LGBT themes in American mainstream comics

This article is about American mainstream comics. For discussion of comics from other countries, and underground or alternative comics, see LGBT themes in comics.
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In American mainstream comics, LGBT themes and characters were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic books, due to either formal censorship or the perception that comics were for children and thus LGBT themes were somehow inappropriate. With any mention of homosexuality in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority (CCA) until 1989,[1] earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext regarding a character's sexual orientation.[2] LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.

Mainstream comics—the genre of superhero comics published in the United States since the late 1930s—have historically excluded gay characters, and the superhero genre and its two largest publishing houses, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, have been criticised for their lack of inclusivity.[3] Transgender characters have likewise been under-represented, although the common storyline of a superhero having their sex changed by magical or technological means has been regarded as an oblique reference to transgender and transsexual issues.[4] Queer theory analyses have noted that LGBT characters in mainstream comic books are often shown as assimilated into heterosexual society, whereas in alternative comics the diversity and uniqueness of LGBT culture is at the forefront.[5] Mainstream comics have also been labelled as "heteronormative", in comparison to "integrationist" alternative comics.[6] Since the 1990s LGBT themes have become more common in mainstream US comics, including in a number of titles in which a gay character is the star.

  1. ^ Nyberg, Amy Kiste (1998), Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, pp. 143, 175–176, ISBN 978-0-87805-975-1
  2. ^ Applegate, David, Coming Out in the Comic Strips, MSNBC, archived from the original on 2009-02-03, retrieved 2009-03-29
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AfterElton.com 2006-10-16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Banis, Victor J.; Cleto, Fabio (2004), That man from C.A.M.P.: rebel without a pause, Haworth Press, p. 358, ISBN 978-1-56023-448-7
  5. ^ McAllister, Matthew P.; Sewell, Edward H.; Gordon, Ian (2001), Comics & ideology, P. Lang, p. 11
  6. ^ Sears, James Thomas (2005), Youth, education, and sexualities: an international encyclopedia, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 186, ISBN 978-0-313-32754-4