Could/Should Diana be bisexual/gay?

[The Darknight Detective]

The way I see it if they can go as far as to change her costume and hook her up with Superman just for the sake of rising sales then they'd have no problem changing her sexual preferance. So far her hooking up with Superman is surprising to me since DC has made her dateless for quite some time

There's a big difference between changing her costume (which had a big enough uproar over it by itself) or romancing Clark than having Wondy become gay or bisexual, however. I'm not saying it's right, but I can't see a sustainable increase in sales and can definitely envision a significant loss if they decided to do it (not to mention all the products licensed with her face on it). It's just a bridge too far at this point.

[Legato]

There's a big difference between changing her costume (which had a big enough uproar over it by itself) or romancing Clark than having Wondy become gay or bisexual, however. I'm not saying it's right, but I can't see a sustainable increase in sales and can definitely envision a significant loss if they decided to do it (not to mention all the products licensed with her face on it). It's just a bridge too far at this point.

To go slightly off topic, although technically still talking about Wonder Woman, I want to point out something concerning that. I never really had a problem with the costume change TBH. The only part about the costume I didn't like was the choker and the leather jacket just makes her look so outdated, it made her look like she was going through some kind of midlife crisis or something, it would work if it had been the 90's but not today. The jeans however I didn't have a problem with. Although personally they should have waited till the relaunch THEN give her a new costume. IMO I don't mind if Wonder Woman had a different costume she'd wear to fight evil in, either it's the classic or with pants or with some kind of battle armor. If Superman and Batman can fight bad guys while wearing different types of costume/armor then why cant Wonder Woman? Just something I had on my mind when mentioning the costume

[ascended]

I liked the pants, and I dont care who knows it!!

The choker and jacket were terrible, and I wasnt a fan of the arm strap things either. But I liked the pants, the tiara, and the gauntlets. The whole JMS costume, really, wasnt too bad if you could take the choker, jacket and arm straps away. Maybe re-color the pants blue, and/or drop a star on the hip. Oh, and the old boots. Them too.

Okay, maybe I disliked it more than I thought. But I still liked the pants.

And I still maintain that sales would see a big spike right after the "bisexual" announcement, and then level out to roughly normal standards. If most of Diana's readership is made up of the LGBT community, then sales wont be hurt much. The loss from homophobic readers (which I maintain is likely a minority among comic readers anyway) would be made up for by new readers intrigued by her new sexuality.

As has been said, the big gamble would be the marketing. Would the loss be outweighed by the LGBT community buying more?

And its true that WB wouldnt take that risk. Not today. In a few years? Thats different. The gay movement (is that offensive? If so, apologies.) is becoming quite the heavy weight, and by the time my six year old son is old enough to be trolling message boards, odds are being gay wont be any more of a big deal than being black, female, or any other "minority" group is.

[Legato]

I liked the pants, and I dont care who knows it!!

The choker and jacket were terrible, and I wasnt a fan of the arm strap things either. But I liked the pants, the tiara, and the gauntlets. The whole JMS costume, really, wasnt too bad if you could take the choker, jacket and arm straps away. Maybe re-color the pants blue, and/or drop a star on the hip. Oh, and the old boots. Them too.

Okay, maybe I disliked it more than I thought. But I still liked the pants.

And I still maintain that sales would see a big spike right after the "bisexual" announcement, and then level out to roughly normal standards. If most of Diana's readership is made up of the LGBT community, then sales wont be hurt much. The loss from homophobic readers (which I maintain is likely a minority among comic readers anyway) would be made up for by new readers intrigued by her new sexuality.

As has been said, the big gamble would be the marketing. Would the loss be outweighed by the LGBT community buying more?

And its true that WB wouldnt take that risk. Not today. In a few years? Thats different. The gay movement (is that offensive? If so, apologies.) is becoming quite the heavy weight, and by the time my six year old son is old enough to be trolling message boards, odds are being gay wont be any more of a big deal than being black, female, or any other "minority" group is.

Given how liberal minded society is gradually becoming chances are you wont find that many people having a problem with Wonder Woman being gay/bi. Of course that all depends on how she's written once again.

[jestersjoker]

The future of DC comics is not in attracting aging old people from the LGBT community
Our population is declining dangerously below the replacement level
DC & Marvel need to promote family values or they will have to look outside the country for new readers . It is as plain as that in this global economy.

[tangentman]

Given how liberal minded society is gradually becoming chances are you wont find that many people having a problem with Wonder Woman being gay/bi. Of course that all depends on how she's written once again.

Consider the poor young lesbian beaten nearly to death by her sister's brother at Thanksgiving dinner, while family members watched, and the police only gave him a slap on the wrist. (This happened in Alabama.) We've hardly arrived yet in regard to sexual equality--anymore than we've truly overcome racism, classism, or sexism. I think the world needs MORE Wonder Woman, at least in promotion of these values, if not portrayal of them.

