Hello, fellow queerios! Welcome back to Fabulous Friday, a recurring feature that rounds up positive queer news, culture, and other resources. This week, the big news is that…
Wonder Woman is Queer
Just had to say it again, in case the combination of the headline and giant photo didn’t make it clear enough. In an exclusive interview with Comicosity, DC writer Greg Rucka announced that Wonder Woman is queer, and said it was the only option that made sense in the context of Themyscira, the island nation of the Amazons, inhabited only by women.
It’s supposed to be paradise. You’re supposed to be able to live happily. You’re supposed to be able — in a context where one can live happily, and part of what an individual needs for that happiness is to have a partner — to have a fulfilling, romantic and sexual relationship. And the only options are women.
He added that while Amazons wouldn’t use words like “gay” to describe their relationships, Diana has had relationships with other women. But he insisted that Themyscira is “a queer culture” and said he was “not hedging that.”
Comics writer Gail Simone, who has done a lot of writing for Wonder Woman, chimed in, tweeting, “Of course Wonder Woman is bi. I am amazed this is still a discussion.” She also tweeted that she and other writers had “been saying this for years, and it goes all the way back to her origins.”
Over at Autostraddle, Heather Hogan argues that Wonder Woman has always been queer, but that censorship of gay characters held writers back from being fully open about portraying that.
In a compelling piece on why the open acknowledgement of Wonder Woman’s queerness matters, AfterEllen writer Kate Gardner writes:
Diana is not victimized for her sexuality, or punished for it. So far none of her female love interests have been fridged, and since she is Wonder Woman she cannot be brutally offed either. In a year of dead queer characters, there is finally one who is bulletproof.
Update: In an interview with io9, Rucka expressed his surprise at some comics fans’ negative response to his comments on Diana’s bisexuality, arguing that queerness has always been an essential part of her character:
I suspect what we’re seeing is the sturm und drang from a small, very vocal minority . . . because there’s nobody in the world who can look at Wonder Woman and go, “I love this character, I believe in what this character stands for,” and then say, “…AND I CANNOT ACCEPT THE FACT that she would accept an individual’s consensual love any way imaginable.” If you don’t accept that, then you don’t understand the character. You just don’t. That’s like saying Superman is into justice and the American way, but doesn’t give a rat’s ass about truth.
Related: The Advocate spoke with bisexual comics writer Steve Orlando about the gay superhero couple featured in the new DC series Midnighter and Apollo. Orlando also mentioned his plans for queerness in Supergirl and The Justice League.
Queer Fashion Week
Autostraddle has a pretty rad photo essay up on Queer Fashion Week, which was held Sept. 28-Oct. 2 in Oakland, CA.
My Son Wears Heels
Over at The Advocate, Julie Tarney has published an excerpt of her new memoir about raising a gender nonconforming child in the early 90s. There’s some casually cissexist wording, but it’s worth reading, if only to show that it’s possible for a parent to raise a gender nonconforming child in a loving and affirming environment even if they don’t have access to many educational resources. Also, Harry sounds amazing.
Word of the Week: Enbian:
Noun. A nonbinary person attracted (exclusively or not) to nonbinary people, or in a relationship that contains no binary individuals.
Adjective. Describing a relationship between nonbinary people, a nonbinary person fitting the definition of enbian above, or a community of enbians.
And finally, last but definitely not least, our fave Samira Wiley got engaged to her girlfriend, Orange is the New Black writer Lauren Morelli. Look at these radiantly happy faces!
See you next week!
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