Just a little over a year ago, on August 2, 2006, J.K. Rowling made a statement at her reading in New York City, at Radio City Music Hall, that was big news and related directly to what we talk about on this web site. She said Dumbledore was dead, and even mentioned this web site (which used to be called dumbledoreisnotdead.com) by name. Well, tonight she’s done it again.
This evening, again in New York City, this time at Carnegie Hall, J.K. Rowling dropped a bombshell on the Harry Potter fan community. When asked by a fan if Dumbledore ever loved anyone, J.K. Rowling replied Dumbledore was gay. Reports from the scene say a hush fell over the crowd and then it broke out in applause, to which J.K. replied that if she had known that would be the response, she would’ve revealed her thoughts on Dumbledore earlier.
She went on to say that while she was reading Steve Kloves’ script for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she came across a passage in which Dumbledore was reminiscing about past loves, and she corrected it by crossing it out and scrawling “Dumbledore is gay” in the margin.
I, personally, was very surprised by this news. Not that I thought there couldn’t be gay Wizards and not that I’d have anything against them if they were. (Lockhart is obviously gay, for example, and I think fans assume the whole Wizarding world knows it, and doesn’t care… And he’s one of our favorite characters.) It’s just that I never for minute suspected it about Dumbledore. But, looking back, should we have seen clues that this was true?
We learned a great amount about Dumbledore in the final book that we never knew before, especially about his past. J.K. herself tonight said Dumbledore’s being gay explains why he was originally taken in by Grindelwald, that it started off as an infatuation. Looking back at the book, the clues hinting at this are all there. In the excerpt from The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, Rita Skeeter says Bathilda Bagshot says, about the young Grindelwald:
“He seemed a charming boy to me,” babbles Bathilda, “whatever he became later. Naturally I introduced him to poor Albus, who was missing the company of lads his own age. The boys took to each other at once.”
DH pg 356/291
Also in her book, Skeeter says Grindelwald was expelled from Durmstrang at sixteen years old, and was forced to leave the country, “traveling abroad for some months”. We know Durmstrang isn’t shy about teaching the dark arts. Is it possible more than experimenting with dark magic caused Grindelwald’s falling out with Durmstrang?
And then later, Bathilda says something funny about Ariana’s funeral:
“Albus was beside himself at Ariana’s death … A shame Gellert could not have stayed for the funeral… He would have been a comfort to Albus, at least…”
DH pg 358/292
Was Grindelwald gay too? Or was he just good at stringing people along, telling them what they wanted to hear, for his own purposes?
And in Deathly Hallows, one of the earliest things we learn about Dumbledore’s past is told to us by Elphias Doge, in his eulogy of Dumbledore, when he says that after graduation from Hogwarts, he and Dumbledore had, in his words, “intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together”. In my first readings of the book, I took that phrasing to mean that it was traditional for Wizards to do that together. But is it possible that it was the trip itself that was the tradition, and that there was more than just a friendship between Elphias and Dumbledore?
Were there other, earlier signs in the books that Dumbledore was gay? In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, after Sirius has died, Dumbledore tells Harry,
“You fought a man’s fight. I was … prouder of you than can say.”
OotP pg 837/738
“I cared about you too much. I cared more for your happiness than knowing the truth.”
OotP pg 838/739
“I never dreamed that I would have such a person on my hands.”
OotP pg 839/739
I’m not suggesting that anything ever happened between Dumbledore and Harry, nor am I suggesting Dumbledore ever wanted something to happen. But in the same way it sparked his relationship with Grindelwald, can we not say that his homosexuality allowed Dumbledore to feel a special bond between Harry and himself, a bond normally reserved for a boy and a relative, like a father or older brother?
And what of Dumbledore’s relationships with other men? We know Snape is heterosexual because of his undying feelings for Lily. But could Dumbledore’s platonic affection for Snape help to explain why he trusted Snape when everyone else thought he was a fool to do so?
Ironically, of all the characters in the Harry Potter story, it was Harry himself who was the brunt of the rumors of being gay, as he had grown up “in the closet”. Also, had he not gone to Hogwarts, the Dursleys told him he would attend Stonewall High. The Stonewall, a bar in New York City that was raided by the police in 1969, is an icon in the history of gay rights. But ever since the first book, the Harry Potter story has gained a great number of fans who are gay, because of how the story deals with Harry’s feeling “different”, and never understanding “what was wrong with him”, until he finally got to find out that there were others like him, when he went to Hogwarts.
