"It is a very interesting question because I think homophobia is a fear of people loving, more than it is of the sexual act. There seems to be an innate distaste for the love involved, which I find absolutely extraordinary. There were people who thought, well why haven't we seen Dumbledore's angst about being gay? Where was that going to come in? And then the other thing was -- and I had letters saying this -- that, as a gay man, he would never be safe to teach in a school...He's a very old single man. You have to ask: why is it so interesting? People have to examine their own attitudes. It's a shade of character. Is it the most important thing about him? No, it's Dumbledore for God's sake. There are 20 things that are relevant to the story before his sexuality."

--JK Rowling on homophobia