When I first read this, I pondered over it, considered it along with the plot, and accepted it. However, something drove me to read the various comments that had been posted under the news article.
I was incredibly surprised.
The responses ran the gamut from supportive to ambivalent to infuriated.
Most of these had one key line that surprised me. Something along the lines of "Why did she say that?"
(http://www.newsweek.com/id/50787/output/comments)
I don't understand how a character's sexual preference can change or ruin a book, but it does address the views of our society.
Bill O'Reilly, a conservative political commentator, referred to JK Rowling as a "'provocateur' who is 'going to let all hell break loose'".
(http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/24/oreilly-dumbledore/)
Should JK Rowling really be accused of a detrimental act, while she is just putting the spotlight back on an issue that is ever-present in many Americans lives?
Gallup Poll released several polls addressing America's changing attitude:
Do you feel that homosexuality should be considered an acceptable alternative lifestyle or not?
As you may know, there has been considerable discussion in the news regarding the rights of homosexual men and women. In general, do you think homosexuals should or should not have equal rights in terms of job opportunities?
Yet gay marriage still has not been legalized.
Do you think that homophobic attitudes have truly changed over the years?
What caused the vast amount of criticism Rowling's announcement made?
11 comments:
While I cannot speak for everyone, I don't think that the readers were upset because she announced that he was gay, and they didn't like the fact, they just felt that it didn't help advance the plot, and was a somewhat pointless thing to say. I both agree and disagree with this view point. I guess we now know why Dumbledore was sad after he killed Gellert Grindelwald in that tournament. I do not, however, think that this fact was important to the understanding of the book or plot. People should have been left to decide for themselves as many people had already been speculating that he was in fact gay.
But as for the bigger issue of whether people have accepted homosexuality in our society, I think there has been a more accepting feeling. People know that times are changing, and as seen in the graphs, they are generally becoming more okay with that.
If Rowling had never revealed that Dumbledore was gay, I don't think that many people would have known through the books. Even if some people did, I don't think they cared very much, and their findings certainly did not affect how they viewed the books.
People nowadays are more accepting of homosexuality simply because the new generation is more open-minded and less traditional than former ones. With time, homosexuals will eventually be accepted by the population because the world is becoming more accepting and "liberal".
I really don't think that this was a social statement by Rowling about homosexuality. I think that she was just informing her audience of how she created one of her main characters in her novels. So, this is not a detrimental act in my opinion. But if, for some reason, this was a social statement, I think it is wrong for people to question Rowling. She is just speaking out on a subject in America that should be addressed constantly, which is the rights of homosexuals. I know several parents were angry at Rowling for even mentioning that a character is gay in Harry Potter, which they might think will negatively impact their childen someway, but this is not a big deal. Many people are angry because they feel that this tarnishes the Harry Potter books a little bit. I disagree. And to one of the other questions asked by Annie, I think more people are accepting homosexuality.
So a wise man once said that once we say words, the words are no longer ours. For instance, after I say something, it's everyone's to interpret, not necessarily mine. That's why people pick apart each other's words and whatnot.
So I agree and would say that once J.K. Rowling finished the book the story of Harry Potter wasn't hers any more..it was for everyone who picked up a book. Her saying afterward that Dumbledore is gay probably upset people because the book had already been finished. I don't know..it just didn't make sense to me.
As far as the graphs and data goes, obviously there has been an increase in acceptance of homosexuality. Although I do support gay marriage, I would like to point out a gap in the information that Annie presented. The polls show that an increasing amount of Americans consider homosexuality to be an acceptable lifestyle and that homosexuals should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities. This does not say anything at all about gay marriage. The polls in my opinion simply state that people believe that gay people are American citizens, their lifestyle is acceptable, and that they should be granted simple decent human rights as individuals. Marriage, on the other hand, doesn't involve jobs opportunities or a "homosexual lifestyle," it refers to the union between two individuals. While certain people may believe that homosexuality is legitimate, they may not agree that a union between homosexuals should be deemed "marriage." That's why I think the polls may continue to show acceptance and yet marriage has not been legalized.
Personally, I don't think saying that Dumbledore is gay makes any bit of difference in the book. I don't think people really care about his sexual orientation because it doesn't change anything in the book. I think that people may be mad that she said this because it seems a little random and it's quite a while after the book has been out. When I first heard this, I thought it was a publicity stunt to further the book's popularity and also to promote her new series. (I think she just wrote another book, in which only 9 or so copies were printed and sold on auction).
But, as for whether homosexuality is becoming more accepting in society, I think definitely, yes it is. People are a lot more open about it and are more comfortable talking about it. I think this is better for society, that people can be more open and honest with each other. Also, people can be more of who they are and not like what society thinks we should be. But, I think there will always be people who disagree with what’s not “normal” or accepted. However, these are usually people who are afraid of what they don’t know or understand, what’s different, or what they are never exposed to.
The people who are criticizing Rowling for writing a gay character are probably the same people who don't let their kids read the book because it contains witchcraft. There are always going to be people who believe homosexuality is wrong just like there will probably always be racism, antisemitism, etc. Although most people in our socially liberal part of the country think this should not be a controversy, other parts of the country may be outraged. In my opinion, hatred or fear of different lifestyle choices is a product of the community and what is socially acceptable in a certain place, usually not what people truly believe.
Dumbledore being homosexual doesn't change anything in the book. There aren't really any real references in the books (unless you really dig deeply, maybe there are some hidden ones). Rowling making this statement seems more like her showing her viewpoint rather than having anything to do with her book or characters.
I agree with Keith. This revelation has very little effect on the book, and has to be a social statement. After all, we are discussing its significance in our political blog, aren't we? I think the fact that Rowling made this confession after most readers finished the series has proven that homosexuality has been accepted in our society. While it is true, as Eddie noted, that we live in a predominately socially liberal region of America, I have not heard anybody voice a problem with Dumbledore's sexual preference.
I think it is a good thing that Rowling has made this distinction. Maybe, by people who are influenced by children's/teen's books, Dumbledore's homosexuality has made some less accepting people realize that being gay is simply a characteristic of a person, not who the person is. If even a small population of readers becomes more accepting individuals, then Rowling should be praised for successfully improving relations within America.
I think Ben has a really good point. I think that by creating Dumbledore's character and realeasing this information, Rowling has made a point that sexual orientation is a trait of a person and people cannot be characterized as "good" or "bad" by this trait. I think it would be really interesting to hear Rowling's explanation of why she released this information when she did because I would love to know if there was some reason.
Regardless, her political statement is a massive message to the world,(not just the US) and I think it is cool that she realized how much power her books give her and she used it in an unobtrusive way to make a connection between the real world and the magical world.
I realize this is rather late as a response, and I'm not entirely sure if I am supposed to respond to what everyone has said, but I'm going to anyways.
First off, my point was that the changing opinion can be considered as rather superficial. Part of the changing American attitude can be viewed as "all talk and no walk"
I was using the responses to JK Rowling's book as evidence along with the comment about gay marriage
Yes, there was a significant gap between the topics of the polls and gay marriage. However, both of these address rights and discrimination. If we agree that homosexuals should have equal job opportunities, then what is it that drives us to deny them marriage. Our society, while being accepting on certain aspects of their rights, utterly denies them others. Is the reason that we promote equal job opportunities but not equal rights regarding other choices because the latter directly effects some people's religion?
Isn't the pursuit of happiness included in those basic rights?
In this case I dare say that the changing overall opinion is superficial because it only supports rights of homosexuals that don't have any direct effect on others.
Marriage is more controversial because it directly relates to many peoples religion.
Post a Comment