Friday 25 May 2012

Comic books and homophobia

What follows will be something that defers from my normal kind of blog post. I'm angry, and because of this I'm writing a post to pretty much express my feelings on a matter that has cropped up in the last few days. Be warned that this post does contain some strong language.

You might have heard that DC has announced that one of their superheroes is going to come out of the closet. This is great and shows that mainstream comics are making steps (albeit baby ones) to recognise homosexuality. Of course, this wouldn't be the first gay hero, but it adds to a very small list. At the same time, Northstar will be marrying his boyfriend, Kyle between the pages of Astonishing X-Men. Again, this is awesome and shouldn't stir as much controversy as it has done. But it has. Namely by "family" group One Millions Moms.

Here's some ignorant shit they said in their recent press release about the news:


"Children desire to be just like superheroes. Children mimic superhero actions and even dress up in costumes to resemble these characters as much as possible. Can you imagine little boys saying, “I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?”
This is ridiculous! Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They don’t but do want to indoctrate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable. As Christians, we know that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:26-27)."
And to you, One Million Moms, I say grow the fuck up. 
There's so much wrong with this that it makes my brain feel like it's been through a rusty mangler seventeen times before being fired out of a cannon at something very wrong. First off, children mimic superheroes because they are good, noble people with awesome powers and who fight for justice. It's a fallacy to say that having gay heroes will 'indoctrinate' kids (fuck that noise, honestly), because a) kids don't really care about sexuality when they're reading a comic about people destroying robots and taking down supervillians, and b) that's not how sexual preference works! People don't choose to be attracted to the same sex, the same way others don't choose to be attracted to the opposite sex. Obviously OMM doesn't agree, since they ignorantly refer to it as a 'gay lifestyle choice'. 
The saddest part of this affair is that at the end of the release they have a call to arms to have people write in and tell Marvel and DC not to go ahead with their 'agenda'. To actively censor something that is so innocent and good - a romance tale between two people. Just because something offends your delicate, misguided sensibilities doesn't give you the right to say what can and can't be printed in a comic book that will be read by people who don't share those sensibilities. Just because you believe in a religion, it doesn't give you some special privilege. Suck it up. If you don't like it, don't read it, although I urge you to start using your brain and come to the realisation that we're all people. Gay, straight, black, white; we're human beings and none of use have any more rights than others. If you don't agree with this, then you disagree with humanity. 
One Million Moms' members have no idea what it's like to be gay and the struggle that comes with it even today; hell I don't know, but I sure as fuck can empathise. Everyone needs heroes, especially those who are bullied at school for who they are. Have you thought about those kids? The kids who can't face school in the morning because they know full well that they will be at the brunt of every joke, that they will be physically hurt for something that they have no control over. Who would 'choose' that life? Nobody, and those kids need heroes too - they need to know that their favourite superheroes are going through the same emotions and the same turmoil as they are. Heroes that can make them feel better about themselves - more accepted. If more comics are printed with gay people as their stars, then it becomes commonplace and the bullying diminishes. But I think you're the bullies, OMM. You're selfish, arrogant, fucking bullies that want the world to reflect your backwards views. 
Well fuck you.


5 comments:

  1. Of course, the Forty Thousand Moms (I guess they round up to the nearest million, which is okay - not everybody is good with fractions) usually attracts more attention (and sales) to whatever draws their ire any given week, often unintentionally aiding what they're boycotting, as counter-attention from people who are, well, sane, more than make up for whatever damage their idiocy does.

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  2. One might interpret Romans 1:26-27 to mean that Paul was just a douchebag, but right away in 2:1 he goes on to say "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."

    So I guess his real deal was to screw with biblical literalists... making him an ecumenical doughebag.
    ~V~

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  3. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Why complain about it or try to censor it? Comic book publishers won't publish stuff like this if you don't buy it. It's a way to sell more comic books in a slow period and/or to bring attention to the title.

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  4. Isn't odd how indoctrination is such a bad thing, unless it's right wing religious people doing it? I find that peculiar.

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  5. People who want to ban things because their religion disapproves of it are like people that don't like halibut calling for a ban on seafood.

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