Homosexuality in the Batman franchise: Difference between revisions
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{{Original research|date=December 2009}} |
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[[Image:Batbed.png|thumb|Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Panel from ''Batman'' #84 (June, 1954), page 24.]] |
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[[Homosexuality|Homosexual]]interpretations have been part of the academic study of the [[Batman]] franchise since psychiatrist [[Fredric Wertham]] asserted in his 1954 book ''[[Seduction of the Innocent]]'' that ''"Batman stories are psychologically homosexual"''. He claimed, ''"The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual [[sexual fantasy|fantasies]], of the nature of which they may be unconscious"'' and ''"Only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the [[psychopathology]] of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of [[homoeroticism]] which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend [[Robin (comics)|Robin]]."''<ref>Wertham, Fredric. ''Seduction of the Innocent''. Rinehart and Company, Inc., 1954. pg. 189–90</ref> This book was issued in the context of the "[[lavender scare]]" where authorities regarded homosexuality as a security risk. |
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The early [[Golden Age of comics|Golden Age]] Batman stories were dark and violent, but during the interregnum period (late 1940s and early 1950s) they changed to a softer, friendlier and more exotic style, that was considered "[[camp (style)|campy]]". This style awoke contemporary and later associations to homosexual culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bilerico.com/2008/07/when_batman_was_gay.php |title=When Batman Was Gay | The Bilerico Project |publisher=Bilerico.com |date= |accessdate=2010-06-17}}</ref> |
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Andy Medhurst wrote in his 1991 essay ''Batman, Deviance, and Camp'' that Batman is interesting to [[gay]] audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality," "[[Batman (TV series)|the 1960s TV series]] remains a touchstone of [[camp (style)|camp]]," and "[he] merits analysis as a notably successful construction of [[masculinity]]."<ref>Medhurst, Andy. "Batman, Deviance, and Camp." ''The Many Lives of the Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and His Media''. Routledge: London, 1991. ISBN 0-85170-276-7, pg. 150</ref> |
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== Views within the industry == |
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The [[Comics Bulletin]] website posed the question "[http://www.comicsbulletin.com/panel/106070953757230.htm Is Batman Gay?]" to their staff and various comic book professionals. Writer [[Alan Grant (writer)|Alan Grant]] has stated, ''"The Batman I wrote for 13 years isn't gay. [[Denny O'Neil]]'s Batman, [[Marv Wolfman]]'s Batman, everybody's Batman all the way back to [[Bob Kane]]... none of them wrote him as a gay character. Only [[Joel Schumacher]] might have had an opposing view."'' Writer [[Devin Grayson]] has commented, ''"It depends who you ask, doesn't it? Since you're asking me, I'll say no, I don't think he is ... I certainly understand the gay readings, though."''<ref name="SBC">{{cite web |title=Is Batman Gay? |work= |url=http://www.comicsbulletin.com/panel/106070953757230.htm |accessdate=December 28, 2005}}</ref> While Frank Miller has described the relationship between Batman and the Joker as a "homophobic nightmare,"<ref>Sharrett, pg. 37-38</ref> he views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crime fighting, concluding, "He'd be ''much'' healthier if he were gay."<ref>Sharrett, pg. 38</ref> |
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=== Corrective dissent === |
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One Comics Bulletin staffer and Batman fan, Ray Tate, argued that a sexual relationship between Batman and Robin wouldn't be homosexual; rather, he pointed out that the Robin character is traditionally a minor, and any sexual relationship between him and Batman would constitute [[child molestation]]. He only pointed out that the canonical portrayal of the duo is generally that of a [[adoption|father and son]].<ref name="SBC"/> |
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=== Actors' opinions === |
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[[Burt Ward]], who portrayed Robin in the 1960s television show, has also remarked upon this interpretation in his autobiography ''Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights''; he writes that the relationship could be interpreted as a sexual one, with the show's [[double entendre]]s and lavish camp also possibly offering ambiguous interpretation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bruce Wayne: Bachelor |work=Ninth Art: Andrew Wheeler Comment |url=http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=963 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080422075113/http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=963 |archivedate=2008-04-22 |accessdate=June 21, 2005}}</ref> |
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In 2006, [[George Clooney]] said in an interview with [[Barbara Walters]] that in ''[[Batman and Robin (1997 film)|Batman & Robin]]'' he played Batman as gay. "I was in a rubber suit and I had rubber nipples. I could have played Batman straight, but I made him gay." Barbara Walters after laughing then asked, "George, is Batman gay?" To which he responded, "No, but I made him gay." <ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-680.html/ |title=Brokebat Mountain: "Batman is gay", says George Clooney |publisher=PinkNews.co.uk |date=3 March 2006 |accessdate=2010-08-02}}</ref> |
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==Interpretations in later years== |
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Homosexual interpretations of Batman and Robin have attracted even more attention during the [[Modern Age of Comic Books]], as sexual, feminist and [[LGBT themes in American mainstream comics|LGBT themes became more common and accepted in mainstream comics]]. However, most of these cases did not involve the contemporary comic books, but instead the feature film series, [[fan-art]] and re-prints of older comic books.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} |
