Is Batman Gay? In defense of Grant Morrison!

Well Batman had to be asexual for two reasons: Under the comic's code authority sex wasn't going to be allowed in comics whether it was hetero or not, so the source material is going to be sexless anyways. Secondly comics were considered for kids anyway and and kids don't think like that. Sure you could google search and find comics where they look and say gay things, but that's because it's from a different time and is only funny looking back. I don't expect Bruce Wayne's sex life to be an important part of the Batman's story.

What about the episode of the animated series where mad hatter puts him in a perfect dream world where he has everything he'd want? In his "perfect world" his parents are alive, someone else is batman, and he's about to marry Selina.

If you assert that all men in tights are somewhat gay, then all superheroes are gay. What are they supposed to wear? Do all gays wear tights?
Batman is a mentor to Robin: he helps the kid work through his inner struggles in an outward manner. A mentor teaches, guides, counsels, supports, and sometimes cares (as in care take) his charge. A mentor isn't always significantly elder. In this case, he is. He is simply mentoring Robin his way that diverged from Alfred's mentoring of him.

I agree with most that throughout his history in books and live-action, Batman is always drawn to Catwoman naturally.

It is a disservice to anyone's cause when you make an artificial change to support it: changing characters' race or sexual orientation.

The quote reads:
"He's very plutonian in the sense that he's wealthy and also in the sense that he's sexually deviant. Gayness is built into Batman.
"I'm not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There's just no denying it. Obviously as a fictional character he's intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay. I think that's why people like it. All these women fancy him and they all wear fetish clothes and jump around rooftops to get to him. He doesn't care - he's more interested in hanging out with the old guy and the kid."

Grant Morrison is making these remarks to Playboy, which is probably the most womanizing and objectifying magazine in publication. I would actually like to see some context for this statement - was he prompted by the interviewer or did he just make that declaration?

At any rate, regardless of his claiming he doesn't mean "gay" in a derogatory manner, he is very clearly doing so. He says that Batman is plutonian - as in isolated, grim, severe, chilly, and that somehow carries a gay undertone.

All sexual orientation aside (that is not in question here), Morrison is claiming that a standard of gay culture is to ignore sexually attractive women (or men) and fulfill your own ambitions.

I manage the drive-thru at McDonald's. I'm pretty tall, average build, and combined with the building's slight elevation, my eyes sit pretty high up. So many women come through my drive-thru wearing low-cut tops and are at times popping out of their bras. I myself do not find that at all attractive, but if I did (as do some of my coworkers who share my height and perspective), would it be appropriate for me to let that distract me at every turn? I don't think so, it wouldn't be professional.

Batman sees himself as a consummate professional in what he does. Depending on the writer, he will either go nuts over Catwoman or only admire her personality. Considering how there is a standard sexual appeal for nearly every character whether they are a background "extra" or recurring, it is hard to determine whether Selina is just THAT striking or if it is her attitude. Either way, if suggesting that a character is gay if s/he will only be attracted to another based on their attitude rather than their sexuality, then I'm certain the entire human race is gay.

I very much disagree with your assertion that we all have gay tendencies simply because we are able to admire a man or woman of the same sex. Perhaps within the confines of that given A/B option, but in reality, we'd be living in a very..... decidedly plutonian world if we couldn't see the better qualities of our peers.

At the end of the day, Grant Morrison has very casually tossed around this claim to grab attention, and has expressed his opinion that to be gay is to be alienated. We are to make of this what we will, and that was his goal, I imagine.

Kane, with input, modified Batman's (preliminary) design because it was too circus-like, bright and garish. Then Robin was introduced and they didn't have the same trepidations with his costuming - he even was a circus orphan.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson (relationship also discussed by some) were a primary inspiration for the Batman as was Douglas Fairbanks (Swashbuckler).

Kane on gay Batman:

"Wertham read homosexuality into this thing because I had a man and a boy living in a big house together—in the same bedroom—with just a butler and no female around.

"It was all hogwash but I had to do something about it anyway. So I changed their bedrooms and I added Aunt Harriet—sort of a mother to both of them."

The TV show, IMHO, pushed perception the other way...

I also see interplay between the comics & non-comics Batman worlds.

Different creative forces that have contributed to the Batman mythos have some divergent thoughts on the topic and their influences should be considered.

I can't help but consider the sexual repressiveness of earlier times and how it sometimes outwardly expressed.