J.K.’s admission about Dumbledore tonight opens up a whole part of the Wizarding world that we previously could only guess about. Can we infer from the way Lockhart was treated that the Wizarding world was generally permissive of homosexuality? If so, why did Dumbledore hide that he was gay? Does the fact that Dumbledore was gay help to explain how and why he did what he did? Were you surprised by J.K.’s announcement? From what we were told in the book, should we have been able to guess that Dumbledore was gay?
(Editors note: I understand this is potentially a controversial topic. Please keep all comments posted here respectful and adult. No judgmental comments will be allowed. Thank you.)
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I never considered this, simply because Harry Potter was so often called a ‘children’s book’ (even though I don’t agree)… but hearing it now, and remembering his eccentric personality, it fits.
I always assumed he never married or anything because of his love for power. I do wonder, though… did J.K. purposely never mention this in the books, because it would be too controversial? Would it place too much reality into the HP books, so that we couldn’t separate it from our own world?
I just wonder if she always had Dumbledore as gay, in her mind… and why she wouldn’t have brought it up much sooner, in an interview. I wonder if she thought some people would stop reading. I wonder if she would randomly make him gay, for fun… not saying I think she would, only that I wonder if she would…
This is crazy…it’s a children’s book, for goodness’ sake! If we go on like this we might as well say that Sirius is gay as well, or maybe even Peter Pettigrew, or Voldemort (no, he pretty much likes Bellatrix) J.K. Rowling has gone too far, turning a children’s book into a half-adult book, just to “gain a wider audience”. It wasn’t necessary, anyway…
I never really thought about Dumbledore’s sexuality, actually. It never mattered to me then, and it only makes me like Dumbledore more now.
I also feel that it may have been very unnoticeable, due to the very important fact that this was considered a “childrens’ book”, so to even assume or say that he was changes the way and feel of how and certainly who reads it.
Yes, it does all fit and it does explain how Dumbledore could have been taken in by Grindelwald. However, I don’t see why it has to explain Dumbledore’s deep affection for Harry. Why can’t a brilliant man “connect” with a talented boy for intellectual reasons? Or, indeed, a power loving man be fascinated by the subject of such an important prophecy.
I have always seen the Harry Potter books as a journey into our lives, just from a different stand point. The truth is that we all deal with these things nowadays, and the fact that Dumbledore is gay is a shocker, because we never thought how real these books are to our actual life.
I started reading these books when they first came out in the USA, and as I read every book you could see them growing up along with me. Things I dealt with in my life and that i’m sure many pre-teens going into the hardest years of your life were dealt with too.
I don’t blame her for not telling it straight on, I mean, it would of caused a lot of issues. parents still act as if they need to shield their children from reality… But now that we all know for sure. The question is, did we always know? There are points in the book that make you question and wonder, but speaking for myself, I never wondered about his sexuality, I think that now that I know I want to read the books again to see what is it I missed.
So, he was gay. He was obviously celibate and frankly, it is only the business of Dumbledore. Does this take away from his sensibility? Does this make him any less compassionate? Absolutely not! None of this sexual preference stuff matters, but I am sure there are many who will now turn this into some hideous reason to mound heaps of homophobic rubbish on the books and the author.
Personally, I think not revealing such minor details was brilliant. There are too many who obsess on such information and it would have been a useless spoiler.
Those of us who love these characters will find them no less wonderful regardless of who they love. Still love you Professor Dumbledore.
I knew it! All the clues were there!
And if it weren’t for Tonks, Remus and Sirius would have so been together! Tonks was so lesbian! (Note: I’m a lesbian, so I mean nothing by saying that. She just has always seemed that way to me.)
I don’t see the big deal about it, really. Although reading the ‘excerpts’ from Rita Skeeter’s book in DH, the idea popped into mind. Besides, the book’s done, and I don’t think Dumbledore’s sexuality really play a part in Harry’s quest.
What difference does it make if he is? It’s a personal thing and… people who are taken back by this statement have to accept that it is an actual fact, and many like that live a normal and respectable life in the real world!
I never would’ve thought that about Dumbledore! Now some people might view Dumbledore in a different way while reading the books. I don’t think JK Rowling should have revealed that. I wonder what made her see Dumbledore like that? I wonder if the teachers and students ever found out. I don’t think there were any clues in the book that could have led us to think that except for the fact that nothing was mentioned about Dumbledore loving anyone.
