Dumbledore was gay.

[Joe Demko]

Rowling herself says so.
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/10/20/j-k-rowling-at-carnegie-hall-reveals-dumbledore-is-gay-neville-marries-hannah-abbott-and-scores-more
I've never read the series.  Tried the first book and gave up after about 10 pages.  My taste in fantasy runs more toward Edgar Rice Burrows and Gene Wolfe.

[Laurent du Var]

At least he was not after little boys (wizards)
Or was he ?

(You read the book, didn't you ? If I remember right Dumbledore didn't
appear in the first ten pages of the first book, Harry was still the misstreated
orphan living under the stairs of his aunt, but I may be wrong and since it's after dinner on a saturday I won't look it up because it doesn't matter...;-)

[Manedwolf]

WTF did she do that for?

I liked the series for its pro-self-defense views, (everyone carried a wand that could be a lethal weapon with one word, and they sometimes had to use them in self-defense, the government at one point wanted to take them away and make people defenseless before the bad guys), but why did she feel a need to interject that bit of cultural irrelevance?

[Perd Hapley]

The whole series was gay. 

[Tallpine]

At least Richard Harris didn't live to see and hear this 

[Strings]

Heh... folks can be gay without being pedophiles...

 This is still, in one very big way, one of the most important series writen in recent history. It got kids to read: that contribution to society is priceless...

[Boomhauer]

I've never read the series.  Tried the first book and gave up after about 10 pages.

The first book was quite slow for the first few pages, IIRC. It got better, far better, after that.

The first book came out when I was back in middle school. I was given it as a gift from a teacher during an end-of-year party.

I tried to read it, but dropped it cause the first few pages were dull...then picked it up again...

[CAnnoneer]

Was the gayness relevant to the story in some way?

[Boomhauer]

No.

[wooderson]

If the character's homosexuality had ever been relevant to the story, readers would have known from the books and her statement wouldn't be necessary. It's a piece of the backstory she used to frame her characters - she probably had in her mind a number attributes and situations each character had gone through which were never explicitly expressed in the stories.

(nb: never read any of 'em myself)

[mfree]

Let me be the first to offer a prompt and salubrious "So what?".

[The Viking]

Let me be the first to offer a prompt and salubrious "So what?".

QTF.

[roo_ster]

Some folks don't know when to STFU, JKR being one of them.

I do not doubt her that, in her mind, Dumbledore was queer as a $3 bill, or became so as his backstory firmed up over time.

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

--------

Also, it is such a modern cliche. 

A person (fictional or otherwise) can not just have little interest in sex, nowadays.  There has to be some seedy backstory or reason why they aren't bumping uglies in public for all to see.  A good example is J E Hoover, former FBI man.  The lack of evidence of sexual activity on his part led to fools manufacturing a whole fictional cross-dressing/gay fantasy to satisfy THEIR needs.  They just couldn't handle the thought of some folk not being slaves to their impulses.

[Perd Hapley]

Actually, Dumbledore's relationship with Hoover was an open secret at the time. 

[Joe Demko]

Some folks don't know when to STFU, JKR being one of them.

I do not doubt her that, in her mind, Dumbledore was queer as a $3 bill, or became so as his backstory firmed up over time.

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

--------

Also, it is such a modern cliche. 

A person (fictional or otherwise) can not just have little interest in sex, nowadays.  There has to be some seedy backstory or reason why they aren't bumping uglies in public for all to see.  A good example is J E Hoover, former FBI man.  The lack of evidence of sexual activity on his part led to fools manufacturing a whole fictional cross-dressing/gay fantasy to satisfy THEIR needs.  They just couldn't handle the thought of some folk not being slaves to their impulses.

Gosh, you should contact her and tell her how she's doing everything wrong.  Maybe with your help, she could be successful.

[Ned Hamford]

I think it rather amusing that people seem more upset over him being gay than the fact he used to be best friends with the wizard hitler, grindelmore or somesuch... of course this new fact means he may have actually been lovers with the wizard hitler...

And JK says she is looking foward to the fan fiction...

[Manedwolf]

I think it rather amusing that people seem more upset over him being gay than the fact he used to be best friends with the wizard hitler, grindelmore or somesuch... of course this new fact means he may have actually been lovers with the wizard hitler...

And JK says she is looking foward to the fan fiction...

Probably because of the relentless pressure from the gay agenda groups that EVERYTHING MUST BE GAY or MENTION SOMETHING GAY, or...

Ever meet one of those annoying sorts who can't even order a sandwich without declaring that they're GAY?

That's why.

[Joe Demko]

I think it rather amusing that people seem more upset over him being gay than the fact he used to be best friends with the wizard hitler, grindelmore or somesuch... of course this new fact means he may have actually been lovers with the wizard hitler...

And JK says she is looking foward to the fan fiction...

Probably because of the relentless pressure from the gay agenda groups that EVERYTHING MUST BE GAY or MENTION SOMETHING GAY, or...

Ever meet one of those annoying sorts who can't even order a sandwich without declaring that they're GAY?

That's why.

Actually, no; and I know a lot of gay people.  Tell us about the times that you personally have, though.

[roo_ster]

Some folks don't know when to STFU, JKR being one of them.

I do not doubt her that, in her mind, Dumbledore was queer as a $3 bill, or became so as his backstory firmed up over time.

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

--------

Also, it is such a modern cliche. 

A person (fictional or otherwise) can not just have little interest in sex, nowadays.  There has to be some seedy backstory or reason why they aren't bumping uglies in public for all to see.  A good example is J E Hoover, former FBI man.  The lack of evidence of sexual activity on his part led to fools manufacturing a whole fictional cross-dressing/gay fantasy to satisfy THEIR needs.  They just couldn't handle the thought of some folk not being slaves to their impulses.

Gosh, you should contact her and tell her how she's doing everything wrong.  Maybe with your help, she could be successful.

Joe, thank you so much for demonstrating the current, popular misapprehension in your post:
What is successful. ~ What is right.

[wooderson]

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

Why?

[Joe Demko]

Some folks don't know when to STFU, JKR being one of them.

I do not doubt her that, in her mind, Dumbledore was queer as a $3 bill, or became so as his backstory firmed up over time.

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

--------

Also, it is such a modern cliche. 

A person (fictional or otherwise) can not just have little interest in sex, nowadays.  There has to be some seedy backstory or reason why they aren't bumping uglies in public for all to see.  A good example is J E Hoover, former FBI man.  The lack of evidence of sexual activity on his part led to fools manufacturing a whole fictional cross-dressing/gay fantasy to satisfy THEIR needs.  They just couldn't handle the thought of some folk not being slaves to their impulses.

Gosh, you should contact her and tell her how she's doing everything wrong.  Maybe with your help, she could be successful.

Joe, thank you so much for demonstrating the current, popular misapprehension in your post:
What is successful. ~ What is right.

I don't know where to even begin thanking you for all your post demonstrated.  So let's just take it as read that you left me awestruck.

[SteveS]

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

Who is her target audience?  The series ceased being 'kid-friendly' around book 4.   I still think it is ok for teens, but they should be able to handle the fact that there are gays in the wizard world.  It is not like she described any of Dumbledore's experiences.

I have a hard time understanding all the uproar over this, but I suppose people develop attachments to fictional characters and can get mad when they are not who they want them to be.

[roo_ster]

Thing is, it is not appropriate to confirm such, given her target audience.

Why?

My sig line helps carry me through such as the following.

wooderson:
The HP series was written and marketed as children's books. 

To be more specific, the target audience for the Harry Potter series was children ages 6-9 (many book reviewers' opinion) or 9-11 (publisher's target).  Homosexual content (or overtones) is not appropriate for children in that age range.

http://nhnh.essortment.com/greatbookslist_rtcb.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_109399_buy-books-videos.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter

To flip it around, I am sure folks watching Skinimax at O'darkthirty would not appreciate their soft-porn replaced with Barney re-runs.

[roo_ster]

I don't know where to even begin thanking you for all your post demonstrated.  So let's just take it as read that you left me awestruck.

That is odd.  One would think that a contemporary educator would be familiar, not awestruck, with the themes of age-(in)appropriate material and modern cliche. 

Curriculum debates could be expected to inform one as to age-appropriate materials.  Any emphasis on what is today called critical thinking ought to prepare one to face the, uh, herd of sacred cows that have risen in the wake of the slaughter of the previous holy bovine.

[Joe Demko]

I don't know where to even begin thanking you for all your post demonstrated.  So let's just take it as read that you left me awestruck.

That is odd.  One would think that a contemporary educator would be familiar, not awestruck, with the themes of age-(in)appropriate material and modern cliche. 

Curriculum debates could be expected to inform one as to age-appropriate materials.  Any emphasis on what is today called critical thinking ought to prepare one to face the, uh, herd of sacred cows that have risen in the wake of the slaughter of the previous holy bovine.

You just keep getting more awesome with each post to this thread.