#yes batman IS a queer icon

[arlos-warm-drpepper]

The thing about male DC fans is that 90% of them are old as fuck. Half of them are freak batcesters who believe Robin and Batman are queer icons while the other half think that DC making Tim Drake queer is the worst possible thing that could’ve ever happened.

Both of these are gross for separate reasons.

[queerryan]

BatJoker it's the most homophobic ship and no one will be able to change my mind on this. I wouldn't even care if it wasn't for the people who ship it saying all those ignorant arguments.

"Oh the queer subtext in the joker", yes, there is a queer subtext in the joker, BUT IT'S NOT THERE AS A GOOD THING. All the queer subtext it's there to put emphasis on Joker's madness and illness and a lot of time it's there to DISGUST.

"Look at these moments of him being affectionate with Batman", because he KNOWS that disgusts Bruce. He isn't in love with him, he wants to torture and disgust Bruce in any way he can. The way he behaves ""queer"" towards batman it's close to sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

Joker isn't some "Queer icon" he's a rapist, a straight mad man who just want to disgust his victims and torture them even in sexual ways. He's as queer as the kidnapper in Killing Stalking (which the author confirmed to be straight)

[devine-fem]

lol might get hate for this but in my opinion in terms of the ranking the SuperBat pairings….

1.) Damijon/Jondami- Yes I’m completely bias but I never felt this strong for such a pairing (regardless either platonic/romantic! ) Such an iconic (chaotic) duo! I’m glad the dynamic of Damian and Jon worked out well and is well loved!

2.) Superbat-I mean they are the OGs and I can get why fans love their dynamic and pair them! I’m more bromance for them but I do look forward to their interactions whenever the two appear together!

3.) Timkon-I’m neutral for them. I like the fanarts if I see them but otherwise I think they seem more aesthetically good together than like actually together. Hey at least Tim has Bernard now and personally Kon deserves better.

Jon + Damian have squashed potential. Their friendship would have done both their characters so much good. Eventually, as they grew Jon would have felt like he’d have to chase after Damian and keep up and Damian would seek and find in Jon when it comes to anything he can’t obtain as a hero.

Out of all the popular ships, this one is particularly rare.

Imagine a world where Jon and Damian did engage in a romantic relationship in later years. I think it would be great queer rep to show two people who knew each other as friends - grappling with the same heroic pressures and coming to terms with the fact that they might not want to be just friends anymore (a common queer experience) I also think that in stories where they are do become Batman and Superman, it’d feel very refreshing to see DC have the courage to portray an iteration of their most popular characters like that.

These characters are both fairly new and not so much engraved into the audience. They both know each other and share chemistry so there wouldn’t be a lot of room for complaint.

Superbat is meh to me. Over the years, It has done a lot regarding DC fandom, it’s a ship that’s become iconic and is popular amongst passive fans which could become quite annoying.

Superbat is realistically, never going to happen. Respectfully, I doubt DC would do anything in all seriousness when it comes to anything romantic between these two.

Especially with the obvious things like how Batman is and how Clark has a wife and kids.

Although, no ship is shipped under the ideation of becoming canon so I give this pair its flowers because honestly, it could be nice in domestic situations or maybe a workplace relationship but I don’t see it being endgame or like anything happening at all in a likable way.

Timkon, I’m very, very bias about how much I dislike Timkon. Most Timkon shippers realistically do not read comics and I know this because I was one at first for a short amount of time and realized how deluded and far off from the truth Timkon actually is.

It’s crazy to me because fandom is so intense about this ship and all for it to be… alright?

A lot of Timkon stuff is boiled down to being one-sided on Tim’s part. It really irks me that Timkon's evidence is like Tim trying to clone Conner while knowing that he has a thing about not being cloned because he’s a clone himself which irks me.

Then him dating his ex-girlfriend is a HUGE red flag to me, especially when their relationship was semi-abusive and built on grief but good thing it didn’t last.

Also, Tim and Conner are NOT as close as people pretend they are. Conner doesn’t know much about Tim beyond him being Robin, they don’t hang out outside of being heroes.

In reality, Conner doesn’t know much about Tim at all and he’s much closer with his other teammates - literally any other YJ teammate other than Tim. Conner's established friendship with Tim caused a lot of really horrible character assassinations on Bart, Cassie, and Conner. It pushed all characters aside in an attempt to emphasize their relationship.

If they were to have a relationship then people acknowledge its toxicity - see toxicity doesn’t take away from shipability but frankly, I think both these characters deserve to be happy.

If they did date, I seriously give them half a year before they break up. I’m happy Tim is with Bernard because he seems much happier than he’s ever been. I’m sorry, reading those comics it felt like Tim was just grieving his friend after having lost a family member and he was spiraling and needing help, that’s not ‘cute’ to me.

Anyway, I notice Timkon shippers use Kon more as an accessory to Tim and melt his character down for that. If they read his comics then they’d know that he is canonically attracted to Bart anyway (I say canonically because of the on-the-nose insinuation which I take as gospel because it’s crazy for a writer to just outright mention Conner might be attracted to Bart.) Which Bart is most of the reason Conner is queer coded like he is now anyway.

Anyway, not saying all Timkon shippers are horrible but I don’t like the shippers or the ship. It’s substanceless for me. If you like it I’m very happy for you. I think all of these ships are iconic and adorable. This is just me being a person with an opinion.

Anyway, my thoughts.

[augment-techs]

and ye shall receive my friend! for the book recs

1, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 44, and 62

a book that is close to your heart: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. I watched the movie first, A LOT, as a pre-teen and teen, and then found out the book was about three times as good--no offense to Kristen Stewart, my first queer crush and still reigning champion of Queer Icons. The writing is so very good to form the pictures in your head, and you can actually feel the girl breathe in those first chapters. a book that got you through something: The Hours, by Michael Cunningham. After my mother died, I fell back on watching the movie repeatedly, until I found the book and started reading that--and then I started writing 'Twinning' for the Batman Beyond fandom~ a book that made you trip on literary acid: In This Light, by Melanie Rae Thon. I knew of stream of consciousness in writing since being introduced to Virginia Woolf after high school, but this is a WHOLE other level. Especially when you consider some of the characters being a war veteran that took pity on an overweight corpse in a morgue and broke his legs as a result; a young southern girl who almost died after leaving an abortion clinic too soon after her appointment and crawling into an open refrigerator in left in a field at the height of summer; an underage sex worker following in the steps of the ghost of her sister and experiencing both tragedy and transcendence; the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who tried and failed to save a girl who simply died swimming in an city pool. a book you’d recommend to your younger self: The Shining, by Stephen King. The movie never scared me, it just made me anxious for Wendy and Danny and PISSED when Halloran was killed. The book was much more eerie, and morally grey, and I fully agree with Mr. King about how the movie is more of a mirror universe to the one he created in print. your least favorite book ever: I have a collective that I've read once and never again. The first three in Tucker Max's self-important party boy memoirs that each had one--count them--precious gem of wisdom in each, usually about the freedom of speech and hypocrisy of Conservative Republicans. His writing is provocative, but his homophobic, borderline-sociopathy makes me want to slam his head in a car door. Especially when you get to him reviewing all the sexual partners he's had and realized he's slept with trans-girls (asshole). a book that got you out of a reading slump: ....I don't technically HAVE reading slumps. I have writing slumps, but not reading. I'm pretty sure the only days I don't read are when I'm too sick to stay awake for more than five hours. But, for the sake of answering the question, let's go with Go Go Power Rangers, the first in the Boom! Buffy comics, anything written by Emma Donoghue, The Novel Cure, 500 Books for Teens, and Film-ol-ogy. your favourite fantasy novel: I...can't...choose. There is a tie between Watership Down, by Richard Adams and The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. One is the epic journey of rabbits into their new home, being brutalized and prone to getting side-tracked the entire way; and everyone knows what the other is about. a book with a forgettable plot but amazing characters: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, by Tamaki and Valero-O'Connell. The entire time throughout this gorgeous graphic novel, I wanted to shake Freddy for letting Laura Dean back in and forgetting about her best friends that are always there for her, but have their own issues constantly going on in the background. Thankfully, we have Vi cheering her on again and again--even after Freddy introduced herself by puking on Vi's work counter.

