Search Beyond Hogwarts:

Reference Desk:
•	Beyond Hogwarts FAQ
•	Wizard to Muggle Currency Converter
•	Harry Potter Spelling Reference

Pages:  <<  <  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ...  >  >>

Reader Comments: (Page 3)

Yes, HP is a children's book, but, those children grew into teenagers and started making out with one another like crazy and no one said, "This is a children's book, there should be no talk of ."

And, when the backstory on Snape turned out to be his un love for a woman, no one said, "This is a children's book, there should be no talk of ."

I am and I love the Harry Potter books. I love the racial diversity and the interracial dating and the parallels between the wizarding world and the underground 'weirdos' who don't fit the norm in our own, real world. But, I have always wondered why JKR didn't put characters into the books. I can understand her reluctance to do that, but, you know, the interracial stuff is just as scary to the haters of the world.

Anway, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that she came out (pun gladly accepted) and told the world that Dumbledore was . He's such an amazing character, so wise and good and striving to make the world a better place, I couldn't be happier that he is the one she brought out of the closet. It makes me hopeful that there are others in there, but, Dumbledore is a character who deserves to be brought out with dignity and respect and I thank JKR for doing that.

P.S. - I thought Tonks was , too. Oh, well. I hope she and Lupin had some happy times together. My heart sank when they d.

Posted by Susan from Florida on October 20, 2007 07:58 AM

The Harry Potter books are wonderful, and do encourage tolerance. J.K. Rowling stayed away from all "adult" activities in her book, so it makes sense that this was not mentioned to Harry. It would have been potentially creepy to have a school headmaster having a talk about his love life to an underage student, regardless of orientation.

Dumbledore is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series. In retrospect, it makes sense that he was . I never thought about it...but there are wonderful people, both straight and in this world so why shouldn't there be the same diversity in Rowling's world? In all these books there is such depth and detail to the plot. I have whole-heartedly passed them on to my daughter, who has just now gotten old enough to read at this level. She raced through the whole series in a month, and we've had great conversations along the way...

Posted by Laura from tucson, AZ on October 20, 2007 08:18 AM

Over and over, I've been seeing people say in their comments that "they had never thought about it" regarding Dumbledore's orientation. That's the part that is so great about this. Dumbledore was an exceptional wizard who captured our hearts and imagination... and his value had nothing to do with his . Personally I think it's great that Dumbledore is "out of the closet" but I think that this detail belongs in the same category as Neville's marriage or Petunia's inner thoughts: interesting tid-bits for fans but nothing plot-changing.

Hey, Neville married Hannah Abbot! I guess that makes him !

Posted by Heather from Platteville, WI. on October 20, 2007 08:34 AM

I can't belive it... I always thought Dumbledore's wife must have been ed by voldemort. But I guess this explains it, Dumbledore's . I wonder what harry would've done if he knew dumbledore was ?

Posted by Harrypotterfan101 from Portkey on October 20, 2007 11:55 AM

When I got deeper into the Harry Potter books I kinda knew Dumbledore was .

Posted by WEASLEYFAN from WALTERBORO, SC on October 20, 2007 12:20 PM

I'm 14 yrs old and I have read all the HP books. If you look at all the other clues, not just the ones, you see that Dumbledore is not necessarily . To me, Dumbledore is/was a great wizard and that is how I perceive him. He is a fictional book character and in books WE choose how we perceive the characters in our own mind (appearance, intelligence and most importantly, I suppose, their ).

Posted by James from UK on October 20, 2007 12:32 PM

Rowling's announcement offers further insight into Dumbledore's character. We know he "defeated" the Dark wizard Grindelwald. Well, it just fits now with the image we "see" in ly Hallows of Grindelwald confined -- but alive -- in Nurmengard. Imagine how placing someone for whom he cared so deeply in this situation affected Dumbledore; he had to rise above his personal feelings FOR THE GREATER GOOD of the Wizarding society.

Posted by Margot from Cherry Hill, NJ on October 20, 2007 1:08 PM

or not, Dumbledore was a great wizard, regardless of his . which, I think is not a matter of concern to anyone, especially in Harry's story. And PLEASE. SIRIUS was so not . he was a rake! He likes putting pics of bikini-clad muggle girls on his walls.

Posted by ritu bhatia from Mumbai, India on October 20, 2007 1:18 PM

Y'know, i was thinking lately how Wizards treated ity. And now the greatest wizard in time turns out to be ! (Not meant in a Bad or insulting way). That's just cool!

Posted by George from Roosendaal (Netherlands) on October 20, 2007 1:58 PM

First I'd like to point out that, during the time Dumbledore was growing up, it was traditional for men of a certain means to take a tour of the world... or at least of Europe. "intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together" - It means exactly what it sounds like. It was traditional to leave after finishing school to see a world. It supposedly helped them become a man.

Also, erm, I thought Aberforth was into goats? So does being or straight really matter in that case? He's not necessarily ... he's goat-sexual.

Posted by Heather M. from Orlando, FL on October 20, 2007 1:59 PM

No, I don't think we could of guessed this one. He didnt have any real signs of it apart from not marrying, which cannot prove anything. in one way he was married to Hogwarts I suppose. I feel that Jk again has shown that Harry Potter is for everyone, although it was a childrens book it basically had everything except a relationship. But with this info it shows how much of a genious she is.

I didnt foresee it and was suprised and laughed at it at first. i still don't see real clues to be honest.

Posted by Colum Roche from Kilkenny, Ireland on October 20, 2007 2:02 PM

I think that it is just fine for JK to make and reveal that one of her prominent characters is . Even though some people may think that it is too much for children to deal with, welcome to the real world. Life is full of different people, and the sooner a person can accept that the better. And with her not putting it directly in the book and obviously there is no interaction that is disturbing between the two characters in question, children that can handle the violence and scary situations that Harry is in handle the book just fine as it is. Parents can reveal (or not) the sexual orientation of Dumbledore if they want.

Posted by l from dayton, ohio on October 20, 2007 2:13 PM

Pages:  <<  <  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ...  >  >>