Expecto Patronum! Gay style.

Last week JK Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, revealed that Albus Dumbledore, one of the most beloved wizards of all time, was a gay man. I say was, because he died on page 596 in the Half Blood Prince (don't yell at me for that spoiler...if you haven't read the book by now, then you probably never will). Oh, and he's also a fictional character.

Here's my quandary...at no point during the course of the novels does it (now) add value or expand upon the character of Dumbledore to bring forth his sexual preference. What good does it do to add this tidbit well after the final book has been published, other than for a little bit of added press? Sure, I suppose it could be said that since Dumbledore was the most loving, good natured wizard of all time, it indicates that gay men can be good men, and that it's OK to be gay. And it is...I'm all for gay rights, and feel that if two men or two women want to be together, more power to them.

I don't understand our culture's need to be so open about one's sexual preference. I don't go around openly proclaiming my heterosexuality, so why do gays (or maybe it's the media) feel they need to openly proclaim their homosexuality? Did Rowling ever come out and state that Sirius Black was a straight man? No. Why not? Because it didn't add to the story line. Neither does Dumbledore being gay. Now if there had been some hot witch on witch action...that's another story!