[fuyunoakegata]

Curious to ask, what are your Top favorite suits Dick wore in crime fighting, from his the classic Pixie Boots to the modern day blue with black and everything in between?

Depending on the day, #1 is either Fingerstripes or Discowing, probably not surprise to anyone who's talked to me or followed me for any length of time (I'm wearing a Discowing shirt right now 🤣). # 2 is whichever wasn't #1, lol. # 3 is probably Rebirth Nightwing. Pixie boots and scaly green panties would be #4 (yes, I know it's a leotard, lol) and I hate that I'm ranking it that low. I was a teenager before Discowing debuted, anyway, and I watched way too many cartoons with Dick in red green and yellow, so just for nostalgia factor and sheer iconic was, that's high up there. Let's go with just prior to Flashpoint DickBats #5. I love the little details how he made the Batsuit his own, from the belt buckle to being able to shoot the horns on the cowl. #6 Dick as a Talon. I have a love hate relationship with TalonDick. I don't always like the execution of it in writing, but dang, I love the look of it. There's a fan art of it that came out a long time ago that just... I almost drool at how beautiful it is. (I also have a quick sketch with Dick as a Talon in my book of convention commissions) #7 Grayson. unpopular opinion, but I did like just being able to see him unmasked then. I cosplayed it once, lmao. Sat right in front of Tom King, staring at him during a panel with a faceless swirly mask 🤣 Animated Series Nightwing #8. Classic black and blue, but ranked lower because no Fingerstripes. It does look good, but dude, those stripes can't be pulled off by just anyone. It's like with dance costumes (or marching band). The stripes draw attention, so any flaw of movement is magnified. It takes confidence in your ability and absolute skill (and he has both and then some). Add both of those together with his showmanship, and it's probably distracting as hell in a fight, too. Unpopular opinion, but I loved the colors of the Mulletwing outfit, I just hate how it came about (and a lot of the ways it's drawn). I think maybe it's just me being partial to blue and gold. It could be redone to look nice, with the right artist (and an entire different story to how he picks it, and without the hair). So it gets #9 and beats out New 52 red and black (#10) just for the color scheme 🤣. That leaves #11 as Renegade and #12 as the New 52 and Rebirth versions of Robin where he has pants. I just don't like those.

I didn't add in the animated movies or Earth-2 or Earth Two Batman or Robin or animated Young Justice (I do love YJ Robin and Nightwing) or the animated movies or Titans tv. I'd potentially be here all day then, lol. Also, I'm definitely queer enough to admit I didn't hate the Batman & Robin movie suit 😂 If there are any more versions or AUs you're curious about me ranking, ask away 😋 or send choices and have me pick a winner. Kingdom Come vs Ric or The Target vs Polka Dot shirt? Who wins? Heck, if you're curious enough, I'll answer specific versions by specific artists, even. 🤣 hint: Nightwing Bloodborne always loses, even though it's Fingerstripes. I enjoy the hell out of the hurt comfort in the story, but I can't with that art style. I just can't.

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

Things Selina Kyle aka Catwoman is: Jewish coded, explicitly stated by her creator to be Black(presumably on her father's side, the daughter of a Cuban Refugee(her Mother), Bisexual, Chronically Whitewashed. Things she is not: White, Straight. I personally feel Blessed that she is being played by Zoë Kravitz in The Batman and voiced by Sanaa Lathan in Harley Quinn animated, As well as the DCSuperheroGirls cartoon basing their version on the Eartha Kitt's Iconic portrayal 1/2

2/3 (Catwoman Anon) These racist fake geekboys insisting that she's White are seriously infuriating me. It's just a Boldfaced Lie to try and claim that Selina is White. There is literally no validity to yt?Catwoman? Even her !German! Bobmshells verse counterpart is JEWISH. (and very queer) I can't stand that she's been so consistently Whitewashed that her identity has been erased in/by Pop Culture mindscape and replaced by some boring white dudes idea of her.

3/3(Catwoman Anon) Anyway, this got much more ranty than I intended, I started this to say Can we aggressively promote Black!Catwoman and make sure Zoe gets the love she deserves? I'm so tired of these idiots and I wanna drown them out and kill their whitewashed Catwoman fantasy forever

__________________

Yes we will aggressively promote Zoe as Catwoman, I can’t wait!!!  I kinda wanna get pictures of zoe with her onscreen daughter on Big Little Lies to do social media mockups of Selina and Bruce’s life as parents.

It’s ok if you got ranty that’s what we’re here for! I’m so excited for Jewish and Black Catwoman!!!

mod ali

[gavillain]

NINE FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOWS IN POSTERS

So this one was hard to narrow down actually. I very nearly had both How to Get Away With Murder and Reba on here, but I went with the nine I included here. Big honorable mention to those two though as well as House of Mouse, Will & Grace, RWBY, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and The Nanny. Oh, and Jeopardy if game shows count!

The Golden Girls is my favorite TV show and was so fundamental to my humor and morals, and just nothing feels like a warm hug in the same way as The Golden Girls. It really is the ultimate sitcom, and the ladies that star in it are icons that deserve all the love they can get. It’s just truly perfect. Yes, I am a typical gay man XD

Gotham is the show that made me love Batman again after internet cyberbullies ruined the character for me. It’s fun, it’s dark, it’s campy, it has Jada Pinkett-Smith playing a fabulous gangster. What’s not to love?

Spider-Man: the Animated Series is the show that first got me into Marvel comics and is, to me, the definitive and unmatched adaptation of Spider-Man that perfectly understands the character and his universe.

I love vampires and supernatural creatures, and I love anything set in the south, so, naturally, True Blood was right up my alley. Wasn’t crazy about the last two seasons, but the first five (especially when it featured Russell Edgington) were really something special.

I debated even including Once Upon a Time. I think it’s honestly mostly a bunch of tripe, and it turned into one of the worst things on TV. However, I loved the first two seasons and parts of S3 and S4, and the good parts of it were SO good that I end up rewatching and loving parts of it more than most other shows that are stronger wholes, so I included it for that reason.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is a show I avoided for a while because I didn’t want to be a “stereotype” (score one for internalized homophobia), but ultimately when I decided to give it a chance, I found that I really loved it. It’s one of the only things on TV that combines theater, costume design, and queer culture all in one fabulous package and I love watching it with my boyfriend as a way we can bond.

Hercules, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin are sort of the ultimate trifecta of animated Disney shows for me. They all are perfect continuations of the movies whilst also bringing their own unique style to the table. They’re all just super creative and exciting shows that understand and expand why we love those movies in the first place. 

TAGGED BY: @marciabrady

TAGGING: @jcmorrigan, @tgunn64, @eerieeyes, @shadowx21, @the-aqua-fangirl

[orlissa]

aurorafiberarts replied to your post: I’m about to write an analysis of this Ms....

… so that wasn’t written by or marketed to women, I’m guessing.

Haha, nope :D Okay, buckle up kids :P

So the essay I’m working on right now is a comparison between Carol Danvers and Wonder Woman, between how the two have been marketed and represented over time.

Carol first started out in the late sixties as a side character in the Captain Marvel comics (when Mar-Vell was Captain Marvel). It wasn’t until 1977 that she got superpowers and got her own series--which was, still, kind of a mess. It was born out of what I like to call femsploitation: a weak attempt to ride the wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement, sprouting “feminist” stuff without actually understanding what it meant. The first issue literally said on the cover: “This female fights back!” Her first uniform was basically a bikini with boots and opera gloves. And a scarf, because that made sense. Of course, it was created by men--first Gerry Conway, then Chris Claremont took over after two issue if I remember well, and he did fix some of the issues. Her costume was changed, twice (the second time to that swimming dress with the lightning bolt that remained her go-to uniform till 2012). It didn’t really matter, the series was cancelled after twenty-odd issues.