Intention? Perception? Becoming? Was? Is??

I was more a fan of Dr. Strange, Green Lantern and I really liked JLA.

I like Adam West's response for my general feelings on Batman overall - Gay, Straight or whatever, let them enjoy it.

Jesus, and still people dont understand what Morrison said.

He wasnt saying Batman was a homosexual. He was saying the whole concept had underlying gay themes, not that Batman himself is a homosexual...

Batman isn't gay, end of story.

@Tajin88

what?

Oh, I forgotten to say, the whole world is gay...

I second RunDTC!

@SpaceCase- You're right.

@teabag -Ha-ha, you're the master.

@RunDTC- Exactly.

Batman's a jew, and black and a woman...but NOT gay.(satire}

Batman is NOT gay.

Doodpool,

You are logically inconsistent. Remember you're applying your interpretations to both a fictional and real world.
By your logic, all athletes are gay. They essentially wear tights in showy colors. Boxers are mostly undressed and win a purse and a belt. Ridiculous.
Your comment about a mentor means that you do not understand the difference between mentoring someone and exploiting someone (sexually).
Saying that you admiration for a man is a sign of a gay tendency is preposterous. Is admiration for a strong woman a sign that you're gay or that you're a weak man? Where have you acquired your knowledge of flamboyance?

@Thunderkat
inconsistent with your opinion maybe :P I can't help the kind of ignorance of people who don't understand the word "pejoratively" and think Grant or my article are saying Batman is indeed a homosexual man, all i can say is i see the underlying gay themes or undertones as well and try to give people some perspective on how easy one can come to that conclusion in not just a superficial way. Also i do think there are "gay themes" in a bunch of grown men romanticizing athletes, if you don't see that i'll just blame the deep seeded sexual repression in America :) i'm not Freud but there is a spec of truth to everything. I don't get where people see Batman as sexually defined as characters like Tony Stark or Spider-man (can barely hold back his hard on when he sees black cat). Even superman who may seem more superficially gay on the surface has a muse in louis lane. Batman's muse is his Robin or his cause. I don't think Batman is gay though. though it wouldn't surprise me if he was.

@TonyChu
I guess a google search of batman making out is suppose to rewrite 20+ years of him dodging relationships in favor of isolation and running around in tights with his male companions. Well done but the pattern is these relationships go nowhere because of Bruce Wayne's Insecurities which warrant my article. How could he be the perfect image of his father if he didn't attempt to connect to women even if it doesn't come naturally to him.

@EsseXFactor

Yeah i thought these kinds of themes were plainly apparent in batman's continuity i'm shocked so many people don't get the point here.

@Tainted87
I see your point a little clearer but i think people are still filling in a lot of blanks. I don't see anything Morrison said as insinuating "to be gay is to be isolated" or i don't think he is portraying homosexuality in a negative light by saying batman emotionally favors the affection of Alfred/robin or that he is automatically a pedo or something. Gran is describing hang ups unique to Batman in which he feels in the long run of the character have turned into some gay undertones as well as the built in flamboyance of costumes and such. i don't think he's making these comments superficially i think he has a deep understanding of the character and feels okay making such judgement. At least we can agree that He's not just calling batman Gay as a derogatory term like most users here think.

Thanks for the input guys i'm gonna try to stop reading the comments now so i don't have a aneurysm. i'm sure you understand. I highly recommend people read the comics where you can delve deeper into the psyche of batman along with the authors. There are always deeper insights into what makes Bruce Wayne tick, try Batman RIP by Grant Morrison :)

Corndog, LMAO! YES! "Hey look at Bat's makin' it with this hawtie! Ur gay bro!" Dumbest shit ever. And, c'mon, you really think half the flamers know what 'pejorative' means? And lets entertain them for a minute, lets say Morrison was claiming that Bat's is gay, you think Bats would be the first gay person to feel ashamed or the need to hide it or prove to themselves that they weren't? Having sex with women does not make you hetero by default. I better stop before I add to the ignorance, as Morrison in NO WAY IMPLIED that the character himself was gay or that it would be a bad thing if he was.

