In recent months, the topic of celebrity gay-baiting has been coming up at an ever-increasing rate: Nick Jonas (in chains or grabbing himself), Justin Beiber, Channing Tatum, & even Neville-freakin’-Longbottom have all been accused. Of course, other will argue that their flirty actions would fall under the category of fan service.
Like in many respects, the comic world often reflects what the wider pop culture is focused on, leading to similar complaints arising from gay comic book fans.
Just so we’re on the same page, let’s have common definitions. For our purposes, gay-baiting will be defined as “intentionally targeting and leading on gay fans (often in a sexual or flirtation manner) in order to drum up gay support” while fan service is “rewarding a loyal and established fan base by creating stories or images that they have been vying for”.
For a quick example, TrueBloodmight be an example of gay-baiting (where the writers will have same-sex love scenes which are then revealed only to be blood-induced dream sequences)…
while Supernatural’s 200th epidode “Fan Service” had the brothers watching a musical version of their own life (played by an all-female cast) which hinted at fan-fic speculation about sexual tension between them. Basically, the whole episode was fan-fiction come to life.
In the comic industry, two titles are setting themselves apart for their regular depictions of hunky guys: DC’s Graysonand Marvel’s Thor.
Now Grayson’s author, Tim Seeley, has been upfront about what he’s doing. In an early interview, he recognized that Dick Grayson was “considered a sex symbol” and that he was planning on “leaning into that”. A few months later, he was quoted saying “the influx of gay men, and a whole new audience of women…has been totally inspiring” that he and artist Mikel Janin “approached the book the right way” and that the audience should “expect more shirtless Dick”.
Janin spoke for himself, claiming that Dick “must be irresistible to everyone” and that he feels he’s accomplished his job as an artist when he receives feedback “from girls or gays about how hot [Dick] is”.
#wokeuplikethis
Yeah, I'm thinking of the Eiffel Tower too...
Didn't realize we were in a cologne commercial...
I'm more worried that he saw my boner than your ugly face...
Nice bod...but that face
Now, I’m definitely not one to complain about depictions of well-built shirtless men (in fact, I’m a proponent of de-stigmatizing the male body), but the Grayson issue really toes the line, crossing into gay-baiting territory. There are some narrative issues that muddy the waters. Dick is ordered to go undercover at a girl’s school as a gay acrobatics instructor (so as not to rile up the girls); he is also paired repeatedly with the openly gay Midnighter who is not shy in expressing physical attraction to Dick.
See Dick suck. Suck, Dick! Suck!
Said every gay boy ever
Screw facial recognition...
Guess "date night" is about rough trade
Given the context of either playing gay or sparring with a gay man who is attracted to you, the interactions take on a different tone. They begin to create a narrative that seems to be preparing the audience for a revelation of Dick’s sexual preference; however, when there is SO much leading without the expected resolution, it simply baits the queer audience.
Depends: in my dreams or in reality?
On Marvel’s side, Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman from Thor fame, have been garnering attention for their….merits. Here’s a recent spread that caught my attention.
Let me give you a close-up there…
Thine booty though...
Inside the cover, Dauterman has been delighting fans with his depictions of a shirtless, muscled, hunky Odinson. Similar to Grayson, there is a shirtless panel in almost every issue.
Thou art so cute when thou art angered...
I feel like I'm worshipping at his...feet
Thou canst ride my Rainbow Bridge any time
However, the tone is distinctly different. Dauterman, by showing the beauty of Odinson’s form without leading his audience to a false conclusion: he is inverting the male gaze. He is recognizing that not all fans are straight cis-men. He is evening the playing field. And in a title like Thor—one where the lead is a physically strong female who herself is inverting stereotypes—having Jane’s love-interest be treated like arm candy is both appropriate and amusing since that’s the role she filled herself for years. This would fall into the fan service category (especially the leather pants…I mean, come on! We’re supposed to believe that Odinson would immediately spring for the loosely tied biker pants of his own volition?).
Yeah, I'd tap that too, Jane
Of course, the big question is who cares? Why does it matter?
For many queer fans, most of our teenage years were spent living in a fantasy world, one where the people who we adored actually wanted us in return. And while straight people can empathize with unrequited love, I doubt that they had to deal with the flat out impossibility of romance that we did on a regular basis. At least there was a chance that the straight boy might like the straight girl: not so much when you add a gay boy to the equation.
But imagine if the straight boy you have a crush on starts flirting with you. Imagine if he starts leading you on. Imagine if it was all a cruel joke or an attempt to use you for an ulterior motive. We wouldn’t stand for such treatment in our actual lives; why do we tolerate it in our fiction? We’re used to looking from afar, pining for the impossible dream, but fiction is supposed to be our escape from such harsh realities.
So when you’re staring at that beautiful drawing next time, consider what purpose the author and artist had. Do they want to reward their audience for their support, or do they want to give cheap thrills to get your money? Because, at the end of the day, any title should consider itself lucky to have our rabid, queer fanship. Let’s make them earn it, shall we?
Gay-baiting? Me? Naw!
Thoughts, comments? Jump in below!