After that, Carol was...flundering. She didn’t have her own series again until 2006. She was The Avengers, she was in X-Men, but that’s about it. She was raped then gave birth to her rapist (don’t ask), was experimented on, was in a coma because of Rogue, lost her memories, became an alcoholic so Iron Man would have someone to sponsor. Not a victory march.

Then came 2006 and the second Ms. Marvel series. It actually run for 50 issues, till 2010. All fifty written by Brian Reed. It did introduce the whole “best of the best” idea: Carol started the series out by saying “I wanna be the best of the best” and ended with “I may not be the best, but I can be the best version of myself.” Which is nice. You go girl. However, at the same time, she was basically her worst enemy throughout the whol series, sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally. Civil War started not long after Ms. Marvel started, and for the whole duration of the event Carol was almost like the antagonist of her own series. And she was sexualized. A lot. There was a flashback storyline during which, back when she was just an airforce pilot, she was captured in the Middle East, stripped to her underwear, bound to a chair, and tortured for days.That was the story.

And then came the glorious year of 2012, when Marvel took a 180 degree turn with the character. They basically went “what if we tried to actually market her to women?” And, like, the editor in chief (sorry, I can’t remember who was it at the time) went “what if she had a uniform I would be okay with my daughter wearing as a Haloween costume?” And then they brought in women to write the story--no joking here, except for a couple of co-written crossover/event issues, Captain Marvel (yeah, because it was 2012 when she took up this name) has been written exclusively by women. First of those was Kelly Sue DeKonnick, an army brat herself, who said that just because Carol is a soldier, she should have a stick up in her ass. So she gave her a pilot’s swagger. And she also introduced Chewie-the-flerken (Chewie was added by Reed, but then she was just a cat, the flerken-stuff was DeKonnick).

But then thing is, Marvel could do this, because Carol is one of several. By this, I mean that as far as character hierarchy goes, DC is super centered: it’s all about The Holy Trinity (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman). Everything else comes after them. But Marvel has no such center--because who is the most important, most prototypical Marvel character/team? The Avengers? The Fantastic Four? Spider-Man? The X-Men? Who knows! They all have about the same importance, but none of them is as important as Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman. Which basically means that they had little to lose if the whole “marketing Carol for women” thing failed. They had like... Black Widow, or Jean Grey, or Invisible Woman to fall back on. Sexy women surrounded by men.

DC, on the other hand, is pretty tied with Wonder Woman--they can’t really do anything too radical with her, because if that fails, it fails big. I know, here comes that “but Wonder Woman is a great feminist icon!” Yes, she is, and no, she is not. Actually, she is pretty much ruled over this duality: she is a hypersexualized image and a feminist icon. She is heterosexual and she is queer. She is a pacifist and she is connected to war. You can’t have one side of the coin without the other when it comes to her. Even when she is representing superb feminist values, she is going to do it with her boobs out. Because she is in the center, and thus has to remain appealing to the general comic book audience (which is still the “older, white, heterosexual male” group).

[cupidquinn-moved]

lmao so like, if this is a a tangentially Batman related blog, can I cry big manly tears about Edgelord Eddie in the new movie? 

Okay, okay, but more relevantly, can we have a good long conversation about DC’s deep-seated terror of camp since Joel Schumacher nearly single-handedly destroyed Batman on film. It’s truly astonishing. I need you to think about the fact that they are so shit scared of the franchise being seen as ridiculous that they appear to be taking one of the most iconic members of the Rogue’s Gallery and turning him into a re-skin of the fucking Zodiac Killer. Why? Fucking give me a good reason. Beyond ‘i dunno maybe you should wait until it comes out before you judge — ‘ imma stop you there and ask you what’s wrong with The Riddler as he’s usually portrayed? He wears a green suit (sometimes with question marks on it but not always and less so in recent years), has a sword cane, is ginger, and rather flamboyant. C’mon. We’re all still fine with Joker dressing like a fucking eggplant and taking him seriously as a threat.

I suppose you could argue someone got the idea to butch him up for the sake of him seeming “scarier” or, just to name the elephant in the room, some dumbfuck attempt to course correct a queer coded character. Which. honestly is kind of a stupid argument considering they were perfectly fine with letting Ewan camp up Black Mask, who was uhhhh....defo queer coded in the year of our sweet satan 2020. (also it still fucks me up that BoP came out in 2020 and how mad I still am that i fucked around and procrastinated on going to see it before the virus dropped and killed our local theatre). Which brings me to the more baffling observation is they’re perfectly fine with their other movies being flamboyant, strange, and yes, even camp and silly. They just seem to want it far, far away from Batman. Which is so, so strange and yeah I know Lego Batman exists and he’s in Harley Quinn: The Animated Series as a sad, awkward loser, but every feature film since Christopher Nolan took the helm has been grimdark af. 

Now i don’t want a return to the clown show that was the Shumacher movies, but I just. Don’t want Zodiac Riddler. I feel like they wanted to do Joker again but lmao, who the fuck is the Joker now? Is it Joaquin? Is it Jared Leto? Who fucking knows???? And I guess we’re sick of the Joker which is fair and hey you know what, maybe we don’t need Edgelord Eddie either.

tl;dr: Iggy spends three paragraphs whining about The Riddler.

[lgbtincomics]

hey! I saw that you made a list of lgbt oriented comics from marvel and I thought it was really cool, I was wondering if any member could make one but from dc? thanks anyways!!

Hello! We made a DC list before, but I feel like I can make a better one so here we go:

Those who came first in the list are the ones I think are more relevant, have better representation or a larger number of LGBT characters, but that’s in no means a perfect ranking.You can also check out our recommendations tag.

DC Bombshells - The. gayest. comic. It’s a good start because you don’t need to be familiar with the DC universe to read this one. It’s an alternate WWII universe where Batwoman saved Bruce Wayne’s parents and he never became Batman, so the main heroes and the “Justice League” are all female. It features many DC characters (mostly women) that are already LGBT - and yes all the letters - in the main universe, like Batwoman, Wonder Woman, Harley & Ivy, Constantine, Alysia Yeoh, Dr. Victoria October etc. but also other characters are in wlw relationships in this verse, like Vixen & Hawkgirl, Doctor Light & Big Barda etc. It’s written by Marguerite Bennett, who’s an amazing author and a queer woman, so her books always have good representation.

Batwoman (2017) - Speaking of Marguerite Bennett, Kate Kane’s current solo comic is also written by her. In my opinion, one of the best DC Rebirth titles. Kate is DC’s most iconic lesbian and such a great character. If you’re not familiar with her, you can start with Batwoman: Elegy (Detective Comics #854-860) or read her appearances in chronological order - here’s a list that will help you.

Midnighter (2015), Midnighter and Apollo (2016). Written by Steve Orlando, who’s openly bisexual. Midnighter and Apollo, aka the world’s greatest couple, were introduced back in the 90s, on the Wildstorm comics - a former DC imprint. The Wildstorm characters are now a part of the main DC universe. You don’t have to be familiar with the characters to read this two comics, but you can check out the original Authority, which also features two bi women as leads. Here’s a Midnighter reading list, if you want to know more about this awesome character, and an Authority masterpost.

Constantine: The Hellblazer - Written by bisexual author James Tynion IV, this is the comic with the best representation of Constantine as a bisexual character (because that’s what happens when LGBT writters write LGBT characters).And if you want to know more about him (which you should, he’s DC’s most iconic anti-hero), check out these reading lists: x x x. The original Hellblazer is a must read but please note that he only started being written as bisexual many years after his first appearance. I can make a Bi Constantine reading list if you’re interested.

