After resigning from the Army under DADT for being a lesbian, Kate Kane lived a directionless party-girl heiress lifestyle until, on a dark night, a chance encounter with Batman inspired her to find a new calling in life, later adopting the mantle of Batwoman.
" I suggested WW because of the long-term speculation about her. Not only is she from an all-female society, but she was included in Seduction of the Innocent (the book that spawned the CCA) with the claim that she was homosexual and had a subtext of bondage. "
If Wonder Woman was a lesbian she never would have left Paradise Island. This thread is more than a little bit offensive. Batwoman had her own ongoing which actually sold pretty well. And what does a character's sexuality have to do with anything? Their sexuality should not be the characteristic that defines them. "
Ya putting to much into sex and if you like boys just ruins allot of stories IMHO
Shouldn't we just be happy that the company is heading towards a more "open-minded" and liberal approach? That's a start right? I mean if we rant every time we see the negative side, we tap into a very dangerous and biased absolutism. Ok that may have been an overreaction on things but that is certainly the direction of it.
" @Cherry Bomb: lol... Deadman touring with GaGa! Funny. "
Lol thanks :P but have you seen his costume? it doesn't exactly scream "I am Straight"
"
But wasn't that his costume in the circus? It's not like he could just change his look, he's dead :P "
Pffft :P I have no idea. XD maybe he was gay before that :P "
There weren't gay people in the 60's :P "
Oh yeah!? - the 60's were Gay-Central :P have you seen the film 'Milk' ?? "
Actually I haven't...but in media there weren't gay people...so ha!... "
Well there were still gay people in society! :P HA Police used to raid gay bars regularly and arrest gay people. the 60's and 70's were when Gay rights sorta took off. [:
I like to think of Wonder Woman as simply a purely loving character. She is willing and able to show the same kind of affection to males or females and labels just don't really fit her. I don't know if calling her bisexual, straight or gay really makes sense for the character... she is beyond that and just can love unconditionally. That's just how I feel anyways.
I really like Batwoman being a title lesbian character. It means a lot to me personally and the fact that, so far, she has been written with care and without stereotype makes me very happy.
" I like to think of Wonder Woman as simply a purely loving character. She is willing and able to show the same kind of affection to males or females and labels just don't really fit her. I don't know if calling her bisexual, straight or gay really makes sense for the character... she is beyond that and just can love unconditionally. That's just how I feel anyways. I really like Batwoman being a title lesbian character. It means a lot to me personally and the fact that, so far, she has been written with care and without stereotype makes me very happy. "
I agree with pretty much all of this, though I think that WW tends to steer more toward men, not saying she rules the alternative out, just saying she's generally more for the male persuasion.
" I suggested WW because of the long-term speculation about her. Not only is she from an all-female society, but she was included in Seduction of the Innocent (the book that spawned the CCA) with the claim that she was homosexual and had a subtext of bondage. "
If Wonder Woman was a lesbian she never would have left Paradise Island. This thread is more than a little bit offensive. Batwoman had her own ongoing which actually sold pretty well. And what does a character's sexuality have to do with anything? Their sexuality should not be the characteristic that defines them. "
I couldn't have said it better :P "
Personally I think Batwoman/Kate Kane is a great character and she is an excellent affition to the Bat family. Unfortunately I think that these efforts to make her famous by overemphasizing the fact that she is a lesbian does her a tragic disservice. While I personally dont particularly agree with homosexuality, dont think that making such as big deal about it is necessary either.
If she is a lesbian then so be it. Emphasize that she is a great character who is a lesbian not the other way around. Her sexuality shouldn't be the primary focal point about her. If she is a top tier character, which she has the potential to be, she'll get respect regardless. The latter approach is counterproductive and even degrading to both the storytelling and the character development. .
Actually, the guy who created Wonder Woman, Dr. William Moulton Marston, intended for Wonder Woman to have heavy bondage themes. He and his wife had a live-in girlfriend, and he wrote positive stuff about bondage for psychiatric journals. He portrayed the Amazonian characters doing a lot of wrestling and bondage-related stuff, which he probably based on his analysis of sorority initiation rituals that he'd studied as a psychologist. He was kind of an interesting, and weird guy. He also is credited with inventing the polygraph test, but that doesn't have anything to do with anything.
The Seduction of the Innocent made some unsubstantiated claims, but they weren't THAT far from the truth in most cases. Comic books have always had elements of sex to them, and there have been homosexual undertones to characters at least as far back as Wonder Woman's first appearances. I'm not a fan of retcons to characters, but in the case of gay characters, I wouldn't mind if a couple of established straight characters came out of the closet. As long as it isn't one of the Robins, that would be too easy.
Wonder Woman is not a lesbian she is in love with Batman they have made out together hell in Obsidian Age they died in each other's arms she is not a lesbian she is just a believer in woman's rights
" Batwoman of course deserves that title, I'd much prefer a more known character to come out at gay .. but that won't happen. [:
Hm ... Booster Gold? he should be gay. Wonder Woman could atleast be bisexual Deadmans costume looks like he's just come straight from a Lady GaGa tour. "
Booster is a well established straight characters with plenty of hetro crushes and relationships
" Batwoman of course deserves that title, I'd much prefer a more known character to come out at gay .. but that won't happen. [:
Hm ... Booster Gold? he should be gay. Wonder Woman could atleast be bisexual Deadmans costume looks like he's just come straight from a Lady GaGa tour. "
Booster is a well established straight characters with plenty of hetro crushes and relationships "
Soooo? things can change. A lot of people don't discover they are gay until a later age. Just because he's a well-established straight character now doesn't mean he can't turn gay or bisexual. IMO he should be gay :D
@Cherry Bomb: Well because it would be little less than a marketing scheme and if you follow Booster as religiously as me and his other fanboys/girls you would know it would make no sense for his character traits and ruin it. Like why don't we just turn Northstar straight?
