We knew there would be an outcry over Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore’s outing, but we didn’t really see this one coming. Time homo-journo John Cloud thinks JK Rowling needs to stick the Hogwarts headmaster back in the closet:
Dumbledore himself never saw fit to come out of the closet before dying in book six. And I feel a bit like I did when we learned too much about Mark Foley and Larry Craig: You are not quite the role model I’d hoped for as a gay man.
…
Why couldn’t he tell us himself? …We can only conclude that Dumbledore saw his homosexuality as shameful and inappropriate to mention among his colleagues and students. His silence suggests a lack of personal integrity that is completely out of character.
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Dumbledore had not a single fully realized romance in 115 years of life. That’s pathetic, and a little creepy. It’s also a throwback to an era of pop culture when the only gay characters were those who committed suicide or were murdered.
If only Dumbledore were real and could tell his side of the story. We’re sure it would all make sense.
adamblast
“Dumbledore had not a single fully realized romance in 115 years of life. That’s pathetic, and a little creepy.”
_______________
As someone who hasn’t had a single fully-realized romanice in 48 years of life, I find him to be a great role model, thanks. Instead of sitting around crying into his crystal ball, he built a life around helping others and making a better future.
Some of us ain’t ever gonna find Prince Charming. John Cloud may find us pathetic and creepy, but then–some gay men find sleeping with strangers daily pathetic and creepy.
vince
…he’s fictional! calm the balls down.
furthermore, his sexuality was anything but central to the series.
fucking cry babies. go read your fan fiction.
KJ
Oh My. Mr. Cloud needs to take a reality pill, me thinks. Making Dumbledore a big flamer (In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a big flamer.), would have distracted from the FICTIONAL story.
The fact is, the sexual orientation of any of the characters was irrelevant to the story, which I think is a much more powerful message than the plodding propaganda piece for which Mr. Could appears to advocate.
Jeff
“Why couldn’t he tell us himself? …We can only conclude that Dumbledore saw his homosexuality as shameful and inappropriate to mention among his colleagues and students. His silence suggests a lack of personal integrity that is completely out of character.”
Or maybe it just wasn’t important enough to bring up during the buildup to one of the most devastating wizard wars ever.
Strange as it seems to some, being gay isn’t the be-all, end-all to my existence. Maybe it wasn’t for Dumbledore’s either.
(I feel so stupid writing about this like it’s real…)
Brad
Oh Jeff, I agree with you…actually with all of you…Cloud is somewhat of a dimwit who might need to brush up on his literature….Plots and subplots reign in this series and if you think about it, who, in reading book 7, didn’t have a hunch that Dumbledore and Grindy were at least smitten with each other? i agree that making it any more a part of the book would have had the effect of diminishing the overall story…I feel strange writing this, too, but that could just be the pain pills working their way through my system 🙂
John C
Yeah, because what kids’ books need are fewer gay characters, right Mr Cloud? Especially in America.
Writers and other creators can never win on this issue. She would have been bashed for no gay characters at all, *is* being bashed now and would have been bashed for other reasons if he’d been out from the start: too flamey/not flamey enough/too happy/too miserable, etc, etc, etc. Straight writers can hardly be blamed if they avoid dealing with gay characters altogether when the brickbats fly the moment they try to get on our side.
Jason
Major plot point given away by posting it on the front page. Do you not find that annoying? It’s polite to post spoiler warnings. Thanks.
Rt. Rev. Dr. RES
J.K. Rowling is one of those authors who reach instant fame and have posterity written all over it.
It is interesting to read Narnia and realise that it is an allegory written by a conservative Catholic about his faith, but Rowling was first attacked by the theocrats who oppose All Hallows Eve or Halloween as “satanic”.
When the head is a paedophilic faggot, then, of course, Dobson, Robertson, Hagee and the other theocons are all proven “right”.
Johnnie
I agree with Cloud’s article (which is obviously somewhat facetious and needs to be read with a bit of a sense of humour, boys). The Celluloid Closet comparison is apt. It’s not like JK needed to write a book called Harry Potter and the Secret of Dumbledore’s Sexuality (and let’s actually be grateful that she didn’t, cause yuck), but when the romantic life of every other major and even many minor characters in the series is generally addressed, the lack of even a passing reference to Dumbledore’s private life is a cop-out. And it seems very calculated to me to only reveal his true nature after all of the books have been published, purchased and read by the world.
And from an artistic point of view, I actually think her being explicit about Dumbledore’s feelings for Grindelwald would have improved the final book. His actions surrounding this character make WAY more sense if you understand that he was in love. It would be the same thing as her keeping the subplot about Snape’s unrequited love of Lilly, but only ever saying that he thought she was rather cool and valued her friendship – doesn’t quite have the same effect, does it?
Honeymaid
Who ever said he was in the closet during the books, we the readers didn’t know, but that doesn’t mean in the wizarding world he wasn’t already out but nobody cared?
I’m “out” but I’m not loud about it, anyone who asks or hints will get an honest answer and I don’t hide who I am. So, who’s to say that Albus Dumbledore never came out in the world of Harry Potter, whether or not it was written doesn’t matter. Perhaps, contrary to how the muggle world behaves, in the wizarding world, being gay doesn’t matter at all, it’s considered perfectly normal?
Why does no one think of that?
hisurfer
At first my reaction was ‘eh, who cares?’ The more I think about it, though, the more I’m really pleased with this. Look at it this way: we have four or five more blockbuster Harry Potter movies due. Kids will watch and see a gay hero who’s not a slut, fashion maven, or serial killer. Not that there’s anything wrong with the first two, mind you. Even if his gayness is never addressed or highlighted, the kids will know. It won’t be a celluloid closet – it’ll just be another facet of his character. My money says they’ll accept it without blinking.
And a big Fuck You to John Cloud for revealing he dies in the last book. Bitch has never heard of spoiler alerts?
Mr. B
It was just so contrived. I work with authors for a living, so I understand author eccentricity. But Rowling just…ARGH! She was so coy when she dropped that news, so proud of how she was working the crowd, and I was just thinking, “Please. You just pulled that out of your ass because you pay attention to your extensive slash fandom.”
Will Mushkin
This video previewed the revelation.
Play find the Dumbledore:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAeT4Il7V2U
The more obvious answer:
http://www.vimeo.com/339941