http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a649378/jk-rowlings-twitter-takedown-of-the-westboro-baptist-church-is-awesome.html?rss&ref=yfp#~pdZ6njuzNNYWIi
QuoteJK Rowling has once again proven why she shouldn't be messed with on Twitter, this time taking down the Westboro Baptist Church.
On Saturday (May 23), the Harry Potter author celebrated Ireland's vote to back gay marriage, responding to one fan who joked about her character Albus Dumbledore marrying Lord of the Rings wizard Gandalf.
The controversial church wasted no time in reacting to the result of the Irish referendum, and appeared further enraged by Rowling's tweet.
"So @jk_rowling wants Dumbledore & Gandalf to marry in Ireland; if it happens, WBC will picket! #NotBanned," they wrote on Twitter, with a campaign image featuring homophobic language attached.
.@WBCsigns Alas, the sheer awesomeness of such a union in such a place would blow your tiny bigoted minds out of your thick sloping skulls.
â€" J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2015
Hitting back, the author wrote: "Alas, the sheer awesomeness of such a union in such a place would blow your tiny bigoted minds out of your thick sloping skulls."
The Westboro Baptist Church are long-time vocal opponents to homosexuality and have also previously claimed that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are punishments from God.
I feel like watching a harry potter marathon after this. Give this woman a medal ^^
(http://hijinksensue.com/assets/store/images/shirts/dumbledore-is-gay-shirt-magically-fabulous-hijinks-ensue-navy.jpg)
Quote"Alas, the sheer awesomeness of such a union in such a place would blow your tiny bigoted minds out of your thick sloping skulls."
:clap: :rotflmao: :flowers: :syda:
Oh this is sooo good. Can't get over it. :lol:
She can get away with all kinds of things now that Voldemort is in charge of MI6.
*Sigh* Fighting WBC is giving them way too much attention, but sometimes it is funny to laugh at the global village idiot. 'bout time gloves are off.
Yer a wizard, Rowling!
Still cant believe she tossed that Dumbledore's gay. When she did I was pissed, I mean the character was so good and marvelous and i grew up thinking that such a character would be like a dream mentor. And then she threw and ruined it in the name of political activistness. I don't know i felt betrayed.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 02, 2015, 11:16:31 PM
Still cant believe she tossed that Dumbledore's gay. When she did I was pissed, I mean the character was so good and marvelous and i grew up thinking that such a character would be like a dream mentor. And then she threw and ruined it in the name of political activistness. I don't know i felt betrayed.
I don't think I understand your point in this...
What do you mean with 'dream mentor'?. (Seriously, it's a term I'm not familiar with.)
What do you mean with 'tossing' that Dumbledore is gay. (Again, a term I'm unfamiliar with in this specific context. I know what tossing means (throwing), but what does it mean in relation to his sexuality?)
And why do Dumbledore's sexual preferences ruin him?
I'm not trying to make you look like a homophobe here, I'm pretty sure you're not one. But it seems to me like you say that 5 books in or something she changed his sexual preferences, altered the character completely in the name of social or political activism. But in reality Dumbledore just happens to be gay. When she first imagined the story, she pictured him as gay. Before anyone even noticed and suggested; he already was gay. It wasn't until someone asked that she revealed this fact, but it was always there. Dumbledore hasn't changed, only your perception of him; and that sure as hell isn't something I could see as 'betrayal' on Rowling's part.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 02, 2015, 11:16:31 PM
Still cant believe she tossed that Dumbledore's gay. When she did I was pissed, I mean the character was so good and marvelous and i grew up thinking that such a character would be like a dream mentor. And then she threw and ruined it in the name of political activistness. I don't know i felt betrayed.
As Mr.Obvious above said, what reason would you have to look at the character differently because of this?
In all the harry potter films and books, there was never any indication of Dumbledore even having a sexual preference with anyone, he never talked about any relationships he was in, there was nothing to give you any indication of what his preference was.
And so in her revealing he was gay, as it was never in the story, the only reason you would feel bothered by this is because you have a preconceived idea of him being straight.
