Comic book with Transgender - warning

[po18guy]

Thankfully, none of my sons have much interest in the brain-rot of superhero comics even before the comics embarked on a mission to celebrate disorder. And there’s why bringing up “flawed” characters in the Bible, Shakespeare isn’t a response. Tell you what, if DC comics presents “flawed” characters reaping bad consequences or even just desserts for willfully indulging disorders, as opposed to presenting them as good and covering it under phony euphemisms like “celebrating diversity” give me a call.

Stop it! Just stop making sense!

 

[Seeker1961]

I understand not celebrating or glorifying disorders. However, if Kithrus is right and the character is a villain, that argument sorta breaks down.

What bothers me about a lot of these responses is that they seem to be saying that we shouldn’t write immoral or dysfunctional characters at all, or unless they meet with disaster by the end of the work.

The first reason why that’s not right is that there actually are people with these conditions. I’m not arguing that we need to include them for purposes of realism (more often than not, they’re portrayed unrealistically anyway). What I want you to think about is this: what will all the people with gender and sexuality disorders be exposed to? Stories that call them evil or mock them. Stories that deny their existence. And many stories, now, that tell them to embrace their disorders and let them define them. None of that is helpful. If we really wanted to help these people through storytelling (at least in stories for older people- teens and young adults, let’s say), wouldn’t we show them characters who struggle with temptation and immorality and then do the right thing anyway? A lesbian who decides to remain celebate? A gay man who doesn’t act on his feelings? A person with gender dysphoria who struggles with the body he was born with but tries to avoid decieving people? Maybe?

Unfortunately, I don’t see any such characters being written. I think that’s pretty sad. I wish we could applaud such people. Surely God doesn’t turn away anyone because their problems are to icky for him to handle! Why should we be any different?

And then, of course, we’re telling all the readers without these conditions that either these disorders don’t exist, or we should mock these people. Hardly a Christian message to send.

I’d like to see some disordered characters in a work by a Catholic, trying to be good Catholics or Christians or just trying to do the right thing. That, I think, would be a much more effective course of action than opposing transgendered characters in DC comics- especially if you’re not going to explain that the problem is the portrayal and not the inclusion itself.

 

[Kithrus]

Nightcrawler

 

[edwest2]

Rapists? Bestiality? Child molesters? Human Vivisectionists? Meth-heads? Wife-beaters? Where do you stop when introducing children to the evils of the world? As I see it, what this world needs is clarity and purity, not fuzziness and confusion. Could just be me, though…

No, it’s not just you.

Ed

 

[Kithrus]

Rapists? Bestiality? Child molesters? Human Vivisectionists? Meth-heads? Wife-beaters? Where do you stop when introducing children to the evils of the world? As I see it, what this world needs is clarity and purity, not fuzziness and confusion. Could just be me, though…

Not all comic books are for children

This is the same mentality that video game developers are toy makers

 

[pnewton]

Well, the comic is for adults, so…

…and I don’t see the comparison between the types of people listed above and transgendered people.

The first three are all people of deviant sexual interest. I think the objection is in normalizing deviant sexual interest, of any type, including, I might add, promiscuity. In the past, it was also a thing unheard of to glorify promiscuity in comics aimed at kids.

The danger exists that the children who read these comics will see it as more acceptable to label themselves with some sexual deviancy, believing it to be normal. Unfortunately, we still have the conscience God gave us. This dissonance between the sin we embrace and the person God means us to be is major source of depression and can lead to suicide.

The answer of society is that children need to accept themselves as they are, stopping the feelings of guilt. The answer of God is that they need to accept themselves as they can be with the His grace, conquering the sin.

 

[Kithrus]

The first three are all people of deviant sexual interest. I think the objection is in normalizing deviant sexual interest, of any type, including, I might add, promiscuity. In the past, it was also a thing unheard of to glorify promiscuity in comics aimed at kids.

The danger exists that the children who read these comics will see it as more acceptable to label themselves with some sexual deviancy, believing it to be normal. Unfortunately, we still have the conscience God gave us. This dissonance between the sin we embrace and the person God means us to be is major source of depression and can lead to suicide.

The answer of society is that children need to accept themselves as they are, stopping the feelings of guilt. The answer of God is that they need to accept themselves as they can be with the His grace, conquering the sin.

Again just because it is a comic book does not mean its target demographic is children.

 

[Kamaduck]

But last week we discussed on one thread the situation with a Catholic priest who had same-sex attraction (but was living chastely, abiding by all rules, and serving God, etc) and wanted to be honest with his congregation about this.
When he was (in a letter) the congregation flipped out and wanted this priest fired. He was.
They all thought he would be a bad influence on the children in the church, as a role model and as someone who might try to persuade their kids to “turn gay” or something.
But folks…that is not how it works.

My thought was…here is someone with a “condition” that the Catholic church agrees affects many (see below), so why not have him be a good, shining example for the people in the congregation that he can and does indeed follow the doctrine, is respected, took on a vocation to serve God, etc…, instead of showing parishioners that because he has this “condition” he must be throw out?
All that did was show the people of all ages in the church that if they, too, have this “condition”, they will be treated badly.

So he did nothing wrong, but was thrown out for that? That’s awful.

But I think that’s where this mentality can lead us, if we’re not careful. We don’t make distinctions between an uncontrollable condition and a descision to engage in a sinful lifestyle. We see the chaste single person who has SSA as identical to the gay man who wants to marry his partner. It’s sad. It’s just really, truly sad that we don’t distinguish between people who are following God and people who reject the Church’s teachings.

I hope we can one day write stories where heroism is judged by the choices a character makes, and not by events beyond his or her control.

Again just because it is a comic book does not mean its target demographic is children.

Kithrus is correct that many comic books are not intended for children. There are obviously “adult” comic books that contain pornographic or merely inappropriate material in them. However, there are also comic books that, while not necessarily bad, are aimed at adults. It’s fairly common now that entire generations have grown up with comic books. Some people don’t give up their love of the medium, but their tastes may change over time.

It’s kind of like how we don’t stop writing books about controversial topics just because kids might get ahold of them. Except that comics have pictures, and are therefore superior.