Famous Wizard comes out of closet

Jesusabdullah · Post by **Jesusabdullah** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:34 am

Black Sparrow wrote:
jesusabdullah wrote:I really wish that JK Rowling would let her books stand as they are, by themselves. ITS OVER, let it be.
Actually, it seems that the MEDIA is the one who can't let it be. She was at a book reading, and simply answered a question from an audience member. The media are the ones who went all OMG THIS IS BIG NEWS!!!!1 Rowling was just explaining a detail about the world of her story... it's not like she made it up on the spot just for more attention.

Yeah, I know. I don't/won't knock JK Rowling for answering someone's question or anything, but it seems like a general trend. I swear though, someone's gonna go all George Lucas on us and make a crappy series of prequels or something.

(God I hope I'm wrong.)

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:47 am

rkolter wrote:
jesusabdullah wrote:I really wish that JK Rowling would let her books stand as they are, by themselves. ITS OVER, let it be.
Quoted for truth. Who gives a damn? It's never suggested in the story. It's utterly irrelevant.

It's nothing to do with the story (how the hell would it be?), but that's besides the point. These characters are real people to the author and she's sharing her expanded knowledge of them.

Tolkien had a million appendices for his loose ends and backstories. I am looking forward to a Pottercyclopedia .

Jesusabdullah · Post by **Jesusabdullah** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:50 am

Mr.Bob wrote:I am looking forward to a Pottercyclopedia .

Aack! No! This is, like, *THE* thing that she shouldn't do! I don't care if Tolkein did it first! Maybe I'm being irrational, but...geez, Jo. You had a good run. Let it be. Please?

Jim North · Post by **Jim North** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 5:20 am

There's already at least a couple of mini-books with extra information, actually: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Komiyan · Post by **Komiyan** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:00 am

cjburgandy wrote:the fact that it's not important is why it's not in the books. She has the right to tell a person who asked her a question the answer she feels is appropriate.

Exactly! The point seems to be that he's gay without it affecting the plot, so he's not a 'mandatory gay character'. That sort of token character would be an annoying stereotype usually, constantly reminding us that 'I'm the gay one!' as if it's their only personality trait.

I think that only mentioning it when asked something that relates to it makes perfect sense. I wouldn't state I was straight unless I was asked a question like she was asked.

I thought it was a really cool move by JK, in summation.

Jim North · Post by **Jim North** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:18 am

Having seen this news inevitably crop up in various other parts of the 'net, I have to say that it amazes the hell out of me that so many people are still going "OMG TEH FANFICTION IZ GOENG TO GO ALL DUMBLEYDOR GHEY!!!1"

Don't people read fanfiction? Or, to put it more accurately, don't people remember the reason they don't read fanfiction?

Now, I'm a fanfic author myself and I read fanfics on occasion. Personally, I don't really care if folks go hogwild with their random and generally nonsensical pair-ups between characters, gay or otherwise. But I do know that that very sort of thing is one of the leading reasons so many other people have such a low opinion of fanfiction in general. Surely they can't be so naive, therefore, to believe that there isn't already tons upon tons upon metric fucktons of stories out there with Dumbledore getting it on with every single male character imaginable (and quite a few unimaginable) in the Harry Potter universe and beyond. Any additional junk thrown on the heap because of this revelation is going to be a relative drop in the bucket, and it's most certainly not going to be anything new.

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:58 am

I've been crusing sidewalks and have found that the slash-fic community is simply outraged because Sirius and Lupin weren't outed as well. Come on Jo do the right thing

Post by **Mercury Hat** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:00 am

No see, what they mean is there will be more fanfiction of Mcgonogal trying to cure Dumbledore of the gay.

And all the Dumbledore/Hermione shippers will write revenge fics where Hermione goes back in time and kills Grindelwald out of jealousy.

Black Sparrow · Post by **Black Sparrow** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:10 am

Mercury Hat wrote:No see, what they mean is there will be more fanfiction of Mcgonogal trying to cure Dumbledore of the gay.

And all the Dumbledore/Hermione shippers will write revenge fics where Hermione goes back in time and kills Grindelwald out of jealousy.

It's funny 'cause it's true.