Thats what heteronormativity does, it sets a preconceived standard of someones sexuality in any media, when honestly unless there is some indication of them being anything else, you have no reason to have that presumption. And as he was a character that never talked about his relationships or past in general, you had no reason to think he was one way or the other.
The fact it bothers you something as trivial as this is put out their by the author means you value that more then anything the character did or was.
He was over 150 years old, IIRC, so who cares?
Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on June 03, 2015, 07:15:25 AM
He was over 150 years old, IIRC, so who cares?
exactly, it wasn't something that even would matter in context to the story.
Quote from: Munch on June 03, 2015, 07:18:56 AM
exactly, it wasn't something that even would matter in context to the story.
Except for his fling with a really bad boy back in his youth... That's kind of important to his character.
Dream mentor- a professor that id like to be in his class
My point is Dumbledore was a great character in A FAMILY/CHILDREN'S BOOK!
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:44:43 PM
Dream mentor- a professor that id like to be in his class
My point is Dumbledore was a great character in A FAMILY/CHILDREN'S BOOK!
So, the FUCK, what????? So, if you were to learn that in the family story of Snowwhite and the 7 dwarfs, that those seven were loving on each other, it would cease being a family story??? What a perverted little prick you are!
stfu Harry potter was a childrens book for young readers and snowhite is a fairy tale aimed at children not ADULT or YOUNG ADULT READING MATERIAL
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:44:43 PMMy point is Dumbledore was a great character in A FAMILY/CHILDREN'S BOOK!
And him being gay changes this?
Also, how is this activism?
I'm also at a loss as to why his sexuality would ever be a point of interest, let alone ruin the character for you.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:55:59 PM
stfu Harry potter was a childrens book for young readers and snowhite is a fairy tale aimed at children not ADULT or YOUNG ADULT READING MATERIAL
no, would you kindly stfu. Don't tout that bullshit about "ITS A CHILDRENS STORY, MAKING DUMBLEDORE GAY MAKES IT TO ADULT!" Incase you missed it, in the last book of the series, Ron has a vision of Harry and Hermione making out naked together, and even shown in the movie.
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/0c899c3b00754f7d64cd78d11e3a1872/tumblr_n0z7jkBCc31s54chlo1_500.gif)
So DON'T tout some bullshit of 'OH THINK OF THE CHILDREN' when all that was said by the author was the one of the main characters was gay but never said so in the story.
(http://i.imgur.com/MZZvyz9.gif)
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:55:59 PM
stfu Harry potter was a childrens book for young readers and snowhite is a fairy tale aimed at children not ADULT or YOUNG ADULT READING MATERIAL
So what--you are still a perverted dumb FUCK! What does knowing a character is gay have to do with being in a children's or an adult's book??????? I can just see the library in your house. Ooops, that guy in that story is bald--that's out. Oh my, a man just hugged that man--that book's out. Oh my, that story has a man killing another man--oh, wait, that one is okay. What a blithering, drooling, knuckle-dragging idiot.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:55:59 PM
stfu Harry potter was a childrens book for young readers and snowhite is a fairy tale aimed at children not ADULT or YOUNG ADULT READING MATERIAL
Soo...children's books shouldn't have gay characters? Is that what you're saying?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Harry Potter books had plenty of straight romantic relationships. And no one takes exception to that. But a character who just happens to be gay is bad somehow.
I just find it funny when people tout the excuses for why they thing a subject like being gay is 'to much for kids to handle' when such stories has things like implied sex, death, blood and all other kinds of things people in the 1950s would not be able to handle themselves. Its a bit different now.
uh hello gay marriage activist in a world that doesnt accept gay ppl yet
Anyway why the fuck are you attacking me for stating a fuking point. I swear.
And what exactly was your point again?
Quote from: Mike Cl on June 03, 2015, 03:01:57 PM
So what--you are still a perverted dumb FUCK! What does knowing a character is gay have to do with being in a children's or an adult's book??????? I can just see the library in your house. Ooops, that guy in that story is bald--that's out. Oh my, a man just hugged that man--that book's out. Oh my, that story has a man killing another man--oh, wait, that one is okay. What a blithering, drooling, knuckle-dragging idiot.
