This morning’s “Is Superman Gay?” headline on CNN.com was accompanied by a picture of a nice looking man in tights (see below). And, well, being the curious sort I am, I clicked on the headline hoping to get an answer to the posed question.
So guess what the answer is? Yes? No? Maybe? Bisexual?
Wish I could tell you.
Clicking on the headline connected me to uncaptioned video news coverage that was virtually undecipherable despite a few ‘interesting’ images that really didn’t say very much. Sigh.
So, here we are, left without a clue and possibly forever wondering and/or fantasizing about which team Superman really bats for.
But here’s what we can do to try to change the state of things regarding uncaptioned internet video. NAD’s Action Center has set up an online action alert where one can petition their representatives in Congress to ask that they act on your behalf. AGB and WGBC have also set up similar efforts - Will post links to those later.
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25 Comments
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You’ll have to ask Lois Lane. :-P But your point’s very well-taken. I’ve stopped perusing video clips via news sites like CNN and Washington Post because, well, they’re undecipherable. There are numerous software out there, both freeware and for pay, allowing webmasters to caption their videos. Wish more commercial websites would use those software or at least post transcripts.
stop thinking crazy i think by my self actor is gay may b bi or gay and all superhero is gay becasue why ????????? heheheh may b he know by him self everybody know bythem self so he cant close secret he gay becasue he know by himself he gayyyyyyyyy hahahahahahaha heheheheh that right that is anwer so stop stupid ding dong !!!!!!!! hah hahah my name is LOIs and i am lois i like bi gay man
Check out two of my blog entries in which I talk about how to add subtitles to your video clips using free software and chastising companies about their internet video clips without subtitles:
Adding Subtitles:
http://jarednevans.typepad.com.....ckly_.html
Internet video clips without subtitles:
http://jarednevans.typepad.com.....ideo_.html
Well, in Superman II, he did screw Lois Lane, so I think he’s straight. Also, he had a childhood sweetheart (or crush) in Lana Lang.
I think it’s the costume that leads ppl to think otherwise.
A lot of gay people had childhood sweethearts and sleep with women. There’s another question some of us are pondering: Is Lois Lane a lesbian?
I can’t believe that this is even a news worthy question. Maybe Jimmy Olsen is gay to. Maybe Lex Luther is gay also.Does it really matter? Is it that important?
Yeah, Who cares? Also you forgot to ask
if krypto is gay! Where do it end?
I suspect only gay people think [hope] he is gay… But I agree… whoda thunk this would be news… give me a break.
Of course Jimmy Olson is gay. He wears a bowtie, doesn’t he?
Maybe it’s the way he’s standing in the picture, plus the bright red outerpants when the color is actually(?) a maroon color. See two pictures of that same superman pose with different colored costume.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/.....54392.html
http://entertainment.news.com......85,00.html
Photoshopped!
This is the main issue that should unite all D(d)eaf people. Face it, more and more cable shows and television shows are going to have their content on the internet. We must have captioned accessibility to that content, whether it be short news clips, shows, and music videos.
I don’t think accessibility standards should be given to user-supported videos like those on Youtube.com where many make their own videos.
For info about how to add captions to your video projects:
NCAM Rich Media: Creating Captions for Rich Media:
http://ncam.wgbh.org/richmedia.....oning.html
WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind — Captions:
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/captions/
“Is Superman Gay?”
Check on RidorLive and see if it is true. *grins*
Why “almost everybody” tend to speculate about someone’s sexuality, especially fictional characters?
The recent speculation of Superman’s sexuality would really hurt the GLBT community at large that the creators and writers of any comic books or films with superhero probably will be accused of inserting subtle messages into youngsters’ conscience. So the moralists would scream for more censorship of comic books and films. Who knows? Or accuse the GLBTs for secretly recruit youngsters into the world of homosexual.
Many GLBTs know about the thin-veiled messages about social messages within superheroes fighting for justice and societal tolerance while reading comic books.
The film producers of “Superman Returns” DID cover up Brandon Routh’s enornomous bugle in the film and publicity stuff. Routh’s “basket” still shown anyway.
That’s why I always identify with Peter Parker character via Spider Man about his personal struggle with his secret identity as the “Spider Man”. Peter Parker and the Spider Man resemble my adoloscent years pretty much as a student body government president of my former altma mater and gay teenager.
Frederic Wertham made the molehill out of superheroes’ so-called sexual preferences like Batman and Robin, the Wonder Woman and other superheroes from his two non-ficiton books - “The Seduction of the Innocent” which led to the first comic book code approval (censorship-like practice). Wertham perhaps was right about the so-called tense relationship of Batman and Robin in the 30s and 40s and 50s comic book before they turned more masculine later in the 70s and 80s and 90s. Before the comic book code, Batman would say “Oh no, Robin is in the danger!” and beg the villian(s) not to hurt Robin. In the closing segement, Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Grayson (Robin) sat together on the floor with Bruce’s shirt exposed his manly chest and Grayson crossed his legs (I am not kidding about this one). They drank wine before the fireplace.
Almost everybody ask why the superhero like Superman and Batman wear underwear on the outside?? What about the appeal of cape in original sense? What the purpose of cape serve for anything?
There are alot of recent studies of comic books from the 30’s to 80s really influenced the societal attitude about the mainstream approval of sadomachism sex. For example, the Wonder Woman use her special lasso to round up the Amazon women in the 40s comic books. Batman and other superheroes use the mask as part of appeal to the future generation of sadomachoism. Others don the tight costumes and leather boots.
