Sexuality! and Poor Writing! - JKR's Mistake

[Steve]

---  "Mike" <mcrudele78 at ...> wrote:

...
> 
> Mike:
> ...
> 
> On the one hand, I wish that JKR had added that one sentence
> that would have definitely signalled that DD was gay. It not
> only would have been more courageous way of handling this, 
> it would have been the illuminating canon that you have 
> alluded to above. ...
> 

bboyminn:

Well, I'm taking a different approach too. One thing people 
keep forgetting is that Dumbledore is well over 100 years old,
I think he is past the raging hormones and compelling sexual
urges stage of life.

Exactly how should a 120 year old man express his gayness in
the story? What relevant statement could have been made that
would have fit with the story as it stands. Remember this
is not Dumbledore's story, it's Harry's. 

Also, Dumbledore being gay is only very mildly relevant to 
the story, and is, in fact, completely unnecessary. 

JKR answered a question about off-page backstory, and I 
think off-page is exactly where it should be. I'm sure
hundreds of Slash writers would be delighted to discover
that in the backstory, Sirius and Remus were lovers, but
delighted as they may be, it has nothing to do with 
Harry's story, and it is Harry's story that we are here to
read. 

> Mike:
> 
> JKR's mistake, I believe, was not in answering the question.
> That, people could include or not as part of canon as is 
> their wont. It was, as Carol has pointed out, her declamation
> that Dumbledore is her character and that he is what she says
> he is. That was insulting to her readership, IMO, and denies 
> the primary benefit one gets from reading -- of being able 
> to create a world of the mind to illustrate the written word.
> 
> OK, enough pontificating from me.
> 
> Mike
>

bboyminn:

Once again, I say, people can't both want to know and not
want to know. People definitely do want to hear JKR's 
vision and version of both the back story and the front
story. That's why they ask questions. I have tons of 
question I would like to know the answer to, for example,
how does business work in the wizard world? Do the muggle
and magic world interchange goods and services through 
intermediaries? Do magic-aware muggle green grocers sell
fruits and vegetables into the wizard world? ..and many
more business related questions. 

But, if I ask, and don't like the answer, is that my fault
or JKR's? And does her answer really circumvent my own
beliefs? Am I not still free to write my own HP fan fiction
in  any way I choose? Am I not still free to reject her
vision, and envision the characters and setting as I 
see fit. 

When people ask JKR for her vision of Off-page aspects of
the books, they have to accept that vision. That is, they
have to accept it as JKR's vision, but they are free to 
write their own torrid love stories with Dumbledore having
the hots for McGonagall. 

JKR, in saying that Dumbledore was her character and she is
therefore free to envision him as she choses, I think was
a defensive statement to questions by muggle reporters 
that implied, 'how dare she say such a thing'. Her response
was 'screw you, I created Dumbledore and this IS his 
backstory, take it or leave it'.

Personally, I think too much is being made of the whole thing,
but on the other hand, it has kept the discussion going for
days. I mean, if it wasn't for Dumbledore being gay, /what
ever would we talk about/?

Just a few additional thoughts to the discussion in 
general.

Steve/bboyminn