Cashing in On Political Correctness

So I'm reading the newspaper this morning after making pancakes for our son, and I'm seeing that author J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of books, has indicated that one of the characters, Dumbledore (sp.) is gay. I'm not a fan of the Harry Potter series (and it's not just because of the witchcraft and magic in the book - yes, I have read at least one of the books in the series) - I just don't find that they are all that well written - there are lots of authors in that magic/fantasy genre that write more stimulating books. Perhaps I am not reading it from a child's perspective, who knows.

Now, I am befuddled in terms of why such an announcement needs to be made. There is nothing implicit or explicit in the book about this guy's sexual orientation, and in fact, most kids' books don't really get into a lot of complex relational issues (except for prince and princess living happily ever after - notice it does not elaborate by saying that they are having wild sex in the castle on a regular basis). No one ever even remotely questioned the living arrangements between Ernie and Bert until they became adults and started analyzing in this way. I've always seen Ernie and Bert as friends who occasionally annoy the hell out of each other - but I've never once thought that they could be gay, until someone else mentioned it when I was in my early 20s. I think for children, stuff like that does not need to be introduced to them. So I think Rowling is doing a huge disservice to parents, who now are forced to explain homosexuality to their kids, since their children will inevitably ask (since news of Dumbledore's gayness is now considered breaking global news).

But for me, even though I am a staunch opponent of homosexual relationships, the deeper issue has to do with why Rowling made this revelation. Since the books don't mention it in any way, it's kind of strange that she would introduce this tidbit of information. I suspect it's because of the fact that being gay seems to be in vogue, or, shockingly, considered cool. You see celebrities, politicians, athletes, and others with more visibility purporting to champion homosexual relationships. Even some historically conservative talk show hosts have joined on the pro-gay (or neutral-gay) bandwagon by taking more of a libertarian stance of such things. It does not seem terribly kosher to speak out against anything homosexual, but since I've never been one to give a rat's ass about what people think about my opinions, I'll continue to proudly proclaim that I will never accept homosexuality as a lifestyle. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked here. I think Rowling is trying to cash in on the gay-friendly trends happening in today's world, but making such a revelation. If she was writing an adult (non-kids) novel and wanted to out a character, I'd have no problem with that - that's her choice. However, when you have impressionable children reading your books and you introduce such a complex issue (and I believe it is complex, unlike other issues like death and betrayal, etc.), it will not only cause children to be confused, but it will likely cause them to be at odds with many of their parents (trust me, not everyone accepts homosexuality). If she did not want Dumbledore to be a heterosexual, she could have simply made him an asexual being, like so many supporting characters in children's books - no one ever wonders about their life outside of the main plotline. Children live in a pretty confusing world as-is. Despite what some parents who treat their little kids like adults may say, kids are still innocent, impressionable, and are in need of guidance. They don't need to be exposed to all the life complexities at such an early age.