Dude calm down it was a joke. sheesh

edit:here goes

He has sex with women they said. He can't be gay, they said. But on a real note, I think looking at too many comics has effected the ability to read paragraphs in some of you. He wasn't calling Batman gay but saying that the concept is gay and there is a sense of homosexuality in Batman. Many gay men have deep rooted daddy issues that they try to solve by doing whatever they can to make their dad proud and to replace their missing relationship with other men. These are both things that Batman has done through just becoming a superhero and by having a young boy and an older man as his main form of company. As for the fans what I'm reading is something akin to homophobia. No one called him gay but you feel the need to scream that he's straight? Also the fact that some people feel that they "know" Batman better than someone who writes his laughable. Besides it's just his opinion. You have the right to disagree but all this hate is ignorant.

@DoodPool

In the quote Morrison is definitely insinuating that he thinks Batman as a character is a homosexual.

By saying things like "Gayness is built into Batman.
"I'm not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There's just no denying it." "All these women fancy him and they all wear fetish clothes and jump around rooftops to get to him. He doesn't care - he's more interested in hanging out with the old guy and the kid."

Sure he mentions homo-erotic themes by noting the fetish based costumes but he is most certainly saying that he thinks Batman is sexually invested in men instead of women. He is essentially saying "I think Batman is gay, but that is ok because I mean it literally and not in a derogatory way."

I disagree with his assessment as well as yours for the following reasons.

Robin
The only reason Robin was introduced in the first place was to keep the attention of the young male readers so they could envision themselves as Robin carrying on adventures with the person they looked up to...Batman. As Kane himself said, once they realized people were assuming homosexuality they tried to remedy that image. I will come back to the topic of Robin in a moment.

Alfred
I would argue that Alfred is both a father and mother to Bruce in absence of his birth parents. He prepares Bruce's meals and tends to his wounds, he scolds him when it is necessary and supports him when it is required. Alfred is everything to Bruce because he full fills both parenting roles to him and one could argue that without Alfred's balanced guardianship, Bruce probably could have ended up as a criminal on the streets of Gotham.

The Role of Women in Bruce's life
Bruce does not keep women around for long because he does not have the luxury of a normal life. From time to time he has on and off relationships with Selena, Talia, Vicki and others but they never work out. This is not because he is gay, it is because they make him vulnerable. To remain Batman, Bruce must constantly be focused, disciplined and immersed in the darkness of Gotham City. As long has he is Batman, he has cursed himself with not having a normal life because there could be someone out there causing the pain that was caused in his life. His curse is his duty to focus his efforts on protecting the weak from the wicked instead of the commitment to a full fill a woman's needs and keep her happy. His curse is not related to being gay.

Robin continued
Since Bruce is married to his self appointed role of Gotham's protector and not a woman, Batman knows that he would not likely father a child (at least early on before Damien) So Robin is his legacy, his chance of being a father just as Alfred adopted him. Someone who he sees his own childhood pain in, and someone that he can either let become a victim to the streets or become a part of his legacy of determination and justice. Just as Alfred was his guardian, he takes on this role with the different Robins. Of course, they are mostly young boys. Bruce can relate to that because he was once that young boy without guidance. And of course he loves these kids who are essentially his sons making this very different from your Michael Jackson analogy of inviting kids to play at his ranch because he didn't have a childhood.

Besides over sexualizing the father/son dynamic with Alfred/Dick you are also inconsistent with your assessment because you fail to discuss the female robin characters within the history of Batman incarnations in addition to Batgirl and other female characters that are prevalent.

I'm pretty sure that anyone can baldly state then any character anywhere is gay. They aren't doing anything gay? repression. They say they aren't gay? denial. They are banging away on the opposite sex? self flagellation. They leave it unsaid? obsession.

However, we read into this character (just like all other fiction/fantasy characters) what we individually want to see. I have expressed above how I read into the character and that in it self is an assessment of my way of thinking just as you contemplating the possibilities of his homosexuality is an assessment of your.

While your analysis and Morrison's seems closer to that of Fredric Wertham in being certain that Batman is shrouded in homosexual tones, you and Morrison are the modern view saying that is ok while Wertham's assertions were in the 50's and riddled with fear and condemnation. This seems like an accurate barometer of the social progress of the matter. What you all fail to realize is that Batman is intriguing to the gay community not necessarily because he is attracted to men but rather that he was one of the first characters of his popularity and reach to be attacked for being gay throughout the years and he has persevered.

At the end of the day though while Morrison's Batman may be gay and your concept of him might fall in line with that assessment, Batman's creator Bob Kane is one among many in a continuing list of writers who assert that their interpretation of Batman was never gay.