Personally I think this is an amazing revelation! I am awed at JK Rowling’s courage. This is an great moment in the history of popular literature! Way to go Jo!
I think that the fact that Dumbledore is gay is relatively irrelevant. I mean I had tons of other ways to explain things on here that Rowling claims are because he was gay. So Dumbledore was lonely and didn’t really see people his own age and it was exciting to meet someone his own age. and they were both intelligent people and could stimulate eachother mentally. that doesn’t make someone gay…
I have a lot more of these examples, but they’re not important
I’m not saying that Dumbledore being gay upsets me, I just think that it doesn’t matter. I had never thought about Dumbledore’s sexuality. But apparenlty JK Rowling had. And in her mind he was gay, but she definitely didn’t give any hints to the public that he was. I wonder if there were an other characters in her books that had “questionable” sexuality in her mind.
Well, Kaleigh from Indiana, Rowling’s announcement was brilliant, like so many have mentioned thus far, but it was brilliantly calculated, so be prepared to be annoyed yet further. If she had announced this before the series was completed she would have sold millions less of each book in the septet. Parents all over our homophobic nation would not be buying the books for their kids and Harry Potter would not have become the franchise it is today. Some might think she was crazy for letting out such a buzz-worthy statement after the series had been deemed complete; I agree…crazy like a fox! Now she’ll sell millions more of each book because the previous homosexuals who were not fans will now go buy the books simply because they have a new celebrity championing their cause. The curious people who may not be fans will now go buy the books to see if Dumbledore really is gay, and all those uptights who would not have bought the books to begin with had they known of the mentor’s proclivities already own the books.
Rowling’s move was brilliant. Pure genius! Don’t let it annoy you that people think it is for attention. The thought of letting this cat out of the bag, to mis-apply the old axiom, has likely kept Rowling smiling since she conceived the idea. The blogs an chat rooms are all aflutter with this news and Rowling is quite pleased with herself about it. I don’t think down of her for it. It’s a heck of alot easier to take than all the Britney Spears-Brad-n-Angelina-Paris Hilton-Hollywood bull.
I was absolutely shocked when I heard this. I don’t want to believe that he was gay. I always assumed that Dumbledore never had a preference. Anyway, I am highly disappointed by this news. I wonder why she would even say that because, after all, it had no relevance to the story.
I really don’t understand why she had to announce that Dunbledore was gay…His sexuality has nothing to do with Harry’s quest, and isn’t the series about Harry anyway? I still will reread all the books, probably more than once!
In the 7th book Aberforth tells Harry Ron and Hermione that when Gindelwald came Albus finally had an equal to talk to, somebody who was as brilliant as him. To be honest this only proves that he needed human stimulation as much as everybody else does. I think that JK Rowling has done a very clever thing in leaving Dumbledore’s sexuality out of the books, because if it had been in it, the story would become too much like a soap opera, and I think that it would ruin the whole effect of Dumbledore being this marvellous, clever wizard, and although we learn of his selfishness at a young age in the 7th book, I don’t really think that his sexuality should tarnish the view of Dumbledore that the fans of Harry Potter have come to admire.
the mind is a wonderfull thing, and as you could read in the books, imperfection can be the closest thing to perfection. dumbledore would be a way less realistic character if he keeped the almost god-like characteristics like in the first few books. and I won’t say being gay is bad or something because I have respect for the people who let show their sexual preferences. being brilliant for example is for human standards an imperfection I personally think. but that doesn’t mean it can make a human more good or evil and it has a lot of advantages. this also counts for being gay it takes away the super-natural things of a character like dumbledore and I don’t really thinks that’s bad nor do I think it’s important and she doesn’t think so either because she didn’t put it in the books. he’s still really cool and his sexual preferences shouldn’t matter.
I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m glad it wasn’t in the book because I don’t think my kids would understand that. I think it could possibly just get other stupid groups against the books.
As far as other characters knowing. I think Lucius would have found a way to get him thrown out long ago if he had known.
And having her say that does bother me about the Harry/Dumbledore relationship. Their relationship is often looked at weird by outsiders in the book anyway, but to add that just bothers me. Harry is often referred to as his favorite of all time and even though I think Dumbledore was a great character and great guide for Harry (although much about him did bother me in the last book – like he hung Harry out to dry) it is questionable.
