There is a very interesting article on the ABC news website at present, about the resurgence of superheroes. The author, Yvette Blackwood,  bemoans the dearth of decent three dimensional characters, not to mention good female heroes and talks about some fascinating subtext that can be read into the whole superhero genre. It is fascinating stuff.

"Not too long ago we saw a change in the face of the superhero. No longer was it solely a man in a singular quest to save the universe. Instead, we had a witty little girl called Buffy. In the long running series, Buffy, along with her friends, slayed vampires and protected the world, but also attended proms and experienced the angst of college life. Third wave feminist scholars had a field day with other complex female action heroines like her, including Xena and Alias’ Sydney Bristow.

But where have all the good chicks gone? The last year or so has seen a spate of male heroes on our screens. There’s Iron Man, Indiana Jones and Batman, with a new Hulk to come. But while Robert Downey Jnr’s Iron Man is full of self-deprecating wit, Batman and Indiana Jones are strictly 2D when it comes to emotions."

She goes ont to talk about a few other characters, but this was the bit that intrigued me.

"Men in tights have long gripped Western culture and what lies beneath the literal story of the superhero is compelling. It’s not such a stretch to see a man who likes dressing up and hiding his true identity as an obvious coming-out metaphor for young gay men.

Scholars have written about superheroes’ confusing sexuality for years. Reading a film or television show as ‘queer’ (implying characters are gay or lesbian without explicitly stating it) has gone on for decades, largely due to the absence of gay men or lesbian women in Hollywood stories...

...Will Brooker’s scholarly analysis, Batman Unmasked, looks at readings of the Batman myth in American culture. He examines the fifties backlash against Batman comics, led by psychiatrist Fredrick Wertham, who argued children could see Batman and Robin’s relationship as endorsing a gay lifestyle. Comic books were subsequently censored, female characters were created and Bruce Wayne got a female love interest.

But the camp excesses which characterise queer culture were certainly present in Joel Schumacher’s take on the franchise (Batman Forever, 1995). He made sure there were lingering shots of Batman’s nipples and bulging leather crotch, plus an intimate friendship with young Robin."

I laughed when I read this the first time, but then I thought about it. I mean, she has a point. In the normal course of events, would any average heterosexual male throw on a mask, a cape and tights if he chose to become a vigilante? Wouldn't some camo gear, a flack jacket and an AK47 be more appropriate?

Why is it we don't think of superhero costumes as queer? Do superpowers make you immune to fashion blunders? Does the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound affirm a superhero's masculinity so profoundly, that he can get away with strutting around in tights with his undies on the outside?

The full article is here. I would be fascinated to hear your thoughts on the subject.

As for me... well, I don't think I'm ever going to look at a superhero quite the same way, ever again:)

LOL!! super heros are gay. all of them. but whats wrong with gays and lesbians?
if all the little boys in the world are obsessed with batman, and batman turns out to be gay, doesnt that mean that the furture generations will be more accepting of gays and lesbians?
and where did all the superhero chix go? zena the worrior princess and salior moon were my idols.
who do little girls these days have to idolize? Bratz? Barbie? yeah coz thats healthy.
if anyone is a comic writer, and they read this, can they PLEASE do something about the lack of female superheors in the world at the moment.

Fashion blunders! How dare you? haha.

My brother-in-law is convinced that Happy Feet is an endorsement of homosexuality (happy=gay, the penguin is different from the others). You can read all sorts of things into movies.

Give me a man in tights anyday! Having been to MANY Renaissance faires (and yes, in costume, too) there's nothing better than to see men showing their various 'forms'. Believe me, I've seen more than my fill of definate manly-men in them. Yum. What I can't take is how the kids of today dress. Baggy pants, underwear and ass hanging out all over the place, no crotch to talk of. Slobs in the making. No allure at all. How the hell do they think they'll ever attract a woman? I'll take a man in tights and willing to show his stuff over one of those any day.

I think its easy to miss what superheroes are--they are an expression of male sexuality, or at least, they appeal to the desire to appear massively masculine and sexual in young men who are not so terribly masculine. It was the original source of their success.

I don't think it's nessasarily a gay presentation, merely that overt male sexuality has come to hold homosexual overtones in our society....

That being said, in one of the original comics there was a scene of batman and robin sleeping in the same bed and Batman saying 'that good nights sleep is just what i need after our hard work last night.'

Ahem.

I agree with James. I don't think the mask wearing superhero is a gay representation. In history there were many cultures which put no emphases on gay relationships male or female. Somehow 'Western' culture has developed issues with gay relations, especially male/male relationships.

I've heard that the Turks are particularly brother-bonded (is that a word?) and men have many close and non-sexual relationship with other men.

I wonder how much of the superhero costume comes out of the costumes of earlier heroes. For example, is it much of a stretch to go from Robin Hood's costume or courtly garb to a superhero costume? You can clearly see traces of them in Superman's costume and Robin's costume.

After all, superhero's are modern knights - and it's not a stretch at all to see Iron Man's costume and the current incarnations of Batman's costumes as coming from suits of armor.