According to BBC News, J K Rowling's outed Dumbledore as being gay.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7053982.stm

I was interested by Peter Tatchell's comments on this:

"It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society. But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance."

I disagree with Peter Tatchell on this. I think making it obvious would have

a) been clunky as the stories are told through Harry's eyes and there's no logical reason why a secretive character such as Dumbeldore would have made his sexuality known to him.

b) Come across as a tokenistic gesture rather than something relevant to the whole story. Besides isn't not making a big deal of a character's sexuality far more tolerant and inclusive than making a big deal with it.

I always thought one of the big contradictions in the marketing of Queer as Folk, for example, was the way it simultaneously on the one hand tried to shock/titillate the audience with its portrayal of explicit homosexuality whilst also tried to show homosexuality to be entirely normal. And you can't simultaneously sensationalise and normalise something really.

Anyway thoughts? Anyone care? I'm guessing no so I'll sit and watch this sink...