I don’t know why but I don’t feel comfortable about Dumbledore being gay. I have no problem at all with gay people, in fact I live fighting againts people who can�t stand homosexuals. I just feel like it’s not true, like if it a sort of last minute invention of Rowling.
Anyaway, if it’s true, I don’t see why Rowling should have told us about it. Did she tell us that Harry or Hermione were straight? I personally think that being guy is as normal as being straight, so there’s no need to go telling people what your sexual preferences are.
I almost enjoy the negative responses. I think that JK has made a realistic world through her books, and has now just added another very real component, almost as an afterthought. The way she did it was absolutely brilliant. It was simply a note. It didn’t interfer with the series. All it did was explain a lot of lingering questions as to motives and interactions between characters.
It doesn’t bother me at all that Harry and Dumbledore’s relationship may have been influenced by the sexuality. Its natural for that to happen. It happens the same way that a straight man would take on a female student. Gender doesn’t matter so much, but he comes to see her in the light of a daughter. He usually comes to think that she will make some man very happy someday, but would never want to be that man.
As for the relationship between Snape and Dumbledore, I really like that. I think that, in our times, we have a lot of hostility between straight men and gay men. I’ve noticed it even in my most intelligent male friends. So, for such an ardently heterosexual character as Snape to be such close friends with a homosexual character makes me smile. And, yes, I think he knew. I think they bonded over their lost loves.
I was disappointed in this news. Dumbledore was one of my favorite characters in the story. This news does affect how I feel about him. It affects whether I want to continue reading the stories or encouraging my children to read the stories. Many on this post say that the revelation is wonderful or at best irrelevant. I feel differently. Dumbledore has characteristics that I would like to have and that I would wish for my family. Now he has a characteristic that I would not wish for myself or my family. I think this is one thing J.K. Rowling should have left to imagination and speculation.
I’m not happy about it just as I wouldn’t be happy about a poorly produced movie to a favorite book. You have an image and understanding for a story that you read, you picture it a certain way and I am just afraid that for an adult book it would be fine but children don’t have the sensitivity to understand such things.
I just picture a thousand Albus Dumbledore costumes being returned or not used this Halloween and pity the few students who do wear the costume as they will now be targeted by other children, especially since I imagine that they will be focused outfits for gay pride parades.
As for the characters life style choice, that is fine, I am not against it but it should have come out in the beginning, when the foundations for the story was being developed into the readers. I am sure that people will stand up and cheer for this and consider my views to be homophobic which I am not. If that is the case and Ms. Rowling is so proud of this revelation in the book then she should make sure that the final movie depicts this choice for her character. I feel that if she was to do that then she would be true to her decision and cause, if not then she is trying to burn a candle at both ends by reaping the rewards of the story as is and then behind the scenes, outing this character who is still clearly within the closet.
In the end, this is her book and she can do with it and the characters as she pleases, she might even have a more powerful meaning to this being that a close family member or friend is gay and for that I applaud her efforts but I still think that this was a poor choice for an already established children book character.
I think it’s fabulous! It shows that even fantasy can be based on fact. JK was very brave to come out and say this; I’m sure there will be some parents who will no longer be happy with the HP books. Personally I don’t see why Dumbledore’s sexual preferences matter. They were never mentioned in the books, at least not plainly, and the only things young children tend to pick up on is the main points that are openly told to them. I’m sure most kids didn’t even see that interview and will be utterly confused as to why their parents are suddenly no longer permitting them to read the books. I mean, so what? They’ll find out the reality sooner or later: there are many different options when it comes to sexual preference. They’ll find out whether it’s through the HP books or just by living life in the world when we inhabit today. Speaking as an average adolescent (I’m 15 years old), I see no problem here, and, thankfully, niether do my parents. While I personally am not interested in this option for myself, other people have the free will to do whatever they please, including the entirely FICTIONAL characters of the HP books. Dumbledore being gay does not change the fact that he was certainly a man (and a powerful one). I am open to the possibility that he may have been more than “just friends” with Grindelwald, but of course we can never be sure because JK did not tell us outright in the series. Perhaps Grindelwald was simply a man that Dubledore could come to terms with, which would definitely be pretty nice, considering the troubled life Dumbledore lead. As for the love between Dumbledore and Harry, I am surprised that so many people are looking at this relationship in a new light. Dumbledore loved Harry from the moment he saved him and delivered him to his aunt. He was just a baby then; who doesn’t love a baby? Dumbledore watched Harry grow up, just as a father does, observing his triumphs and failures and helping him through even the hardest times. It comes as no surprise to me that Harry began to regard him as a father figure, and loved him for it. Who says a gay man can’t be a father figure? No problem here. I mean, I’m totally straight but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t women in my life (other than family members) whom I love passionately. Not every woman/woman or man/man loving relationship is a sexual one. I don’t think Dumbledore was keeping his “gayness” a secret either, he just didn’t mention it, or rather JK just didn’t mention it because of the controversy it would cause and because younger children reading the books wouldn’t understand it anyway. Refraining from mentioning something is not the same as actively being secretive. Even in the real world there are certain subjects that people simply don’t discuss (politics, religion, sexuality, to name just a few), because of the effects these things can have on some people, but that doesn’t mean the topics don’t exist. I still love Dumbledore and Harry and Snape and commend JK for a job well done in writing a wonderful fantasy series in which the true qualities of love and relationships can still exist harmoniously!