That's it you broke the forum rule and which the mods will defend you because they are total a holes that only care about their pussy world that likes to suck up to douche bags like yourself you piece of human garbage. I tried to be nice and cool but you fuckheads with your unsympathetic quirks are really asking for it.
I do have feelings because harry potter got me into reading and still love the series sooo much but the reason i felt betrayed is because yes she threw the gay aspect on dumbeldore is exactly like jesus being son of god wanted a matyr in a childrens book(my childhood book)but you dont care about that all you care about is pissing me off and thinking i'm a homophobe.
FUCK OFF
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 03:13:10 PMAnyway why the fuck are you attacking me for stating a fuking point. I swear.
Well, when you state that dislike an otherwise imminently admirable character simply because he's been revealed as gay, it comes across like you have a problem with homosexuality.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 03:32:29 PM
That's it you broke the forum rule and which the mods will defend you because they are total a holes that only care about their pussy world that likes to suck up to douche bags like yourself you piece of human garbage. I tried to be nice and cool but you fuckheads with your unsympathetic quirks are really asking for it.
I do have feelings because harry potter got me into reading and still love the series sooo much but the reason i felt betrayed is because yes she threw the gay aspect on dumbeldore is exactly like jesus being son of god wanted a matyr in a childrens book(my childhood book)but you dont care about that all you care about is pissing me off and thinking i'm a homophobe.
FUCK OFF
You are right, Draconic, I did break the rules--I apologize for that and to you. That was pretty childish of me.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 03:32:29 PM
That's it you broke the forum rule and which the mods will defend you because they are total a holes that only care about their pussy world that likes to suck up to douche bags like yourself you piece of human garbage. I tried to be nice and cool but you fuckheads with your unsympathetic quirks are really asking for it.
I do have feelings because harry potter got me into reading and still love the series sooo much but the reason i felt betrayed is because yes she threw the gay aspect on dumbeldore is exactly like jesus being son of god wanted a matyr in a childrens book(my childhood book)but you dont care about that all you care about is pissing me off and thinking i'm a homophobe.
FUCK OFF
But, apparently you are, as you suggested, a homophobic person. No other conclusion can be reached by reading your posts. That must be a terrible cross for you to bear. Maybe you should sit down one day have a heart-to-heart with yourself and figure out why homosexuality bothers you so much.
Oh, and BTW, young adult or children's literature is not free of complicated concepts, but it is written in a semantics style that the average young adult or child can understand. Being gay is normal and natural in the physical world, so including such in an book for young adults or children would not be unwarranted. Maybe a little growing up on your part is warranted too????
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:44:43 PM
Dream mentor- a professor that id like to be in his class
My point is Dumbledore was a great character in A FAMILY/CHILDREN'S BOOK!
Characters being gay isn't okay in a family/children's book? Why? It's not like they displayed rough sex or anything?
Myself if I were to take issue, it'd be more with the fact that all the old wizarding families are an inbred bunch of incestuous hillbilies concerned with nothing more than keeping the bloodline pure. Seriously; you've a seriously small amount of 'pure-bloods' marrying 'pure-bloods' that makes it clear that some of the families have been incestuous; I'll be generous and keep it to 'cousin-marrying-cousin', which I think was mentioned in the order of the phoenix btw. Now I think cousins should be allowed to marry cousins, though I'm personally repulsed by the idea, as long as they are consenting adults. But if anything, that is less fit material for a children's book imo.
And again, it's not political activism. He wasn't turned gay for any purpose; Dumbledore was gay from the start. And that's okay.
Quote from: Mike Cl on June 03, 2015, 05:42:16 PMBut, apparently you are, as you suggested, a homophobic person. No other conclusion can be reached by reading your posts.
I was thinking he might've just been a shipper and been upset about Dumbledore's homosexuality for that reason. That would've been a far more legitimate reason to be upset.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 03:32:29 PM
That's it you broke the forum rule and which the mods will defend you because they are total a holes that only care about their pussy world that likes to suck up to douche bags like yourself you piece of human garbage. I tried to be nice and cool but you fuckheads with your unsympathetic quirks are really asking for it.
