Albus Dumbledore IS GAY! GASP!

[raj]

Well that certainly clears up a lot of things for me. /sarcasm

Dumbledore's sex life never entered my mind while reading the books, I'm not sure what Rowling's point is with this revelation.

[AndyC]

It's got to be for the controversy. The seventh book has been on the shelves for a while, and she's trying to stay in the headlines.

Or maybe it's totally sincere. Some authors feel a need to give their characters attributes that aren't necessarily required by the story, as a writing tool or just cool facts for the fans. Still, I can't see her coming up with this when she first envisioned the character. His sex life would be the last thing I'd consider. Probably something she thought of as a response to speculation by some of the more obsessive fans.

[Rev. Powell]

I think you were right the first time, AndyC.  With the series put to bed, Rowling's probably missing the attention.  I agree it's unlikely she originally wrote a gay backstory for her wizard archetype, though its possible.