Ms. Luvgood -
Just out of curiosity what is there to fear from homosexuality? What are you concerned about explaining? I mean if it was an 8 year old and I wasnt ready to say what sex actually was I would say they are in love and that makes them happy.
Thats just me!
)

I agree with Penny that it was not hinted at before.

But, in a practical way, the biggest problem I have is how do I explain this to my kids? If the Harry Potter books were considered grown up books, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with it. But they’re marketed it kids, and there were kids at this event. An 8 year old asked about Aberforth and the answer sounded to me like she would have given a much different one had an adult asked the question. But it shouldn’t be just about who is asking (unless they ask in a much more private forum). Jo had to know (1) kids were there at the event in Carnegie Hall and (2) kids would read her comments on the internet. She’s got to understand by now that all of her words spoken at events like this are transcribed and posted on the internet within a day or two of her having spoken them. I’d really like to know how she’d feel if someone came up to her children on the street and told them that someone they knew well, someone their mother had introduced to them, was gay. Maybe she wouldn’t care. Or maybe she’d find herself in the position of having to have a conversation she wished she could wait a few years for.

I don’t think it was a publicity stunt. I think it just was something that came up. But it was something she should have kept to herself. I just can’t believe she wouldn’t see how this new might not be popular with at least a large slice of her fandom.

I really hope you are kidding other wise your facts are incredibly off as is your spelling. I am praying that I missed a joke and am just being offended at something you intended to be funny.

If not –
1. Sen. Larry Craig was not liberal — very far from it. He was an ardent republican. He is as right wing as the day is long. In other words — not a liberal … at all…

2. Rocky Horror sequel –

3. I dont get the chocolate frog media thing..
(thats why I am hoping its a joke…because that made no sense to me so maybe its a joke..)

4. Teaching children that they can change the world and that it takes one person to make a difference IS an important lesson. Teaching them that it doesnt matter who you love its HOW is important. Teaching children as Dumbledore so wonderfully put it “that it doesnt matter who you are born but who you become” IS important. Lessons in tolerance are important CLEARLY for reason mainly so our children sound educated and compassionate rather than ignorant and afraid of things that are different. Not to mention, JKR asks people to think creatively and to hope. I work with children who come from awful histories and if they find something that gives them hope — even if its a fantasy world, I am willing to take it. If nothing else because these students need the ability to escape.

Again,
I hope you are kidding. While I respect your right to believe in whatever way you want I cannot in wrap my brain around hating or dismissing someone because of the way in which their heart works. I do not want to change your mind I want simply for you to get your facts straight before you spout and to spout in a more respectful fashion.

But I will go with you are kidding — it makes that liberal brain of mine sleep easier.

1-Hey, Penny’s right. JKR did reveal something huge in New York. She must be a real prognosticator.

2-Of course Dumbledore’s gay. That makes his actions in his personal life so much clearer. Dumbledore was so devastated that the man he chose to join his family was not a good man. That makes Ariana’s death so much more tragic. He probably thought he not only couldn’t be trusted with power, but also with any intimate relationship. It is as if he put himself into the closet, unwilling to look for another man to love, fearing he would make another wrong choice.

3 – Of course she told the audience with adults in it. The other sessions were all children.

I don’t believe she revealed Dumbledore’s sexuality as a media ploy. It was a specific answer to a specific question about Dumbledore and love. As she has been trying to teach tolerance for the last decade, it was one more area where we can see people are all the same. Also, just because her clues were exceedingly subtle doesn’t mean they weren’t there. Others recognized this possibility. Just because they all came from the fringe does not mean they weren’t right.

I scoffed, loud and long, at all the people who said Harry is a horcrux, and especially at all those who said Snape loved Lily. There were also people who said Dumbledore was gay. It wasn’t as big a rumor as some of the newspapers are making it out to be, but it was there. Who am I to say those people were wrong too? Obviously they’re weren’t.

Elizabeth

OK, I have a few things to say on this matter.

First of all, as long as there are no ad hominem or personal attacks in the comments and that the opinions that are expressed are done so with respect, clarity and maturity then by all means, please continue to discuss these topics. Remember, our tag line, “If you thought Harry Potter was just for kids, think again.” That means, that we can discuss mature topics with respect and sincerity.

As far as the revelation that Dumbledore was gay. Here is my opinion. I don’t care either way what DD’s sexuality was. I am looking at this more from a literary perspective. If there had been hints throughout the series that had the readers prognosticating about his sexuality and JKR finally confirmed that he was gay, I would have appreciated it more. I feel like this came out of NOWHERE and as a reader I don’t appreciate it. It is one thing to reveal post facto that Ginny played quiddich for the Harpies- well that was something we all suspected might happen and it made sense within the context of the book.

But this goes and changes the way you look at parts of the book. I would even have felt this way if she revealed that Dumbledore had an unrequited love for McGonnagal- it makes you wonder- What was it he saw in the mirror of erised? Or What did he see when drinking the potion? All we have are harry’s thoughts on those. So now canon is effectively changed but we never got a hint of it throughout the series. So that is my issue.

I am sure I will have plenty more to contribute throughout what will sure to be an interesting conversation.

As a person who thinks it doesnt matter what your sexuality is it matters who you are, a part of me thinks JKR’s decision to make this announcement was not a good one. Not because it does not lend anything to the character or because it makes me disgusted with the whole thing, but because the controversy of Harry Potter should not be about sexuality. It shouldn’t take away from the wonderful story it is and how children were reading. It draws a line in the sand that I didnt think needed to be drawn. I do agree with Vince who says that focusing on this will only make you lose out on the fun that is Harry Potter land.

