Is Dumbledore Gay? Depends on Definitions of ?Is? and ?Gay?

[Tonks]

> Magpie:
> I actually thought that was a silly part of the article (not the 
only silly part, imo!). I have no problem with your imagining 
Dumbledore as a monk--it's as good an imaginary Dumbledore as any. I 
just didn't  like the idea that if he's interested in important 
things he must also be above sex. Why would that be necessary? Sure 
there are people not that interested and I don't think it's bad to 
write a character that way if that's the character, but it seems a 
bit weird to assume that the smarter you are, or the more committed 
to high ideals...the more "above" sex you must be. Why even "above" 
sex, as if sex is some lower form of behavior. 


Tonks:
There is the idea that to reach a higher state of spiritual 
development, or in DD’s case, a higher state of Magical development, 
one must turn from the things of the flesh. This is not my idea; I 
am simply passing on the teaching of the mystical component of most 
world religions. Christian monks and nuns are celibate. Buddhist 
monks are celibate, etc. There is a reason for this and it does have 
to do with increasing the degree of ‘spiritual perfection’ by 
turning the mind from the things of the world.  The author of the 
article I was referring to said the same thing in reference to all 
great Wizards. The same can be said about 99% of the worlds greatest 
spiritual leaders and Saints. I didn’t make this idea up. It is a 
classic teaching of many religions. There must be some reason that 
this idea is so worldwide. And I don't think it is all about putting 
women down as "daughters of Eve", althought in the early Christian 
Monastic tradition there was a componant of that.

Tonks_op