By Abby Patterson
Journey down the rabbit hole of film and you’ll see all types of relationships: friendships, sibling rivalry, romantic relationships between straight character, but often missing are those between queer characters. When Disney tells us that there will be a gay character added to a classic film, fans everywhere get excited. We celebrate Disney for adding new voices to their stories. But when it turns out that an “explicitly gay” character isn’t really explicitly gay at all, fans get angry. Fans are angry that representation in major films like Disney and Marvel movies for LGBTQ+ characters primarily exist on TV. So when Captain Marvel (2019) premieres in theaters fans are hopeful that a queer character in the comics translates to a queer character in the films. But as we know, films and their source material are different entities. The “cinematic universe” is different from the “comic universe.” When fans put the label of “lesbian” or “bisexual” onto Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), they change her as a character.
In America and across the world there’s this unconscious bias, where we still see women as the caretakers and men as the providers. In countless films men have been the lead. When I say “action hero” what comes to your mind? James Bond, maybe The Rock or other Fast and the Furious (2001-Present) bros. You might think “Avenger” because until Age of Ultron (2015) we only had one female Avenger. In May of 2018, following the release of Avengers Infinity War, I asked director Joe Russo about female representation and if it’s a goal of Marvel’s to continue to showcase female leads. I was told it is a big priority. But when it comes to films with so many characters, he mentioned how they didn’t have time to introduce any new characters. So, for now, we’re left largely male stories.
Figure 1 Marvel©
When it comes to female superheroes we latch on tightly due to their scarcity. We project many things onto them including masculinity in the form of gayness. In our society, we don’t associate words like “butch” with “feminine” automatically there’s an invisible dissonance between them. This connotation isn’t a conscious thing. I wasn’t thinking the whole time while watching Captain Marvel “wow she’s powerful now, going through men like it’s nothing, but what if she were a lesbian? I can accept this power from a lesbian, but I can’t from a straight woman.” People don’t think like this. The point of these biases being “unconscious” is that you don’t notice them. We shape female heroes into a mold that feels familiar and comfortable and right now that mold is one of Captain Americas and Iron Mans.
When the labels of “lesbian or bisexual” started to be projected on to Carol Danvers, I started to realize that changed things. Why does her sexuality matter? Well, because representation matters. We don’t have many female superheroes to begin with, and none of the have been part of the LGBTQ+ community. Carol has been in same sex relationships in the comics, so it’s a natural projection. But it’s not cannon in the films, unless they either “____is queer” or show her in a relationship (sexual, romantic or both) with a woman.
Ultimately, Captain Marvel is a badass and yeah “she don’t need no man” but if she’s fiercely heterosexual, I hope we can still see her in the same light. Men can be friends with men without being gay. But gay heroes are seen as weaker. We need to refocus the lens in which we view sexuality, preserved or projected, and heroism because right now the picture is too blurry.
It’s commonly stated that what defines a character is their choices. Choosing to run towards the danger instead of away from it. Choosing to sacrifice themselves to save their best friend. Choosing to set aside their personal problems to save the day. When we define a character by their perceived sexuality, instead of their choices, we miss the point of movies like Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers is a hero because she chooses to run into the burning building, not away from it.
Behold the Almighty Lesbian
Queer relationships are ever so needed in film. When Disney tells us that there will be a gay character added to a classic film, fans everywhere get excited. We celebrate Disney for adding new voices to their stories. But when it turns out that an “explicitly gay” character isn’t really explicitly gay at all, fans get angry. Fans are angry that representation in major films like those made by Disney and Marvel primarily exist on TV. So when Captain Marvel (2019), directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, premieres in theaters fans are hopeful that a queer character in the comics translates to a queer character in the films. But films and their source material are different entities. The “cinematic universe” is different from the “comic universe.” When fans put the label of “lesbian” or “bisexual” onto Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), they change her as a character.
In America and across the world there’s this unconscious bias, where we still see women as the caretakers and men as the providers. In countless films men have been the lead. When I say “action hero” what comes to your mind? James Bond, maybe The Rock or other Fast and the Furious (2001-Present) characters. You might think “Avenger” because until Age of Ultron (2015) we only had one female Avenger. In May of 2018, following the release of Avengers Infinity War, I asked director Joe Russo about female representation and if it’s a goal of Marvel’s to continue to progress female stories, I was told it is a big priority. But when it comes to films with so many characters, he mentioned how they didn’t have time to introduce any new characters. So, for now, we’re left largely male stories.
When it comes to female superheroes we latch on tightly due to their scarcity. We project many things onto them including masculinity in the form of gayness. You don’t see a very butch (for lack of a better word) woman and see the epitome of femininity. You see a certain amount of masculinity. This isn’t a conscious thing. I wasn’t thinking the whole time while watching Captain Marvel “I can’t accept this amount of strength from a presumably straight woman” Our biases are implicit, not explicit. But as I’m becoming to realize, if we don’t move our biases to the forefront of our minds, they can’t go away.
When the labels of “lesbian or bisexual” started to be projected on to Carol Danvers, I started to realize that changed things. Why does her sexuality matter? Well, because representation matters. We don’t have many female superheroes to begin with, and none of the have been part of the LGBTQ+ community. Carol has been in same sex relationships in the comics, so it’s a natural projection. But it’s not cannon in the films, unless they either “____is queer” or show her in a relationship (sexual, romantic or both) with a woman.
Ultimately, Captain Marvel is a strong woman without or without a romantic interest. But, if she’s fiercely heterosexual, I hope we can still see her in the same light because men can be friends with men without being gay. But gay heroes are seen as weaker and lesbian or celibate female heroes are perceived as stronger. We need to refocus the lens in which we view sexuality, preserved or projected, and heroism because right now the picture is too blurry. For too long we let a character’s sexuality and romantic interest dictate how that character has seen ESPECIALLY when it comes to women. But as I’m coming to realize, and as Captain Marvel asks of us, we need to reevaluate our assumptions of what makes a hero.