And a couple more thoughts...

[patgund]

I admit I'm pretty much in the "so" category about the announcement of Dumbledore's sexuality. (Okay, he was good at the "swish" part, how was he about the "flick" portion as well?")

While talking to a friend about it though, she commented that "wow, surprised Rita Skeeter didn't touch on that too!".

I laughed and said: "Look. His brother was convicted for casting inappropriate charms on goats, still seems to have a thing for them, while other wizards get their blodgers off with giants and veelas. I think even Rita Skeeter knew that Dumbledore's sexual preferences were a "eh, who cares" in the wizardling world."

Comments

[tepintzin.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think he was just very deeply closeted. As I said to electorprince, the wizarding world is so hung up on bloodlines and racial purity (I characterized the whole series as being a story about racism), I think that being gay would be a huge scandal. I believe Rowling said no one cared, but were I she, I'd be rethinking that comment in light of the culture I'd created.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Well, Dumbledore *was* half-blood anyway, which means that even with the hangup on purity and bloodlines, his wouldn't have been considered that great. Add to that a brother of lesser talent and a suspected "Squib", and I suspect that even the most ardent bloodline purists would not have cared what his sexuality is. They may have even approved because he wouldn't have brought the "mudblood" side of his parentage into the wizardling world.

Besides, there may have been some belief that as long as he stuck with humans, it was all good. Witness the discrimination that "half-breeds" such as Hagrid (half-giant) and Lupin (werewolf) got, and the offense from the blood purity groups when Tonks married Lupin. I strongly suspect that same-sex parings with other humans was a non-issue, especially if it happened with "mudbloods" and half-bloods. A "pure-blood" may have been met with some disapproval unless he/she did something to insure that bloodline continued.