When looking back on some of the views I’ve had, though, I
can say that at least I didn’t make any blog entries about them. If I had I
think I would have taken them down, the same way James Gunn, the director for
the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie, did. I would have also, like
Gunn, learned the hard way that things pretty much last forever online.
James Gunn came under fire in the past week or so for an
article in his blog, “The Top 50 Superheroes You Most Want to Have Sex With,”
that was posted in February of 2011. It has such gems in it as Tony Stark being
able to make the lesbian character Batwoman straight if he just sleeps with
her, and that the Stephanie Brown incarnation of the Batgirl would be “easy,”
since she’s a teen mom. There’s also a few shots taken at gay or supposedly gay
superheroes, Gambit and Nightwing among them. Gunn responded by saying it was
satire. Personally, I couldn’t see the humor. The big problem is that the humor
may have been funny in Gunn’s mind, but it’s not funny because people have made
similar statements, including me at times. People honestly do think that a teen
mom will sleep with anyone. They do feel that lesbians just need to have sex
with “the right man,” and once they do they’ll be straight. I’m also pretty
sure people are aware that a lot of people still look upon homosexuality as
unnatural and disgusting, and if you don’t know that, take a look at the
Westboro Baptist “Church.” Any of these
beliefs are disturbing by themselves, and all three of them in one list is
almost sickening.
One good thing to come out of this whole mess, though, is
Gunn’s apology, which he issued to GLAAD. Here is the full text:
- James Gunn
Note that in his apology, he apologizes to people who were
offended. He doesn’t try to make excuses. He’s not sorry that people “took his
statements the wrong way” or that people “misinterpreted his statements,” the
way so many politicians who give insincere apologies are. He does say he’s a
proponent of the gay and lesbian community, but doesn’t use that as a defense,
which is an easy trap to fall into. A lot of apologies turn into a defense,
where the apologist says something along the lines of, “anyone who knows me
will tell you I’m NOT sexist/racist/misogynist!” This puts the pressure back on
the person or people who were originally offended, and it doesn’t really help
anything. Sometimes you need to accept that you were wrong and that it doesn’t
mean you’re a horrible person.
In Gunn’s apology, he also promises to be more careful. He’s
trying to change based on what he did, and honestly you can’t ask for more. In
the future, Gunn is going to have a lot of eyes on him, especially with his
stint as director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I suspect if he does
say anything sexist or misogynistic the Internet will know.
For now, though, I’ll accept his apology at face value. It’s
not easy to admit you were wrong in front of the whole world, and even less
easy to keep a promise you made in public.
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