Should JK Rowling have outed Dumbledore?
By this point, everyone who comes to Gryffindor Gazette has heard that JK Rowling outed Dumbledore as a gay man.
But was it really necessary?
Why do we NEED to know the sexual orientation of one of the most beloved literary characters of all time? Shouldn’t it be enough that we know Dumbledore as a mentor, a friend, and ultimately, someone who sacrificed himself for the greater good? Why is his sexual orientation important?
I can’t remember another set of children’s books - and yes, these books are aimed at children, although adults (me included) enjoy them immensely - in which the sexual orientation of a character was given any sort of importance. None. Can you?
I love JK Rowling, but this felt a little “off” for her. I don’t care if she thinks he’s gay or not, to me that’s not the issue. The fact that it’s considered important enough to talk about is the issue.
Just my .02. Feel free to discuss. :>)
Tags: albus-dumbledore, Dumbledore, gay-dumbledoreRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Dumbledore
16 opinions for Should JK Rowling have outed Dumbledore?
Dannl
Oct 23, 2007 at 20:21
Wendy I love what JKR has done . But this blurp
annoyed me . I agree with you 100% . I just
don’t understand what it has to do with a fantastic
novel that has been so well received . This is not
what I would expect from an author I respect .
Anything else like this JKR has to offer she can
keep to herself . Gawddd its just ugly !!
Dannl
Oct 23, 2007 at 20:24
love JK Rowling, but this felt a little “off” for her. I don’t care if she thinks he’s gay or not, to me that’s not the issue. The fact that it’s considered important enough to talk about is the issue.
I could have not said that better , ……very very
dissapointed in her .
Wendy
Oct 23, 2007 at 20:39
Thanks Dannl. And honestly, I think the hoopla about all this is taking over what these books mean to so many people around the world. It’s a non-issue that’s turning into THE issue. I wish that she had kept this to herself.
Karana
Oct 23, 2007 at 21:49
My veiw on this topic is:First off i have read all the books and no where in any of them did i ever think “he must be gay”.Never did i read anything that portrayed him as gay.Next i dont see why she found it necessary to “Out Him”…
Barbara
Oct 24, 2007 at 05:57
Well, to make my stand clear, I think it’s great. But as it was never mentioned in the books, it never was important to the stories, just as it shouldn’t be important in real life. No children’s books with gay characters or characters whose sexual orientation is important? I am not up on my children’s and young adult literature, but I don’t believe it. “Heather Has Two Mommies” is one example, but there are plenty others - just do an internet search. In some of these examples the orientation is the central theme. In HP, it wasn’t. However, the author had that in mind for that character, and we don’t know how many others. She didn’t mention it until issues or questions came up that required her to set the record “straight”. Except for the fact that this is after all just about a fictional character, it is not so unlike real life in which the same information doesn’t “come out” until after some famous person’s death. But the books weren’t “about” Albus even though he was a very important character. We didn’t really know all that much about him till the last book. In a way it’s too bad that Harry, who wanted so much to know the truth about things, never knew this (as far as we know). It would have made the epilogue even more touching.
Wendy
Oct 24, 2007 at 06:57
Barbara, “Heather Has Two Mommies” is hardly a book that is part of canonical children’s literature. What I was referring to is classics like the Narnia series, the Potter series, Little House on the Prairie, etc.
And how would knowing that Dumbledore was gay make the epilogue more touching? I don’t understand that. It would be like suddenly understanding that Hermione liked to play video games on her XBox after a hard day of wizarding….in other words, who cares? Why is it relevant?
Barbara
Oct 24, 2007 at 07:32
Wendy,
First, I don’t know how many people at this site haven’t read all the books yet, so I’ll warn of a spoiler at the end of my comment. (I know I didn’t want to hear a single word about any part of the book until I read it myself.)
I didn’t realize that I had to rule out for consideration as part of children’s/young adult literature anything that was not considered “canonical”. But if we accept whatever criteria you are applying and assume your original statement is true, it just makes this even more of a breakthrough. Although a person’s sexual orientation is irrelevant to almost all of their nonsexual relationships and activities in life, it is still part of their life and it is not usually kept a big secret when heterosexuals are married or dating, not even in canonical children’s lit. So why should the fact that some peoples’ romantic interests in life are of their own gender be hidden from children? If this is being made a big deal of, it just goes to show how far we yet have to go.
The relevance to the epilogue is simply the name of one of Harry’s sons, which was already enough to move me to tears.
Barbara
Oct 24, 2007 at 07:53
Wendy,
Now you’ve challenged me about children’s/YA canonical lit. so I am challenged to find at least one example since you stated “None.” How about Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy? I have only yet read the first book but I read that in the second there are two male lovers. I’ve also wondered what the author intends when most people’s “demons” are of the opposite gender as themselves, but occasionally it’s mentioned that a character has a demon of their own gender.
Darcy
Oct 24, 2007 at 13:20
Dumbledore I LOVE YOU
Wendy
Oct 24, 2007 at 13:48
barbara - you make some really good points. I really appreciate your thoughtful and balanced contributions here. Thanks! :>)
Dumbledore
Oct 26, 2007 at 00:05
Wendy my dear when your stirring the pot its
best to stay with the recipe . The wrong seasoning
makes the stew bitter . I can assure you the
original recipe in this case was good and needed
nothing else .
Dumbledore
Oct 26, 2007 at 00:09
Darcy thank you my dear . Some TLC is always
welcome indeed .
Darcy
Oct 26, 2007 at 12:39
Dumbledore si and always will be my favorite character. If he is gay or not doesn’t make any differnece to me, I love him anyway. Without him in the movies or the books it just wouldn’t be the same. JKR i think that you are truly brilliant. These have been and always be my favorite books and movies ever and i am 32.
Darcy
Oct 26, 2007 at 12:45
I am very sorry about the spelling mistakes. I am in a hurry to pick up my son. Dumbledore you are very welcome you’ll always have my TLC.
LOVES_harry potter
Oct 27, 2007 at 07:32
I love J.K. Rowling! that’s why I am doing a biography on her. I think you are so right she did not to tell us that. That was wrong and now everybody is making a big deal over it. Sorry J.K. Rowling and everybody who wanted to know that but that was wrong. J.K. Rowling I think you should have never even said that. That was the worst choice you have ever done. And don’t forget I am doing you as a biography report so I know a lot about your mistakes in life.
Melissa
Jan 18, 2008 at 13:23
I don’t think that it’s fair to hold the situation to the standards of “canonical” children’s literature. The reason that “alternative” literature, whether for children or for adults, exists in the first place is that otherwise, there would be nothing to which its readers or its writers could relate. The reason there is no mention of homosexuality in the works you mentioned is because it was, in Lewis and Wilder’s respective societies, and still is in much of the world considered a form of sexual deviation, so most writers would rather just not go there. It’s a way of keeping even the mention of single-sex relationships on the downlow, because in the world of traditional, respectable literature, that’s not the way the world is supposed to be. It’s a way of setting a standard to which homosexuals, particularly at a young age, feel that they need to conform.
I think it’s fantastic that J.K. Rowling not only is comfortable with creating a character who is homosexual, but also has made in him someone who is a positive role model. In any case, I think that it’s also very fitting that there is little reference to it in the books, as the books largely follow Harry and his friends. It would be wholly inappropriate, even comparable to sexual harrassment, if any headmaster were to discuss his own sex life with a young student, gay or straight.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: