Dumbledore's Gay And We're All Better For It

Dumbledore gay? How could that be? The elder guide, the top figure in a fascinating world who leads the charge against evil, the man who mentors schoolboys – these are not gay roles. The boys’ refusal to even consider the possibility speaks of course to the fragility of their own emerging sexuality, and their nervousness about that which is not the norm. But to me it said something else.

The concept of “gay,” that which jumped into the kids’ minds when they heard the word, is associated with flamboyant displays of femininity – drag queens, limp wrists, lisps. Mincing swishes. Men called Mary. The fact is, Dumbledore is not gay in this sense of the word, nor does he ever actually commit a gay act in front of us. His love for a man lies in the distant past, and there are no hints of his being actively involved with a man, such as having a secret crush on Snape, though no doubt some creative minds will find evidence of such things now.

Despite J. K. Rowlings’ cunning revelations of Dumbledore’s adoration for Grinwald, and whatever others may winkle out of the text in retrospect, none of us picked up any clues to the presence of a queen lurking beneath his robes, which never bore the slightest resemblance to a dress.

What’s more, as we watched Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and co. stumble through the first flutters of attraction, Rowling seemed to pay no attention to the kaleidoscope of gender orientation in the way she did to that of race.

But now the news is out – and that’s the key. Now, and only now, could J. K. Rowling have unleashed this bombshell, if she wanted the books to sell.