I do have feelings because harry potter got me into reading and still love the series sooo much but the reason i felt betrayed is because yes she threw the gay aspect on dumbeldore is exactly like jesus being son of god wanted a matyr in a childrens book(my childhood book)but you dont care about that all you care about is pissing me off and thinking i'm a homophobe.
FUCK OFF
Oh, you felt betrayed, did you?
Well then, I guess you wouldn't like to know that J.K Rowling stated Dumbledore is primarily a top, but alternates between positions to bottom every so often. ;)
Quote from: Hydra009 on June 03, 2015, 06:37:35 PM
I was thinking he might've just been a shipper and been upset about Dumbledore's homosexuality for that reason. That would've been a far more legitimate reason to be upset.
Well, shipping is fun, as long as you don't take it too seriously. :D
(http://i.imgur.com/0hic59w.gif)
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 03, 2015, 02:55:59 PM
stfu Harry potter was a childrens book for young readers and snowhite is a fairy tale aimed at children not ADULT or YOUNG ADULT READING MATERIAL
The books were meant to be read one a year over seven years. So the final book would have been aimed at young adults.
However, all please note that Dumbledore is not "gay" in the books.
Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on June 03, 2015, 08:47:18 PM
The books were meant to be read one a year over seven years. So the final book would have been aimed at young adults.
However, all please note that Dumbledore is not "gay" in the books.
She just added it. if she wanted him to be gay why not just say it in the fucking book series.I felt betrayed because i felt attacked personally because Dumbledore to me is like merlin knowledgeable and kind and was the main badass cool good guy in the series and i wouldn't mind if he was gay its just like authors shouldn't go fucking shock people like that and social justice warriors shouldn't go parading that they think i'm homophobic for being shocked. You guys on this site are a bunch of dicks.I am not a homophobe because i disagree with an author because im a big fan that thought Dumbledore was asexual .
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 02, 2015, 11:16:31 PM
Still cant believe she tossed that Dumbledore's gay. When she did I was pissed, I mean the character was so good and marvelous and i grew up thinking that such a character would be like a dream mentor. And then she threw and ruined it in the name of political activistness. I don't know i felt betrayed.
I was pissed off because it smacked of cowardice. It was nowhere in the books, and after the ink hits the page, it's a little late to start filling in backstory. If she meant it all along, she should have written it in, and I can imagine either a) her deciding not to because she didn't feel like dealing with the ruckus, or b) being talked out of it by a Bloomsbury editor (who, if this is the case, fuck well should've been fixing the glaring plot holes rather than the character development).
And we know it's something she'd known all along, since she had to stop the screenwriter from tossing in a reference to a past girlfriend for Albie. What the hell
he thought he was doing making up backstory without asking her, I don't know.
It was five and a half fun books, though. Pity it all fell apart.
Quote from: trdsf on June 04, 2015, 01:23:40 AM
I was pissed off because it smacked of cowardice. It was nowhere in the books, and after the ink hits the page, it's a little late to start filling in backstory. If she meant it all along, she should have written it in, and I can imagine either a) her deciding not to because she didn't feel like dealing with the ruckus, or b) being talked out of it by a Bloomsbury editor (who, if this is the case, fuck well should've been fixing the glaring plot holes rather than the character development).
And we know it's something she'd known all along, since she had to stop the screenwriter from tossing in a reference to a past girlfriend for Albie. What the hell he thought he was doing making up backstory without asking her, I don't know.
It was five and a half fun books, though. Pity it all fell apart.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 04, 2015, 12:58:40 AM
She just added it. if she wanted him to be gay why not just say it in the fucking book series.I felt betrayed because i felt attacked personally because Dumbledore to me is like merlin knowledgeable and kind and was the main badass cool good guy in the series and i wouldn't mind if he was gay its just like authors shouldn't go fucking shock people like that and social justice warriors shouldn't go parading that they think i'm homophobic for being shocked. You guys on this site are a bunch of dicks.I am not a homophobe because i disagree with an author because im a big fan that thought Dumbledore was asexual .
