To be honest, I’m a little sick of Harry Potter right now thanks to all this recent news. I have good reason to be. I have no problem with a character being homosexual, and that isn’t what this rant is about, but I do have a problem with begging for media acceptance and manipulating the public simply because you have the audience. The sad part of this is that J. K. Rowling has the power of a god among kids, so for her to say “being gay is cool” would be instantly accepted by millions not because they truly believe that homosexuality is okay, but because someone else told them so. Morality is not determined by those with knowledge, but those that don’t understand immorality. To simply tell people that something is right or wrong does nothing but implant an idea with nothing to support it.
Another thing is that everyone is playing this off as a big victory for the gay community when if they really thought about it they’d realize that it is far from the truth. First, Rowling never made it even remotely clear that Dumbledore is gay in the books. All the little passages being analyzed and flouted as being ‘hints’ at his gayness are nothing short of ambiguous–well, sorta. If I told you that when I met my friend Kyle we took to each other fast, you could take that as either he and I becoming fast friends, or that it was a gay relationship, but the more likely solution is that we were good friends. There’s little in that phrase that implies homosexuality. I particularly like this quote:
There are not enough gay characters in literature, the argument runs, especially in children’s books, which reinforces the view that being gay is unusual and not normal.
I’m sorry, what? How does having a character that is gay hide the fact that he is gay doing anything short of reinforcing the idea to children that being gay is strange/abnormal/different? Or alternately, how does not making it clear as the writer that the character is gay do anything but reinforce the idea to children that homosexuality is strange? That sentence makes absolutely no sense. To add, the text doesn’t do anything but prove that people in power who happen to be homosexual should make sure to keep that part of them hidden. What kind of victory is that? It’s not. It’s a step in the wrong direction for the gay community, but is anyone thinking about it? In fact, if Rowling had not said anything, most of us would have just thought him a nice old man and only a small, minute group of us would have fantasized–these being the same people that romanticize relationships between Ron and Harry, Malfoy and Harry, among others. I see this as a media ploy by Rowling, which sickens me. Maybe she thought of this all along, but to me, it doesn’t feel that way. Why didn’t she reveal it sooner? Why hide something like that? Would your poor sales have hurt because the Christians who read your book might suddenly avoid it? It’s as if this was all a forethought that Rowling thought she’d use to milk a little more out of her fans. The fact that she called it ‘fan-fic worthy’ despite her dislike of the dirtier side of fan-fic is a clear indicator of this. If she had truly thought of Dumbledore as gay, then why not put that in the book? Why? What is the purpose of keeping it hidden if it is such an important part of the character? The truth is, there isn’t a reason for it, and the likely reality of the situation is that Rowling just threw it out there because she, like the rest of us, realize that she’s done. There are no more HP books, and nothing more to add to the universe that won’t hurt its integrity.
Shame on your Rowling. Shame on you.
