Dumbledore: A Gay Hero or a Misrepresented Straight One

Friday, October 19th, 2007: a day that brought the largest increase of controversy around the Harry Potter series since its inception. That was the day that Dumbledore was outed as a homosexual by J.K. Rowling, his creator. But was he really gay? There is very much contention on this point, for various reasons. Both sides present evidence for why he was or was not, and stick to their guns on their theories. Well, here is mine: Dumbledore was gay, and Rowling made him that way.

To a book (or story of any kind), the author is the equivalent of a god. They create everything out of nothing, guide the characters through the events they have determined will play out, and know every part of the universe they inhabit. Therefore, if Rowling says that Dumbledore is gay, do we truly have much of an argument against her? He is her creation. She knows him better than any of us could possibly hope to. So who are we to question the authenticity of her statements about her creation? I believe that it is incredibly clear: if Rowling says he is gay, he is.

Now, what would probably be the main objection to this (and is the main objection to Rowling’s statement as a whole) will be that there is no canonical evidence to support it. If he was gay, why was it not represented in the story? I have a response to this: just because the books do not state it does not mean it is not true. For example, would anyone reading the books question that Harry speaks with a British accent? No. But is it ever stated in the books that he does? I never saw it, and if it is there please point it out to me. Now, you could say that there is contextual evidence (he lives in England, after all), but perhaps he in fact speaks with a Welsh accent. Perhaps the Durselys (the family he grew up which, from whom he would have learned his accent) spent time in Scotland, and picked up their manner of speaking. It never says. But we always assume he speaks with a proper, ordinary British accent. But why is it never stated?

It is never stated because, in the terms of the narrative, do we need to know what accent he speaks with? Would it advance or change the story in any way? No. It is secondary. Included only if the author feels the need to. I am sure Rowling knows the exact accent Harry speaks with. But did she include it? No. So why then must she include a reference to Dumbledore being gay in order for him to be gay? Would it advance the story? Would it change it in any meaningful way? No. So why should she have to include it? The universe that is contained in the Harry Potter books is every bit as big as our own. Not everything can be included. But if the author has an element of that universe in their mind as they write their stories (which Rowling claims: “I always thought of Dumbledore as gay.”), even if it is not included directly it still is part of it. In fact, you could also say that she never says he is straight in the books, either. It is simply something that is assumed by the reader, as with Harry’s accent. Now, Rowling has corrected us.

Another theory is that the individual reader decides what is true and what is not. But what gives the reader the right or ability to declare the author wrong about his or her own creation? Nothing. The only time that the reader’s beliefs of the story trump the author’s is when you are talking about fan fiction. And, barring the author’s decision to canonize a particular fan fiction, fan fiction has no relevance to the actual story. So reader input does not decide what is true or what is not.

So was Dumbledore gay? I would say yes. Rowling says he was, and that is good enough for me. She knows more about the universe of the Harry Potter books than anyone else could ever know. If she says that he is gay, then he is. There is no more discussion on the point. I would say that is rather obvious.