I wish Rowling hadn’t said this. 1. Dumbledore was a very private man who did not reveal things about himself. His sexual preferences, and many other things about him, were nobody’s business. It was disrespectful to his character to “out” him. It would have been more consistent with his character to have said nothing, and just let people wonder or draw their own conclusions. 2. Rowling said this in a crowd that included children as young as seven, who now have parents who have some uncomfortable explaining to do, to pre-pubescent kids who are not really old enough to understand sexuality, and who should be entitled not to have it sprung on them before their time. At Hogwarts, children gain knowledge and responsibility as they grow older and reach certain milestones. It’s a big issue when Harry has to be told things before he is mature enough to handle it well. They don’t have sexually precocious children in the books, and no headmaster of Hogwarts would be in favor of that. This circumstances of this revelation lacked dignity and wisdom, and was inconsistent with the books. I think Dumbledore would object strenuously.
Why not? Tolerance towards diversity is present in all the books.
Karen, while realizing that these are fictional characters, still we attribute a great deal of reality to their lives because JKR drew complex, reality-based characters. The fact that this was never mentioned throughout the series supported the fact that “Dumbledore was a very private man who did not reveal things about himself. His sexual preferences, and many other things about him, were nobody’s business.” And so, Jo never really mentioned it or drew undue attention to it.
And, yet, I believe that she has given us clues though, of course, we were focused on other things and perhaps didn’t see them as such. As someone above stated, Dumbledore’s clothing could have been a clue: his purple suit (noticed by Harry when he commented, “Nice suit, sir”); references as far back as SS that he wore high heeled, buckled shoes. Although, I have to admit, I passed that off as a quirk of older wizards.
In Deathly Hallows, I found it odd that Rita Skeeter’s book contained a chapter devoted to Dumbledore and Harry Potter: the unhealthy and even sinister relationship between the two. Knowing Rita, it just seemed like the kind of sensationalism she would use to promote her book. But, now in hindsight, was it really a clue?
For the first five books, I had an inkling that Dumbledore was gay, but as soon as I read the sixth, I knew for sure. Why? Because of the purple suit that he was wearing when he first met Tom Riddle at the orphanage. Don’t ask me why that did it for me; it just clicked somehow.
Being that homosexuality has been a trait that I’ve associated with Dumbledore for quite some time, it didn’t come as much of a shock, and now that it’s been confirmed, I really don’t think it changes anything about the books. Not for me, anyway; I still find them just as incredible. It disappoints me, however, that so many of my friends have taken to trashing the books (which makes no sense, because Dumbledore being gay wasn’t ever really mentioned in the books, and why is his being gay a bad thing, anyway?). It’ll be interesting to see how many “devoted fans” turn out to be not-so-devoted after this revelation. I, of course, will not be one of them.
well that was a surprise. but i suppose dumbledore had alot of secrets…
I don�t know if Dumbledore was gay. I believe that Rita Skeeter cast a spell on JK Rowling. “The life and lies of Albus Dumbledore” goes on.
It doesn’t surprise me. When you meet someone in the real world, you don’t always know what there prefferences are. Also the books were told from harry’s point of view. She did a real good job of telling the story. This doesn’t mean that I agree or disagree, but it kind of shows us what we don’t know about even our best of friends at times. Just because someone is, doesn’t mean that we will know about it.
