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were_lemurFinally read parts of Sacrifice (the parts that DIDN'T have to do with the BIG SPOILERY THING that I refuse to admit happened, kthnx). Let's just say ... my curiosity about the whole Gay Mandalorian thing finally got to me.
And ... wtf? From the screaming on teh internetz I was expecting on-page buttsecks or at the very least showtunes. Instead, it was ... well, it was there, and even w/out having known I think I would've picked it up. (But that might have just been my slash goggles.)
But it was THERE. In the text. Unlike some authors *coughJKRcough*.
Me-yow! Catty much?
Okay, let me say this up front; I don't (necessarily) believe that JKR's "outing" of Dumbledore was a publicity stunt. But neither do I buy that it's somehow a watershed event for gay rights. Neither am I a mindless Karen Traviss fan; while I enjoyed her Republic Commando books, I tend to quibble a bit with her characterization of Boba Fett, especially the fact that a certain character that did a certain Very Bad Spoilery Thing is still among the living.
That being said ...
I can understand why JKR didn't "out" Dumbledore in the text. In our society, unfortunately, the revelation that a character is gay might, become the ONLY issue in discussion of a book. Also, there's a matter of how to reveal the information; the story was told almost exclusively from Harry's POV.
It's not information that Dumbledore would have thought Harry had a need -- or a right -- to know. And teenagers are notorious for being squicked at the thought of "old people" having sex; it's possible, even likely, that Harry didn't even see any of his teachers as sexual beings.
Fett, on the other hand, clearly thinks of Beviin and whatsisname as a family unit. I don't have the book in front of me, but there was a line about their "household" in his POV.
There's no way of knowing what either author was thinking they came up with their respective gay characters. Was it even a decision, or was it something each author realized, sometime along the way? Speaking as a writer, stuff like that does happen; you find out things about characters that you never consciously considered.
BUT. Happily partnered functional couple who happen to be gay: FTW. Sad dead wizard who never had real love with a good guy ... not so much.
And ... wtf? From the screaming on teh internetz I was expecting on-page buttsecks or at the very least showtunes. Instead, it was ... well, it was there, and even w/out having known I think I would've picked it up. (But that might have just been my slash goggles.)
But it was THERE. In the text. Unlike some authors *coughJKRcough*.
Me-yow! Catty much?
Okay, let me say this up front; I don't (necessarily) believe that JKR's "outing" of Dumbledore was a publicity stunt. But neither do I buy that it's somehow a watershed event for gay rights. Neither am I a mindless Karen Traviss fan; while I enjoyed her Republic Commando books, I tend to quibble a bit with her characterization of Boba Fett, especially the fact that a certain character that did a certain Very Bad Spoilery Thing is still among the living.
That being said ...
I can understand why JKR didn't "out" Dumbledore in the text. In our society, unfortunately, the revelation that a character is gay might, become the ONLY issue in discussion of a book. Also, there's a matter of how to reveal the information; the story was told almost exclusively from Harry's POV.
It's not information that Dumbledore would have thought Harry had a need -- or a right -- to know. And teenagers are notorious for being squicked at the thought of "old people" having sex; it's possible, even likely, that Harry didn't even see any of his teachers as sexual beings.
Fett, on the other hand, clearly thinks of Beviin and whatsisname as a family unit. I don't have the book in front of me, but there was a line about their "household" in his POV.
There's no way of knowing what either author was thinking they came up with their respective gay characters. Was it even a decision, or was it something each author realized, sometime along the way? Speaking as a writer, stuff like that does happen; you find out things about characters that you never consciously considered.
BUT. Happily partnered functional couple who happen to be gay: FTW. Sad dead wizard who never had real love with a good guy ... not so much.
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 11:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 06:37 pm (UTC)The only way I think the information could have been integrated, would be to put it in Rita Skeeter's bio. But that was such a hit piece that Harry would have almost certainly had to have engaged with the accusation, one way or another. Which would have made it a plot point, not a casual reference.
Personally, I would've preferred a casual mention of a living gay couple. Maybe in the otherwise-useless epilogue? Maybe (totally picking names at random here) Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil or Colin Creevy and Blaize Zabini bringing their kid to go off on the Hogwarts Express, just like everyone else?
*shrugs*
Though maybe if there'd been that counterpoint -- a happy happens-to-be-gay couple shown as raising a family like everyone else -- then the eleventh-hour reveal of Dumblequeer wouldn't have stuck in my throat so much. This way it's making the only queer character dead and lonely, the only same-sex relationship (requeited or not) one of disfunction and badness, and the only mention of gayness at all tacked on as post-publication revelation.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 08:19 pm (UTC)