DC Comics has been having a bad week. Yesterday, two members of the Batwoman editorial team quit after their publishers refused to allow Batwoman (who is a lesbian character) to marry her partner. And now the comic company has provoked even more outrage by hosting a contest in which they readers to draw Harley Quinn, a popular villain, preparing to commit suicide. Naked.
All right. Time for a rant thing. The person I got the link from, someone commented on it with something like, “I don’t see why people are so up in arms about fictional characters when there’s more important things to worry about.”
Just because someone has an opinion about a fictional character doesn’t mean they’re suddenly forgetting about the struggles of the world. Just because I have an opinion about what DC, or Marvel, or Ubisoft, or FUNimation, or whatever other geeky (or non geeky) company does doesn’t mean that, suddenly, I’m ignoring what’s going on in the “real world.” The geek community is part of my life, so when something happens that I have an opinion about, I’m going to say something.
If people are upset (or not upset and defending) something in the community, that doesn’t mean they’re doing something wrong. You can’t want the geek community to matter then say, “Stop getting in a tizzy over fictional characters.” And, personally, I don’t always want to think about the problems of the “real world.” The geek community is my escape, my hobby, and honestly it’s becoming my career what with writing and all. Is it wrong to get defensive over things that happened here? No. Can you honestly say that you never watched something, or read something, or played something, and never reacted to it? It’s a thing that happens sometimes, and it’s fine.
Let’s be honest. Companies like DC have been in our lives for a very, very long time. So when they do something you don’t agree with, you feel kinda betrayed. “Batwoman isn’t getting married to her girlfriend,” well… why not? They’re together and in love, why not? Marvel did it. Marvel had a gay wedding. And we all know Batwoman is a lesbian with a girlfriend she loves, so why not? Why not take that step? It makes you question things, and wonder about the company. Do I, as a lesbian, feel upset that the company I’ve been into for years won’t let two girls get married? Well… yes! It’s a way they can show support, and apparently, two of their longtime writers saw that and left over it.
Same with this Harley Quinn thing. Is Harley bonkers? Sure, absolutely. And her staying with the Joker is insane. Is suicide the answer? Honestly, if she did it, I don’t think we’d be too surprised. She’s been through hell. It would suck if she did it, yes, but the Joker is so terrible and abusive (I still remember watching the animated series and how he shoved her out a window!), so if you told me that you wrote a story where she said, I’m done, I’d be sad but… I’d get it. But why naked? Why is that a requirement in this contest? And for goodness sake, why are you holding a contest when it’s National Suicide Prevention Week this coming week? When a company I love does something like that, it makes me question their intentions, you know? It’s beyond getting upset over a fictional character. Now I’m wondering, “DC what are you doing?” And that’s to be expected when you’re a fan of something.
There’s a difference between being upset over a fictional character because, oh, they hook up with a character you don’t like, for vain reasons. “Oh no I don’t want Heero to end up with Relena because I like him with Duo because I like yaoi.” There is a huge difference between that and, “Why does your suicidal girl have to be naked in this contest,” and, “Why can’t Batwoman get married to her canon girlfriend?” That’s what people are upset about. Stuff like that hits home. Stuff like that is personal. Stuff like that is hurtful, fictional or not. We’re not getting “up in arms” over something trivial. Having a suicide drawing contest when National Suicide Prevention Week is coming up is in terrible taste. Having your lesbian heroine NOT get married to her girlfriend is a slap in the face, ESPECIALLY when Marvel was like, “Hey look gay marriage let’s do it.” So you can’t even say that no comic book company has done it before, because they have, and they did it proudly. So what’s stopping you?
THAT is what fans get upset about.
It’s the same with “Ender’s Game.” Is that more credible because it’s not a comic or cartoon? Because there’s a BUNCH of people not going to the movie because the author is terribly homophobic. So, to not support HIM, they’re not going to the movie. Are we getting too “up in arms” over that? This man flat out does not like gay people, so when we say, “We’re not going to the movie,” it’s met with, “oh yeah completely understandable.” So is getting upset over Batwoman not getting married or naked suicidal Harley less credible? These women are created by real people, who made these decisions. So… why do fans get bashed for being emotional over it?