I don’t know what JKR was thinking. She surpassed all expectations in writing an incredible 7th book. Her books were “safe” for kids–meaning that they could read them without the constant bombardment of sexual innuendos that we are constantly trying to guard our children against. Every child is entitled to an innocent childhood, without having sexual issues hanging over their heads. Why in the world do they need to know this about Dumbledore? Like it or not, JKR has responsibility because of her huge influence with a vast audience. As a former school teacher, she should know better. For me, my children, and virtually everyone I have talked to, Hogwarts has lost much of its magic. The world of joyful escape has become the world we were trying to escape from.
I would like to express my thoughts again after reading the comments thus far. I still believe when you read a book, you perceive the character and their individual characteristics as only you imagine them to be. The beauty of reading is using our imaginations. We all know that the greatest wizard, Albus Dumbledore, is a fictional book character, therefore the perception that he is gay or not, is irrelevant to the HP story.
Now having said that, in the spirit of debate or fun, let me comment as others have done. If one is to re-read various passages in the books, one can perceive or interpret many meanings. For instance, I ask you, “what did Dumbledore see in the Mirror of Erised”? Now, that JKR has stated that she always thought of him as gay, this coming after book seven was published and read by many. I want to believe that he saw his family (as Harry did) together and whole. However, didn’t Lockhart say something like “books can be misleading”?
First, I want to congratulate every single person posting on this site. The tone here is so much better than at another web site I’ve been visiting.
I was extremely disappointed in Jo Rowling’s announcement. Dumbledore’s clothing and his love for Harry aren’t clues that he is gay. Fudge has a lime green bowler hat, for Pete’s sake! There was nothing weird about his love for Harry. Fathers (and mothers) love their sons and daughters very deeply and I believe Dumbledore thought of Harry as a son. I liked that Dumbledore was great friends with Grindelwald. A man as intelligent as Dumbledore would be very lonely and need a friend who was an equal, a bit like child geniuses. I think that a man such as Dumbledore would be incredibly hurt and shocked that his friend was such a nasty piece of work. I just don’t think Dumbledore is gay–no matter what Jo Rowling says! It’s true we are all excited to find out cool things about the characters, but I really think she should not feed us any more information like this. I like books and I really like the images that good authors create. I also like the images that I create in my own mind. If the gay community wants to imagine Dumbledore is gay–whatever, but when asked “Did Dumbledore ever have a love?” Jo should have given us her “Mona Lisa” smile and kept her lip zipped.
I also agree with Karen who spoke earlier that this announcement was disrespectful of Dumbledore himself.
The only thing that bothers me in all the discussions I’ve seen is that a lot of people are acting like JK went out and called a press conference to out Dumbledore. She didn’t. JK was asked a direct question and she gave a direct answer. This is something she has done numerous times before, often divulging tidbits of information about characters beyond what she actually put into the books.
Given his (let’s face it, utterly over-the-top) campiness, Dumbledore being gay is hardly a shock. Dumbledore, like most of the Hogwart’s faculty, was a bit of an ivory tower intellectual and gay, straight or indifferent his romantic history wasn’t a significant aspect of stories which were, of course, written to revolve around Harry. Like Professor McGonagall and the other teachers, Dumbledore is a strong presence in Harry’s world, but the story doesn’t center on him. So his romantic history doesn’t play in the story. This, incidentally, is what led to someone asking if Dumbledore had ever been in love. The question was pertinent because no answer was to be found in the stories, just like the answers to the question of whether Hagrid ever married.
Frankly, it didn’t affect me much. So what if he was gay? It’s not as if he did anything bad (he didn’t do anything to Harry in the Weasleys’ closet in HBP…)
However, I wonder how the screenwriter will take this new information into consideration for the 7th movie.
I would just ignore it, though.
I was dumbstruck after I read this new piece of info. I don’t think I like Jo or Dumbledore anymore. I really wish Jo did not make that comment as it completely spoilt my respect and love for both her and dumbledore. And Harry Potter, no matter what anyone says, is not an adult’s book. She really ought to have kept that info with her. I’m awfully angry with her.
Knowing that Dumbledore is gay doesn’t detract from the story. It just helps us understand the character. Gay men in general tend to be more openly compassionate and nurturing, and I think these are probably the qualities that Ms. Rowling had in mind when she decided that Dumbledore was gay.
I’d say the impact of this revelation on young readers is a non-issue, since sexuality isn’t part of the books’ theme.
This is very crazy…still it doesnt affect my jugdment of him…you are still the greatest wizard in my book Albus.