CaptainClaude · Post by **CaptainClaude** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:34 am

sweet, that's my favourite kind.

Duralict · Post by **Duralict** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:40 am

I get why a lot of people don't care, but why would you say it doesn't matter? If you'd ever been in a minority, I guarantee you would have been in a situation at some point in your life where you wondered where the people like you were.

I doubt many people have lost sleep over lack of Harry Potter hot gay action, but surely you get why someone would be interested? After years of seeing a fantasy ideal world which appears to have no gays, finding out that it actually did all along is kind of like suspecting your mother hates your piercings for years and then getting earrings for Christmas.

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:43 am

But to be fair those piercings look really terrible.

Duralict · Post by **Duralict** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:24 pm

Moms are always right.

Tellurider · Post by **Tellurider** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:41 pm

I said this in chat, but I find this news very disturbing.

Not because "omg a character's gay!" but because "Dumbledore? Getting it on? Whaaaaaaat?"

Dumbledore always struck me as a sort of sage, or monk, or lama, if you will. A guy who was just totally asexual. I dislike that now if I reread those books I'm going to be subconsciously aware of sexual tendencies.

I just... don't feel like Dumbledore would be into such earthly things. He always seemed more zen, you know?

Grabmygoblin · Post by **Grabmygoblin** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 3:10 pm

*sigh* great, now I can look forward to additional homophobia/misa from far right anti-harry-potter protests.

by the by, anyone looking forward to the shitstorm coming with the December release of "The Golden Compass" movie?

Komiyan · Post by **Komiyan** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 3:39 pm

duralict wrote:I get why a lot of people don't care, but why would you say it doesn't matter? If you'd ever been in a minority, I guarantee you would have been in a situation at some point in your life where you wondered where the people like you were.

I don't think why you're getting why people are saying it 'doesn't matter'. It's not a case of pshaw I don't care, what she seems to be doing is making the statement that sexuality doesn't affect things like saving the world and fighting dark wizards.

And jeez, guys, pretty much every character in the book had sex. Where do you think all the kids at the end came from?

The Neko · Post by **The Neko** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 3:44 pm

Komiyan wrote: And jeez, guys, pretty much every character in the book had sex. Where do you think all the kids at the end came from?

The stork.

CaptainClaude · Post by **CaptainClaude** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:03 pm

grabmygoblin wrote:*sigh* great, now I can look forward to additional homophobia/misa from far right anti-harry-potter protests.

by the by, anyone looking forward to the shitstorm coming with the December release of "The Golden Compass" movie?

apparently there are no references to god in the movie. they toned it down to get rid of controversy.

The Neko wrote:
Komiyan wrote: And jeez, guys, pretty much every character in the book had sex. Where do you think all the kids at the end came from?
The stork.

Awesome, cos you said it.

Duralict · Post by **Duralict** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 5:51 pm

Komiyan wrote:It's not a case of pshaw I don't care, what she seems to be doing is making the statement that sexuality doesn't affect things like saving the world and fighting dark wizards.

"Pshaw I don't care" is a position I have no issue with. But I think it's a little telling that so many people here don't understand that even a gesture as small as this is actually pretty significant in a medium that has never had a character this popular and well-known outed. And seeing how about half the responses to this thread have been more along the lines of "the book's over, why is she still talking about it," I think it's pretty clear a lot of people don't get why the press and so many people on the Internet care so much.

Tellurider wrote:I dislike that now if I reread those books I'm going to be subconsciously aware of sexual tendencies.

Dude's gay, not a huge perv. Come on. And wasn't it a major plot point that he's not exactly Buddha, anyway? I didn't exactly write margin notes in the books, but I seem to remember the whole last book being about how Dumbledore's not actually Yoda.

ryclaude wrote:apparently there are no references to god in the movie. they toned it down to get rid of controversy.

I remember the sequels being craaaazy anti-religion, but from what I remember of the first one it's pretty subtle about it. I doubt they had to cut much to get rid of the religious angle entirely, at least explicitly.

Jim North · Post by **Jim North** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:05 pm

Tellurider wrote:He always seemed more zen, you know?

He seemed that way 'cause he's gay.