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Pan writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman,

I'm not going to ask about any specific character, as that would be a spoiler. Nor am I going to phrase it as a general question, for the same reason. From what I've read, it appears that the reason you couldn't depict any LGBT characters or relationship on-screen during the first two seasons of ''Young Justice'' is because Cartoon Network wouldn't allow it. Now, as I said earlier, I'm not going to ask if XYZ character is LGBT, or whether the third season will include any LGBT representation. But I am curious, if you wanted to include LGBT characters / representation in any future seasons of the show, and depict it on-screen, ''could'' you? Or has DC Universe, similarly to Cartoon Network, enforced a "gay embargo" preventing you from doing so?

Kind regards

P.S. I hope the italics work.

Greg responds...

We were allowed to, for the most part. Though there was one character that we were not allowed to depict as LGBT+.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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QueerGuy writes...

Big fan of your work. Not really a question, but I felt the need to clarify after seeing your response to another question regarding queer-baiting.

In your response, you (respectfully) provide some push-back against the concept, while expressing a willingness to learn more. I had a few quick responses to your comments I wanted to share.

You talk about some of the examples given in the Wikipedia entry for queer-baiting to be unfair, citing Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as an example. To be clear, in both the Wikipedia article and in popular usage of this example, people refer to Holmes and Watson as they are depicted in the BBC series, "Sherlock", and not (necessarily) in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories or other adaptations.

Queer-baiting refers to creators of media actively misleading a fan-base with hints or indications of "queerness" without any intent of follow-through. NOT -- as you indicated in your prior comment -- a fan-base misinterpreting close same-sex friendships and sexual. "Sherlock" (the BBC series) is a famous example of queer-baiting, as the series very often hints at homoerotic attraction between the two leads in the series' writing, the performances of the lead actors, and in the ways that other characters in series refer to their relationship. I won't go into specific details and examples from the series, but if you are interested in examples there are scores of them documented and easily locateable on the internet.

The key aspect of queer-baiting is the attempt to take advantage of queer fans by providing the bare minimum of queer(ish) interactions, without ever following through for fear of alienating a non-queer audience. This is very different from both presenting close same-sex friendships without any romantic or sexual relationship developing between the two characters, and the presentation of queer characters without the ability to actively show examples of their queerness due to external factors, such as network interference (such as Lexington in "Gargoyles" or Korra in "The Legend of Korra"). These are non-malicious and do not seek to mislead a queer audience.

To be clear, I don't think you have been guilty of queer-baiting in any of your work. I simply wanted to clarify the concept a bit more so that you can hopefully understand where the concern of the initial comment came from. Looking forward to "Young Justice" season three!

Greg responds...

I get the concern. I do.

And my response probably shows my (relative) queer blindness. I've seen every episode of "Sherlock," and never noticed any significant difference between how John and Sherlock are depicted here than in other versions.

I don't want to be defensive; I want to be open. But as you indicated, I've never intentionally queer-baited. Lex was gay to the extent allowed at the time (which was not at all). Some fans read a homo-erotic charge into the Dick/Wally relationship and the Bart/Jaime relationship, but that was never our intention - and I sincerely don't think we were trying to fool anyone. (Though one of those four characters is gay, in our minds, at least. But not in the minds of TPTB, even though TPTB did allow us to be objective about other characters on the show, starting with Season Three.)

Response recorded on July 12, 2021


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