Librarian, not lesbian
Batwoman becomes a lesbian
One of the most blogged about topics is the new girl-on-girl version of Batwoman. I don't have any major take on this. The way woman get sliced, diced, and abused in the superhero realm-
take it where you can get it!
However, I think my personal concern is the confusion noncomic friends have. I got an email from one librarian coworker saying "THIS JUST IN!", and at least 3 others emailed me stories about Batwoman.
"No, no, I gently explain, my batfamily friend is Batgirl- she's a librarian- not a lesbian"
The initial sketches seemed to have her with dark, Wonder Woman hair- but in Infinite Crisis and in descriptions, she has flowing red hair. I think the huge Batgirl decal on my Scion, that I proudly had red hair added to, will give me some alternate attention. Or give boys yet another thing to perv on.
Batman has morphed along the way from the Zorro-inspired creation of his split identity, to the campy TV version, to the film versions. "Over the generations some people have seen Batman as a gay icon. This notion is part and parcel of the strange, leather-clad and fetishistic vision imposed by director Joel Schumacher....the idea of two men(garbed in tights, no less) working closely and living together was considered too suggestive for some readers as far back as the fifties. Thus, a whole Bat family was added to the comic book to downplay the so-called gay aspects of the mythos. No doubt the most popular of the proliferating brood was Batgirl, introduced in 1968. These batadditions silenced the critics like Frederic Wertham, whose Seduction of the Innocent suggested the Dynamic Duo shared a homosexual relationship."
-The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television
While still titillating enough to get major news agency press, they are actively seeking to add a character who is a lesbian. Far cry from just adding a bunch of dudes to mask the fact that girls are her thing!
Maybe Batwoman could work for Perverted Justice and the endless "to catch a predator" shows.
posted by RedheadFangirl @ 3:05 PM
5 Comments:
As long as she's a gay SUPERHERO and not a GAY superhero, it should be fine. I think the press has been pretty positive so far.
Only thing that sickened me about this whole thing is this: AOL had a spot to leave comments after their news story about Alex Toth's death. Some stupid little punk (anonymous, of course) writes the comment, "He probably died after hearing the new Batwoman was a lesbian."
I personally am willing to see where DC goes with this. It's funny that THIS is the only new character getting this kind of attention. No mention about the new Atom being Chinese. Just that Batwoman is a lesbian. Can we just give it a rest??
And I'm not saying that the new Atom being Chinese is bad or controversial or anything. It's just that fans got so worked up when Kyle Rayner replaced hal Jordan. Now this with the new version of Kathy Kane. I'm just surprised no stupid idiots have been harping on the new Atom.
DC did this eons ago, after the original CRISIS. New versions of old characters. Ted Grant (?) handed the WILDCAT disguise over to someone else (his daughter?) ... female hispanic something or other. That was just one of many.
Too bad that can't just create a new character.
As for the color-scheme, she looks more like Batwoman Beyond.
"Only thing that sickened me about this whole thing is this: AOL had a spot to leave comments after their news story about Alex Toth's death. Some stupid little punk (anonymous, of course) writes the comment, "He probably died after hearing the new Batwoman was a lesbian.""
I laughed out loud at that one. Sorry.
I wonder how many writers and artists joke that "They'll find me dead at my typewriter/drafting table"? Leave it Toth to make good on the threat. I have some postcards from him that hold an honored place in my collection/accumulation.
Rich they do try to make all new characters, but they almost always fail within 2 years. Manhunter and Breach are two examples of good to great storytelling that just didn't catch an audience. Attaching these new characters to established franchises is the only way anything new makes it on to DC or Marvel's slate.
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