Secret Six (2006, 2008, 2015) - Written by Gail Simone, it has a lot of LGBT characters (as her books usually do!). Scandal, Catman and Porcelain are some of them. Personally, it’s one of my favorite comics and I believe that team deserves more popularity.

The Movement - Another comic by Gail Simone, it also has a lot of LGBT characters, including the couple Sarah Rainmaker and Holly Ann Fields.

Detective Comics (2016) - Also Written by James Tynion IV, it features Batwoman in the main cast. Other characters are Harper Row - a bisexual blue-haired girl, and Dr. Victoria October - a wonderful trans woman. (And i personally feel like he wants to reveal more characters as gay or bi really soon - but that’s just speculation).

Demon Knights  - Really underrated comic. I’ve only read a few issues but it seems great. You don’t have to be familiar with the DC universe. This comic is set in the Dark Ages and features genderqueer character Sir Ystin/The Shining Knight and Exoristos, a lesbian amazon. It also features Madame Xanadu, who’s bi/pan, but I don’t think she’s portrayed as such in this title.

Wonder Woman (2016) -  (Greg Rucka’s Run - issues #1-25). In a subtle way, Rucka portays Diana’s homeland Themyscira as a - in his words - “queer society”. It’s almost certain that Diana has had many lovers on that island. It also features a romance between Etta Candy and Barbara Minerva (aka the villain Cheetah). This may be a controversial suggestion since the representation isn’t as “explicit” as in other comics, but it’s there and it’s a great run.

Deathstroke (2016) - Because Joey Wilson deserves more appreciation. Introduced in The New Teen Titans back in the 80s, he was originally intented to be gay by his creators, but they gave up because they thought that it would be a stereotype, since he’s a sensitive, artistic guy. However, author Priest decided to make him bi/pan in his Deathstroke run. It’s another controversial suggestion, since he’s revealed as bi/pan by having a relationship with an older man, plus he’s a “no labels” kind of person… But the thing is, he is a bi/pan disabled character and I love him. Deathstroke is also considered by many people the best of DC’s current titles.

Outsiders (2003) - It features bisexual amazon Grace Choi and lesbian superhero Anissa Pierce. They’re girlfriends.

Superwoman (2016) - It features adorable couple Traci 13 and Natasha Irons and, more recently, lesbian alien Maxima.

Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love - A graphic novel starring a bi/pan character who falls in love with her nonbinary friend.

I hope this helps! 

[rebelsofshield]

2017: The 10 Best Pieces of Star Wars Media

With installments in almost every form of storytelling media, 2017 has been a busy year for the Galaxy Far, Far Away. There have been more than a few duds, but even with a few minor hiccups, 2017 brought us some all-time classic Star Wars stories. 

10. Forces of Destiny

In a way, “Forces of Destiny” may just be a glorified series of animated toy commercials. However, there is an undeniable sense of charm and energy to the series. With its simplistic but often expressive animation and all-star voice cast, “Force of Destiny’s” chronicling of the adventures of Star Wars’ heroines is a fun distraction with plenty of family friendly adventure. It’s a welcome reminder that this universe is a place of inspiration and escapism for fans of all ages, genders, sexes, and races. Also, I’m weirdly a huge fan of Sabine Wren and Jyn Erso teaming up. Let’s see that pairing again.

9. Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End

Despite a rocky start, Chuck Wendig’s expansive, quirky, and inclusive Aftermath trilogy improved itself with each installment before finally reaching its creative zenith in Empire’s End. With a galaxy spanning scope and a truly diverse ensemble of characters, Wendig draws to a close the narratives of three books but also creates a tight epilogue for the finale to the original era of Star Wars. The result is frequently mysterious and foreboding but just as often romantic, tragically emotional, and laugh out loud funny. Wendig’s take on the Star Wars universe feels unique to his own mind and bridges the distant war-torn galaxy to our own political landscape in intelligent and oddly relevant ways.

8. Captain Phasma/Phasma

Yes, I’m aware the duel pairing of this would really make the list “Top 11 2017 Pieces of Star Wars Media,” but Delilah S. Dawson’s novel, Phasma, and Kelly Thompson and Marco Checchetto’s limited comic series, Captain Phasma ,function as a perfect duology. Together, both Thompson and Dawson take on the task of redeeming the character of Phasma in the cultural psyche and craft the chrome armored warrior into the dangerous and surprisingly haunting villain we all expected her to be when she first debuted in The Force Awakens in 2015. The two create a strong piece of storytelling synergy that draw together Phasma’s origins and future and craft a dangerous and opportunistic woman who quickly stakes her claim as the Boba Fett of a new generation.

7. Star Wars: Darth Vader -Dark Lord of the Sith

When writer Charles Soule originally solicited this series earlier this year, he described it as “Darth Vader: Year One,” referencing the famous Frank Miller Batman comic.  Soule has taken this inspiration in following the immediate aftermath of Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader and has turned in a brutal and at times horrifying character study of a man at his moral and emotional lowest point. Coupled with Giuseppe Camuncoli’s dynamic art which excels at kinetic action sequences, Soule is more than on his way of living up to the lofty legacy of Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca’s now legendary run on Darth Vader just last year.

6. Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

While the video game that shares its name and from which it draws inspiration may have largely been a disappointment, Christie Golden’s tie-in novel “Inferno Squad” makes for one of the best Empire centric narratives told in the current canon. Following an elite Imperial special forces unit in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star, Golden’s take on the titular Inferno Squad hammers home the dangers of fanatical fascism in the face of catastrophe or loss. The result is a tense and nail-biting story that sees squad leader Iden Versio and her allies infiltrating some of the last remaining members of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans to stop potential terror threats against the Empire. While Golden may not turn you into an Imperial convert, she does explore, in perhaps the most realistic and intimate way to date, the mindset that a soldier working for this government would have.

5. Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi

While understandably controversial and divisive, writer and director Rian Johnson’s eighth installment in the Star Wars saga is among the most creatively daring of the franchise. Upending much of our expectations for both the series and genre, Johnson’s script, even if it may run a little long, crafts a twisting and unpredictable tale of legacy, destiny, and the personal/societal importance of heroes. The result is a Star Wars movie that feels unique in its purpose, delivery, and message. From thrilling space battles, political intrigue, to musings about the place of Jedi and the Force in the galaxy, Johnson’s Star Wars is an epic space opera that tickles the brain as well as the eyes. Drawing it together are a wide string of talented performances with particular standouts being in Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac. However, hanging over the entire proceeding is a genuine sense of melancholy as Carrie Fisher provides her final, and one of her best, performance as the iconic Leia Organa.

4. Thrawn

Thrawn and Timothy Zahn are a pair as linked by destiny as any two in-universe characters in the Star Wars saga. Ever since Zahn brought the calculating, art-loving tactician to life in his deservedly iconic Heir to the Empire, Thrawn has haunted and loomed over the Star Wars expanded universe with an appropriate sense of gravitas. For the first time, Zahn positions Thrawn not as a villain but as an anti-hero protagonist and in the process creates a unique look in this iconic aliens mind. The result is a thrilling and intriguing piece of military sci-fi that functions not only as a prequel to the third season of Star Wars Rebels but also to Zahn’s work in the Legends continuity. Fans of classic Star Wars novels are sure to be as satisfied as new converts to Thrawn’s web.

3. Doctor Aphra

Without a doubt the best creation from Marvel’s current tenure in the Star Wars universe, Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is just about everything that makes a great character in the galaxy far, far away. Originally created in the formerly mentioned Darth Vader ongoing by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, Aphra quickly won the attention and hearts of readers through her blunt sense of humor, wild schemes, and fluid morality. In short, Aphra is a queer, chaotic neutral Indiana Jones that also happens to get herself into uneasy alliances with Sith Lords, unstable Wookie bounty hunters, and psychotic murder droids.  Gillen’s follow up series with regular artist Kev Walker is one of the most refreshing and stylistically unique offerings of the new canon that regularly blends heist thrills, light cosmic horror, and laugh out loud humor. It’s a series that delights with almost every issue and Star Wars fans are all the more blessed to have it.

