

EmeraldGown, thanks for describing that scene for us. It's very powerful.

And I don't understand why it's 'lame' for JKR to reveal a character trait. Surely ALL of our characters have rich back-stories that do not necessarily make it into their books! She could probably tell us many other things about every single one of the HP characters ... this just happens to be one fact (in response to a direct question) that she is telling us now.

I doubt it was meant as sensationalism.

[Jessica Burkhart]

I think it's fantastic that she was so honest with this girl. I don't think it was meant to stir up fans at all. I never would have guessed though...

[emcrane]

And I don't understand why it's 'lame' for JKR to reveal a character trait. Surely ALL of our characters have rich back-stories that do not necessarily make it into their books! She could probably tell us many other things about every single one of the HP characters ... this just happens to be one fact (in response to a direct question) that she is telling us now.

I completely agree.

No one knows the characters better than the creator; I am not one to question who they are. But I think not only is emeraldgown's story just as interesting as JK's reveal, it gave ME a whole new respect for and interest in Dumbledore -- even more depth to him. That's a cool thing.

[KateMessner]

Reading about Dumbledore this morning made my day.  And what a great lesson for kids - most often in life, this is how we learn people are gay...AFTER we've gotten to know them  and love them.  Who they love doesn't -- or shouldn't -- change anything.

[EmeraldGown]

I think as writers ourselves, we all know that our characters can take on lives of their own.  That is, that she may not have written him as gay so much he just turned out that way as she went along.  It made sense to her for his character.  There are people in our lives who have secrets in their real back stories we may not know about.  I always thought of Lupin's story as a metaphor for homosexuality since they wouldn't employ him and all that.  But anyway, I think that happens to me when I write sometimes. Characters are like real people in that way they take on lives of their own that make sense and make our books more real or better.  Sure we're writers and we can control our characters if we want to, but sometimes if we do that, it doesn't make sense for the story or for whom the character is.

In the end, Dumbledore's homosexuality is not important to the story.  It doesn't change anything, which is why I'm sure she never mentioned it before. but it important to JK as the actual only creator of Dumbledore and the only one who truly knows his backstory as iit would be to any writer --especially with a saga as big as HP. 

But JK was asked directly.  And she answered respectfully.   And I don't think it's fair to compare it to pedophilia at all.  Dumbledore never hit on Harry. He didn't have sexual relations with anyone in the story --child or adult--or anything else inappropriate. And Pedophiles can be straight or gay.  Dumbledore was a mentor who behaved properly throughout.

Plus the evening was meant for older fans. They said this all night.

[jadedmetaphor]

She didn't reveal, if you even want to use that verb, his sexual orientation until now because IT DOESN'T matter. It didn't affect the character's decision making. But when asked point blank about his love interests, she simply told the truth.

In the end, Dumbledore's homosexuality is not important to the story.  It doesn't change anything, which is why I'm sure she never mentioned it before.  

Exactly! There have been too many times where a character's sexuality (esp. a secondary character) becomes their defining trait. Dumbledore isn't "That gay character," he's a character who happens to be gay.

And thank you, EmeraldGown for telling us the story about how JKR disclosed this information- it gave me chills.

[Guinevere]

Like others have said, I thought the Big D was just sexless.

EmeraldGown, thanks for sharing the rest of the story.

Fascinating.

[Sarah Perry]

I think it's awesome that he was so firmly established as a character before she revealed this.  People are going to be forced to look past all the negative images that would've usually come up, because they're already familiar with him as a deep & well-developed character.  Not that my respect for Ms. Rowling needed any reinforcement, but I'm impressed with how she handled it.  Since Dumbledore's love life (or lack thereof) has little to do with the actual HP story, there was no particular need to out him beforehand--and to be honest, I'm glad she didn't.  The ensuing controversy, debates etc. would have polluted all the excitement about the books & the course of the story.  Now that it's over, people can mull things over at their leisure.

[the Brad]

The ensuing controversy, debates etc. would have polluted all the excitement about the books & the course of the story.  Now that it's over, people can mull things over at their leisure.

You're completely correct.

[kabarson]

I'm curious when Rowling knew. There have been a couple times in my ms. where I realized WHY a character said or did what he did. I didn't always know. It wasn't in my plan. Both times the realization brought me to tears because I was realizing the depth of my character(s). Neither explanation made it to the book--they weren't pertinent to the story--but I know. True, multi-dimensional characters are like people--more than just a stereotype.

Kelly (a Christian, who is not against HP or any group of people, but is against pigeon-holing and bigotry.)

[author1day]

I love it! Establish a character as being the ultimate father figure, and then, guess what, he's gay! Way to go against stereotypes and be sneaky about showing that gay people are just as multifaceted as anyone.  :

Good point, I didn't even think of it like that...nice

[andracill]

Very interesting.  I too thought of him as sexless...but I have to say it makes a lot of sense (with the Grindevald thing).  He's a complex character and I enjoy learning anything more about him!

[hazelnut]

In the end, Dumbledore's homosexuality is not important to the story.  It doesn't change anything

Exactly, so why give us some pathetic story about his unrequited love for Grindelwald, of all people? There should be a point to this revelation, in other words, that Dumbledore has a positive impact on his fellow gay friends or lover(s). Otherwise, it sounds like Dumbledore lived his entire l-o-ng life in the closet without revealing who he was to anyone or getting involved with anyone. It makes him seem very, very dishonest with everyone and uncomfortable in his own skin. However, Dumbledore always seemed very confident and comfortable in his own skin. So IMHO this whole thing is better left unsaid.

In contrast, the memories of Snape's love of Lily and how that impacted Snape and influenced how he treated her son was very, very powerful. That added a lot of dimension to the story. Dumbledore-being-gay doesn't affect anyone else in the story or help you understand why he did X or Y. And shouldn't that be the point?

[olmue]

I have to say that I agree with hazelnut. It all seems (to me--obviously I'm in the minority here)--rather incongruous with the rest of the story, and with the character of Dumbledore as I understood him over seven novels. I can't even buy the connection with Grindelwald. Plenty of people are infatuated with the charismatic ideas of another person without being in love with them. Also, I agree with what hazelnut says here: "Otherwise, it sounds like Dumbledore lived his entire l-o-ng life in the closet without revealing who he was to anyone or getting involved with anyone. It makes him seem very, very dishonest with everyone and uncomfortable in his own skin. However, Dumbledore always seemed very confident and comfortable in his own skin." I feel suddenly as if this character has turned into someone else, and I can't see the connection. And I feel sad because I felt like I knew him, and now he's a stranger.

[C.K.]

There's an interesting post about J.K. Rowling and sci-fi writer John Scalzi claiming "marginal identities" for their characters after the fact on Alas:

http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2007/10/20/hes-gay-and-hes-native-american-rowling-and-scalzi-claim-marginal-identities-for-charcters-after-the-fact/

I think it makes a lot of good points.

[Sarah Perry]

On a lighter note, here's the lolcat take on it.

[the Brad]

That is HI-llarious!