Presenters
Abstract
Although 2017 is decades removed from the Comics Code Authority’s 1954 prohibitions against depicting sexual “perversion,” the world of superheroines remains, with notable exceptions, dominated by conventionally attractive, heterosexual heroines designed to appeal to a straight male audience. Even in comics, shows, and movies marketed to female as well as male audiences, the possibility of queer female sexuality is often addressed as an amusing aside (e.g. Diana’s explanation in Wonder Woman (2017) that she learned that men, while required for procreation, are “unnecessary” for pleasure) rather than a viable possibility for the heroine herself. In this paper, I analyze the television adaptation of Supergirl (2015) to consider the demands of what I term compulsory hetero-desirability in a genre long dominated by male writers and readers.
In anticipation of the second season, Supergirl’s writers announced that a major returning character would be coming out, leaving fans to speculate during the hiatus and the early episodes. Even after Alex Danvers, a high-ranking DEO agent and Supergirl’s older sister, befriended Detective Maggie Sawyer, a well-known lesbian character in the DC universe, fans were quick to note the chemistry between Lena Luthor and Supergirl, as well as her alter ego, Kara Danvers—a chemistry made all the more viable after the unexplained dissolution of Kara’s budding relationship with Jimmy Olsen. During the season, however, Kara was thrust into a heterosexual romance disliked by fans and critics alike, even as her relationship with Lena blossomed. In exploiting the actresses’ chemistry, the writers queer-baited fans with a relationship destined to remain subtextual to ensure Supergirl’s continued desirability to target audiences. While Supergirl can support and actively encourage her sister’s journey toward self-acceptance and same-sex romance, she herself must remain viably heterosexual in a genre that still demands that superheroines are not only capable, but also desirable.