As a teacher, I am wondering what the conversation will be on Monday, what will come out of my students mouth? I hope for tolerance but I imagine I will not hear it. I dont know, maybe what she did is a good thing. We are a nation that focuses to much on people’s love lives. Does it make Dumbledore less of a hero as we read him? no. Does it make Dumbledore more flawed? No, many have fallen in love with someone who was not the best person and been blinded by them. In the end does it matter? To me, it doesnt change my view of the character but I do wonder about Jo’s motives..

alright..I am done with my ramble..

JK is not perfect and I think many of us have put her on somewhat of a pedestal – I’m getting the same feeling I got when she went on that lawsuit trip about the paparazzi and her kids . . .

I think JK’s intentions were mostly good – perhaps she felt she ought to try and include the Gay/Lesbian community so as to provide a sense of inclusion into the world she created for those students – this could be me putting her on a pedestal again but I do think she has a general love of people and wasn’t necessarily being malicious.

I’ll stop making suppositions here – the proverbial cat is out of the bag, so I reckon all we do is deal with it in whatever way we see fit. For myself, it’s not a big deal as it has no real bearing on the story. A romantic interest/relationship with Grindevald does nothing to explain or justify his actions – were he a breeder, I don’t think it would have changed his actions as it is clear in the story that his infatuation lay in the fact that he an overachiever feeling trapped in a family situation that was keeping him back and it was the ideas that stimulated the relationship – it’s all there in the “Kings Cross” chapter . . .

Let’s leave it alone and move on – we all love the story and if you let something like this affect your experience negatively, then the only one who loses is you . . .

Sarah, my comments are from the point of view of a Christian who loves the Harry Potter books. I’ve been reading them since 1999. And pouring over every detail and every interview. That has put me, more times than I care to recollect, in the position of defending the books to parents who are concerned about what their children read or movies they see. I was so pleased with book 7, and even more pleased that Rowling openly acknowledged the Christian themes in the books. I felt that I didn’t have to defend her or Harry Potter any longer.

The problem with Dumbledore being gay (but none of it being part of the actual story), is that parents of younger children have to figure out how to deal with the information. If they are following scripture they can’t just throw out the part that says a homosexual relationship is against God’s plan. You can’t pick and chose what parts you want to believe.

The older I get the more I am tired of the politically correct stance that has been pushed down our throats. It has come to mean that if you are on the side of what is now seen as politically correct it is OK to state your views, but if you disagree in any way, then you are wrong, a bigot, intolerant, and the list goes on.

I looked up the word “tolerate” in my trusty Websters Dictionary–the one printed back in the 1960s, before the world became obsessed with being politically correct.

“1. to allow; permit; not interfere with.
2. to recognize and respect (others’ beliefs, practices, etc.) without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing.
3. to put up with; bear: as he tolerates his brother-in-law.”

So by those definitions, I’m a tolerant person, and have managed to teach that to both our daughters. But I would not be a good parent if I hadn’t also told them my views about all kinds of issues in the world. Our girls are grown, so this sort of conversation is easier. And you’ll be happy to know that they don’t agree with me; they both have friends who are gay and they don’t see it as wrong. I’ve met their friends, talked with them, enjoyed them. I don’t criticize them or try to change them. All of that falls in the realm of being tolerant, but it does not mean that I condone or approve of their life-style. That said, it doesn’t really matter what I think of their life-style. My opinion won’t be the one that counts when they die and have to account for the life they have lived.

Actually I just had this conversation with my 29 year old this morning. She, however, feels as I do, that Rowling should have kept this particular revelation to herself as it does nothing but cause controversy.

And Greg and Penny–I won’t be offended if you delete my post if it seems to inflamatory. But I felt that Sarah deserved an answer to her question. This actually is what bothers me the most about Rowling’s most recent bombshell. The Christian content, as she said, was always there and many people did see it. That Dumbledore was gay was never obvious to most people, only to those who were desperate to have a gay character in the story. She’s opened can of worms with this one, and it would have been better left closed.

Pat

Possibly, if the need to discuss this should arise at all, teach them tolerance, acceptance (what these books are about anyway…)? And why on earth shouldn´t gay relationships be happy and fulfilling? !

I found that bit of news regarding Dumbledore very interesting but I really don´t see why this is such a big deal…it fits with what we know about Dumbledore, it doesn´t change anything.

I really was disappointed that Rowling felt the need to reveal Dumbledore’s sexual orientation. I didn’t see any hint of it in the book, so what’s the point of telling it now? It’s only going to cause controversy and split the Harry Potter community as well. It really seemed like some sort of bad publicity stunt to me, and I thought she was above that sort of cheap trick.

She knows that these books are read by a large number of children, even though she has said she wrote the story for herself. So what are the parents of all those children supposed to do with this information? And there’s no hope that they won’t hear it. Kids have enough trouble sorting out how boy/girl relationships work. My daughters are adults, so thankfully it isn’t a problem for me.

The only good thing is that she doesn’t show that Dumbledore’s relationship was a happy one or a lasting one. But those who are happy to see a gay character are not acknowledging that part at all. What she does show for lasting happy relationships are the married heterosexual couples of the Weasleys, James and Lily, the Lupins (after a little glitch), and even the Dursleys (who seem to be happy with each other, weird as they both are). Even Snape’s “always” love for Lily falls right in there.

She doesn’t, however light-hearted her comments were at Carnegie Hall about Dumbledore being gay, show a gay character who has an easy or a happy relationship. I’ll take my consolation from that view point, I suppose.

One more thing, if that’s an indication of what will be in the promised encyclopedia, I’ll pass. Like some others, I think it’s time for her to stop talking about the books. They can stand on their own merit very nicely–and she should let them.

Pat

What!!!!!!

this is what was on the front page of our Houston Paper today ..
Dumbledore Gay!!!