A few years ago during a reading of Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling revealed to all of her fans know
that one of her most beloved characters, Albus Dumbledore, was gay. This didn’t
affect anyone who had already read the books because Dumbledore was such a
lovable character and a favorite to many readers, including myself. Of the
people who hadn’t read the series, it probably had the greatest effect on the
gay community (now that the best character in one of the most popular series of
all time was a homosexual).
Let me explain why I don’t care about J.K.
Rowling’s announcement, and why you shouldn’t either. Rowling said that it was
apparent in the books that Dumbledore had been a homosexual all along… What?
There was not a single line in the book that even remotely suggested that
Dumbledore was gay. It’s evident that Rowling’s decision to make Dumbledore gay
was simply an attempt to gain publicity from the gay community, and I’m sure it
worked to some extent. It didn’t really affect the future of Harry Potter
because Rowling had finished writing all the books and Dumbledore’s sexual
orientation was meaningless.
Just recently, DC Comics announced that one
of their “iconic” characters was coming out of the closet. Evidently, this is
an attempt to gain publicity in the same way J.K. Rowling did, and with U.S.
President Barrack Obama recently stating that he supports gay marriage, there is no better
time for DC to convert one of their lead males to the other side. But is it a
good idea? Will it generate publicity in the same way Harry Potter did? I don’t
think so, unless DC chooses the right character.
What if DC reveals that Batman is gay?
After the countless girlfriends he’s had, Bruce Wayne finally admits he's a homosexual and the world needs to accept him for who he is. Hmm… What? Suddenly, many people are going to start looking
at Batman differently. Sure, his popularity will increase among gay people, but
what about straight people? As unfortunate as it may be for gay people, there
are still many people who are extremely homophobic, and if any of those people
are fans of Batman, they won’t be much longer.
It won’t affect DC to a great extent if the
character that is revealed to be gay is a side character. In fact, it may
actually be beneficial to them. If Batman were gay, the whole Batman universe
changes (this is how some people are going to see it), but if Bane (one of
Batman’s enemies) turns out to be gay, who cares? The gay community will be
happy that DC has introduced a gay character and everyone else won't care because Bane is just a side character.
It’s up to DC to make the right move.
Personally, I don’t care even if they say Batman is gay because I don’t have to
believe it. I'm not opposed to homosexuals, but it’s an obvious attempt to gain publicity. I also don’t read the
comics, so I won’t look at Batman any differently than I do right now. I am
obviously not speaking for everyone else. Since DC is already set on revealing
one of their characters as a homosexual, I think it should be a side character
because it’ll generate them publicity from the gay community and won’t lose them
many fans (if any) who dislike gay people. If they were to reveal one of their most
popular and most well-known characters as gay (such as Batman or Superman), it
wouldn’t help their business. It’s an unnecessary move because there’s no clear
homosexual in the DC universe (and everyone is speculating), but since it’s
already happening, DC should choose a side character or be prepared to lose
money.
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