You see I disagree with both of you. Fact is; Dumbledore was always gay. He had been from the start, so she didn't just 'add' it at all. She didn't do it to shock, she only revealed it after someone who asked her a relevant question in a Q and A. And guess what, if you get a Q in a Q and A you're supposed to supply an A.
And she didn't need to point it out fragrantly in the books at all. How was that supposed to come up anyways?
Harry: "Hey Dumbledore, are you excited about the quidditch match next..."
Albus: "I'm gay, Harry."
Harry: "Wait.. wha... Okay?"
Albus: "I like men Harry. I like sucking d*** and I like having my d*** sucked by other men."
Harry: "That's... That's okay headmaster."
Albus: "Yeah, that's what I make those men call me too."
Sexual preferences and oriëntation don't need to come up explicitely. That's not a reflection of the writer's lack of gut. It's the story's lack for the need for that revelation. Sure, it brings a new dynamic to Albus and Grendlewald's relationship, but you didn't need to know it to enjoy Harry's story fully. As a matter of fact, I find it completely normal that it never obviously surfaced in the story itself. About his own personal life, Dumbledore, never said much. So why would this be the exception?
Quote from: Mr.Obvious on June 04, 2015, 02:01:36 AMAnd she didn't need to point it out fragrantly in the books at all. How was that supposed to come up anyways?
Harry: "Hey Dumbledore, are you excited about the quidditch match next..."
Albus: "I'm gay, Harry."
Harry: "Wait.. wha... Okay?"
Albus: "I like men Harry. I like sucking d*** and I like having my d*** sucked by other men."
Harry: "That's... That's okay headmaster."
Albus: "Yeah, that's what I make those men call me too."
:rotflmao:
My fanfic! How did you know?!
Quote from: Mr.Obvious on June 04, 2015, 02:01:36 AM
You see I disagree with both of you. Fact is; Dumbledore was always gay. He had been from the start, so she didn't just 'add' it at all. She didn't do it to shock, she only revealed it after someone who asked her a relevant question in a Q and A. And guess what, if you get a Q in a Q and A you're supposed to supply an A.
And she didn't need to point it out fragrantly in the books at all. How was that supposed to come up anyways?
Harry: "Hey Dumbledore, are you excited about the quidditch match next..."
Albus: "I'm gay, Harry."
Harry: "Wait.. wha... Okay?"
Albus: "I like men Harry. I like sucking d*** and I like having my d*** sucked by other men."
Harry: "That's... That's okay headmaster."
Albus: "Yeah, that's what I make those men call me too."
Sexual preferences and oriëntation don't need to come up explicitely. That's not a reflection of the writer's lack of gut. It's the story's lack for the need for that revelation. Sure, it brings a new dynamic to Albus and Grendlewald's relationship, but you didn't need to know it to enjoy Harry's story fully. As a matter of fact, I find it completely normal that it never obviously surfaced in the story itself. About his own personal life, Dumbledore, never said much. So why would this be the exception?
Well, obviously it wouldn't have been done like that, but there were backstory scenes in which it could have legitimately come up (no pun intended)
en passant. Additionally,
every relationship she showed was a heterosexual one, so it's very easy to make an charge of heteronormativity here.
If she wanted it to be a character point, it's one she very easily could have made, even subtly. I'm not a big fan of authors loading up the details outside of their books -- if they meant it, they should have said it. The only point in favor of her not including it in the books is that it wasn't a plot point -- but if it's a character point that she wanted to make, she should have made it therein, not later, and if it wasn't important to the story, why bring it up at all?
Quote from: trdsf on June 04, 2015, 03:10:06 AM
Well, obviously it wouldn't have been done like that, but there were backstory scenes in which it could have legitimately come up (no pun intended) en passant. Additionally, every relationship she showed was a heterosexual one, so it's very easy to make an charge of heteronormativity here.
If she wanted it to be a character point, it's one she very easily could have made, even subtly. I'm not a big fan of authors loading up the details outside of their books -- if they meant it, they should have said it. The only point in favor of her not including it in the books is that it wasn't a plot point -- but if it's a character point that she wanted to make, she should have made it therein, not later, and if it wasn't important to the story, why bring it up at all?
