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Jude Law finally opened up about Dumbledore's sexuality — kind of.

Albus Dumbledore is gay.

Although his sexual orientation was never addressed outright in the "Harry Potter" book series, author J.K. Rowling confirmed to fans back in 2007 that the Hogwarts' headmaster is, indeed, queer.

Over a decade later, actor Jude Law will play Dumbledore in the "Fantastic Beasts" film sequel set to release in November. But now his character's on-screen queerness — or lack thereof — is ruffling Phoenix feathers around the world.


Photo by Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images.

The film's storyline follows Dumbledore's conflicted past with evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald. The two, according to Rowling, had fallen in love as young men — but you wouldn't know it just from watching Hollywood's take.

The sequel's director, David Yates, told curious fans earlier this year that the film doesn't "explicitly" depict Dumbledore as being gay, leaving many fans feeling understandably frustrated.

Now, Jude Law is finally speaking out about the controversy roiling his character.

"Jo Rowling revealed some years back that Dumbledore was gay," he told Entertainment Weekly. "That was a question I actually asked Jo and she said, 'Yes, he's gay. But as with humans, your sexuality doesn't necessarily define you; he's multifaceted.'"

The actor continued (emphasis added):

"I suppose the question is: How is Dumbledore's sexuality depicted in this film? What you've got to remember this is only the second 'Fantastic Beasts' film in a series and what’s brilliant about Jo's writing is how she reveals her characters, peels them to the heart over time. You're just getting to know Albus in this film, and there’s obviously a lot more to come."

Maybe Dumbledore will get his gay on later in the film series after all.

Photo by Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images.

But regardless of how the upcoming films depict Dumbledore's sexuality, the controversy has already highlighted how Hollywood continues to fail LGBTQ people and our stories.

We need more LGBTQ characters on screen, especially when it comes to film and TV for teens — and, yes, young children too.

The LGBTQ community is still underrepresented — and misrepresented — in the movies and TV shows we watch. This isn't great, but it's especially discouraging when these failings affect the media that's accessible to kids.

There's nothing inherently "adult" or sexually explicit about LGBTQ people or our stories, but we're often viewed that way. It's why YouTube made a mess for itself by restricting queer-themed videos that were perfectly innocent in nature. It's why films with a gay kiss are more likely to get an "R" rating, preventing teens from watching without being accompanied by an adult. It's why some parents will get up in arms when a film for their child features an LGBTQ character.

"Let kids be kids!" they argue. "Stop trying to force an agenda on them!"

But it's not about making a political statement or pushing some vicious, immoral "agenda." Creating authentic Hollywood narratives representative of the real world means including LGBTQ characters in those stories — and keeping them queer when those stories are put on the big screen.

The creators behind the "Fantastic Beasts" series have a great opportunity to buck this damaging trend and give Dumbledore the gay portrayal he so rightfully deserves. After all, queer little Muggles will be watching at home — and they deserve to see themselves in the world of magic too.

Health

4 simple hacks to help you meet your healthy eating goals

Trying to eat healthier? Try these 4 totally doable tricks.

Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Most of us want to eat healthier but need some help to make it happen.

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When it comes to choosing what to eat, we live in a uniquely challenging era. Never before have humans known more about nutrition and how to eat for optimal health, and yet we’ve never been more surrounded by distractions and temptations that derail us from making healthy choices.

Some people might be able to decide “I’m going to eat healthier!” and do so without any problem, but those folks are unicorns. Most of us know what we should do, but need a little help making it happen—like some simple hacks, tips and tricks for avoiding pitfalls on the road to healthier eating.

While recognizing that what works for one person may not work for another, here are some helpful habits and approaches that might help you move closer to your healthy eating goals.

man pulling chip out of a chip bagOur mouths loves chips. Our bodies not so much.Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Goal: Snack on less junk food

Tip: Focus your willpower on the grocery store, not your home

Willpower is a limited commodity for most of us, and it is no match for a bag of potato chips sitting on top of the fridge. It’s just a fact. Channeling your willpower at the grocery store can save you from having to fight that battle at home. If you don’t bring chips into your house in the first place, you’ll find it a lot easier to reach for something healthier.

The key to successful shopping trips is to always go to the store with a specific list and a full stomach—you’ll feel much less tempted to buy the junky snack foods if you’re already satiated. Also, finding healthier alternatives that will still satisfy your cravings for salty or crunchy, or fatty foods helps. Sugar snap peas have a surprisingly satisfying crunch, apples and nut butter hit that sweet-and-salty craving, etc.

slice of cakeYou can eat well without giving up sweets completely.Photo by Caitlyn de Wild on Unsplash

Goal: Eat less sugar

Tip: Instead of “deprive,” think “delay” or “decrease and delight”

Sugar is a tricky one. Some people find it easier to cut out added sugars altogether, but that can create an all-or-nothing mindset that all too often results in “all.” Eating more whole foods and less processed foods can help us cut out a lot of ancillary sugar, but we still live in a world with birthday cakes and dessert courses.

