Paolo wrote: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:16 pm
I was in that men's room, you know...
I can attest that Paolo did, indeed, use that same restroom. He and I were waiting for our respective planes after the Minneapolis MoM. I watched his carry-on while he went off in search of Larry Craig.
On the original topic of this thread, I received an email from one of my colleagues, Jack Drescher, this morning containing a letter to the editor that he has in this mornings New York Times.
What I think is most important is that J.K. Rowling has made the fact that Dumbledore is gay simply a minor detail in his life. We have an entire generation of kids, worldwide, who have grown to love and respect him for who he is in the story. That he is gay is not likely to change their attitudes unless adults in their lives push very hard. And, probably not even then.
Rowling, by waiting to make this minor part of the character public, has contributed greatly to social acceptance of gays. That he is gay has nothing to do with Dumbledors true worth
.
The New York Times
October 31, 2007
Letter
Outing Dumbledore
To the Editor:
Re Is Dumbledore Gay? Depends on Definitions of Is and Gay, by Edward Rothstein (Connections column, Oct. 29):
In a perfect world, a headmasters sexual orientation would be irrelevant to the performance of his duties, heroic or otherwise. But today there are too many schools where teachers lack legal protections and can be fired without recourse if revealed to be gay.
By outing Albus Dumbledore, J. K. Rowling has removed the invisibility cloak that keeps positive gay role models out of public awareness. She is showing gay and straight kids, their parents and their school administrations that the true measure of an individuals worth stems from his actions, not his sexual identity.
Jack Drescher, M.D.
The writer is the editor of The Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/opini ... ref=slogin
The article to which this letter is a response can be found at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/arts/29conn.html