What Does It Take For Straight Readers To Accept That A Character Is Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual?

[MasterOfMagnetism]

I'm seriously asking and I want straight people to respond in a polite, serious manner. After Iceman being outed and now people arguing over whether or not Hercules, a character from ancient Greek myth, or Storm is bisexual or not it has me seriously wondering this question; what does it take for straight people to accept that a character is gay, lesbian or bisexual?

Various gay, lesbian and bisexual characters have been outed, or hinted at, in various ways over the years and some people seem to deny certain subtext or methods of outing. So what kind of method does it take for people to accept that a character is anything other than heterosexual?

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[MasterOfMagnetism]

I did not create this thread to troll people or to anger people. I'm a gay Marvel fan and I legitimately want to know what straight readers think has to happen for a character to be accepted as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

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[MouserGrey]

In real life I tend not to speculate on the subject and need to be hit with a sledgehammer for me to even notice if some woman is interested in me. So I guess I need more than simple innuendo. Ultimately I don't really care.

[Mark Thorson]

I guess if it makes sense for the character. I mean, it would seem kind of weird to me if Peter Parker was suddenly gay, just as an example. I dunno. I don't really put much thought into it. I'm more interested in if the writing is good than anything else.

[LOSTie-chan]

I think if a character outright states their sexuality then it's 100%. Besides that, bedding or kissing a same sex character can prove it as well.

A Creator saying ____ is gay would usually be concrete evidence but with comics it's not since dozens of people can be writing for the same character over time, each with their own interpretation of said character.

I think that's why the sexuality of a Marvel comic book character is such a touchy subject because we're talking about characters that belong to a company and not to their writer/creator.

[The_Greatest_Username]

I think a writers intent is one of the more important factors. Not just any writer though, they have to have done meaningful work with the character.
Other than that, showing them having sexual interaction with the same sex is the easiest indicator.

[The Whovian]

Well, this is my feelings on it. If a character states from the beginning that he/she is gay, then fine let the writer tell his story. But when a character has been around for many, many years and all of a sudden is written as gay, then no, I don't like it. Here's two examples:

1. Hulking---was stated pretty much from the beginning that he was gay. Fine, that's the what the writer wanted him to be and he is.

2. Iceman---he's been straight for over 50 years, but now one writer comes along and wants to make a splash and controversy to sell some books? No, that is NOT right and it's a slap in the face of all the fans who have enjoyed the character and his stories over the years.

[Spider-Tron]

I did not create this thread to troll people or to anger people. I'm a gay Marvel fan and I legitimately want to know what straight readers think has to happen for a character to be accepted as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

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This poll is extremely unfairly phrased. It does seem like an attack.

[skyjumpermike]

There should be an option for "doesn't care either way"

[numberthirty]

Think about Loeb on Wolverine. That was a reveal. "Reveal" is probably the most complicated word in comics.

[Rocket Rick]

Establish it first instead of going the route of the shock factor.

[Sighphi]

I'm seriously asking and I want straight people to respond in a polite, serious manner. After Iceman being outed and now people arguing over whether or not Hercules, a character from ancient Greek myth, or Storm is bisexual or not it has me seriously wondering this question; what does it take for straight people to accept that a character is gay, lesbian or bisexual?

Various gay, lesbian and bisexual characters have been outed, or hinted at, in various ways over the years and some people seem to deny certain subtext or methods of outing. So what kind of method does it take for people to accept that a character is anything other than heterosexual?

! Herc.jpg
! Iceman.jpg
! Northstar.jpg

What i want to know is why gay people get angry when people are not into characters that get changed to being gay?

Most of these changes comes from fan speculation that Marvel decides to take up.

I guess you guys like the idea that people hid who they are and then came out because that mimics what happens in real life but comic books folks are not really bad when it comes to characters, really. I know Marvel loves to play up the two people that dont like a black cap or a lady thor but most people that are not into that stuff mostly fall under the reason, storywise, being seriously bad executed.

If Marvel created a bunch of gay characters that start out as gay i think almost all readers wont care of flip out if they are in a team or have their own book.

[Awwwvenger]

What i want to know is why gay people get angry when people are not into characters that get changed to being gay?

I don't need to be gay to sense the often not very subtle undercurrent of real-life hatred that comes through when people talk about how gay superheroes are bad/offensive/giving them gay thoughts. Somehow people who manage to keep their homophobia to themselves go full wacko when it's about gays in superhero comics. And when gay or straight people point that out, it's them who get called angry or unreasonable.

[Darth Kal-el]

I don't think it's fair to call fans of a fifty year old character who hangs around telepaths, including the one who outed him his whole life homophobic when his younger self was outed by the younger friend telepath. It's just a story that doesn't make sense. Plus comic fans are never happy with major changes to their favorite characters. In the nineties people went crazy because Peter Parker was revealed a clone. Fans of Superman today are going crazy because he no longer wears underwear outside his costume. I personally like change except the iceman one doesn't make sense because of the telepathic situation.

But others should not be so quick to label people because they are uncomfortable with some changes to their favorite characters. We will never get anywhere when we make assumptions about people's feelings

To the above post comic fans go wacko about almost everything under the sun concerning their characters. Doesn't make them bad people or a bigot. Again I don't understand why Superman's new costume and a collar upset people but it does. Maybe it sensitive situations like this we need understanding on both sides

[LordRyus]

1) Don't change an established characters sexual orientation (this goes both ways). That's just Dooming fans of said character and character continuity to flip out

2) if they're a long time character with no established sexual orientation then go for it. Example I'd find it really interesting if Red Wolf turned out to be a gay Native American from the 1800's for example.

3) if you wanna change an established characters orientation without reprocussions then do it another universe. Spider-Gwen seems the place these days. I'm a fan of interesting new universe takes on established characters. I find them fun.

4) With new characters it's easy, just reveal it and move on

5) tell a good story and I'll read anything. Hawkeye, Young Avengers, Angela (even though I was a big fan of her in Spawn, this is a different Angela so she was fair game), etc... if you obey the above rules even better.

6) this ones risky but if lets say Marvel really wanted to have an established character come out, the best bet to get fans to accept it is by playing a long game through a long term plot told over years if not a decade (remember comic years are slower than real years). That way it will better reflect an actual person in real life slowly changing and one day realizing their new preference. Go the Northstar or Ultimate Collossiss route, both where heavily foreshadowed long before the reveal. No telepath should change an established character in a few panels, I seriously started thinking all the All-New X-men must be alternate universe characters and not lost in time 616 characters when that happened, then I remembered it was Bendis writing it.