One approach to dessert temptation is to delay instead of deprive. Tell yourself you can have any sweet you want…tomorrow. This mental trick flips the “I’ll just indulge today and start eating healthier tomorrow” idea on its head. It’s a lot easier to resist something you know you can have tomorrow than to say no to something you think you’ll never get to have again.

Another approach when you really want to enjoy a dessert at that moment is to decrease the amount and really truly savor it. Eat each bite slowly, delighting in the full taste and satisfaction of it. As soon as that delight starts to diminish, even a little, stop eating. You’ve gotten what you wanted out of it. You don’t have to finish it. (After all, you can always have more tomorrow!)

colorful fresh food on a plateA naturally colorful meal is a healthy meal.Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Goal: Eat healthier meals

Tip: Focus on fresh foods and plan meals ahead of time

Meal planning is easier than ever before. The internet is filled with countless tools—everything from recipes to shopping lists to meal planning apps—and it’s as awesome as it is overwhelming.

Planning ahead takes the guesswork and decision fatigue out of cooking, preventing the inevitable “Let’s just order a pizza.” You can have a repeating 3-week or 4-week menu of your favorite meals so you never have to think about what you’re going to eat, or you can meal plan once a week to try new recipes and keep things fresh.

It might help to designate one day a week to “shop and chop”—getting and prepping the ingredients for the week’s meals so they’re ready to go in your fridge or freezer.

woman holding blueberries in her handsOrganic foods are better for the Earth and for us.Photo by andrew welch on Unsplash

Goal: Eat more organic/humanely raised food

Tip: Utilize the “dirty dozen” and “clean 15” lists to prioritize

Many people choose organic because they want to avoid pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals. Organic food is also better for the planet, and according to the Mayo Clinic, studies have shown that organic produce is higher in certain nutrients.

Most people don’t buy everything organic, but there are some foods that should take priority over others. Each year, researchers from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyze thousands of samples of dozens of fruits and vegetables. From this data, they create a list of the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” fruits and vegetables, indicating what produce has the most and least pesticide residue. These lists give people a good place to start focusing their transition to more organic foods.

To make organic eating even simpler, you can shop O Organics® at your local Albertsons or Safeway stores. The O Organics brand offers a wide range of affordable USDA-certified organic products in every aisle. If you’re focusing on fresh foods, O Organics produce is always grown without synthetic pesticides, is farmed to conserve biodiversity, and is always non-GMO. All animal-based O Organics products are certified humane as well. Even switching part of your grocery list to organic can make a positive impact on the planet and the people you feed.

Healthy eating habits don’t have to be all or nothing, and they don’t have to be complicated. A few simple mindset changes at home and habit changes at the grocery store can make a big difference.

Around 1 a.m. on April 24, semi-truck drivers in the Oak Park area of Michigan received a distress call from area police: An unidentified man was standing on the edge of a local bridge, apparently ready to jump onto the freeway below.

Those drivers then did something amazing. They raced to the scene to help — and lined up their trucks under the bridge, providing a relatively safe landing space should the man jump.

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Family

12 hilariously relatable comics about life as a new mom.

Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

All illustrations by Ingebritt ter Veld. Reprinted here with permission.

Some good not so good moments with babies.



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Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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Women shared how they make sexist men explain their nasty jokes, and it's so satisfying

Making them sit in the discomfort of their own filth is an excellent way to shut that garbage down.


Ask almost any woman about a time a man said or did something sexually inappropriate to them, and she'll have a story or four to tell. According to a survey NPR published last year, 81% of women report having experienced sexual harassment, with verbal harassment being the most common. (By contrast, 43% of men report being sexually harassed. Naturally harassment toward anyone of any sex or gender is not okay, but women have been putting up with this ish unchecked for centuries.)

One form of verbal sexual harassment is the all too common sexist or sexual "joke." Ha ha ha, I'm going to say something explicit or demeaning about you and then we can all laugh about how hilarious it is. And I'll probably get away with it because you'll be too embarrassed to say anything, and if you do you'll be accused of being overly sensitive. Ha! Won't that be a hoot?

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People started a viral thread about the most random facts they know

Certain people have an innate ability to remember random facts. They are great at trivia but can also be insufferable know-it-alls.

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