Geeks of the Round Table: LGBTQ & Geek Culture
April 28, 2015Geeks of the Round Table is a regular feature where writers for GCE will give their opinions on a current topic or event in geek culture.
Topic
Marvel recently revealed that founding X-Men member Iceman (aka – Bobby Drake) is gay in the All-New X-Men series. Given this and the seemingly recent creation of many LGBTQ characters in geek culture, what are your thoughts on the matter?
Angel
First off, I have no issues with any character in any universe/medium being LGBT. My issue with these ‘unveils’ is that I find them to be very gimmicky. I feel that Marvel is using the ‘OMG’ effect of someone coming out of the closet as a way of selling more issues. The reason this bothers me is that someone coming out of the closet:
- Should not be a punchline
- Should not be the defining point in a comic book
I understand that character development is a necessary writing device for good storytelling, and maybe it’s because I have friends who are LGBT that I’m so used to it, but I find that someone’s sexuality is about as relevant to someone as their hair colour. You’re a blonde? Okay, cool… does that make them evil? Who knows… that character is gay? Are they suddenly a worse/better hero?
My favourite superhero is Superman (which most people give me shit for). I idolize Superman because when he is written properly, he is a beacon of hope. His kindness, optimism and unwavering sense of heroism is almost contagious. So much so that you forget he’s an alien or even a meta-human/Kryptonian. You shed the layers and you see Superman as someone you trust and believe in. If the same story were to reveal that Superman was gay or bisexual, actually a woman or that he had a strange attraction to palm trees, that wouldn’t change the fact that at the core, Superman was a great hero in all that he represented.
By using Iceman’s sexuality as the ‘big reveal’ of a comic, all we are doing is perpetuating the belief that someone’s sexual preference is more prevalent than the measure of the man or woman. Now I have not read the issue in question but I am led to understand that Jean probed his mind and confronted him about it. Why is Bobby’s invasion of privacy not the central focus? Why are we not more focused on the fact that Jean poked around and made a big deal out of something that is none of her business?
Bobby’s been on the fence for years (from the way he’s been written) and not once has it affected his status as an X-Man. The day that a ‘coming out’ story should be a headline is the day that it changes the way they perform their duties like Xavier kicking him out because he’s gay after revealing that the mansion was actually located in Indiana all along or Iceman lets a Sentinel crush a school because he’s too busy trying to ‘Fastball Special’ his way into Wolverine and Colossus’ pants.
TL;DR If it is written right, then it belongs. If it isn’t, or is done for the sake of selling more comics, it loses its merit completely.
When it came out that an original founding member of the X-Men last week would be coming out as gay in a new storyline, I immediately jumped to the fact that it was likely to be Iceman. For years there have been contradicting stories regarding Bobby Drake’s sexuality that called into question if he was straight or gay. When this storyline came out for me, it just seems like something that 
was already more or less part of the character.
A comic book character’s sexuality for me really isn’t something that is going to draw me into a story or a book in particular, I prefer good writing and pushing characters to new levels, test them with new obstacles in life. Creating spectacle over a character’s sexuality…is perpetuating the belief that someone’s sexuality if more prevalent than the measure of the man or woman.
Iceman is a founding member of the X-Men and is one of the best characters in comics, from a personal perspective. Though if you look at all the original members he seems to be the only one who never seems to get that true big time storyline. Cyclops and Jean were part of the Phoenix Saga and other large X-Men stories, Beast is all over the place with his part on several different teams, Angel has been integral to many big stories over the years. Iceman on the other hand while being a huge Omega level mutant with so much power at his disposal is almost always left on the sidelines, and never given the spotlight. I just feel like drawing on his sexuality, rather than pushing him to the fore of the X-Men now that there is a slight vacuum without Wolverine is a bit of a misstep.
I feel like now would be a perfect time for Iceman to get his due and get the spotlight or a share of it rather than just being a spectacle or comedic relief. Much like Angel said this just seems like more of a push to sell more comics rather than being a naturally occurring part of the unravelling plot of the series.
Tim
I’ll admit right away that I’m not a huge comic reader. I tend to stick to other forms of media to keep up with my favorite superheroes (movies, video games, etc.). However, even I couldn’t avoid the big story about Iceman’s coming out tale in issue #40 of All-New X-Men, as everyone from IGN to CNN had it covered.
However, unlike Michael, I don’t believe making Iceman gay is making him into a spectacle. Rather, it’s the notion that someone coming out as gay is an issue at all is what makes this whole event a sideshow.