2. Star Wars Rebels

While it may not have had anything as instantly iconic and mythic as season two’s stellar finale “Twilight of the Apprentice,” Star Wars Rebels continues to grow into a mature and superbly realized animated journey. As the series moves into its conclusion in the first half of 2018, it is important not to underplay the important work that executive producer Dave Filoni and his crew provided in 2017. While furthering the growth and personal saga’s of its central cast, the series took us to Tatooine to Yavin to Mandalore and, of course, to the now war torn planes of Lothal. In the process, the Rebels delivered the best on screen Star Wars installments of the year in the emotional “Trials of the Darksaber” and beautifully realized “Twin Suns.” It doesn’t get much better than this, but we still have just under three hours of Rebels left before the series concludes. 2018 may still top this.

1. From a Certain Point of View

From a Certain Point of View is the kind of Star Wars product that, like all of the best, is a communal stroke of mad genius. Taking the works of over 40 different authors to tell 40 stories, “From a Certain Point of View” as collected retells the full narrative of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope from a wide variety of periphery and supporting views. Through the talented prose stylings of Kelly Sue DeConnick, Paul Dini, Ashley Eckstein, Matt Fraction, Alexander Freed, Kieron Gillen, Christie Golden, Claudia Gray, Pablo Hidalgo, Charles Soule, Chuck Wendig, and more From a Certain Point of View offers a truly unique and undeniably special reading experience. In the process, A New Hope evolves into a series of moments and adventures that connect this seminal film to the prequels, Rogue One, the canon comics and books, the animated series, and even teases of the sequel trilogy in new and exciting ways but at the same time plays with the heart and mind. Even more impressive is the sheer variety of subject matter and genre on display. Meg Cabot, Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray deliver beautiful post-mortems for Aunt Beru, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick deliver a sprawling crime caper that collides with a tense table sit down at the Mos Eisley cantina. And of course, Gillen finds a way to work in Doctor Aphra. Fans of unique creative projects in the Star Wars universe owe it to themselves to read this collection. Also, a large chunk of the proceeds go to a charity that provides reading materials to students in need. Just buy this book.  

[oldtvandcomics]

I second the asking for more information about this. I think that it’s a conversation we really need to have, if we want to understand what is going on with both queer and straight men in media these days.

What I do have is this thing I wrote back in 2021 about my personal conspiracy theory, according which recent reboots just keep nerfing close male friendships to avoid them looking queer. I can name at least six of the most iconic close friendships in American pop culture who have been re-adapted to the big screen in the 2010′s, and whose friendship is suddenly far from what it was back in the original, which is like the 60′s or older. Often they suddenly borderline hate each other, or at least they consider themselves to be rivals. Here is a different post about Steve Rogers and Tony Stark in particular.

There is this other thing I noticed, and that is that men aren’t allowed to be unironically fans of one another? Like, if you go back to, let’s say, the first time Batman and Superman met in a comic book, they admire each other SO MUCH! Which is just what their relationship is like, in those early stories. And you see that all the time, in older media when heroes meet. There is this deep respect and admiration for each other’s talent. Here, look at Batman and the Shadow, from 1973:

Can you even imagine something like this happening today? The only hero I remember showing actual, genuine admiration for another in recent years was Thor towards Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, and even there, it was overdone for the sake of the joke.

To finish off, I just have this one anecdote: Watching older media, I basically never feel the urge to ship. I mean, yes, obviously the fanfic writer in me does their thing with all the nice shiny toys, but it is always something I add in myself, not a Strong Vibe I get. Even from the closest of relationships, like the Lone Ranger and Tonto, it always feels like a friendship to me. In modern media, I get the shipping urge all the time. Like for example Oliver Queen and Barry Allen from the Arrowverse, there is absolutely no textual reason to ship them, but something about the way they interact with each other just gives me Vibes. I don’t know, this really is a very subjective anecdote.

I know that none of this is the kind of articles that OP asked, but it’s what I have to offer at the moment.

1950’s-70’s action movies with an all male ensemble at the center VS 2000’s-Present action movies with an all male ensemble at the center both treat affection and homosexuality so fuckin differently.

like in the older movies i’ve seen the dudes are pretty openly affectionate to each other and none of this is treated with suspicion or masked with what i can only describe as Disney Marvel Dialogue. they might make a homophobic joke but it’s barely paid any mind and nobody takes the “threat” of being called gay seriously because one of them being gay was so outlandish. it’s like calling your buddy a moose, nobody takes it seriously. dudes are hanging off of each other and declaring their trust and love with no fear or hesitation.

smash cut to the 2000’s/now and like. there’s this Apprehension about man-to-man affection. people have realized that gay people are humans and Oh My God They Could Be Any One Of Us. we have a handful of textual men people but also. the men who Aren’t textually queer go through great pains to ensure they could never be construed as such by their peers. affection can only be shown through restrained looks and can only be verbally expressed in near-death confessions, which if anything kinda makes things read as more romantic but whatever.

and this isn’t to say that 70 year old movies are super progressive diamonds in the rough, it’s just like. man-to-man masculinity got waaay more toxic and insecure in the time between then and now and it’s crazy to see

[thefuturewifeofsarahpaulson]

It's may be hard to realise but it seems that when a show has a female lead and lgbt rep, it will always be judged more harshly by it's own fans. We need shows like supergirl to go well so we can get more. Attack arrow for having one bi woman 3 seasons ago or having honestly terrible writing. Nah bc even queer ool have theur heads up cute white male leads' asses. Get angry at tge flash for hiribg so many lgbt actors and not making any of theur characters lgbt. For acting like Iris not fuckibg her adoptive vrither was some tragic friendzoning. For sidelining Wally.

How about riverdale giving black characters barely any screen time and promoting predatory relationships? Nah bc the male leads are handsome and quirky. People are still fucking watching supernatural after it being the blandest ass show queerbaiting for twelve fucking years.

Supergirl queerbaits, true. It hurts whatever. They fucked over Kara and their writing went awry laat season. But she's a role model for little girls. When i was younger, watching dbz, naruto, batman cartoons etc. I felt disheartened and conflicted abt the female characters. Were they even a match? Then I'd see stuff like Kim Possible and Spanelli in recess and i felt so much better even if i never actually watched a lot bc my brothers reigned the tv. I am so happy there are little girls out there like I was ( still am tbh) who are surrounded by boys, dominated by, verbally abused by, patronised by boys but get to watch supergirl leave morgan edge on a ship in the middle if the sea. See a woman face up to issues of consent ON HER PART. Because it's never too early to realise you shouldn't kiss someone who doesn't want it.

Supergirl's sexuality to anyone who's struggled with their sexuality is not straight and that's because we relate to her. The writers screw us over for sure. That isn't gonna stop a little kid watching alex come out and feel inspired. Sanvers ended abruptly and with more pain than necessary. We can't go back though. We can go forward. The supergirl are genuinely going forward, they listened about mon el, they listened about lena getting more screen time. Lames is dumb and I hope it doesn't happen but maybe it will get james more screen time. The women in this show talk to eachother about anything and everything. There are different dynamics with all of them and it's great. Sam and Ruby's relationship is going to break my heart. That kind of angst maybe isn't necessary but it's supergirl. Supergirl is dark af. The rebirth had her kill her deranged father who mutilated the corpses of argo city to bring it back before sending them to earth to murder humans. Supergirl is dark. Comics are fucking dark.

