Current Events > Who the fuck cares if Dumbledore is gay or not?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Romance is not part of Dumbledore's character arc.

Where does he come from?

Where does he go?
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Gay wizards probably care.
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Carlbertomfg posted...

Where does he come from?

Where does he go?

Cotton eye Joe?
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Not that I care now, but at the time, it felt eye-roll worthy.

JK Rowling was going on a marathon of answer questions and adding bits of details and lore to the franchise shortly after she finished. To add in such a significant character dynamic via interview (it completely re-contextualizes his time with Grindelwald) felt hackneyed. Also, it sort of removed the "quirkiness" of Dumbledore, and in retrospect, makes some of his sillier moments in the series seem borderline stereo-typical in retrosepct. (The very first time we see him, it's pointed out he wears high heeled shoes, for instance. And he's also described as liking traditionally feminine hobbies, like knitting) And this came out at a time when gay rights and activism was rallying. (For context, Brokeback Mountain had released only two years earlier. Homosexuality was the current hot-button social topic, much like #metoo or BLM is today)

To be fair, I'm sure much of the reaction was homophobia or general reluctance to accept a mainstream gay character, but there was enough behind the incident to lend credence to legitimate criticism. Not a big deal, but not really all that great either.
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The fact that he can't just be an ordinary gay guy going about his business really irritates me. Apparently if he's not the gayest gay that ever gayed for the duration of every scene he's in, it's some sort of outrage to a certain segment of the population.
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