As a mum of six, I’m glad I drew the line at the Potter series the first day I heard of it. There are far more worthwhile pieces of literature for my children to read than this series. I’m very blessed to have had discernment in this area.

Regarding the row over sexual preference, the alternate decision to choose a lifestyle of homosexuality, bestiality, or self-love (masturbation)is a moral–not genetic–one.

Ours is a predominantly foolish, arrogant society operating under free-will choices. When we lean on our own understanding and flaunt our pathetic human intellectualism as being wiser than that of the loving God who created us, we are to be pitied. Unfortunately, our choice to rebel and ignore His wise precepts always results in eventual heartbreak, chaos–and ultimately–death.

I mean, honestly, SO WHAT? It doesn’t do anything for the plot nor was it relevant or hinted at all in the story. I am all for more (outed) gay characters in fiction, but Rowling’s so-called “revelation” is utterly irresponsible and almost condescending in the sense that she failed to include such crucial information in the GODDAMN ACTUAL BOOK! (if she really did decided he’s gay from book 1 as she proclaims instead of some sudden, thoughtless, blurted-out, issue-making confession)It doesn’t do anything!

There aren’t gays in childrens books because it is unusal! It isn’t right and no one should support that lifestyle because it is a choice and not a state of mind. For all you fags out there don’t try and say otherwise because you know it is. The aren’t two different sexes for no reason you idiots. Dumbledore should be straight and i don’t see the problem of him being straight.

“And surely he is just the character you wanted him to be! I believe it’s clear he lived out his life at Hogwarts in a non-sexualized fashion, and it’s clear why - but not until the book’s end. He was badly burned by the whole episode, and he learned that, although love is the most powerful magic there is, it can leave you susceptible to the lowest of human impulses if you make poor choices in love and allow yourself to be bent by its awesome force.

Isn’t that in large part what you thought he was, and wanted him to be? Maybe this Dumbledore is more complicated and burdened, but he is no less majestic for all he’s been through. I think Rowling succeeded brilliantly with his character on many levels.\”

Iowa girl, yours was a well-thought and clearly stated point and had Rowling actually put all of that in the books I would definitely agree with you. Of course the story of Grindevald is in the books, but she gives no hint of their friendship going beyond being platonic. What comes next? If she had wanted the character to be gay and serve as a positive gay role model then she should have written him that way. I don’t argue with him being gay because I have a problem with him being gay. I just have a problem with an author telling fans how they should interpret characters.

As for you Toby, why does Paris Hilton continue to appear in public doing whatever it is she does? She has enough money to live whatever life she wants. Ditto any celebrity. Publicity stunts aren’t always just about money. Unless Rowling decides to go back on her word and write more HP books, that series is done which means her time in the spotlight is done. I personally will find it very sad if she spends the rest of her life telling people what she actually intended for each of the characters. You get the pages of the book to tell the story. There are no do overs. If Dumbledore being gay wasn’t important enough to be placed in the story, then it should be up to the reader to decide.

iowagirl, bravo! Your post shows education and

This is NOT a publicity stunt. What an insane suggestion! She is INFINITELY RICH AND FAMOUS, and there are no more Potter sequels coming; she does not need publicity. Let’s put the idea that it was for publicity to rest. (If you think her announcement is going to make sales of the Potter series go up, I’m afraid you’re wrong.)

Sometimes I wonder if many of the people who post here READ any of the previous comments…?

“It seems more like a self-serving publicity stunt than anything else. Pathetic.”

Finally, somebody with sense. Wake up people.

i am quite upset aobut this..and not because of his sexuallity, like Gandalf from lord of the rings, i always saw Dumbledore as a non-sexual being, and this has become part of the character that i have created (through JK Rowling)for him. why should he be interested in sex when he has such a gift and responsibility for the world and harry… its kind of like when u read a book, then see the character played in the movie by a compltly inapproprite actor.
grrr..

Clearly JK Rowling (or whatever her real name is) is just trying to be a good lib here…but failing.

First: The question she was asked is whether or not the character would ever find true love. The correct answer (if JK really felt being homosexual was normal) would have been a yes, no or we’ll never know. “Dumbledore is gay,” is not an answer to that question, unless you’re implying that gays cannot find true love.

Second: As some other posters have mentioned, sexual orientation doesn’t need to be addressed in children’s books, or in reference to children’s books. It’s time perverts realized that sex is not for kids.

I applaude the person who brought up the fact that JK was asked the question, she didn’t volunteer it, because it’s perfectly true. It was not a publicity stunt - it was an honest anwer to a question about her characters. And if asked if someone has ever been in love, the fact that someone is gay or straight matters a great deal, especially since she then told everyone who Dumbledore loved - Grindewald. As to the people who say that is has nothing whatsoever to do with the story, that is completely untrue. It had a lot to do with DUmbledore’s motives behind not fighting Grindewald.
Also, as to keeping your kids innocent and all that, well, kids watch/read propoganda about sex ALL THE TIME, in almost every Dinsey movie the lead male falls in love with the lead female, and they often kiss, which alludes to sexual desire. THis is also a common theme in most fairy tales; the prince falling in love with the beautiful princess,etc… However, because it’s heterosexual, everyone’s fine with it. But the moment love is homosexual, people scream that we’re corrupting our children. I find something rather sick about that. If you want to protect your children from sextality, than protect them from ALL sexuality, not just homosexuality.
And to the person who said that being gay was not the norm, my response to you is how on earth would you know? How on earth would anyone know how common being gay is? All we can rely on is statistics, and all statistics measure is how many openly gay people there are in society, which admittedly is bellow average. But all gay people? Do you really think that everyone’s going to be completely honest about that? Do you really think a mostly straight person with some bisexual tendencies is actually going to mention that in a survey? So how on earth can we possibly measure just how common being gay or being bi is? My guess is that it is much more common than you might think, and the reason so many people are so hostile to it is because they have suppressed bisexual or gay tendencies themselve that they have never allowed themselves to feel, and the fact that someone is openly gay threatens them because of that.
Either way, it is not a big deal. So what that Dumbledore’s gay? I think it’s great that a revered character in a children’s book turns out to be gay, but why all the fuss? Would you make the same fuss if you found out that Dumbledore had had a love affair with a woman? No. Anyway, it’s great, but I really don’t see why everyone was so shocked about it, because, frankly, I saw it coming.
Oh, and purposefully not reading a book because it has a character who happens to be gay is called being prejiduce. That’s like being angry that the author came out that DUmbledore is really Jewish, and if you had known that, you would have made the decision not to read the book. Yes, it’s your choice, but it’s a prejudiced, closeminded choice.
Oh, and I think the Patil twins were supposed to be Hindu, but I absolutely agree with whoever said that, that there should be a Muslim main character in a children’s book. But a lot of Harry Potter characters were not white - there was a surprising amount of racial variety for a small english private school.
Anyway, I don’t understand why being gay is considered such a big deal. It’s someones lifestyle. Get over it.

and as for the totally off topic comment on children reading about witch craft-that\’s stupid. It\’s a fantasy, and like most fantasies-it\’s not stuff that has or will ever happen. Let\’s not encourage our children to be so closed minded. I don\’t hear anyone whining about Tolkien\’s books and there\’s just as much witch craft in it.