Now while I’m not a “comic guy”, I am a gamer, and this same trend (if we want to call it that) of gamers identifying as gay/lesbian/bisexual/etc. has been happening in video games as well, and recently. Take the highly successful game The Last of Us as an example. In it you meet a man who helps the protagonists along the way. His character, you learn through dialogue and context clues, is gay. I didn’t see this as an issue, and it also didn’t surprise me.
It was a part of who he was as a human, but the game didn’t outline him as a gay man, just another human being who happened to be gay. It was secondary to the game, and admittedly nonessential (the game would’ve played the same without this information), but it’s something that has been missing from gaming and geek culture for a long time. And by “it” I mean someone for the LGBTQ community to identify with.
As a white, straight male, I have a lot of people and characters in geek culture I can relate to just by those three traits: Superman, Batman, almost all of The Avengers (movie), Spiderman, the list goes on. I don’t know what it’s like to feel as if I’m not represented. However, I also don’t define myself by those 3 traits – but that doesn’t mean those in the LGBTQ don’t and can’t.
If anything, the stigma placed on people in that community for decades has lead some to be defined by their sexuality. So we in the geek culture can’t blame them for defining themselves by their sexuality, maybe not wholly, but partially.
It is with that in mind that I believe the trend of introducing or “turning” (for lack of a better term) characters gay (or lesbian or bisexual or whatever) is important for geek culture. We can’t ignore that there are members of our community that also identify with the LGBTQ community, and we should want them to feel comfortable. Part of that is providing them with role models that someone like me has always had. We have to start somewhere, and while it may not be popular, it’s necessary.
I’m going to preface this by saying this is going to be a long response, but we haven’t actually explained what happened in the comic so it had to be done.
Let’s break down the entire situation. The premise of All-New X-Men is that Beast brought back younger versions of the original five X-Men. This is a much younger team, which may explain the forward and rather invasive Jean in the six-pages between her and Bobby. As Angel pointed out, this is an invasion of privacy, but Jean is also a teenager with natural telepathic abilities–it’s not like she would just ignore it. In the discourse between the two, Bobby brings up the question of his counterpart being straight, and of the possibility of being bi. Jean quickly squashes that. Why is this problematic? Well it could very easily be interpreted as bi-erasure. In my opinion it’s not and hints at a larger belief that some people experience sexual fluidity. Whether or not Bendis was hinting at this is definitely a debate for another time. So Jean outs Bobby and now Bobby is confirmed gay, but what does it all mean?
The idea of Bobby Drake being gay is not new nor is it a spectacle. Having actually read the issue there are certainly problematic aspects to this, none of it has to do with Bobby admitting he’s gay, but to say this is a spectacle or unnecessary of a character that’s already been on the fence is a missed opportunity for a very important discussion on sexuality and the transformation of the X-Men over time.
Since their inception, the X-Men have always been allegory for the political climate of America, and literary representation of underrepresented groups. It makes sense that we see more visibility for LGBTQIA people via members of the X-Men. Bobby Drake is probably the safest choice in making an established character gay. This isn’t a misstep, and it’s not taking away from Bobby’s “measure” as a mutant or a young man. Bobby Drake coming out is not a “punchline;” saying such things is a failure to empathize with the struggles of the LGBTQIA community.
There’s no denying that the media’s simultaneous obsession and suppression of sexuality has led to many failed/veiled attempts at more LGBTQIA representation. I think it’s very easy for us to say a person’s sexuality shouldn’t be at the forefront of their stories, even though we will probably never experience being told to suppress how we love or how we choose to identify. Heterosexuality is the norm and and it’s not hard for us to find well written stories about heterosexual characters. Honestly, this whole discussion has shown how privileged we are to have our stories told with such visibility. Chances need to be taken. Not every attempt will be perfect and not every story has to be centered around a person’s sexuality. This doesn’t change the fact that we first have to start telling their stories.
Whether you got this far or not I will say this: I disagree with Michael and Angel’s approach to this discussion. It doesn’t quite get to the core of the matter, and that core is the necessity to explore different avenues for characters and stories. ALL media exists to sell, and naturally every conscious choice is geared for the purpose of making money, so this is a moot point. Bobby accepting his current sexuality is very much going to push his character in new ways should Bendis continue to explore his character. Tim barely touched on it, but there needs to be visible role models both in existing characters and in new characters. I cheated big time since my response is way longer, but I’ll admit I was disappointed at the considerable lack of empathy in the responses. I think it’s natural for these kinds of “spectacles” to happen and honestly I would rather we try than ignore it altogether.
Do you have an opinion on the matter? Do you think that geek culture is indiscriminately adding LGBTQ characters? Or do you feel that regardless of the reason or manner in which it’s done, having LGBTQ characters and themes is an important step that needs to be taken? Whatever your opinion, tell us in the comments below.
[Images via Marvel]
