JKR is my god. Or not.

"I had always seen Dumbledore as gay, but in a sense that's not a big deal. The book wasn't about Dumbledore being gay. It was just that from the outset obviously I knew he had this big, hidden secret, and that he flirted with the idea of exactly what Voldemort goes on to do, he flirted with the idea of racial domination, that he was going to subjugate the Muggles. So that was Dumbledore's big secret.

Why did did he flirt with that?" she asks. "He's an innately good man, what would make him do that. I didnt even think it through that way, it just seemed to come to me, I thought 'I know why he did it, he fell in love.' And whether they physically consummated this infatuation or not is not the issue. The issue is love. It's not about sex. So that's what I knew about Dumbledore. And it's relevant only in so much as he fell in love and was made an utter fool of by love. He lost his moral compass completely when he fell in love and I think subsequently became very mistrusting of his own judgment in those matters so became quite asexual. He led a celibate and bookish life."

Clearly some people didn't see it that way. How does she react to those who disagree with a homosexual character in a children's novel? "So what?" she retorts immediately "It is a very interesting question because I think homophobia is a fear of people loving, more than it is of the sexual act. There seems to be an innate distaste for the love involved, which I find absolutely extraordinary. There were people who thought, well why haven't we seen Dumbledore's angst about being gay?" Rowling is clearly amused by this and rightly so. "Where was that going to come in? And then the other thing was-and I had letters saying this-that, as a gay man, he would never be safe to teach in a school."

An air of incredulity descends on the room as if Rowling herself still can not believe this statement. She continues: "He's a very old single man. You have to ask: why is it so interesting? People have to examine their own attitudes. It's a shade of character. Is it the most important thing about him? No, it's Dumbledore for God's sake. There are 20 things that are relavant to the story before his sexuality." Bottom line then: he isn't a gay character; he's a character that just happens to be gay. Rowling concurs wholeheartedly.

I belong to the camp that doesn't mind that JKR isn't disclosing everything under the sun. I'm sure there are plenty of things that she never set down in concrete besides whether ADGG was consummated or not. Just like I suspect she never delved deep into Grindelwald's background. But just being completely realistic about things - two months, two teenage boys - it's not likely that they're going to keep their hands to themselves. Even if Gellert is slutting it up to manipulate Albus, I'm sure he's also doing it to vent some frustration...maybe I read too much into it...

Anyway, that's the way I've always seen ADGG. In a way, it mirrors the pattern of other relationships in the Potterverse. Like Harry/Ginny. Ginny was in love with Harry (just as Albus was in love with Gellert), then there's a cooling-off period when Ginny gets over him, then Harry, through adversity, slowly comes to realise that he's liked Ginny all along (Gellert reflects and realises Albus was the one for him) except in their case there isn't a happy ending. Okay it's a vast oversimplification...but hopefully you kind of get what I'm getting at?

There will ALWAYS be people who are unhappy with the announcement that Dumbledore was celibate, just as many people are unhappy with the fact that George married his twin's ex. Or that Harry and Ginny didn't choose creative names for their offspring. Or that Luna married someone whose grandfather was born in the 19th century. This is just how JKR has arranged her universe. We're just guests in it. I don't think it's our place to go and bitch about what she chooses to do with it - would you tell your grandma to invest in air freshener and a new sofa? I don't like some things about my grandma's house. But I either tolerate them, or leave for my own place - it would be really rude if I told her that her place smells and her furniture is tacky. It would be invalidating her position as mistress of her house.

JKR is not God. She has imperfections and shortcomings like any other writer. There will be holes in her universe like any other fantasy universe. But most of all, just like any human being, she carries stereotypes and assumptions in her head. And on the Grindeldore debate, I'm sure her publicist has gone through the fact that she can't win no matter what she says. If she says one thing, bigoted morons like the one in the Sun Herald in Sydney a few months ago will have a field day. If she says the other, then people like us, who are fighting for LGBTQ rights, will be enraged. I understand why she's keeping her mouth shut and trying to suspend judgment on it, and why she's done some of the things she has. I don't think many other writers in history have been pulled up and judged in the same way she has.