Hi, Bnickel from IL USA. Yes, I think that the Hogwarts teachers not being married, may well be reminiscent of the times when teachers (particularly female) tended to be unmarried – especially in boarding schools. I’m not sure where the opinions about Neville being married have come from – there is nothing in DH to support this, and I think that he would have found complete fulfilment in being among his beloved herbs and plants. I don’t think Snape would have been a teacher if Lily had loved and married him.
I really don’t think Dumbledore’s sexuality is that important, and as for ‘coming out’ in the books, who to? Whoever he chose, it would almost certainly have affected his relationship with them. I think JKR did a really good job of showing how prejudice exists everywhere – even in the wizarding world – look how poor Lupin was hounded from his job when it was revealed that he was a werewolf, even though he had gone through his student days and almost completed a full year of teaching before anyone outside the select few he trusted knew of his double life.
It is interesting that a lot of people on this site think of homosexuality in terms of “sexual issues” that we shouldn’t confront our children with, and that Rowling shouldn’t have pointed out Dumbledore’s “sexual preferences”.
What about replacing “sexual” with “love”? First and foremost we express ourselves through love, and a gay man just happens to feel love for another man, just as a heterosexual man loves a woman! And love is clearly shown in the books, and love isn’t something we should keep our children away from, is it?
When i first heard the news, I was very much surprised.
Quite pleasantly actually.
To me, Harry Potter was always a children book. A book of magic and fantasy, no more. For Rowling to have included gay characters was out of my imagination. Anyhow, this has made the story much more realistic, much similar to the real world, yes, no? We all know there are gays everywhere. Heck, there’s one beside you right now.
I see no point for people to be negatively affected by the announcement. Dumbledore is gay, so what? He’s still the most powerful figure in Harry Potter.
I’m kind of supprised this has suddenly been brought up because it isn’t really relevant to the story, especially now that the series has finished. I still like Dumbledore just as much as I ever did. I have at times wondered why he never seemed to have had a wife but then the love lifes of many other teachers such as Professor McGonagall, Professor Spouse or Professor Flitwick were never touched on and I presume this was mainly because it was irrelevant to the story. This is an interesting insight but I just fear it may cause people to over-analyse the text and sidetrack from the real significance of the story.
The only thing that does upset me a bit is that now I know some people will look at Dumbledore in a negative light, which is simply unfair and unnecessary.
more than surprising, it was shocking! why would jkr have to paint dumbledore in all this controversy now?
i personally never considered the lack of love interest in Dumbledore’s life as surprising as for a wizard of his caliber, it was hard to find a match. i just thought that he must never had met any girl like Hermione of his age. yes in my opinion only a witch like hermione, with her mental abilities, cool logic, courage, vision, and sense of righteousness, could ever be a match for him. who do we see like that of Dumbledore’s age? so no love intrest, simple!
And, also he must be busy all the time with his geniusness to find things of his level, like 12 uses of dragon blood etc. not necessarily everyone in this world has to have a love interest or otherwise be gay. there are others who are just satisfied with their work and sufficient for themselves, I think Dumbledore could have been just that!
There is a wonderful story by Isaac Asimov about William Shakespeare being sent by time travel to the present and failing a university course on Shakespeare! Clearly, well loved books have a life of their own that goes beyond their author. Ambiguous aspects of a book can have many different interpretations. In fact websites like this thrive because fans of the Harry Potter series enjoy sharing our own insights. As long as the final book in the series was not written JK had the power to make unilateral decisions to clarify anything ambiguous from one book to the next. Once the “canon” was completed, I believe her definitive interpretations on matters that were left vague are no longer legitimate. I guess it is hard for JK to let go of her power to shape the Harry Potter sage after 10 years of being in control. Imagine if Shakespeare wrote a definitive interpretation of each of his books. The world of literature would be the poorer for it.
As to Dumbledore being gay, there is nothing in the text itself that compellingly leads to that conclusion. Men can be friends without being attracted physically to one another. A person who valued intellect and bravery like Dumbledore would likely be attracted platonically to others with these attributes. As for some evidence derived from the fact that Dumbledore is not married, none of the teachers seems to be married. We only know of the love interests of Snape and Hagrid. Were all the rest of the staff gay by virtue of their not having spouses?
