Wow, guys. I guess it's true. As if Laura Mallory and her ilk didn't have enough to whine about, it turns out Dumbledore is ACTUALLY gay.
While I'm not exactly reeling with shock, many understandably are. A lot of people will obviously hate that the Hogwarts headmaster is a "deviant" or whatever, but I'm more interested in the people who find it fabulous... like me. I can't wait to see what people have to say.
Rowling's become something of a hero in my eyes, even with the possibility that this is something she made up on the spot. Though the series is over and she's already a gabillionaire, she can expect to lose some percentage of her fanbase. Granted, it's the crazy asshole percentage.
But mostly, I'm pleased about the fact that there's now a positive gay character in the collective whatever that isn't defined by his sexuality. It wasn't until 3 months after the release of the last book that we get "Oh, by the way..." So many characters in the media today exist because they're gay, and it tends to become their only important characteristic.
True, things are way better than the Will and Grace years... there's that guy on Brothers and Sisters... and... well I dunno, I don't watch TV anymore, but the point is that Dumbledore is the first fictional figure who's SO POPULAR that carries this "he's gay, yeah, but there's so much more" quality. It pleases me.
Alright, Rowling. Now what about Oliver Wood?
P.S. The first person who makes a snide comment about Dumbledore looking at Harry with "that familiar twinkle in his eye" is going to be most seriously sorry. Gay men are not pedophiles, ok? That's gross and not the slightest bit amusing.
Wow that's awesome. Here I thought Dumbledore was just British.
ReplyDeleteI know, and I totally agree with absolutely everything! I don't really see Oliver Wood as sexually attracted to anything but Quidditch, but for what it's worth, I think Dumbledore shared a serious and affectionate later-in-life romance with Mad-Eye Moody. (Who else would Moody let near him?)
ReplyDeleteI was waiting to see how you reacted to that one. Personally, I feel pretty let down about it. If she had decided Dumbledore was gay, why didn't she write it into the books? Why didn't she give gazillions of kids the news that being gay is OK and that heroes like Dumbledore can be wise and caring and funny and gay? I think she, or her publishers, showed complete cowardice in not writing a single sentence about it. He's been outed after his death, which means the impact is that much reduced. Shame.
ReplyDeleteDeviant - The British can be tricksy like that.
ReplyDeletePedantic EEEEEEEEE - Gross.
Dreamer - If anyone's to blame for keeping DD in the closet, I'd guess the publishers. Or perhaps Rowling feared it would draw too much attention from the rest of the story. If it was going to come out anywhere, it would have been the 7th book with the Grindelwald subplot, and it would have put so much weight on the Dumbledore revelations that I think the book would have felt uneven... which would make the decision to leave it out not political, but literary.
You do have a point, though, and I'm playing Benefit of the Doubt right now. If you're right and it was a case of major cowardice, I still say better late than never.
Poor old Dumbledore, his one love turned out to be Teh Big Bad pre-Voldemort.
ReplyDeleteDreamer I don't think that the sexuality of most of the teachers is ever brought up unless it impacts directly on the story eg Snape's love for Lily so not bringing up Dimbledore's is simply in keeping with the others. Although you could argue that Dumbledore's love for Grindlewort (sp?) was a rather large plot point.