I'm not disturbed by J.K Rowling outing Albus Dumbledore. I am, however, a bit disappointed about how she chose to do it. I wonder how many parents are explaining to their kids this weekend what "being gay" means? The story was on the weekend news magazine shows and every Internet list of news I saw this weekend. Sure, at some point you have this conversation with your kids, but the timing should be up to us. I think it's a chicken-poop move by her to not come out and say it in the books if that was indeed Dumbledore's "arc". It's almost like she was too afraid to put it in print, yet she had no problem blurting it out at a fan Q&A. You wrote seven books with the same characters and just finished the last one knowing full well it would be the last one. If you wanted to get something on the final record - put it in the book. We own the first six books but I haven't read any of them yet. I've seen the first five movies so I really can't comment - but at a cookout last night Chrissy TwoCoats told me he read them all and never once thought Dumbledore had an affection for show tunes, Barbara Streisand or Bette Midler. His wife, however, said she had an inkling. Well, I have an inkling about ten guys I know...but until I know for sure, it's just an opinion. I'm sure some kid will tell my daughter on Monday that Dumbledore was gay and then she'll ask us what that means. I guess I'll be having that conversation a little earlier than I wanted to.....not that there's anything wrong with that. Wow. Some far right idiots already didn't like the books because they thought they promoted witchcraft...can't wait to see what they'll come up with next. They'll have Albus inviting Harry & Ron over for some Jesus Juice and to look at some "pictures". On a more serious note - I really think if I were gay, I would be a little insulted that this tidbit didn't make the books. Maybe she should add an eighth book, Dumbledore Does Hogwartz, Wizards Gone Wild. Maybe she didn't put it in the books because she knew it would cause a flap and then certain parents wouldn't buy the books for their kids? She could have opened the flood gates for a new genre of kids books. You know that famous kid's book "Everybody Poops"? I can hear that author pecking away at his keyboard right now writing "Yes, Timmy Married Tommy" and "Aunt Paul Is Cool". Oh well, on to the rest of the weekend.......
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I've read all the books...twice. I never really thought about DD's sexual preference. Guess I just assumed he was completely consumed by his academics to chase after chicks. But Grindelwald? That's who he was in love with? A strange little tidbit of info that really has no impact on the outcome of the series. I agree with bro that it was real cop-out to drop this info in after the series is complete, but I suppose the marketing machine behind her wealth would have stomped all over DD coming out of the closet in the book.
When my older daughter was 5, she said one night at dinner, "wouldn't it be funny if boys could marry boys and girls could marry girls?", to which we replied that in some states boys can marry each other. Then, she asked without blinking about some gay friends of ours, "Are they married?" No, I replied. "That isn't allowed in our state. But they live together like they're married." She doesn't know what all that includes for a hetero couple either, so we left it at that.
right. and it's also quite a jump from saying "they live together like they're married" and "he puts what? WHERE?" :)
I read all the books.
Didn't get any inkling of Dumbledore hiding in a closet....and I sure as hell am not going to go back and read 8000 pages to analize it......get it ....anal ize.
HA! Good One.
I wonder if he calls "it" his "wand"?
Maybe the reason that she didn't mention it in the books is because she wanted people to see Dumbledore for who he is instead of labeling him as "the gay one" and hearing people make cracks about his "wand" for ten+ years. After reading about the incident, I felt like she only admitted it reluctantly, probably because she knew full well how everyone would react.
It shows how far we have to go in this country when a fictional character being "outed" causes such a national sensation, and how it changes people's opinion of him instantly.
well, if you've ever read here before....my purpose in life is to make fun of the silly.
i don't think it's silly for one second that DD is gay. i think it's silly to have him in 7 books, the final one taking a tremendous amount of though and effort to tie up all loose ends.....not include this....and then just dump it at a "Q & A".
oh, and for me to not throw in a "wand" joke would ruin my reputation. that is basically me making fun of the people who will make fun. see? had she added one sentence to the first book about this...without even saying it....but for god's sake make it 90% clear instead of 3% clear....this would have never happened.
Although debating about what another person's intentions may or may not have been is rather silly as well, I'll continue it...
I think her point is that it wasn't worth mentioning because it made absolutely no impact on the story whatsoever. It's not a loose end. It's a detail. While she may have an idea about professor Mcgonegal's sexual orientation, or professor Sprout's, does it make any difference in the story at all?
In the QA, she was responding to a specific question, and that's the only reason it came out.
ah, but i disagree.
there were a bunch of fans who thought DD was gay because of other things said in the book and his own words and thoughts.
to my knowledge (didn't read any of 7 yet) nobody in the fan base was discussing Mcgonegal's sexual orientation. why? because there weren't hidden tidbits in the text about it.
malfoy having bad breath is a detail that is left out because it doesnt affect the story and was never mentioned.
mr weasely having an awesome porn collection is a detail that was never mentioned and didnt affect the story.
while DD being gay doesn't affect the story, it was apparently hinted at several times and never resolved....
that's why i call it a loose end.
like you said, what's the point?
Here is my take on it.
She shouldn't have said anything at all about it because - well, who are the books written for?
Children - and I don't think it is appropriate for the target age group.
If she wants to write a book about adults.......go to town lady.
But take into consideration she is from England and they just dont make a big deal of being gay there.
Remember when Brokeback mountain came out (ha ha -came out - anyway...) everyone was making a big deal and I think it was Heath Ledger who said "listen, this movie would be NOTHING in England".
something to ponder I guess
i tend to agree. saying it still puts it out there for kids. some would argue it's fine for kids to know. didn't sesame street have a character that was HIV positive? or was that just talked about at one time? i can't remember.
I dont remember the HIV thing on Sesame Street but I hear a lot about Bert and Ernie.
hmmmmmm
Oh, and your 'wand' comment was funny
Not a 'gay' comment
just a penis comment
I know that a lot of people are saying there were "clues" all through the book, but I gotta tell ya...after just finishing the reading of all of them for the second time, I honestly can't say that any of those hints were obvious to me. I never once would have suspected. The ONLY place I remember that they even refer to DD's friendship-turned-duel with Grindelwald was in book 7 (just reading that part now...), and I never took it as DD being in love with GW...they were just two guys hangin' out and looking for the Hallows, promoting wizardry, etc.
Frank's right...It didn't matter to the story. I just think it's interesting that she chose to comment on it afterward...if it still didn't matter to the story? Of course, this could launch the whole Don't Ask Don't Tell Debate.
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