Turns out you should never get a tattoo of a fictional character until you are sure you support what that character stands for:

Dad Becomes Instant Gay Pride Statement with Dumbledore Tattoo -- Towleroad for modern gay men,

I wonder if the actors who played Dumbledore in the movies knew about this. The first Dumbledore actor has already died, and my guess is that his replacement Michael Gambon did not know this when filming the movies.

I'd like to get an official explanation from J.K. Rowling and find out if she was even 100% serious when tossing this interesting tidbit into the news. I mean, this is along the level of if George Lucas were to decide to tell fans that Obi-Wan was gay.

All in all it may not be as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. For example, I'm sure we all know by now that Sir Ian McKellan, the actor who played Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and Magneto in the X-Men trilogy, is openly gay. I probably just ruined the Lord of the Rings movie for people, but honestly he didn't portray a "Gay Gandalf", and as far as I've heard, the Dumbledore in both the Harry Potter books AND movies does not appear to be gay.

So, gay or not, it's more of a behind the scenes tidbit, and I don't think it effects the story in a gay way, from what I have heard from Harry Potter fans. I've never read the books or seen the movies so I don't have a personal opinion. If I ever did read them now though I would probably be looking for Dumbledore to be gay. It might be easier going in and knowing in advance than finding out later.

Yeah, it really doesn't affect it to much.

I just am sick of the world thinking that if a guy likes or looks up to another guy with great admiration, then he must be gay.

That is a load of crap.

I will still read them, but man I am tired of it.

As the author of the series, J.K. Rowling has every right to make all creative decisions with regard to the characters. If she, as author, chooses to have a gay character, then that is her prerogative as author.

I'm not sure why anyone besides hardcore Potter fans would care about the sexuality of Dumbledore. Has any word come out on what ice-cream flavor Snape likes best? It would totally destroy the series for me if it were vanilla. He always struck me as a strawberry guy.


Edit: Sadly, though, I know enough about this whole thing to say that Dumbledore's sexuality was revealed after a fan asked the author about his past relationships. It isn't like she sent out a press release saying "Dumbledore is now gay". The press just happened to go bat**** over it.

She just always thought of dumbledore as gay, and it just never really came up before. :|

He doesn't do anything bad, or even suggestive, he just doesn't have a female romantic interest in his past :|

Who gives a **** if Dumbledore is gay? In all honesty, I kind of had an inkling of it once the stories became more focused on events outside the school. If you honestly think kids shouldn't read it, or that the book has been ruined in some way, you have never been a fan of the series. Just because he gets outed, JK is a media whore? She also had to deal with questions on the set of the next movie where one of the movie ideas involved Dumbledore with a heterosexual scene of unknown sorts (let's not think on that one, or any sex scene involving old men) and JK said that that would be hard considering Dumbledore was gay.

The Dumbledore business kind of made me laugh. I honestly don't know what difference being gay would make. All this wouldn't even be an issue if it weren't for an over-inquisitive fan. It doesn't even contribute to the story. Might as well make Harry and Ron gay because they're such great friends and because of Harry's unfortunate series of events with Cho.

But not only are they not gay, they never even hint at anything the entire time. The books even show that they're straight.



:|

Um...Oh noes?
If they stop reading the book solely on the fact that Dumbledore is now gay (which, as has been said, never really makes much of an impact on the story) then that's there problem, not Rowling's. Rowling is already so rich that a drop in book sales wouldn't really matter. It's your friend's loss, not hers.

Actually, i think it was a smart move.
the books pare published, done, adored.
people love Dumbledore.
even homophobes love him
and... he's gay?
i think it was more of a "goes to show people that gay people are beloved too."

kind of a cop-out to announce it after all the books are so adored, not during the craze. but thats my opinion.