Sexualized Saturdays: Is Dumbledore actually Gay?

Yes, Blackout is going back to his Mugglenet roots. Sue me. It was a foregone conclusion that I would eventually tackle an old argument I wrote about a long time ago, in another life.

When J.K. Rowling revealed in 2007 that Albus Dumbledore, beloved mentor to Harry Potter and headmaster of Hogwarts, was gay, the world naturally split down the middle. Half thought it was an affront, and made everything Dumbledore said to Harry look “oddly creepy,” like Dumbledore was the wizard Jerry Sandusky. The other half thought it showed that there was equality in the wizarding world that once again vaulted wizarding culture above the Muggle culture.

I personally didn’t care.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I thought it put everything Dumbledore with Gellert Grindelwald in a different light. However, that’s where the line was drawn. I never thought Dumbledore was aiming to jump into a sexual relationship with Harry. I didn’t start writing Dumbledore/Snape fanfics. I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on.

Why? Because, after Grindelwald and the Dumbledores did their Mexican Standoff, resulting in Ariana Dumbledore’s death and Grindelwald’s beginning journey to becoming the most powerful dark wizard ever (and probably influencing Hitler’s rise to power, although I will touch on that in a later article), Dumbledore’s depression changed his sexuality. Was he gay? According to Rowling, he was, and that’s good enough for me. But when the man you love is the direct cause of your sister’s death, you tend to lose the ability to love.

Dumbledore took the opposite path, I believe. He shifted from homosexuality to pansexuality, opting to love all things good as opposed to loving a male or female.

And, really, that makes the most sense. After your first love kills your sister because of the temptation of dark magic, it could shift your wishes to protect and defend the defenseless good. Being a teacher would be a natural career path then. Dumbledore could use his knowledge of the evils of dark magic to protect good. In the end, his love of good overpowers his love of Grindelwald, and Dumbledore defeats the Elder Wand in 1945 (although whether there was a duel or not is a very strong debate among Potterheads.)

So when Dumbledore passed away, I doubt he was “gay.” Yes, he may still be sexually attracted to men, but Dumbledore had no further need to be sexually attracted to anything. In his mind, his love was for good.

Dumbledore did love Harry Potter, but I don’t think there was ever a worry that Rowling was going to have Dumbledore try to make sexual advances on Potter. Rather, Potter was his redemption for everything his first love, and the ensuing destruction all dark magic creates, did to the world.

And now, fan service.

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