Eeyore: “Sorry, I don’t mean to offend, but what someone does privately is not something I need or want to know.”
So, you didn’t need to know that Harry was in love with Ginny, or anything about Hermione and Ron, or about Tonks and Remus getting married? Those things had no more effect on the plot than this.
I don’t understand why some people all the sudden don’t like Dumbledore, and why some people have said that they don’t even like the SERIES as much now. Dumbledore is still the same character we have come to know and love- he has always been gay, just the reader never knew it. It just seems so ridiculous to me.
Well, duh.
It’s a shame she didn’t reveal these details in her writing – you know, character development and all that. It’s kind of sad when she has to fill her great, gaping plot holes after the fact.
Gee Sam Do you think Gay people never get old??
Amd my GRANDFATHER IS gay.
I agree? why now? i think it was a publicity stunt, and I don’t care, learning this did change my image from a jolly eccentric old man to a weird character that I can’t relate to anymore
Yay! This makes me so happy! I had never considered the possibility of Dumbledore/Grindelwald before, so now I have to go reread the sections of book 7 that discuss it.
Lydia Mason – a book (or anything else for that matter) cannot “encourage” children to be gay. Sexual orientation is not a choice – it’s just how we are born. Reading a book with a gay character is not going to make more children gay – but hopefully, it will make them more comfortable and accepting of gay people. Maybe it will even be able to help adolescents who are gay, in that they will be able to identify with Dumbledore, making them more comfortable with their own sexuality.
Gaymanspeaks – I think you’ve got a good point, and it made me stop and think for a bit. On the other hand, we never actually see Dumbledore and Grindelwald interacting, so it’s hard to say how they worked together and related to each other. Also, Dumbledore may have kept his feelings concealed, which would account for the fact that none of the other characters discuss it. But I’m curious – in what ways was Dumbledore’s crush unrealistic? I think I’d understand your views a little better if you could clarify them a bit. Thanks!
To all those who think this was a political move – JKR has never changed her books to make a political point, so I don’t see why she’d start now. Also, it’s incredibly unlike her to make drastic changes to her characters, especially now that she doesn’t have to make minor changes to cover plot holes in future books.
This isn’t about moral/immoral, it’s about changing the core of who we thought the character was all along. There was never even hints by JKR about this, then all of a sudden now after all the books are done and she throws it out there…..3 months later nonetheless. It just makes no sense to me.
Go Jo!
I’m quite taken aback at the negative comments here. Dumbledore’s gay? Who cares! It doesn’t change the story at all. If anything it makes me love Dumbledore even more; he had to face and take down someone that he was in love with. I can’t wait to here more about the background of characters! It might not be relevant to the plot of the books outright, but it’s interesting. It’s nice to see the gay community represented in these books. With all of the characters, statically, how could here be no gay men or women?
“Well, duh.
It’s a shame she didn’t reveal these details in her writing – you know, character development and all that. It’s kind of sad when she has to fill her great, gaping plot holes after the fact.”
Apparently you do not know what a plot hole is.
Hey Aghhh!
You don’t get to decide who the characters are, nor any of their aspects! JKR does. ;)
And, frankly, I don’t see how it’s “wrong”. Kids don’t just decide that they’re going to be gay because of a character in a book. NO one does. NO ONE DECIDES TO BE GAY. It’s not a choice, despite what your particular religious or political platform says.
Frankly, your implication that someone who is gay can’t be “good” is one of the most offensive comments so far. Good job!
aghhh- I think Dumbledore stopped being the epitome of goodness when it was revealed that he wanted to rule over muggles with Grindelwald when he was younger, ‘for the greater good.’
you guys see this yet? the rest of the questions. http://hpana.com/news.20228.html
This is the most exciting thing I’ve read in months….
Yay for having an amazing and powerful gay figure who’s about MORE than just being gay!
I like that Jo announced it after the books were finished. It shows that a character doesn’t have to be DEFINED by his or her sexuality. Too often gay characters are just that - the “gay characters.” They walk around, doing gay things, and that’s it. Dumbledore is a character in his own right - his homosexuality is just another aspect of his personality.
I wasn’t as pleased with Deathly Hallows as I wanted to be, but now I’m incredibly pleased with JKR.
in a perfect world, this information would be no more shocking than finding out that Neville marries Hanna. for the first time i’m actually ashamed of the HP fandom for some of these comments. being gay doesn’t mean anything. so he’s gay, how has the books changed?
god bless JKR