In my opinion, they shouldn't have even brought in Maggie sawyer, it literally didn't make sense. There are other characters of colour they could have brought in that fit the dynamic they wanted and what they did was just do a weird version of a beloved lesbian icon. We're all angry, they see that. Continue being angry, don't attack the actors, msg writers about how you feel. Don't make it about shipping because they won't take that seriously. For good reason as well. Like I'll make fun of Chris Wood's beard to my friends but I'm not gonna tweet hate at him.

Also SDCC hurt me a lot and I think it's the same for all of us. I think the residual anger is making us more critical but they aren't dishing out three dimensial female characters everwhere. They're actually cancelling their shows.

Please can we just keep supergirl going. Idc about the actors apart from katie, chyler and odette (the allies) it's about the characters right now. If we don't promote female leads they aren't gonna say, "yeah they brought in a white guy who owned slaves and belittled the title character whom he was supposed to love" or anything about sanvers. There's gonna be some dumbass article like "Do people really want female heroes?", or "Can a female hero succeed on mainstream tv?". The answer is yes, Buffy did it, Xena did it. Also it is important to note that the show probably can't make Kara lgbt. They can and they should, but she's a comic character before anything. DC obvs dishes out bi women like confetti (loving it) despite whether the rep is all we desire. Supergirl is different though, she's the all american girl of steel. Making her a lesbian is probably not in DC's plans, even if powergirl fantasises about wonderwoman and poison ivy was her first kiss. Same as they likely won't make superman lgbt, it's not gonna happen any time soon. So can we just appreciate what we have and contribute ideas and calm complaints to writers instead of going batshit at actors and saying absurd slutshaming bs about sara and alex's one night stand.

I'm pretty sure every lesbian I know who's ever had a break up has had a rebound night. It may not be in your character, one night stands aren't really something I strive for but they're all I've got. They just happen. Are fourteen year olds who've only seen relationships in fluff fics the ones making these assumptions? Fair enough, I'm a baby too but I don't wanna see supergirl get cancelled before arrow. Arrow, the blandest knock off batman show ever. Just think about how harshly you're judging "problematic shows" and then thinking about whether you're judging it more harshly bc it has women or lgbt characters at the forefront. Don't get me wrong, I understand why. These shows broadcast their problems more outrightly bc the lead feels the brunt of them. Kara getting tortured all the time for instance. Also lgbt characters being there means they're gonna have mistakes that people latch onto to hate on. The problems are more obvious but every show has them but with half the character development or focus on female relationships.

[nightcoremoon]

looking for input on something

so currently in one of the fantasy series I'm writing the first installment of, I kind of noticed something... queer

so 7 of the characters are pyromancers and I accidentally made all of them gay. except one. we have:

-bisexual disaster dad, O

-steamship pilot lesbian, K

-florist panro ace, P

-armor knight lesbian, A

-royal guard twink, T

-a moth man, S

-the token straight, L

...

O is the kind of guy who encounters orphan kids and immediately adopts them-kinda like Bruce Wayne- because of a tragic backstory that killed his family- again, like Bruce Wayne- and he's bi but doesn't really think too much about romance- oh oops he's just Batman. and he is a pyromancer, but only in one arm since the other arm is prosthetic looking like sekiro.

K and P are sisters, major red oni blue oni but their palettes are more orange and green, and live a frugal life alone after losing their parents. K is soft femme awkward lesbean while P is a pan ace social butterfly. they're pyromancers.

A is the "oh shit we're being invaded" button, deployed via zeppelin airdrop with a fuckhuge flame claymore and emerald green armor; like if flame swordsman and gearfried the iron knight had a baby. she has an Eowyn reveal but it's when she kisses her wife. also she's trans. the sword's fire is powered by pyromancy.

T runs fast and leaves walls of fire behind him. he exists because he's part of a group whose names are based on the 8 horses of Helios so since he was Phlegon he... has fire magic. I coincidentally made him gay because why not.

S is not mothman, he is a moth man. he's an anthropomorphic man sized moth man from a race of anthropomorphic man sized moth men. but with that being said since mothman is an LGBT icon I decided to make him LGBT, which stands for Let's Get Bright Things. but also he has a husband. and he can throw fireballs. this is because that would be very fucking cool.

L is a merchant's daughter who has a strong affinity for dragons and it eventually gives her fire magic and the ability to

all of these were completely coincidental means of settling on their sexuality. them also all using fire magic and also being the only ones who use fire magic I am considering...

what if I used fire magic as an allegory for gay?

like, I'm not gonna make some huge political "being gay is okay" big deal about it because homophobia never existed in this universe so that's normal n shit like it is now without all of the fuckin post-british-colonialism degens. it's just a fact of life that some people are gay oh well who cares. which is i guess itself a political statement in this modern hellscape, you can't take five steps or say racism is bad without some boomer getting mad and crying because they can't be evil misogynists without getting criticized anymore. but I'm not gonna have an extensive preachy segment because we don't want that, we want dame archer and the pride knights fighting eldritch horrors. but but BUT!

what if I... sneak in some social commentary? like the only good part of x men 3, which used bobby telling his parents about his ice powers as a euphemism for coming out of the closet, except instead of being good in screenplay but clunky in execution and also brian singer being yucky, it's actually good because I wrote it? it's conceited to say that, yes, but I'm confident in my abilities. I already have there being distaste for magic users sorta like with korra's equalists and a segment where O takes a ride on K's air ship (the city is built in the side of a crack in a cliff and they use hot air zeppelins as public transport and pyromancers use their fire to work the hot air stuff) and she's all nervous because he's comin from the antimagic part of town but he sees that she's kinda uncomfy so he starts a fire and uses it to light his pipe and she kinda relaxes because oh thank god he's just like me, which as I was looking over that I was like. well shit that might as well be allegory for gay especially since I thought of mckellen's interview where he was nervous about telling this cab driver he was gay bht the dude was like "oh cool me too". and that prompted me to look at the rest of the pyromancers before i wrote this.

now obviously I know that the answer is most likely going to be a resounding, oh that may be cool if you somehow manage to not fuck it up. that's me using logic and common sense. but. at the same time, things like flaming and flamer being used as insults towards pyromancers is a natural consequence, and it will not end well. and there may even be a group of people who find it offensive to use the allegory, and even saying that it trivializes the struggles that gay people have gone through to just reskin it with something fantastical like magic. or whatever. because at this point I'm not sure what is or is not offensive anymore since 12 year olds will just say random shit on twitter and everyone goes along with whatever dumb shit they have to say for 5 minutes before moving onto the next thing to send death threats to people over. so I'm only asking this on the off chance that this actually is offensive in some way that I've not thought about because I genuinely want to seek out other people's perspectives on this.

TL;DR

would it be cool if I used the social struggles of those who use fire magic in a fantasy novel as an allegory for gay people in the real world,

or would that be dumb and stupid and harmful and bad?

[demitgibbs]

Nicholas Hoult Talks Beyoncé, Wigs and Hollywood Inclusion

Someday, if we’re lucky, we might get a full performance of Nicholas Hoult in a fluffy wig, his cheeks powdered and painted pink, with heeled feet, all the while vivaciously lipping Beyoncé’s “Hold Up.” Give the people what they want, I say.

And for 13 gloriously gay seconds in November on his Insta he did. Without even having to ask for it, we were blessed by Hoult and his perky brows serving Bey realness. “I wasn’t prepared to see this on my feed,” one commenter wrote. Actor James McAvoy couldn’t resist chiming in: “When I grow up…I want to be inside your wig.”

Hoult loves Beyoncé, which makes him seem a lot like you and me (the choppy international cell reception when he calls me in America from the U.K. further cultivates his everyman-ness). And wigs? He must love them enough to wear three of them in his new film The Favourite, all of which were given divine lady names: Babs, Lulu and Hattie. The role isn’t gay in any obvious way, but because the 18th century is long over and men’s hair has deflated considerably in the 300 years since and he wears heels, this could arguably pass as the 29-year-old Brit’s closest encounter to drag yet.  

