I know this may not sit well with my followers, hell even the tumblr community at large, but what I’m about to write is honest-to-god how I feel about homosexuality in comics. This isn’t a grab at attention, and I’m certainly not attempting to “troll” any individual or group in distaste.
As an…
Urgh.
I only have a few minutes so I might not be able to discuss this the way I would like, but…man, there is SO MUCH here I disagree with. I barely know where to start.
First, this isn’t about you. YOUR background and how this makes YOU feel and YOUR opinions of lgbt people are really not the issue. These people exist, whether or not you approve of or acknowledge them, or their quite understandable desire to see some positive portrayals of lgbt characters in an industry that has an extremely poor record in that regard. If you want to be a writer, great, but part of being a writer is looking at the world outside your own doorstep.
Second, this article seems to assume that the addition of lgbt characters is something forced onto publishers and creators, who agree only reluctantly. It’s the same leafy argument that people with some privilege always make, that they (and I include myself in the privileged group), can only see injustice when it affects them adversely. Like the people on some boards who only get outraged at racism when someone white is the target. This isn’t the case. It would take a very hard heart and a very obtuse perspective to look at the handful of gay characters at DC and Marvel and think, “Oh, well, that’s enough, we’re fine now, problem solved.”
Because it ISN’T solved. Which leads me to…
Thirdly, this is not a problem that goes away very easily. What everyone has to realize is that we are in a transitory period. It was only a very few years ago that mention of any sexuality other than the most vanilla was verboten in comics at all. Some of the first steps were very clumsy indeed, but they did pave the way for more nuanced portrayals. Without Northstar, and I know this pains people to hear, but without him, it’s unlikely that we would have the Question. Without Estrano, we might not have Batwoman. The point is, sometimes we DO have to make a deliberate effort to make these changes. Why? Because the process is not yet equal. If every creator and publisher was open and all market forces were neutral, then we’d have LOTS more POC and lgbt books and characters. But the process is not wholly organic. It is informed and guided by a history that is both long-standing and unfair. Every time a new book with a female lead is suggested, people bring up a dozen books with female leads that failed. Every time a gay character is created, people bring up a half dozen gay characters that failed to grow an audience.
If we WEREN’T fighting decades of inequality and stacked decks, then yes, we could wait for the entire process to be organic. But that is not the market or the industry that exists now.
Fourth, I appreciate the thought, but how am I an authority on lgbt characters? I am doing the best I can, this is very important to me, but I think ‘authority’ is a strong word in this case, that belongs more to lgbt creators and commentators who not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk and have lived that life. The idea of me being an authority over those good folks makes no sense to me.
Fifth, I have to say, the scenario you bring up is not very likely. If DC wants a gay character to lead a book, first, I have to say right out, why assume it would only happen because of market pressure? There are a lot of us out there who LIKE a lot of POC or lgbt characters and are delighted to spotlight them when we can. It’s no more tokenism (when done well) then it would be to spotlight ANY character we have a fondness for. And the idea of DC or Marvel caving into some perceived pressure and forcing a gay character on an unwilling writer, well, that’s pretty far-fetched and not at all how the industry operates.
Finally, I go back to my first point. I appeal to you as a writer. The scenario you’ve envisioned here completely stacks the deck. Of COURSE you’d resent being told to write a book to match someone else’s agenda. You frame your argument that way, and it almost sounds reasonable.
But that’s just not how working at the majors goes. We either pitch a book, or they ask us if we want to do a book. No one is commanded to write a book they hate.
So the question then becomes, would you write a book with a gay lead if you liked the character and felt you had worthwhile stories to tell? Because THAT is the question we have to ask ourselves in the real world. And if your answer to that is yes, then this whole scenario you have created is not meaningful.
If your answer is no, then yes, there IS a problem.
But it’s not with gay characters.
(Source: jovenistheworst)