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The 1995 feature film ''[[Batman Forever]]'', and moreso its 1997 sequel ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'', both helmed by the openly gay director [[Joel Schumacher]], attracted attention for their many homo-erotic innuendos.<ref>Joel Schumacher, Peter MacGregor-Scott, Chris O'Donnell, Val Kilmer, Uma Thurman, John Glover, ''Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 6-Batman Unbound'', 2005, Warner Home Video</ref> Many observers accused Schumacher of adding possible [[homosexuality|homosexual]] [[innuendo]] in the storyline.<ref name=shadow>[[Joel Schumacher]], Peter MacGregor-Scott, [[Chris O'Donnell]], [[Val Kilmer]], [[Uma Thurman]], [[John Glover (actor)|John Glover]], ''Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 6-Batman Unbound'', 2005, [[Warner Home Video]]</ref> |
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[[James Berardinelli]] questioned the "random amount of rubber nipples and camera angle [[close-up]]s of the Dynamic Duo's butts and Bat-[[groin|crotch]]es."<ref>{{cite web | author = [[James Berardinelli]] | title = Batman and Robin | work = ReelViews.net | url = http://www.reelviews.net/movies/b/batman4.html | accessdate = 2008-11-13}}</ref> Similar to ''Batman Forever'', this primarily included the decision to add nipples and enlarged [[codpiece]]s to Batman and Robin suits. Schumacher stated, "I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batsuit and Robin suit were going to spark international headlines. The bodies of the suits come from [[Art in ancient Greece|ancient Greek statue]]s, which display perfect bodies. They are [[anatomy|anatomically]] [[eroticism|erotic]]."<ref name=shadow/> |
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Chris O'Donnell, who portrayed Robin, felt "it wasn't so much the nipples that bothered me. It was the codpiece. The press obviously played it up and made it a big deal, especially with Joel directing. I didn't think twice about the controversy, but going back and looking and seeing some of the pictures, it was very unusual."<ref name=shadow/> Schumacher does argue that Batgirl was given a similarly designed suit but in feminine form with the breasts including nipples shown prominently along with the crotch and backside area. Thus making it unlikely to be homo-erotic orientated.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} |
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[[George Clooney]] joked, "Joel Schumacher told me we never made another ''Batman'' film because Batman was gay".<ref>{{cite news | author = Sharon Swart; Bill Higgins | url = http://www.variety.com/vstory/vr1117925178.html?categoryID=38&cs=1 | title = 'Happy' to sign off| work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date = 2005-06-27 | accessdate = 2008-11-11}}</ref> Clooney himself has spoken critically of the film, saying "I think we might have killed the franchise",<ref name="Boston Globe">{{cite news | title=Batman and Robin | work=Boston Globe | url=http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2005/06/12/behind_the_masks/?page=1 | accessdate=May 17, 2006 | first=Mac | last=Daniel | date=2005-06-12}}</ref> and called it "a waste of money".<ref>{{cite news | author = Lynn Hirschberg | title = THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: 11-3-02: QUESTIONS FOR GEORGE CLOONEY; True Confessions | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 2002-11-03 | accessdate = 2009-03-03}}</ref> |
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Another notable example occurred in 2000, when DC Comics refused to allow permission for the reprinting of four panels (from ''Batman'' #79, 92, 105 and 139) to illustrate [[Christopher York]]'s paper ''All in the Family: Homophobia and Batman Comics in the 1950s''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Beatty |first=Bart |title=Don't Ask, Don't Tell: How Do You Illustrate an Academic Essay about Batman and Homosexuality? |journal=The Comics Journal |year=2000 |volume= |issue=228 |pages=17–18 |url= }}</ref> |
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The idea of the "gay" Batman has also been revitalized around 2005, as a montage of panels from ''The Joker's Comedy of Errors'' in ''Batman'' #66, issued in 1951, began to circulate as an [[Internet meme]]. The episode mentioned the word "boner" several times; in the original comic, it meant "blunder", but to present-day readers it is a [[double entendre]] which might make them associate to [[erection]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prismcomics.org/display.php?id=1089 |title=Prism Comics feature |publisher=Prismcomics.org |date= |accessdate=2010-06-17}}</ref> A similar case of an “unintended” gay reference was the ''[[Rainbow flag (LGBT movement)|Rainbow]] Batman'' of 1957. |
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Another incident happened in the summer of 2005, when painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of [[watercolor]]s depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive and sexually explicit poses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mark Chamberlain (American, 1967) |publisher=Artnet |url=http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?G=&gid=423822183&which=&aid=424157172&ViewArtistBy=online&rta=http://www.artnet.com/ag/fulltextsearch.asp?searchstring=Mark+Chamberlain}}</ref> DC threatened both artist and the Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts gallery with legal action if they did not cease selling the works and demanded all remaining art, as well as any profits derived from them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gallery told to drop 'gay' Batman |date=August 19, 2005 |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4167032.stm}}</ref> |
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==Women in the Batman franchise== |
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Female characters were scarce in the Golden Age comics. Since [[Vicki Vale]], Batman's first female ally, was introduced, Batman's lack of romantic interest in her, and other women in the comic, has been cited to insinuate homosexuality.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} |