Well yeah, she probably would've handled Dumbledore's coming out scene with more grace than I did if she'd decided to put it in. And I don't think Dumbledore being gay is that much of a character point even, to be honest. It sheds more light on the relationship between him and Grindlewald, but that's about it. Dumbledore's sexuality is one of the least interesting things about him, in fact. More interesting is why he would keep that to himself, like so much else. And that's a facet that the last book really delves into. Dumbledore, the way I see him, is a very conflicted character. Guilt over his youthfull actions leading to the death of his sister and his selfish quest to fullfill his own desires to shine and be admired have scarred him emotionally for life. He sees himself as one of the least worthy people alive and tries to shy away from both positions of power and fame. His experiences in Godric's Hollow have affected him so much that he denies his own desires and put's his own happyness last.
Which by the way could be a reason as to why he at first 'appeared' asexual and why almost nobody, not even in the Harry-potter-universe, knew he was gay. He doesn't persue a happy, loving relationship because his youthfull infatuation and quest for happyness resulted in so much grief. So the character-point isn't his homosexuality, it's his fear to pursue his own desires and the consequent neglect of them.
Of course, that's partly speculation on my part. But it's fun to analyze and speculate.
As to why bring it up after, at all? When asked a Q in a Q and A you reply with an A.
never was mentioned in books wheres your proof.
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 04, 2015, 09:08:10 AM
never was mentioned in books wheres your proof.
If it was not mentioned in the books and there is no proof, why are you getting your panties in a twist?????
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 04, 2015, 12:58:40 AM
She just added it. if she wanted him to be gay why not just say it in the fucking book series.I felt betrayed because i felt attacked personally because Dumbledore to me is like merlin knowledgeable and kind and was the main badass cool good guy in the series and i wouldn't mind if he was gay its just like authors shouldn't go fucking shock people like that and social justice warriors shouldn't go parading that they think i'm homophobic for being shocked. You guys on this site are a bunch of dicks.I am not a homophobe because i disagree with an author because im a big fan that thought Dumbledore was asexual .
Then why are you a homophobe? /puttingwordsinyourmouthforachange
Quote from: Draconic Aiur on June 04, 2015, 09:08:10 AM
never was mentioned in books wheres your proof.
Proof of what? That he's gay? The person that imagined, created and owns this fictional character says he is.
That he's always been gay? He's never been mentioned as belonging to a different group of sexual attraction, making gay dumbledore the default dumbledore. And not only that but if trdsf's story is true it shows she decided his sexuality long ago.
Proof that she didn't make him gay just to get on the social-justice bandwagon? Where is your proof that she did? Not once did she make a big deal about his sexuality, one way or another. If she had created him with the idea of rocking The boat, she could and would've made it a bigger deal. She would've pointed it out on her own, not waiting for someone to ask it.
Quote from: trdsf on June 04, 2015, 03:10:06 AM
Well, obviously it wouldn't have been done like that, but there were backstory scenes in which it could have legitimately come up (no pun intended) en passant. Additionally, every relationship she showed was a heterosexual one, so it's very easy to make an charge of heteronormativity here.
If she wanted it to be a character point, it's one she very easily could have made, even subtly. I'm not a big fan of authors loading up the details outside of their books -- if they meant it, they should have said it. The only point in favor of her not including it in the books is that it wasn't a plot point -- but if it's a character point that she wanted to make, she should have made it therein, not later, and if it wasn't important to the story, why bring it up at all?
We're arguing about Dumbledore being gay in a book series called Harry Potter. Of course it's not going to be mentioned that Dumbledore's gay when the books aren't even about him. No one in Harry Potter says they're straight randomly, so why should J.K Rowling have to write down that a specific character is gay? Orientation really isn't a good character trait, just as race isn't a good character trait if oppression is no longer present in their culture.
It's not like Rowling wanted Dumbledore to have a romantic relationship throughout the course of the story, so why should it matter?
