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May 12, 2006
He-Man: The first gay superhero
At least so says a Slate writer, re-watching a cartoon from his childhood through post-modern eyes.
The best part about rewatching He-Man, after the initial nostalgia-burst, was tracking the show's hilarious accidental homo-eroticism—an aspect I missed completely as a first-grader.
In the ever-growing lineup of "outed" classic superheroes, He-Man might be the easiest target of all. It's almost too easy: Prince Adam, He-Man's alter ego, is a ripped Nordic pageboy with blinding teeth and sharply waxed eyebrows who spends lazy afternoons pampering his timid pet cat; he wears lavender stretch pants, furry purple Ugg boots, and a sleeveless pink blouse that clings like saran wrap to his pecs.
To become He-Man, Adam harnesses what he calls "fabulous secret powers": His clothes fall off, his voice drops a full octave, his skin turns from vanilla to nut brown, his giant sword starts gushing energy, and he adopts a name so absurdly masculine it's redundant. Next, he typically runs around seizing space-wands with glowing knobs and fabulously straddling giant rockets.
He hangs out with people called Fisto and Ram Man, and they all exchange wink-wink nudge-nudge dialogue: "I'd like to hear more about this hooded seed-man of yours!" "I feel the bony finger of Skeletor!" "Your assistance is required on Snake Mountain!"
Once you start thinking along these lines, it's impossible to stop. (Clearly, others have had the same idea.) It's a prime example of how easily an extreme fantasy of masculinity can circle back to become its opposite.
Yikes.
Nothing has been worth watching on Saturday mornings since Warner Bros. closed up shop on Bugs, Daffy and Elmer.
Posted by Mike Lief at May 12, 2006 12:23 AM
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Comments
Superheroes have always been borderline aggressive; erotic undertones. My #1 guy has always been Curious George. But I did boycott the movie. They gave him eyes, instead of the little dots that he usually sees with. Gee, at least Hollywood didn't make him gay.
Posted by: Vermont Neighbor at May 14, 2006 12:40 PM