Until 1989, the mention of homosexuality was forbidden and omitted from mainstream comics in the United States by the CCA. Since then, we have had the chance to witness openly queer characters from Archie Comics to Marvel.
With the new Wonder Woman movie coming out in 2017, and October (LGBT awareness month) just around the corner, it seems fitting that Wonder Woman’s sexual orientation no longer continues to be ambiguous or tied to heteronormativity.
Comic book writer Greg Rucka recently confirmed the Amazon Princess is indeed queer. Although there have been many allusions to her being queer through scenes containing bondage and lesbian erotica, Rucka said in a recent interview “An Amazon doesn’t look at another Amazon and say, ‘You’re gay.’ They don’t. The concept doesn’t exist. Now, are we saying Diana has been in love and had relationships with other women? As Nicola and I approach it, the answer is obviously yes.”
Rucka mentioned how important is is to have Wonder Woman’s sexuality in mind when watching her upcoming movie. She will be leaving her island of Themyscira to explore and learn more about the world. It is a sacrifice she has to make, rather than leaving an island to find a male companion – which tarnishes her character and heroism.
This isn’t the first time queerness as a sexuality has been canon in the DC Universe. We witnessed the relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy be confirmed as “girlfriends without the jealousy of monogamy” by writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner during a Q&A on Twitter. A few months ago when Catwoman #39 came out, we see Selina Kyle (Catwoman) kissing Eiko Hasigawa. “Catwoman” writer, Genevieve Valentine took to her blog confirming Kyle’s bisexuality: “When I was first plotting out what I expected to be a six-issue arc, there were a few emotional beats I considered indispensable…one was establishing Selina as canon bisexual.”
This is a great time to celebrate queer themes in comics, literature, and hollywood media. The best part about the LGBT and queer themes in Wonder Woman comics is how normal the writers emphasized it is without it being insignificant. It is almost ridiculous to question if- in an island of only women- there will be any same-sex relationships. We should stray away from the idea that heterosexuality is the norm. Sexuality is very fluid, and this something many don’t know or understand. If we no longer set standards for our sexualities, we can see how having queer characters is normal rather than untraditional.
