Albus Dumbledore and the Chamber of Secret Orientations
One of the largest arguments I’ve seen in the Harry Potter fandom has been about whether Dumbledore is considered adequate gay representation. (I use gay rather than one of the more inclusive acronyms because Dumbledore is a cis gay man, and therefore does not represent any of the other letters.)
Lots of people, myself included, would say that Dumbledore doesn’t count as representation because his sexuality was announced after the publication of the books, rather than as part of the story. Others say that it fits into canon really well, and that it could be inferred through close reading of the books. This would mean that JKR was clarifying information that was already there, rather than adding new information.
The question still stands as to why it wasn’t explicitly mentioned. There are three main fan theories I’ve seen justifying JKR’s decision not to state that Dumbledore is gay within the books. In this post I will give some arguments for and against each of these theories, as well as one possible way Dumbledore’s sexual orientation could still have been mentioned outright within those contexts.
The Wizarding World is homophobic so it was not safe for Dumbledore to come out.
-There are no other canonically LGBTQ+ characters in the series, which upholds the idea that most people are closeted.
-The wizarding world has a strong traditional streak which could easily include homophobia.
-Erasure is only one aspect of homophobia. Others include harassment, jokes and derogatory comments, and other things that are not apparent in the books. The only homophobic comment is made at the beginning of book five by Dudley Dursley, who is not a wizard.
-Dumbledore is the sort of person who stands up for his beliefs even if they’re unpopular. Do you think he’d really stand by and let homophobia run rampant without any mention of it at all?
How Dumbledore’s Sexual Orientation Could Have Been Included
-While nobody likes a forced outing, if the wizarding world is this homophobic it stands to reason that Rita Skeetor would comment on Dumbledore’s sexual orientation in her attempts to defame him in book seven. Alternatively, it could have been mentioned by anyone in the Order when talking about unfair prejudices in the wizarding world, especially Dumbledore himself.
The Wizarding World is so accepting of gay people that Dumbledore never had to say it outright because straight is not considered the default.
-The aforementioned lack of blatant homophobia in the wizarding world.
-Based on Dumbledore’s character, he’s far less likely to mention it if he doesn’t consider it to be a big deal.
-In a world where straight is not the default, we would have seen same-gender couples at the Yule Ball and similar events. If there’s no reason not to come out, the odds of Harry not knowing a single gay person are staggeringly low.
-By not including other LGBTQ+ characters, JKR does not challenge the idea of straight as default. While it is sad that this needs to be challenged, the lack of LGBTQ+ characters in literature and TV mean that we are likely to assume characters are straight and cis until proven otherwise. To write a world with rules and defaults that are different then our ingrained ones, you have to do something to indicate this or we won’t know it, and sadly JKR does not do this in Harry Potter
How Dumbledore’s Sexual Orientation Could Have Been Included
If the world is really that accepting, the information would probably have been out there. While Dumbledore may be too private to mention his own relationships to students, a serious relationship might have been mentioned in a biography of him or by someone who knows him well like Elphias Doge. Alternatively, enough other gay characters could have mentioned that the reader would know that straight is not the default in this world.
Regardless of how the Wizarding World feels about it, Dumbledore was out; Harry was just too oblivious to notice, especially since Dumbledore is so private.
-Harry does tend to hyperfocus on certain things and ignore others. For example, he was so busy trying to contact Sirius by Floo in Book 5 that he forgets that Sirius gave him another tool for communicating.
-Dumbledore is very private, so someone like Harry who misses out on certain details definitely might not notice that he’s gay.
-Just because Harry is initially oblivious to something doesn’t mean no one will ever point it out to him. For example, he didn’t realize that Remus and Tonks were dating at first, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t find out later.
How Dumbledore’s Sexual Orientation Could Have Been Included
In Book 7, Harry begins to realize how little he actually knew about Dumbledore. Finding out that he was gay, either from a member of the Order or from a book/newspaper, could have been an interesting part of this journey. Realizing that not only does he know nothing about Dumbledore’s past, but that he’s been making wrong assumptions about who Dumbledore dates, would definitely fit into this theme of realizing how little he knew of his mentor.
1) None of these scenarios fits perfectly. The problem is that there is no authentic explanation for a world with no LGBTQ+ people, because we exist. JKR is certainly not the only author to create such a world, but it is important to recognize the erasure that is going on here.
2) Any one of these scenarios would have made more sense if Dumbledore’s sexual orientation was stated explicitly. It would have clarified what it means to be gay in this world and allowed more of the readers to see themselves in this story.
“But doesn’t the stuff with Grindelwald in Book 7 make it pretty clear that Dumbledore’s gay? Why do they need to actually say the word?”
Well, to use Dumbledore’s own words, “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” I’d also like to point out that:
1) While many people read the Harry Potter series, they are classified as Children’s books. Children are not necessarily the most sophisticated readers, and therefore might not be able to see things that are hinted at but not stated outright.
2) Half of the time when LGBTQ+ people suggested that a character is coded queer, straight people tell us that we’re reading too much into things. Sometimes even the author will say this. When we’re constantly taught that we’re imagining things unless it is stated outright, then yes it does need to be state outright.
TDLR: Not only is there no reason JKR couldn’t have mentioned Dumbledore’s sexual orientation in the books, the books would actually have benefitted a lot from her mentioning it.
FURTHER READING: Why Representation Matters
