Bitch, please.

[lotesse]

Okay, so...

I apparently have left the Harry Potter fandom. Because my only reaction to the Big Gay News this morning was, "Shut the hell up, JK." Dumbledore has always been asexual, the mentor figure, the old guy. saying he's gay is like saying Dobby is, or Hedwig, or the Weasleys' attic ghoul. Completely meaningless. Plus not canon. And come on, Joanne, you really couldn't have had the guts to write it in, if it was what you believed? Homosexuality is no longer cutting-edge, dear - just a grandstanding interview. She's throwing us crumbs, and they're really crummy crumbs.

And anyway, Dead/Evil Gay Person anyone? DD/GG does in many ways symbolically conflate gayness with the temptations of the Dark Side, and the fact that she NEVER ADDRESSES IT IN THE BOOK does nothing to combat that reading.

I'm sorry, but the obvious degayification mechanism of Remus/Tonks at work in books 6 and 7 doesn't leave JKR as looking much like an ally.

/bitter

Comments

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

Word.

[lotesse]

... I wish she'd just stop talking. I hate feeling bitter.

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

Homosexuality is no longer cutting-edge, dear - just a grandstanding interview.

ITA. It's embarrassing how she clearly thinks she's being totally shocking, yet progressive. Maybe twenty years ago.
Just makes me roll my eyes, like now the books have ended she needs to wrench more attention onto herself in case anyone forgets that this is her sandbox and you've got to play the way she likes. (Like the faux-naive 'Oh, you guys find that interesting? Gonna write fanfic?' OMG, Jo, you're so COOL, your finger's on the pulse! Or the mention of how Hogwarts is 'multi-faith'. Wait for her next prouncement that a minor character married another minor character of a DIFFERENT ETHNICITY!1!!) And of course sprinkled amongst all this Breaking News is the ole reliable 'OBHWF rules, admit it!' and 'I really hate Draco and Snape'.

As for Remus and Tonks, I see it like she's comfortable having Dumbledore be gay, since he's a) canonically dead b) ancient c) apparently celibate. The young hotties she seems to project onto more (like the Trio or MWPP) she seems more offended by the idea of people slashing.

[lotesse]

Right. because god forbid young people with active libidos have successful, sexy, happy same-sex relationships. If you're going to be gay, you've got to SUFFER for it.

[go-back-chief.livejournal.com]

Our newspapers have written about it, too, and I like some of the comments on Expressen:

Helt uppenbart så måste Rowling se till att hon får fortsatt uppmärksamhet när hon fått sin sista bok utgiven. Vad är det för viktigt med det här avslöjandet när hon tog död på Dumbledore för flera år sedan? Hon är rädd för att bli bortglömd.

Translation: "Apparently Rowling has to make sure she keeps getting attention after her last book has been released. What about this revelation is important when she killed Dumbledore years ago? She's afraid she'll be forgotten."

[lotesse]

Ha! That's excellent.