Batman Deviance and Camp

            Andy Medhurst didn't write his essay Batman, Deviance, and Camp as a die hard Batman fan. Medhurst wrote his essay to gain awareness about the topic of homosexuality in American culture. Medhurst used Batman to reflect how our culture feels about homosexuality, and our perceptions have been represented in a negative way. Batman's character progressively was perceived as less homosexual as time went on. Back in the 1930's an author named Fredric Wertham wrote a book called Seduction of the Innocent claiming that Batman was gay and that his tactics might cause potential harm to vulnerable children. In the 1930's Batman and Robin wore dressing gowns, had flowers throughout their house, were shown numerous times sitting close to each other on their couch, and they would always take care of each other. As Batman moved on into the 1950's the ever famous Batgirls evolved and were part of the bat family. However, they never once talked about sex. In the 1960's, Adam West played the role of Batman. Here woman were perceived as the evil villain. Robin was older which suggested that a relationship between him and Batman was indeed possible. The 1960's brought out an exaggerated view on homosexuality and got people talking about the subject. Keep in mind that back in the 1930's and up until the late 1960's the awareness of homosexuality was not prevalent. Therefore, by the 1980's awareness of the topic became strong, which in turn brought an end to Batman and Robin being perceived as gay. In the 1980's Batman was very masculine and he began liking girls. His suit was chiseled giving him a tough look, different from the skinny flabby look of Batman in the 60's. The Batman of the eighties had a completely new appearance, far different from the Batman of the sixties. This change occurred mainly because homosexuality was perceived as a bad thing. Medhurst ended his essay by showing that there is no one way to view homosexuality, which also holds true for Batman.