Flawless is the only way Beyoncé could possibly describe his performance in The Favourite, and she must have loved his tender heart in Tom Ford’s 2009 film A Single Man, portraying Colin Firth’s maybe-gay lifeline, Kenny; of course she wanted to pinch his chubby pre-teen cheeks in 2002’s About a Boy (who didn’t?); and no way Bey didn’t appreciate the queer allegory of 2013’s zombie rom-com Warm Bodies.

Given how deliciously cheeky he is in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite as the foppish Robert Harley, an earl who frolics around Queen Anne’s royal court as Anne (Olivia Colman) becomes the object of two women’s (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz) ruthless affection, wigs will be snatched.

As great as you are in The Favourite, perhaps your best performance to date was posted to Instagram on November 21: a Beyoncé lip-sync.

(Laughs) Thank you. Yes, it was. A fine moment. I actually did that the year before but I had to wait until the movie was out to release it. Yeah, that was in my trailer before I got onto set.

View this post on Instagram

  IMPORTANT The Favourite is in theatres now @thefavouritemovie

A post shared by Nicholas Hoult (@nicholashoult) on Nov 21, 2018 at 1:14pm PST

And you picked Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” as your song? That was all you?

Yes, yes, it was all me. We released one behind-the-scenes of X-Men, dancing and stuff a couple of years ago, and then there’s this one. That Beyoncé song is how I felt, so I got into this character’s makeup and costume. (Laughs)

Is Beyoncé your gay icon?

(Laughs) She’s the Queen Bey. I went to her tour. She was phenomenal.

I wish I could move like that.

Don’t we all.

Are you already planning your next lip-sync?

(Laughs) Yeah, I’ve got a whole back catalog, so it’s just in terms of when they’re released.

Now, The Favourite: Harley has been described as “effeminate.” Is that what you were going for?

I don’t think so. Because of the fashion of the era, the guys at that time were in the era of makeup and wigs and high heels and canes and lots of frills. But the character seemed quite manipulative and dry and, pathetically, a bit of a bully, and kind of playing a chess game with the other characters within the court.

Considering the costume, do you have a greater appreciation for what drag queens have to go through?

I guess so – just anybody who has to wear high heels. I know the pain of wearing those now.

One of your wigs was named Barbara, Babs for short. Which one was she?

Babs was the main wig, and the larger of Harley’s personalities. She was the white, curly wig with two horns on top. She was the most delicious wig. Hattie was the more serious, white frilly wig, and then Lulu was the rambunctious, red wig.

Something tells me you’ve seen a drag queen or two in your lifetime – or have maybe watched some RuPaul’s Drag Race?

You know what, I haven’t seen it before. I’ve gotta tune into it at some point because I’ve got everyone telling me it’s a good one, so I will watch that. Maybe I could be a judge on it or something sometime.

I think you could be a contestant at this point.

Yes, a contestant.

I think you’ve already auditioned. It’s this movie.

Exactly, I’ll send it in. That’s why I did it.

When were you first aware of the LGBTQ audience?

I don’t really see any audience as different, particularly, to be honest with you. I’m just telling stories that I like and then playing characters that I’m interested in. When I’m making things, I’m not picking depending on the audience. However, that’s really nice of you to say that I’ve got that following. That’s lovely. I guess that would go back to Skins or A Single Man, perhaps.

You played Tony Stonem in BBC’s British teen drama Skins, which ran from 2007-2013. How do you reflect on shooting that brief fling you had with Mitch Hewer’s Maxxie?

I thought he was such an odd character to play at times. There were some similarities between him and Harley, I guess. He’s a fascinating character, a tricky one, and he’s a lot of fun to play. A nice change from what I’d been doing up until that point, work-wise.

How so?

Everything up until that point was fairly, perhaps, “nerdy guy” and this was someone who was quite alpha in his personality and traits and how he fit into that group.

How do you reflect on portraying Kenny in A Single Man?

That role was beautiful to shoot because Tom Ford is a brilliant director. Working with Colin and doing those scenes … it was just really beautifully written. And Tom’s understanding of each character. So, it was a great feeling to be in that world.

Did you notice more acknowledgement from the LGBTQ community after it was released?

Yeah, I think so. For me, it’s always that thing that telling stories gotta be from the moment, and that story is so heartbreaking in terms of the romance of it and the love of it. I think a lot of people can relate to that and the difficulties, and the world has changed to the positive in terms of that. But again, I do the work and then it goes off and lives its own life.

You never revisit these roles?

No, I never go back and revisit, to be honest with you. Even you mentioning these things now, it’s difficult for me to drudge up the memories because I kind of take what I’m focusing on in that present moment, or planning the next one. But it’s nice to reflect occasionally.

How have the gay and queer roles you’ve played spoken to you?

Both of those roles they were exploring, definitely. And fighting for a place, I’d say. They were lonely and felt displaced and they didn’t have a community, or they felt misunderstood. With those characters – well, not Tony, but certainly for Kenny in A Single Man. And Tony, it’s much different; he kind of has more power.

How does your character Mark, who’s gay, in the 2009 West End production of New Boy compare?

He was a different character because he was younger and he couldn’t understand his own feelings, and that made him funny but also someone who would be quite venomous, occasionally. And yeah, that character was at the turning point of discovering his sexuality.

Does playing a gay role come with a different sense of responsibility for you?

No, I feel responsible for every character, regardless. When (I’m) playing real characters, I feel more of a responsibility, but otherwise no.

Of those roles, is one more significant to you than the others?

No, I don’t think so. They all mesh somewhat, I would say. You’re inhabiting these characters and their feelings as best as possible for that time, so each one is significant at that time.

After A Single Man, did an influx of gay roles come your way?

Not necessarily. I get sent quite varied things anyway because of the variety I’ve tried to play, so it varies hugely. I don’t think I saw an increase at that point, no; but perhaps an increase in roles in terms of stories being told that are more inclusive. You see more and more stories, and that’s just a sign not necessarily of me having done that but more the times – that things are changing, and it’s becoming represented better.

The Favourite is being celebrated for being so queer-inclusive. When you’re a part of a project that means something to a particular group of underrepresented people, does that feel different for you than doing something more mainstream like, say, X-Men?

It’s like, you just see them as characters, as people and very good actresses. People keep mentioning that (it’s queer) or that it has female leads and it’s kind of surprising and disconcerting that it’s even a conversation as this point. It’s almost like we should have – I mean, it’s great that the conversation is happening and that these movies are getting made more and more, but it should be up to the point where it’s completely normal and it’s not even something that people have to keep feeling is unusual.

Are you encouraged to be part of the movement by seeking out roles that may push that movement forward?

Obviously you want to be part of things that are relevant, if possible, but mostly you just want to tell good stories. You can’t always determine the effect that something is going to have or the place it’s gonna fill when the end-product comes out. You just try to work with the right people and tell stories you find interesting.

If you were caught in a gay love triangle with a king and his longtime secret lover and his secret lover’s cousin, who’d be playing the other roles?

It’d be people I look up to acting-wise: It’d be Christian Bale and Joaquin Phoenix.

And you’d be the cousin?

I guess so in that scenario, yeah. Christian’s probably the king, right?

I believe Batman has to be the king.

Always.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/01/10/nicholas-hoult-talks-beyonce-wigs-and-hollywood-inclusion/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/181898829560

[hotspotsmagazine]

Nicholas Hoult Talks Beyoncé, Wigs and Hollywood Inclusion

Someday, if we’re lucky, we might get a full performance of Nicholas Hoult in a fluffy wig, his cheeks powdered and painted pink, with heeled feet, all the while vivaciously lipping Beyoncé’s “Hold Up.” Give the people what they want, I say.