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===Batman's romantic interests=== |
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The early Batman was not completely without heterosexual desire, though. [[Bruce Wayne]] was originally engaged to Julie Madison. Later, he showed recurrent romantic feelings for his enemy [[Catwoman]], as she was depicted as a [[femme fatale]]. [[Talia al Ghul]] serves a similar role when it was revealed that she had fallen in love with Batman in "Daughter of the Demon".{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} |
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The [[Batwoman]] was introduced in 1956 as a love interest for Batman, to evade accusations of homosexuality. In a similar manner, the [[Batgirl|Bat-Girl]] was a love interest for Robin. In later years, both Batwoman and Bat-Girl were removed from the stories and replaced with a more contemporary [[Barbara Gordon|Batgirl]]. Unlike her predecessors, this Batgirl retained a primarily platonic relationship with Batman and Robin, for many years until later being established as a love-interest for Robin/Nightwing, Dick Grayson.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} |
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Ironically, when DC decided to introduce modern Batwoman based on the original one, she was designed as a lesbian character,<ref>{{cite web |
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| date = September 13, 2006 |
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| title = "Holy Homos, Batman" or Homosexuality in Comics |
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| url = http://www.filmfodder.com/comics/archives/2006/09/holy_homo_batman_or_homosexual.shtml |
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}} |
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</ref> and might be considered the most prominent LGBT character of DC Comics.<ref name="guardian" /> |
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[[Aunt Harriet Cooper]] was added to the franchise in the 1960s, to add diversity to the all-male Wayne Manor, and to supplement Alfred Pennyworth.<ref>{{cite web |
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| date = July 24, 2008 |
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| author = Tyrion Lannister |
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| title = When Batman Was Gay |
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| url = http://www.bilerico.com/2008/07/when_batman_was_gay.php |
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}} |
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</ref> |
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===Lesbian characters: New Batwoman and Renee Montoya=== |
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In 2006 DC drew widespread media attention by announcing this new, [[lesbian]] incarnation of the well-known character Batwoman<ref>{{citation |last=Ferber |first=Lawrence |title=Queering the Comics |page=51 |newspsper=The Advocate |date=July 18, 2006}}</ref> even while openly lesbian characters such as [[Gotham City]] police officer [[Renee Montoya]], police captain [[Maggie Sawyer]], and [[Holly Robinson]], the best friend and [[protégée]] of [[Catwoman]], already existed in the Batman franchise.<ref name="Advocate 1019">{{citation |last=Colón |first=Suzan |authorlink= |date=2008-11-18 |title=Don't Mask, Do Tell |work=[[The Advocate]] |pages=18, Issue #1019 |url=http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid63952.asp |accessdate= 2008-11-30}}{{dead link|date=September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Mangels |first=Andy |title=Outed in Batman's Backyard |newspaper=The Advocate |page=62 |date=May 27, 2003}}</ref> It was revealed at the 2009 New York Comic Con that she would be DC Comics' highest profile gay superhero,<ref name=guardian>{{citation | title = DC readies lesbian Batwoman for take-off | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/11/lesbian-batwoman-dc-comics | accessdate = 2009-02-11 | work=The Guardian | location=London | first=Alison | last=Flood | date=February 11, 2009}}</ref> appearing in a new Justice League comic book written by [[James Robinson (comics)|James Robinson]] and taking over as the lead character in [[Detective Comics]] with issue #854.<ref>{{citation | title = ICv2: Batwoman takes over 'Detective' | url = http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/14269.html | accessdate = 2009-02-10}}</ref> Greg Rucka said that DC's editors had no problem with his writing Montoya or Batwoman as lesbian, but the media controversy over Batwoman's sexuality "nullified any positive effect Batwoman might have had on the industry" and forced the character into minor roles during major crossover storylines.<ref>Furey, Emmett. p. 4 [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10795 Homosexuality in Comics - Part I], [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10809 Part II], [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10820 Part III] and [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10831 Part IV], [[Comic Book Resources]], July 16–19, 2007</ref> While the Batman franchise has a decent number of lesbian characters, there has yet to be any openly homosexual male characters with major roles in the books. |
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==See also== |
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{{Portal box|Comics|LGBT|Speculative fiction|Superhero fiction}} |
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* [[LGBT themes in comics]] |
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* [[LGBT themes in American mainstream comics]] |
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{{-}} |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{Batman}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Homosexuality In The Batman Franchise}} |
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[[Category:Batman]] |
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[[Category:LGBT-related comics|Batman interpretations]] |
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