The latest issue of the lesbian magazine "Curve" is carrying several stories of interest. First, a short piece on the Playstation game "Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix"--previously mentioned in this weblog--encouraging gay girls to check out the title's lesbian leads, Hana and Rain. They're a little late to the party on that one, but if it creates more gaming dykes then I can't complain.
Next, "Curve" runs a long interview with comic writer Devin Grayson, mentioned here just this past week in a post about "User." Grayson, an out bisexual, mostly talks about how she came to write for DC's Batman franchise. What interested me most about the interview was a comment she made about what first attracted her to Batman. She mentioned being fascinated by the relationship between Batman and Robin--how Robin is always depicted as this very carefree, light-hearted character compared to Batman's brooding, serious personality, and how Robin is the only one who can get close to Batman and provide him with some needed levity in his life.
I was struck by how much Grayson's description of Batman and Robin's relationship paralleled that between lesbian dynamic duo Xena and Gabrielle, both in the TV series and in fan fiction. Brooding, troubled lead figure, driven by inner demons to fight evil, attracted to lonely yet chipper youngster, eager to learn from his/her mentor. I think part of Xena's success with fans is not just that she is a female hero, but that she hews so closely to Batman's heroic profile. Like Batman, she has no superpowers, but is instead seen as resourceful warrior who has honed her special skills through extensive training.
I am very curious about the similarities between Batman/Robin and Xena/Gabrielle because it suggests to me that a certain type of cross-generational mentor relationship might be an archtypal couple relationship for both gay men and women. This is significant because gay men and lesbians are often thought of as being very different in terms of how they choose to pursue relationships, and also because this type of pairing provides a distinctly gay model for romantic relationships.
I know what you're probably thinking--"But Batman and Robin aren't gay." No, they're not--at least not in the DC World, though certainly the potential is there, as many before me have remarked upon. It's just a hypothetical for reflection's sake. It's important because if we had more models of what an ideal gay romance might look like (not that Xena and Gabrielle's or Batman and Robin's relationships are all one big bed of roses), maybe gay people wouldn't feel it was necessary to put quite so much energy into pursuing marriage rights, and could get back to some of the things we used to care about before we all wanted to join the military and register for crystal.
But I digress. Lastly, "Curve" mentions "Xena" actress Lucy Lawless in its rumors section, noting her guest role on the "X-files," which begins this month.