Tom of Finland was another example of widespread influence on the society at large about the appealing part of sadomachoism stuff from his personal worship of Nazi Germany soliders and officials’ uniform in his homoerotic drawings.
Sadomachoism is not the 20th Century stuff. It go back to the 17th Century and Sade de Marquis.
The bottom line is about Superman’s sexuality whether he is gay or not. Who cares?? Maybe the creators of “Superman” have in mind for Superman’s subtle sexual struggle from being a farm boy to the Metropolitian reporter, who awkwardly handle the strong-willed female (Lois Lane). The handful of farm boys tend to engage in sexual experiment with animals and same sex. The subtle metapahor of “teenager Clark Kent” and his grown-up years in Smallsville probably reflect the symbol of restless gay males’ desire of going out and sow his seeds in the large city as part of anoyomous sex adventures.
That would be really nice if we do research on the creators of “Superman” whether they were sexually frustrated or whatever their sexual preferences.
I went to the Grant Wood’ exhibition few months ago. I noticed that he perhaps was a closeted gay himself. Woods was married to someone anyway. Was my own imagination as a gay person?? I found out that I was not only speculated about artist Grant Woods’ sexuality from observing his artworks and personal items. Woods’ personal tastes were too good for the country folks in Iowa during the 30s and 40s time period.
Why the metaphor of Superman resemble the gay male of the pre-Stonewall pretty much??
“Alien” among the fellow human beings as the Kyptronitie
Frequently brushed off ladies’ sexual advances (in subtle ways)
Mild-mannered guy with crisp dressing and grooming
Secret identity - dual identity
Underwear on the outside - desire to flaunt hir own sexuality(??)
Jimmy Olsen character as the sexual appretince(??)
Lois Lane as a symbol of annoying “opposite sex”??
“Up and down” relationship with Lex Luthor
Never use his x-ray ability to undress Lois Lane (Did he done such stuff in one of the Superman films - Superman II)???
Is the wishful thinkings of the handful of GLBT individual(s) to idealize and fanastize about some superheroes end up being gay or lebasian or bisexual?
Why the “Rawhide” and “Batwoman” character recently outed as gay? Whose faults? The comic book industry?? The DC Comics should not whine at all about the speculation of Superman as a gay person.
Robet L. Mason (RLM)
My understanding is they intentionally made “Batwoman” a lesbian, and she’s proud of it.
Plenty of other comic book characters including Northstar who are openly gay.
I haven’t heard DC Comics whine at all.
I am in total agreement. Looks like you hit the “head” on the nail.
Joesph (R),
I would be not surprised if the DC Comics will awkwardly deal with the speculation of Superman’s sexuality in the near future and shift the blame on the pevereted minds of writers and illustrators.
Every twenty years, we usually deal with the pendelum of societal attitudes from the middle to left to right to left to middle or whatever we call the period.
The mid-election of 2006 is coming real soon. Pols would play with the “cultural war” cards to get elected or smear hir own opponent. Let’s see and wait. Smile!
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
Geez!!! Does it matter if Superman was gay? Is it because of his brief?? Its kinda of big, unless you like it. We have blacks, white, asian, hispanic, etc now we classify gay and lesiban. I dont pay attention to who’s who’s unless someone is under great experiment to become one. Superman wears bright vivid colors to attract his audience. Red means bold and blue is very sensitve and calm. Superman is strong man with a good heart. Just because of his costume he is wearing doesn’t mean hes gay. Its like saying spiderman is gay too. Spiderman costume was mostly red so he was very bold, but wasn’t as sensitive as superman. Unfortunlately for Catwomen wearing all black, ooh she trouble when it comes to mens. In all characters above, they have short relationship because of their commitment to save the world.
Well, red, yeah. But what is exactly the original color in the above superman pose? Red or maroon?
good point… in my opinion if I may… it has to be red. the orignial color may look maroon, over time and pressure color can fade and change…maybe in the next 50 years, they wonder whys superman is wearing a pink cape.. a sister color of red
RLM,
“The film producers of “Superman Returns” DID cover up Brandon Routh’s enornomous bugle in the film and publicity stuff. Routh’s “basket” still shown anyway.”
Err, the “bulge” bit is totally bogus considering the original source of the article. It came from a tabloid in London. According to a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, Bryan Singer (the director) was asked about it and he laughed it off saying he don’t know where the rumour even came from to begin with.
So, it’s not a fact. Just a fabricated story as far I am concerned. Not only to mention that Bryan Singer is gay, I suspect it may had been used as a factor in printing the story. They knew it would spark off a so-called controversy even though it’s not even true.
A shameful display of sabotaging a director’s reputation. I’ll say.
Bryan Singer is openly gay and he’s flattered that people thinks he’s trying to depict Superman as gay.
But in this particular film, Superman left Earth for five years. When he came back, he learned that Lois Lane has 5-years old son with a new boyfriend.
5 years old? Do the math.
R-
Hmm… man flying around in tights fighting all the evil in the world with his superhuman strength. He is neither gay nor straight, but the modern day everyman. He’s supposed to be whatever you want to be and fight whatever evil we encounter everyday, whether it’s natural disasters we cannot control, a difficult boss, or even a mugger.
nice cameo by Richard Branson and nice advertising for Virgin Galactic. I do hope the latter real world venture is much less eventful; but I’d love to be there and leave Earth’s atmosphere.
I know John Williams is the best in the business … but I kept hearing Star Wars themes coupled with the Superman Score. CLose your eyes and I was thinking Death Star and Lea’s theme.