Wolverine is Gay ! Batwoman too !!!

[jinks]

Marvel Comics character Wolverine is the latest character to come out as gay,
as he and demigod Hercules announce their love for one another in the latest issue of the comic.


http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/25/ma ... -hercules/


DC Comics’ Batwoman has proposed to her girlfriend in the latest instalment of the comic strip,
amidst controversy surrounding the publisher’s decision to hire a writer with anti-gay views to write for another title.


http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/25/ba ... riter-row/

[bao-bao]

Thanks for this, jinks. Nice news to start my day.

I've known I was "different" since before elementary school, and that has made this ongoing shift in attitudes very interesting to observe in our culture(s) over the past decade or so. Stonewall was quite a benchmark, but a lot of us were still far too scared to wave the rainbow flag, for a variety of reasons.

Folks close to me who lived in the days of the gay speak-easy clubs in San Francisco in the 1940s era are encouraged by the progress, but still shrink back a bit when it comes to speaking openly about their own long term relationships, saying "why does everyone have to know? It's nobody's business, really," and I have to respect that, too. I was fortunate enough to be able to come out to my most important support network (my family) around 40 years ago. Since then my stance has been "to the people who really matter, it doesn't matter."

Having suffered at least my share of intolerance and discrimination over the years - and being chased down a city street by a group of young men with nails driven through 2x4s for no reason other than I'd come off of Castro onto Market Street in San Francisco, and being dismissed once because of my "choice of lifestyle" counts, I'd say - I'm encouraged by anyone's attempts to educate and lessen the level of ignorance that breeds that intolerance. There is still racism and bigotry on the loose in most parts of the world, and there always will be those who won't let go of it, but it's progress...

For whatever reason Marvel and DC are doing this, I applaud them.

[Alex]

I'm encouraged by anyone's attempts to educate and lessen the level of ignorance that breeds that intolerance.

While I agree with the overall sentiment of your statement, you seem to have been carried away, considering the subject matter at hand. This is not about education, or about real life characters coming out to make the same process less painful for others. We're talking about the purely arbitrary decision to declare certain fictional super heroes as gay. Why? Because they can and because they think that it makes them look good. Just like it's politically correct to have a super hero who's bound to a wheel chair. Let's see what's next, perhaps a heroic Muslim who, unlike his brothers, isn't a terrorist?! Now THAT would be educating.

[bao-bao]

While I agree with the overall sentiment of your statement, you seem to have been carried away, considering the subject matter at hand. This is not about education, or about real life characters coming out to make the same process less painful for others.

True, Alex, but the emphasis was meant to indicate that anything's better than nothing, and comics have a wide audience in an even wider age range than they did 30 years ago. Granted, it wasn't Harvey Milk getting himself elected, but if you're later middle-aged you probably remember when things were far worse than they are today, and it's all a series of little steps when dealing with the - ahem - little minds of the general public.

[windwalker]

For me, I always knew that Batman and Robin were an "item" as were The Lone Ranger and Tonto.

[jimnbkk]

And Red Ryder and Little Beaver. Red Ryder: The first comic book pedophile?

[xiandarkthorne]

I can't wait to see the movie adaptation of the Hercules/Wolverine comic. Imagine Hugh Jackman and Lou Ferrigno reprising their most iconic roles in that one! *Sigh*...do dreams ever come true?

As for Batman and Robin, I'm not sure I want to watch what could very well amount to a leather-pedo fetishist's fantasy no matter who stars in it. I've never yet seen a Batman movie where any actor's actually owned the role. Regardless of how big the actor, I've never actually thought "Nobody else is going to be Batman again," unlike Jackman as Wolvie and Ferrigno as Herkie.

Now if the comic powers did a similar 'gay-ification' with Tim Kang as Sunfire (I know. I know. He's not Japanese) and Delroy Lindo or Idris Elba as the Black Panther, I'd pay a lot to watch THAT!

Oh dear...mea culpa. Younger Asian and older African-American...another private fantasy of mine accidentally revealed...