Well, my goodness

[pegkerr]

This will undoubtedly cause a kerfluffle the next few days.

For the one or two of you who don't know (it's all over my friends list, for heaven's sake):

Dumbledore was gay, says JKR.

Comments

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

Omg Peg! I am running all about my friendslist squeeing and using this icon. Nifty, eh?

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

I didn't know. Thanks for the heads-up.

Man, some people are being terribly silly over this. On some of the mainstream news sites, you had people acting as if there was actually sex going on in the books, and how they'd have to throw their books out and so on. Le sigh.

On a positive note, quite a LOT of readers seem to be reacting positively. Woot. I love how JK said she'd have told us sooner if she'd have known it would make us so happy.

[post-ecdysis.livejournal.com]

Yay, but ew. I mean, I don't think he is gay. I think that she _thought_ about making him gay, and then decided that it wasn't worth the negative reaction, and now wants to eat the cake and have it too.

[tassie-gal.livejournal.com]

Eh - so what? THough I can see how fandom would get all kerfuffly about it.

[baka-kit.livejournal.com]

So it wasn't just my slash goggles working overtime! :D

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

Well, he may be good enough to be a Headmaster at Hogwarts, but he can't be a ScoutMaster... ;)

[takumashii.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean! I went through all of the books not seeing the slash, and then when I read about Dumbledore's past I thought "Hmmm...."

[redbird]

Or was being realistic about how parents, including perhaps wizard parents, might react to an out gay headmaster.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Man, some people are being terribly silly over this. On some of the mainstream news sites, you had people acting as if there was actually sex going on in the books, and how they'd have to throw their books out and so on. Le sigh.


Whoa, you're right. I went and read the comments to the Newsweek article. How absolutely ridiculous.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

And that, of course, would be the Scoutmasters' loss.

[post-ecdysis.livejournal.com]

It's possible that this this tension has been influencing the direction of the writing as far back as Dumbledore's association with Nicolas Flamel, and I appreciate the tragic irony that the champion of fighting Voldemort with Love was unable to publicly declare his own loves, but still...

*** DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILER WARNING ***

To me, it has the same feel as the revelation that Snape was haunted by Harry's eyes. It is a very powerful and well-written scene, but at the same time it comes at the culmination of a six and a half year relationship in which Snape was not haunted by Harry's eyes. There is a fine line between revelations and retcons, but here is an example in which I think that JKR was so concerned about the negative reaction that she didn't even plant the seeds.

[rabican.livejournal.com]

I think it's fair that she didn't have one of Harry's teachers come out to Harry, because, well, teachers don't do that! Ew.

But I do think it's cheating to go around talking about HP as a tool for promoting inclusiveness - which she has! - and then not have any canonical queer sexuality at all. Come on, it's a BOARDING SCHOOL, like there aren't teenage hormones going crazy and gossip flying all over the place. She could easily have fit in a "Wait, Justin Finch-Fletchley is dating Hannah Abbott? I thought he was gay!" conversation somewhere in there.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

As always, I am dumfounded by the concept that IMAGINARY PEOPLE in books or TV shows are supposedly doing things offstage, on their own time.

I just don't even know how to conceptualize the question, "Was Dumbledore really gay or is JKR pulling our leg?" Please tell me that people aren't actually debating this question.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, it is even weirder than that. If you look at over the comments to the Newsweek article, you will find people claiming that they loved the books until now, but now that they've been told Dumbledore is gay, they are so disgusted that now they are going to throw all the books away.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

And after they do that, Rowling can hold another press conference and announce, "Ha, ha, I was only kidding. Actually, Dumbledore was completely asexual!" Then all those people who threw away their books will have to go out and buy new copies.

Ka-ching!