The future of DC comics is not in attracting aging old people from the LGBT community
Our population is declining dangerously below the replacement level
DC & Marvel need to promote family values or they will have to look outside the country for new readers . It is as plain as that in this global economy.

The emergent next generation are dealing with sexual identity, possibly even earlier than any previous generation. Positive mention of alternative sexualities would speak TO the next generation, not ostracize them. George Perez, Phil Jiminez, & Gail Simone knew that much in their own Wonder Woman stories. Aside: I'd MUCH rather see Hippolyta marry Phillipus than play "The Other Woman" with Zeus.

Just saying.

[Mark_S]

The future of DC comics is not in attracting aging old people from the LGBT community
Our population is declining dangerously below the replacement level
DC & Marvel need to promote family values or they will have to look outside the country for new readers . It is as plain as that in this global economy.

I disagree. Given how sexualized children are becoming and how much more aware they are of alternative life styles it's likely that the children would yawn at Diana being something other than heterosexual. Ten year olds today probably know more about sex than most fifty year olds. I don't think that's a great thing though I'm not sure whether it is part of the decline of America or not, but it is a fact. A five second search on the net can tell you everything you want to know about any kind of sex.
But I don't think that DC push Diana that way. Even though Superman and Batman can have sex lives Diana doesn't seem to be able to have a love life at all, let alone one that includes a woman.

[slvn]

The future of DC comics is not in attracting aging old people from the LGBT community
Our population is declining dangerously below the replacement level
DC & Marvel need to promote family values or they will have to look outside the country for new readers . It is as plain as that in this global economy.

Sure, promote family values--but that should mean promoting the value of all kinds of families, including the ones with two moms or two dads. I gave some demographic info above, but suffice it to say that there are millions of LGBTQ Americans--and many of those are young. A Lesbian or bisexual Wonder Woman can be family friendly; the comic doesn't have to be about the intimate details of her love life, just as it has generally not been about the intimate details of her heterosexual love life.

[Cowtools]

The future of DC comics is not in attracting aging old people from the LGBT community
Our population is declining dangerously below the replacement level
DC & Marvel need to promote family values or they will have to look outside the country for new readers . It is as plain as that in this global economy.

LOL at the idea that gay couples somehow means less kids.

[T.M. Anthony]

The future of DC comics is not in attracting aging old people from the LGBT community
Our population is declining dangerously below the replacement level
DC & Marvel need to promote family values or they will have to look outside the country for new readers . It is as plain as that in this global economy.

So you believe that by promoting LGBT characters it will encourage more people to become homosexuals, thus decreasing the population since we won't be reproducing as much?

I reject that idea if only because gays have existed for a long damn time and yet the population grows. that and if anybody is gay its not because they were told to be so by the media. people will be more inclined to do what feels natural as we move into a world more without persecution than in the past. Admittedly that also means new lessons will be learned and new cultural phenomena will be made (I do wonder what the LGBT community becomes as the world better accepts them? That kind of social repression effects the psychology of many I'd imagine so how will they settle?) But the gay community going forward will be people who are such naturally (due to changes in hormones while in development or whatever the case may be) not because its something they saw on TV, at most it just lets them go with how they feel without fear.

Point is DC won't have to worry about losing readers because of population decrease caused by an influx of homosexuals they have accidentally created by making some of their characters LGBT. Not only is that a relative non factor into how the population increases but its also not something that they can create themselves. If anything its wise to at least somewhat reflect the times we're living in by including characters that have such traits going for them in order to take advantage of modern quirks that people are used to seeing and explore them in a superhero context. (I hesitate to say RELATE to them, since that would be trying to make a character into some stereotypical "I am just like the people of your kind" character which is something that will only perpetuate the dehumanization of people- but thats another gripe for another day)

[dupersuper]

So you believe that by promoting LGBT characters it will encourage more people to become homosexuals, thus decreasing the population since we won't be reproducing as much?

I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and assumed they meant comic book buyers are going extinct. Though any one who uses the term "family values" these days...

[bobbyraw]

Should Diana be transgender?

[The Darknight Detective]

Should Diana be transgender?

That's even more unlikely than changing her into a lesbian or a bisexual woman.

I could see DC going the bi-curious route, though.

[Red Mask]

I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and assumed they meant comic book buyers are going extinct. Though any one who uses the term "family values" these days...

Yeah, considering how much DC and Marvel keep destroying marriages...

[Legato]

Yeah, considering how much DC and Marvel keep destroying marriages...

When you look at it isn't it sending a bad message to readers? That marriage is bad so don't even bother.