@Son_of_Magnus: How is turning a character gay or bisexual ruining them? - he'd still be the same character, just interested in both sexes, there's nothing wrong with that.
@Cherry Bomb: I don't think he's saying that a character becoming gay would ruin them, just that it shouldn't be a "gimmick". I know this is going off topic, but i always though Dick would be revealed to be gay (not a pun on his name)
I hate to say it, but I find the fact that Batwoman is a lesbian to be a very key aspect of her character and largely the reason why I began to read her stories to begin with. It's just cathartic to find female sexual relationships represented as honestly and tastefully as you find in Batwoman. Such a thing is precious and rare. If she were to suddenly become heterosexual, than it would leave me deeply saddened and deeply uninterested in her. (Partially because I identify with her as a lesbian, and partially because it would render her relationship with Renee Montoya moot.)
And in answer to the OP's original question, I'd say that, yes, she absolutely deserves to be considered DC's "lesbian star".
Also:
I imagine that since Themyscira gains many of it's cultural traditions from ancient Greece, it would be very tolerant of homosexual relationships to the point where there wouldn't be a label placed upon one's sexuality - especially since the population of Themyscira is made up of only one sex. How they define sexual attraction probably wouldn't even center upon the sexes of the individuals involved as much as upon their level of intimacy and the politics of the relationship. Having been raised there, Wonder Woman would probably openly demonstrate levels of affection towards another female that heterosexual women in our culture normally wouldn't because she may not be aware of the fact that they can be considered homosexual - such as fondling, kissing, and holding hands with another female as a sign of affection and/or friendship. (After all, as somebody who is half-Spanish, I'm not automatically considered to be in a relationship with all my female relatives and family friends, even though they might kiss me on the cheek when we say "Hello" and "Goodbye".)
She's Wonder Woman: incredibly compassionate and affectionate towards her fellow women, but also a little naive about the culture she's found herself lost in. So, as Westerners, we might inaccurately be labeling her as bisexual, even though her feelings of romantic love are solely for men, because her displays of affection could be considered to be, in our eyes, "bi-curious".
Doesn't it seem like someone else may be a better fit? Maybe Wonder Woman? Do you think they chose Batwoman because they don't want to "ruin" a more significant character if she fails?
What would make a character deserve this distinction?
Doesn't it seem like someone else may be a better fit? Maybe Wonder Woman? Do you think they chose Batwoman because they don't want to "ruin" a more significant character if she fails?
What would make a character deserve this distinction?
The fact Wonder Woman isn't a lesbian is also a pretty big bug in the ointment.
They could certainly flip a character's orientation in the reboot and that would be fine--no worse than a gay Ultimate Colossus--but why don't you want new characters? Especially an awesome character like Batwoman, who did I mention is awesome?
I wouldn't mind the Question (Montoya) taking the spotlight, but the characters interact enough that it doesn't bother me. The Question, unfortunately, is not a "Bat" book, "Wonder" book, or "Super" book, so she can't really be considered flagship at DC.
Doesn't it seem like someone else may be a better fit? Maybe Wonder Woman? Do you think they chose Batwoman because they don't want to "ruin" a more significant character if she fails?
What would make a character deserve this distinction?
The fact Wonder Woman isn't a lesbian is also a pretty big bug in the ointment.
I agree, that is a big bug in the ointment as far as history and canon go.
What I think ahimsadawn was suggesting is that DC would be a lot more daring/edgy if they made/changed Wonder Woman (their oldest and most iconic female character) into a lesbian, though whatever mechanism, instead of creating a modern incarnation of Batwoman to assume the role
I just want to point out why it is more plausible to turn a straight character gay than it is to turn a gay character straight:
1. I've never heard of a person faking being gay so people wouldn't know they are straight. There are thousands of straight people (men in particular) who will get married and have children but seek same sex relationships in private. 2. Gay people have only recently gained widespread acceptance and visibility, turning one of the few gay characters straight would be an insult.
That being said I don't think they should change the sexualities of already established characters. I don't see anything wrong with stating that a character is bisexual as long as their sexuality has been pretty ambiguous up to that point and as long as it isn't done as a gimmick.
Well the comic is a success. Also I like her just fine being gay. It's the same as any other comic, she's in a relationship with someone. Although the gay bit is nice because it's different and it's kind of hilarious watching people freak out over her being gay.
Doesn't it seem like someone else may be a better fit? Maybe Wonder Woman? Do you think they chose Batwoman because they don't want to "ruin" a more significant character if she fails?
This is exactly why they did this, and there is no problem with this as well
They are forcing this shit down our throats by destroying our beloved dc characters like supergirl i mean what are our kids going to think when the watch this stuff I say enough already because i wont torlerate this trpe they turned laurels sister a lesbian why do we need more stan lee would not approve
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