Dumbledore is gay!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/19/entertainment/e190351D69.DTL


I just read this article in the SF Chronicle. At a lecture/reading, JK Rowling outed Albus Dumbledore. While I have yet to read the final book and, therefore, don't know about the character she is talking about, I am very excited to see that this great literary character is all the more real and complex. Really, I am glad because this is another way that acceptance and respect will become part of the cultural discourse.

While there is still a long way to go in the fight to bring the rights of gays, lesbians, and transgendered people to where they should be---the same level as us straight folks---I think the public view of homosexuality is improving. I have noticed that since pop culture has embraced gay characters (Northern Exposure, Ellen, Will and Grace, Ugly Betty, etc), there has been a marked shift in norms. This is especially apparent at the high school, where there are quite a few openly gay kids. When I went to the high school, it was an unwelcoming place for gay students. While "gay" is still used as a derogatory statement, as in, "That movie was so gay!" meaning "That movie was so bad," kids are much more accepting and willing to befriend other kids of other sexual orientations.

This move by Rowling will help that much more. Yet another generation will see a strong, good, loving gay character with whom they can relate, as opposed to the over-the-top stereotypes of the past. Of course, this will give the radical Christian right one more reason to not like the book, as the article states, but, really, who cares? They are becoming increasing irrelevant with every passing day. They can't stop change. They aren't magic, after all...