Actually a Dumbledore post

My father and I had an argument about whether JK Rowling should have made it clearer Dumbledore was gay in Book 7. I argued that she was being cowardly by not-- and that Rita Skeeter surely would have mentioned it. My friend E, who I defer to on all things related to Harry Potter/cheese/shoes, wrote something that changed my mind. I imagine other people have been having the same debate, so I thought I'd post it.

"I know a lot of people have expressed dismay that Jo didn't take the opportunity to reveal Dumbledore's sexual orientation in the books themselves, waiting instead for the question to be asked. I've even seen her referred to, not by any of you but by other prominent fandom members, as a "coward" for only coming clean once the books were over and she was safe on her stage in Carnegie Hall. While I think it's silly to call her a coward for something I consider quite courageous (cue capslocked "DON'T -- CALL ME COWARD" moment :D), I did wonder whether it wouldn't have been more courageous, and cooler in general, to have made it clear in the books.

There are several good arguments for leaving it to the subtext (I'm not going to do any word play with that anagram, as much as I want to!). PS pointed out that it would have overshadowed Harry's story not just in context of the book itself but in the world's reaction; P mentioned that Jo might have been accused of pulling a cheap publicity stunt. I also think it would have looked like a heavy-handed attempt to include one gay character in her books somewhere -- much more so than the way she did reveal it, which has already drawn enough criticism for that reason.

When it comes down to it, there would really have been no realistic way in the seventh book to be explicit but casual about Dumbledore being gay. Harry's a seventeen-year-old boy who grew up in our imperfect world; as far as we know has never met a gay person in his life and was not taught tolerance as a child (who would have taught him -- the Dursleys?). Now, Jo could have chosen early on to make the wizarding world be different from ours in its view of homosexuality, and have Harry discover and come to accept this, but she didn't. She could have made homophobia a recurring theme, but she didn't. By the seventh book, there was no room for a Harry-coming-to-terms-with-homosexuality subplot. I'd like to think that the ways in which she does tell us about love and freedom and tolerance, through wizarding-world metaphors and a beautiful story, make up for the fact that she never championed the real-world political causes we care so much about.

I think the simplest and most reasonable argument against leaving Dumbledore's feelings ambiguous in the text, pointed out to me by V, is that if Grindelwald had been a woman, Jo would have come right out and said that Dumbledore loved him. I don't particularly disagree with this. I think, though, that if he had been a woman, Jo wouldn't have needed to say anything. With Gellert's gender switched and the text exactly as it is, everyone -- witches, wizards, readers -- would have assumed Dumbledore was smitten. Why, then, should Jo feel the need to tell us outright? Strictly speaking, we're never explicitly told that Snape had romantic feelings for Lily, either. Everyone just knows he did because of what we saw in "The Prince's Tale," and because he's a man and she's a woman.

Albus/Gellert is given similar treatment, but since we never get to see it firsthand, the indications are never as strong. I think it's appropriate for their relationship to be subtler. Snape's romantic love for Lily is one of the central mysteries of the series ("Finally, the truth"), while Dumbledore's relationship with Grindelwald is fascinating and enlightening backstory. It can stand to be subtle and ambiguous; I think being explicit about it would have been both clunky and unnecessary. I'll gladly admit that it's a little too subtle, and I wouldn't say no to some more delicious hints. But I'm sure it would have been clear to all if the dark wizard Grindelwald had been a witch."