Mr_Bandman
Time Turners
Well, if nothing else, at least we have something new to talk about, so here goes.....
To me it does not add to or detract from the character in any way....it does however make me ask the question "Why?".......She made some vague point about it giving the Religious Right another reason to hate the books (some fundamentalist Christian groups have denounced the series for "promoting witchcraft")......it would appear that She derives a bit of pleasure out of prodding those who would presume to criticize....I don't know......seems a little sophomoric to me....
Really, I hadn't spent any time thinking about the sexuality of any of the adult characters----I didn't see it as in any way relevant to the story. Now that I think about it, the only Hogwarts teachers who we know anything about in that area are Snape and Hagrid. This revelation, to me, will eventually lead to a soiling of the whole thing. Not AT ALL because of any anti-gay sentiment, but rather that it causes speculation that is not appropriate for the genre. What are the sexual predilections of McGonnigal, Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, Pomphrey, Hooch, Filch, Lockhart, not to mention those outside Hogwarts---Fudge, Shaklebolt, Black, even Voldemort. It seems everyone who teaches at Hogwarts in a single adult----are they all simply unlucky in love, or is Hogwarts a haven for homosexuals?
I am a teacher, and though I don't spend a single second wondering about the respective orientations of my colleagues, I do know that many of them are married or involved with someone, and a majority have lives outside the school. That does not seem to be the case with the Hogwarts faculty and staff.
So now its out there, and I think it causes more harm than good. It opens a door that not only was not open but many, I think, didn't even realize was there----it will inevitably become an open question about every character in the books. I just don't see that as necessary at all. What's next---do we question and whisper about the sexuality of Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf, of Aslan, Willy Wonka, and the Cowardly Lion? What about Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox, the Cat in the Hat, Dr. Doolittle, Barney the Dinosaur, and all 7 Dwarves? How about Bugs Bunny? Where does it end?
I don't see the point in this at all. The Reverend Jerry Falwell once ignited a huge firestorm of controversy over the sexuality of Tinky Winky the Teletubby. Not one single person who heard about that was without an opinion---they were either outraged, exultant, or they simply rolled their eyes in disgust and disappointment at what seemed to be a ridiculous and entirely unnecessary speculative argument over an otherwise entirely innocuous fictional children's character that could not possibly exist. What on earth was the point of all that? Must our children's fictional and literary characters have perfectly well-defined sexual orientations, or is it okay that Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo lived alone? Can Bert and Ernie continue to share a flat without any eyebrow raising?
I am disappointed----NOT BECAUSE DUMBLEDORE IS GAY----I really don’t care at all about that----I am disappointed that he is anything at all in that area. She has tried to make her characters as real as possible, but face it---they’re wizards, for crying out loud. They are all pretend. There’s nothing real about them. Why must this discussion take place?
To me it does not add to or detract from the character in any way....it does however make me ask the question "Why?".......She made some vague point about it giving the Religious Right another reason to hate the books (some fundamentalist Christian groups have denounced the series for "promoting witchcraft")......it would appear that She derives a bit of pleasure out of prodding those who would presume to criticize....I don't know......seems a little sophomoric to me....
Really, I hadn't spent any time thinking about the sexuality of any of the adult characters----I didn't see it as in any way relevant to the story. Now that I think about it, the only Hogwarts teachers who we know anything about in that area are Snape and Hagrid. This revelation, to me, will eventually lead to a soiling of the whole thing. Not AT ALL because of any anti-gay sentiment, but rather that it causes speculation that is not appropriate for the genre. What are the sexual predilections of McGonnigal, Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, Pomphrey, Hooch, Filch, Lockhart, not to mention those outside Hogwarts---Fudge, Shaklebolt, Black, even Voldemort. It seems everyone who teaches at Hogwarts in a single adult----are they all simply unlucky in love, or is Hogwarts a haven for homosexuals?
I am a teacher, and though I don't spend a single second wondering about the respective orientations of my colleagues, I do know that many of them are married or involved with someone, and a majority have lives outside the school. That does not seem to be the case with the Hogwarts faculty and staff.
So now its out there, and I think it causes more harm than good. It opens a door that not only was not open but many, I think, didn't even realize was there----it will inevitably become an open question about every character in the books. I just don't see that as necessary at all. What's next---do we question and whisper about the sexuality of Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf, of Aslan, Willy Wonka, and the Cowardly Lion? What about Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox, the Cat in the Hat, Dr. Doolittle, Barney the Dinosaur, and all 7 Dwarves? How about Bugs Bunny? Where does it end?
I don't see the point in this at all. The Reverend Jerry Falwell once ignited a huge firestorm of controversy over the sexuality of Tinky Winky the Teletubby. Not one single person who heard about that was without an opinion---they were either outraged, exultant, or they simply rolled their eyes in disgust and disappointment at what seemed to be a ridiculous and entirely unnecessary speculative argument over an otherwise entirely innocuous fictional children's character that could not possibly exist. What on earth was the point of all that? Must our children's fictional and literary characters have perfectly well-defined sexual orientations, or is it okay that Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo lived alone? Can Bert and Ernie continue to share a flat without any eyebrow raising?
I am disappointed----NOT BECAUSE DUMBLEDORE IS GAY----I really don’t care at all about that----I am disappointed that he is anything at all in that area. She has tried to make her characters as real as possible, but face it---they’re wizards, for crying out loud. They are all pretend. There’s nothing real about them. Why must this discussion take place?