I think we should all give a thanks and congratulations to our host David Haber. As at least one other person commented, the level of discussion on this website is much better than many other websites. I have seen some comments that are similar to my own and some that are not. There are so many strong feelings on this particular issue and it is nice to participate in a discussion with other interested people. I personally feel it helps me work through my feelings about this part of the story. Thank you again Dave for a quality website.
I think the fact that Dumbledore is gay is a trivial thing. What’s important is that Dumbledore loved and that he shared his love with the world, homosexually or not. I don’t think Dumbledore was ruled by his attraction to males, but more so by his caring for others, male or female.
I must wonder though what Harry, Ron, and Hermione would think if they knew this and how Harry’s son would feel knowing that he was named after someone who was gay. Hopefully he would look past that and realize that Albus was a great person, and being gay just made him more sensitive to other’s feelings.
As for this being a children’s book, it wasn’t exactly mentioned in the story that he was, so I find the book completely untarnished for young audiences.
i agree with virginia. i don’t have a prejudice against gays, and the fact that dumbledore is homosexual should not change the opinions of how loyal fans who have respected him all along think of dumbledore now.
Several thoughts, some of which others have made already…
First, to everyone who was surprised to hear the Dumbledore is gay: if it surprised you after the fact, it shouldn’t matter to you. You can read the books incorporating that information or not. If it didn’t dawn on you in earlier reading/s it is not necessarily relevant to your view of the plot.
For those who ask WHY?: my answer is “why NOT?” If ten percent of all of us are gay/bi, then 1/10 of everyone you meet should be gay/bi… do you notice? Of course not. Some people are flamboyant and others are reserved and private: like Dumbledore. And we usually only think about someone’s sexuality if we are attracted to them or they are flirting with us!
I am really sick (and I do NOT mean that euphemistically — I mean “queasy” ill) about people thinking they should “protect” children (or other adults) from anything they disapprove of, including the total range of sexual ORIENTATION (not “preference”). Rowling’s main message has been one of tolerance for EVERYONE. “Love” is the strongest force in the world. Homosexuality is just another human variation, and it is neither “good” nor “bad” just like heterosexuality per se is neither thing. Good and bad PEOPLE have all sorts of orientations, but there is no connection. The gender of the person you LOVE has nothing to do with your morality, kindness, wisdom, leadership, or anything else. So I submit everyone who feels disappointed, sick, upset, outraged, annoyed, or any other negative thing about the announcement is proclaiming both ignorance of what it means to be gay and their bias against gays.
Rowling has long discussed the fact that she has boxes and boxes of backstory, she had all the main characters well mapped out in her notes before she ever started writing. She knew THEN that Dumbledore was gay, and she knew then that the stories were to be told from Harry’s viewpoint. What kid in school thinks of adults as having sex lives of ANY kind? Especially *elderly* adults? As they become more mature and think about their own interests in romantic involvements (or sexual ones) they may start to abstractly realize that parents must have had sex to produce them, but every kid *I* ever heard discuss the subject thought the idea was weird and disgusting! Harry wouldn’t have been interested in or have ever thought about his teachers’ orientations, marriages, children, pets (well, ok, Fawkes was special!), or anything outside his immediate involvement with them in the context of his life. Not to mention that Dumbledore was over a hundred years old, and that alone would suggest that an active sex life might not be a big issue, even to him! And then there is the fact that everyone was more concerned with schooling and eventually the war with Voldemort to be interested in other people’s private lives.
As for other characters maybe being gay… I think Slughorn is definitely a possibility, but Tonks just seems “punk” to me, not lesbian (although I do know of a fair number of women who are both!) And I totally disagree with our host that Lockhart is gay! No, I think he’s the archetype of the narcissistic, effete, possibly even asexual male who loves himself way too much to actually make human connections with anybody else! (This is a diagnosable illness, by the way.) Probably some of the students qualify, if we only knew… I think Oliver Wood seems possible, for one.
I am delighted that Jo announced Dumbledore is gay, and that she did it OUTSIDE the actual books, so people who can’t face it don’t have to. The story needed gay characters, and yet, since it’s not a book about sex, we never needed sex SCENES or declarations or any of the other things in life that clue us in to someone’s orientation. It’s the perfect solution, and I hope it, in itself, will teach some people more tolerance. There is no reason at all that a (real life) gay man couldn’t be exactly like Dumbledore in real life, and it’s about time authors more authors admitted that! (In fact Richard Harris, the first movie Dumbledore, was openly gay — did you care when you saw the film?) You GO, Jo!