The Lionising, the Wizard and the Closet

[desperance]

Hmph. So Rowling says Dumbledore is gay. After all the books and all the reviews are written, after all the fuss is over, she trots this out.

Two things. If this is the case, it really shouldn't need saying, surely? It should have become evident, it should be at least inherent if not explicit somewhere in that vasty text. If it's not there to be read or interpreted, then it's not material and it really doesn't need saying. It either matters, or it doesn't; if it matters it needs to be there, and if it doesn't matter then who needs to know? Etc. That old phrase "show, don't tell" comes bubbling to mind; if she has to out him after the series is finished, then she hasn't done it right.

Also, I'm unimpressed by her choosing to do it now, at this cold dead end of all the hoo-ha. While the books were still happening, it might have been significant, even if only of a creative failure; now it feels both morbidly cautious and somewhat cynical, as though a final poke at the cooling ashes might ignite just a little more media glow.

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

That was my reaction, too. While I'm perfectly willing to agree that "Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald", that story in no way read to me as a romantic interest. It was a *crush*. I really don't think you have to be gay to have a crush on somebody of the same sex (or, indeed, that if you are gay, having a crush on someone of the opposite sex means you've suddenly become straight).

I also thought "Potter readers on fan sites and elsewhere on the Internet have speculated on the sexuality of Dumbledore, noting that he has no close relationship with women" seemed odd, given his friendship with McGonagle, but perhaps I'm supposed to assume that because it was a platonic friendship he must be gay. I suppose that means Minerva is too...