Dumbledore's Gay!

Normally my media critiques and examinations are of specific news or entertainment artifacts, however sometimes a situation comes along which one can’t help but pay attention to. Last Friday celebrated author J.K Rowling announced at a book tour in NYC that the much loved and admired headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore is gay. She described how she had always imagined the character of Dumbledore as a gay man, and that he had been involved romantically with the dark wizard Grindelwald when the two were boys.

The news has rippled through both mainstream press, and certainly fan based communities across all media outlets, as people celebrate a beloved character’s outing. I personally was quite excited to the news--- as I’m currently in the midst of working on my own academic queer readings of the series. It’s been particularly interesting for me to watch the news coverage of this, and to see the reactions positive and negative (although predominantly positive).

The outing of such an important character---arguably the most powerful and admired wizard of all time is an astonishing revelation and a giant step forward for recognition of queer characters in the media. Far from the normal stereotypical representations of queer characters particularly gay men this is an example of a character who is great, respected, compassionate, and who we now learn also happens to be gay.

Rowling said that she saw her series bringing forth lessons in compassion. I agree with her, choosing to out such an important character in the book is a powerful step towards positive media representations, and I am grateful that she chose to take such a daring and culturally important step. It is my hope that she is paving the way for the creation of positive pop culture icons. Having these sorts of representations sends an important message to media consumers about the gay community, and helps to breakdown heterosexist ideologies in our culture by showcasing that there are gay people in society, and exposing kids to greater diversity, and lessons about love and compassion—central components of who Dumbledore as a character is in general.