DC Comics Promotes Gay Pride Month, Then Censors Criticism
June is Pride Month, which celebrates the LGBTQ community. DC Comics joined in the celebration, but was in no mood to listen to any critics of their social activism.
On Saturday, DC posted an image on its social media celebrating Pride Month. featuring Midnighter and Apollo, its most prominent gay superhero couple. “Happy Pride Month” was sprawled across the top of the image.
In 2017, the characters had their own limited series, which explored their same-sex relationship. Writer Steve Orlando, who is bisexual, stated “Midnighter and Apollo is the book we need right now. Comics’ most iconic queer couple face down a new enemy and show us that we can never give in to fear, hatred, and evil—and they do it with their own brand of action-movie wit and punching.”
DC has come under fire from fans, however, who feel their SJW activism is having a negative impact. They point to declining comic sales and growing reader criticism of their social activism.
Perhaps that is why, when they posted the image to Instagram, DC disabled all comments almost immediately, censoring all feedback. Before they did, however, over 1,000 comments were left, but now cannot be read.
Twitter and Facebook, however, do not allow for comments to be turned off, so the reaction was far more divided.
Rather than argue in tweets, some Twitter users used GIFs to display their disapproval.
Others noted how DC turned off comments where they could.
On Facebook, over 30% of the responses were negative, based on emoticon responses.
Many mocked DC’s virtue signaling, with one Facebook user commenting “Cool. When’s the ‘Straight White Pride Month’?”
Midnighter and Apollo are not DC’s only LGBTQ characters. Batwoman is a lesbian, and Constantine is bisexual, for example. Many other minor DC characters are also LGBTQ, and on DC’s WB television shows, gay characters are prominent, including White Canary. Greg Berlanti, who oversees DC’s shows on the WB network, and has spoken of the importance of having LGBTQ characters and actors on his shows. Berlanti, who is gay, points to his TV version of Batwoman, who is being portrayed by Ruby Rose, a lesbian.
DC itself has not commented on the negative feedback so far.
Post your thoughts on DC Comics’ Pride Month in the comments section below.
