J K Rowling’s recent announcement that Albus Dumbledore, one of the most beloved characters in the blockbuster Harry Potter series, was gay has created an uproar in the English-speaking world. While many have hailed the announcement, it has given a fillip to Christian Evangelists who decried the books as instruments of Satan. Others have criticised Dumbledore’s outing as editorialising after the fact, and that if Rowling really wanted to make a point about homosexuality, she should’ve done so in the books. But Rowling has been diligent in portraying all manner of characters in her narrative, be it ethnicity, culture, race or physical appeal.
Indeed, it would’ve been a remarkable omission if none of her characters were homosexual. In a world where gay rights are still a matter of intense debate, to have a character as well-loved and admired as Dumbledore be revealed as gay is indeed a Big Deal. The Harry Potter series has been a publishing phenomenon, with almost half a billion books sold to date. The movies have done extraordinarily well at the box office, earning $4.5 billion worldwide. As far as popular culture goes, it doesn’t get more mainstream than Harry Potter.
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