Thinking that it is something forced that a book character is defined gay later by his creator, is like thinking it is forced that the writer said the character is having sex. If you think it's something more or less than it is, it only means that your norms are set by heteronormativity. And that's how you percieve anything from the outside world, by the categories developed in your frame of mind. Because you automatically assumed he was heterosexual, while there was not one thing pointed out about Dumbledore being heterosexual. People assumed he was, because it wasn't pointed out otherwise. He wasn't made into some 'other'. And that is the first bullshit here.
Other bullshit is that Dumbledore is a very strong, solid character in the whole story; he is a genius, he accomplished a lot in his life, he is great authority, the saviour, almost the 'castle' of Hogwarts and because of that people tend to fit that in to a heterosexual male norm. The best Wizard ever lived has to be a heterosexual male, eh? Right. :butt:
This happens also when a director casts a nonwhite actor or actress to play a celebrated fictional character. Because people almost always likely to think -including nonwhite and gay people- that celebrated heroes or protagonists are white and heterosexual. That bullshit has to go.
What's more, if they are pointed to be something different than that stereotype, they do not even make to be the celebrated character of masses just because they are gay or nonwhite. So actually, Rowling probably chose to put no clues for his homosexuality or any romantic relationship as being subtle in putting his homosexuality, so Dumbledore would easily be taken as the strong character he is without any prejudice. Otherwise people wouldn't see him as the anchor of that as he is. You seriously think she doesn't know that? :lol:
(But personally I think his first love was Gellert Grindelwald and at that young age, the conflicts they went through about magic people and muggles and the Grindelwald's obsession with power is a strong force in Dumbledore's life to fight against racism of the magic people. He is the only character we know he had passionate relationship. Love and hate. It must be horrible for Dumbledore that has to confront him in the end and probably postponed it for a time. So much that what came out from those conflicts became his obsession, why he led a life of the sort and saw anything expandable in the path way of revolutions. Even a boy's life who saw him as a father figure. Dumbledore is an idealist and a real revolutionist in the old school sense who are tied to their notions and ideals with their whole lives and take their life force from that fight, see everything in that light. Room for nothing else.)
Rowling created a world and a struggle based on discrimination of the fundamental sort and build a genius premise to show that to children -and to adults- between a fantastical race and a real one. It's basically the Nazi Germany. The whole book is about racism, discrimination and bigotry. Judging a group of people 'inferior' because of the natural traits they bring from birth. And people read that if you put it the way she did. Adult or children. They do not read some novel that shows the struggle between real world human races. We have hundreds of them. How fucked up the world is about this subject, besides the ongoing politically correct convictions of the Western culture. Racism is everywhere and everybody is racist up to a point. (If you are so fucking sure that you are not, take the Harvard test(s) -racism and sexism...etc.- and be honest to yourself. You'll be very surprised. More than 80% of the people who took that test reported to be racist against nonwhites, including nonwhites. Sexism test results are not that different. It's briliantly designed and yeah it sucks. And yes if you are not aware of this ancient bullshit ruling the world, probably you are white and male.)
I do not automatically think that anyone I meet in real life is heterosexual, because I don't expect anyone to act in some stupid stereotype. because I don't. Why would I assume a fictional character to be one? I have known gay men that looked and acted more 'straight' or 'manly' than the average John and I have known gay men more 'feminine' and 'domestic' than a prize winning Suzie home maker. They are all very different people, all they had in common was that they were gay. That's it. Being gay or nonwhite or any gender don't define somebody's personality, has nothing to do with their accomplishments. It's like saying "Dumbledore's eyes are blue?! How is that possible I am sure they were brown! They have to be brown!"
Besides, characters are alive in their writers' heads. There is no such thing Rowling 'should have done' or 'written' to prove anything to anyone. She doesn't have to prove anything. She created a world and rest is 'came' with it. There are probably a lot of details about other characters Rowling didn't share with readers, or even didn't put in the books. This is the thing with writers. Same with Ursula Leguin as she has said about 'creating' her characters. That they come out of nowhere and tell their story to you that sometimes they do thing even their writers didn't expect. Well, this is not one of them, but pretty much natural as the way it goes.