And for 13 gloriously gay seconds in November on his Insta he did. Without even having to ask for it, we were blessed by Hoult and his perky brows serving Bey realness. “I wasn’t prepared to see this on my feed,” one commenter wrote. Actor James McAvoy couldn’t resist chiming in: “When I grow up…I want to be inside your wig.”

Hoult loves Beyoncé, which makes him seem a lot like you and me (the choppy international cell reception when he calls me in America from the U.K. further cultivates his everyman-ness). And wigs? He must love them enough to wear three of them in his new film The Favourite, all of which were given divine lady names: Babs, Lulu and Hattie. The role isn’t gay in any obvious way, but because the 18th century is long over and men’s hair has deflated considerably in the 300 years since and he wears heels, this could arguably pass as the 29-year-old Brit’s closest encounter to drag yet.  

Flawless is the only way Beyoncé could possibly describe his performance in The Favourite, and she must have loved his tender heart in Tom Ford’s 2009 film A Single Man, portraying Colin Firth’s maybe-gay lifeline, Kenny; of course she wanted to pinch his chubby pre-teen cheeks in 2002’s About a Boy (who didn’t?); and no way Bey didn’t appreciate the queer allegory of 2013’s zombie rom-com Warm Bodies.

Given how deliciously cheeky he is in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite as the foppish Robert Harley, an earl who frolics around Queen Anne’s royal court as Anne (Olivia Colman) becomes the object of two women’s (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz) ruthless affection, wigs will be snatched.

As great as you are in The Favourite, perhaps your best performance to date was posted to Instagram on November 21: a Beyoncé lip-sync.

(Laughs) Thank you. Yes, it was. A fine moment. I actually did that the year before but I had to wait until the movie was out to release it. Yeah, that was in my trailer before I got onto set.

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And you picked Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” as your song? That was all you?

Yes, yes, it was all me. We released one behind-the-scenes of X-Men, dancing and stuff a couple of years ago, and then there’s this one. That Beyoncé song is how I felt, so I got into this character’s makeup and costume. (Laughs)

Is Beyoncé your gay icon?

(Laughs) She’s the Queen Bey. I went to her tour. She was phenomenal.

I wish I could move like that.

Don’t we all.

Are you already planning your next lip-sync?

(Laughs) Yeah, I’ve got a whole back catalog, so it’s just in terms of when they’re released.

Now, The Favourite: Harley has been described as “effeminate.” Is that what you were going for?

I don’t think so. Because of the fashion of the era, the guys at that time were in the era of makeup and wigs and high heels and canes and lots of frills. But the character seemed quite manipulative and dry and, pathetically, a bit of a bully, and kind of playing a chess game with the other characters within the court.

Considering the costume, do you have a greater appreciation for what drag queens have to go through?

I guess so – just anybody who has to wear high heels. I know the pain of wearing those now.

One of your wigs was named Barbara, Babs for short. Which one was she?

Babs was the main wig, and the larger of Harley’s personalities. She was the white, curly wig with two horns on top. She was the most delicious wig. Hattie was the more serious, white frilly wig, and then Lulu was the rambunctious, red wig.

Something tells me you’ve seen a drag queen or two in your lifetime – or have maybe watched some RuPaul’s Drag Race?

You know what, I haven’t seen it before. I’ve gotta tune into it at some point because I’ve got everyone telling me it’s a good one, so I will watch that. Maybe I could be a judge on it or something sometime.

I think you could be a contestant at this point.

Yes, a contestant.

I think you’ve already auditioned. It’s this movie.

Exactly, I’ll send it in. That’s why I did it.

When were you first aware of the LGBTQ audience?

I don’t really see any audience as different, particularly, to be honest with you. I’m just telling stories that I like and then playing characters that I’m interested in. When I’m making things, I’m not picking depending on the audience. However, that’s really nice of you to say that I’ve got that following. That’s lovely. I guess that would go back to Skins or A Single Man, perhaps.

You played Tony Stonem in BBC’s British teen drama Skins, which ran from 2007-2013. How do you reflect on shooting that brief fling you had with Mitch Hewer’s Maxxie?

I thought he was such an odd character to play at times. There were some similarities between him and Harley, I guess. He’s a fascinating character, a tricky one, and he’s a lot of fun to play. A nice change from what I’d been doing up until that point, work-wise.

How so?

Everything up until that point was fairly, perhaps, “nerdy guy” and this was someone who was quite alpha in his personality and traits and how he fit into that group.

How do you reflect on portraying Kenny in A Single Man?

That role was beautiful to shoot because Tom Ford is a brilliant director. Working with Colin and doing those scenes … it was just really beautifully written. And Tom’s understanding of each character. So, it was a great feeling to be in that world.

Did you notice more acknowledgement from the LGBTQ community after it was released?

Yeah, I think so. For me, it’s always that thing that telling stories gotta be from the moment, and that story is so heartbreaking in terms of the romance of it and the love of it. I think a lot of people can relate to that and the difficulties, and the world has changed to the positive in terms of that. But again, I do the work and then it goes off and lives its own life.

You never revisit these roles?

No, I never go back and revisit, to be honest with you. Even you mentioning these things now, it’s difficult for me to drudge up the memories because I kind of take what I’m focusing on in that present moment, or planning the next one. But it’s nice to reflect occasionally.

How have the gay and queer roles you’ve played spoken to you?

Both of those roles they were exploring, definitely. And fighting for a place, I’d say. They were lonely and felt displaced and they didn’t have a community, or they felt misunderstood. With those characters – well, not Tony, but certainly for Kenny in A Single Man. And Tony, it’s much different; he kind of has more power.

How does your character Mark, who’s gay, in the 2009 West End production of New Boy compare?

He was a different character because he was younger and he couldn’t understand his own feelings, and that made him funny but also someone who would be quite venomous, occasionally. And yeah, that character was at the turning point of discovering his sexuality.

Does playing a gay role come with a different sense of responsibility for you?

No, I feel responsible for every character, regardless. When (I’m) playing real characters, I feel more of a responsibility, but otherwise no.

Of those roles, is one more significant to you than the others?

No, I don’t think so. They all mesh somewhat, I would say. You’re inhabiting these characters and their feelings as best as possible for that time, so each one is significant at that time.

After A Single Man, did an influx of gay roles come your way?

Not necessarily. I get sent quite varied things anyway because of the variety I’ve tried to play, so it varies hugely. I don’t think I saw an increase at that point, no; but perhaps an increase in roles in terms of stories being told that are more inclusive. You see more and more stories, and that’s just a sign not necessarily of me having done that but more the times – that things are changing, and it’s becoming represented better.

The Favourite is being celebrated for being so queer-inclusive. When you’re a part of a project that means something to a particular group of underrepresented people, does that feel different for you than doing something more mainstream like, say, X-Men?

It’s like, you just see them as characters, as people and very good actresses. People keep mentioning that (it’s queer) or that it has female leads and it’s kind of surprising and disconcerting that it’s even a conversation as this point. It’s almost like we should have – I mean, it’s great that the conversation is happening and that these movies are getting made more and more, but it should be up to the point where it’s completely normal and it’s not even something that people have to keep feeling is unusual.

Are you encouraged to be part of the movement by seeking out roles that may push that movement forward?

Obviously you want to be part of things that are relevant, if possible, but mostly you just want to tell good stories. You can’t always determine the effect that something is going to have or the place it’s gonna fill when the end-product comes out. You just try to work with the right people and tell stories you find interesting.

If you were caught in a gay love triangle with a king and his longtime secret lover and his secret lover’s cousin, who’d be playing the other roles?

It’d be people I look up to acting-wise: It’d be Christian Bale and Joaquin Phoenix.

And you’d be the cousin?

I guess so in that scenario, yeah. Christian’s probably the king, right?

I believe Batman has to be the king.

Always.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/01/10/nicholas-hoult-talks-beyonce-wigs-and-hollywood-inclusion/