Appūru-sama wrote:A thread on queer characters and NO one mentions Whis? Really?
On a related note I think it's kinda cool gay characters in DB were relegated to shitty stereotypes (General Blue, Otokosuki) and now the strongest being in the universe(s) Whis in FABULOUS. Go Japan! (Maybe soon we'll get leading African American characters WITHOUT ridiculously oversized lips).
I think it would be really cool if Whis were revealed to be gay.
Gay people who are fabulous and effeminate aren't a nonexistent thing, so making a gay character effeminate isn't inherently stereotyping, it's when it's played for laughs and/or they're treated like weaklings because of it. I think having a character like Whis who is categorically strong and awesome ALSO be effeminately gay would be a great thing.
General Blue is the example of how NOT to do it. He was revealed to be gay due in a joke, and then literally every reference to his sexuality from there on out is a joke at his expense. Especially the pedophilia thing Toei added (IIRC it was anime only)
MagicBox wrote:We don't even know the sexual orientations of the majority of the existing characters. Toriyama never made it a priority. He's already stated that he doesn't like romance, he doesn't like for his characters to feel anything, and he doesn't want the audience to feel anything. If he needs to extend the cast, then two of the characters will pair up and pop out a baby. But aside from that, unless it's being played for laughs (Muten Roshi being crazy horny for girls, Otoko-suki being crazy horny for guys, etc.), he simply doesn't care and neither should we. To focus on a character's sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual) betrays the tone of "stupid, dumb fun."
Kamesen'in. He's a walking testament to heterosexual sexuality.
Characters who have stated romantic/sexual inclinations:
Goku, Chichi, Bulma, Yamucha, Oolong, Lunch, Kuririn, Kamesen'in, (Notice I've hit pretty much the entire primary cast of the original DB so far) Bulma's Parents, Vegeta, Cyborg 18, Mr. Satan, Gohan, Videl, Trunks and Mai.
The only members of our main "Z Fighter" cast that don't have noted romantic relationships or sexual activity are Piccolo (who is an alien who reproduces asexually) Tenshinhan, and Chaozu. Tenshinhan however, has a relationship with Lunch and the joke is that it's one sided, so you might be able to count that as something.
For a guy who "Doesn't like Romance" he sure went out of his way to make sure we knew every single one of these characters was interested in the opposite sex, even Goku has to have some inclination towards Chichi considering he fathered TWO Children.
I'm not saying this is evidence that there needs to be an LGBT character in Dragonball, but why is this just accepted as something that can be in the series without a problem, but the idea of there being a new character introduced who happens to be interested in the same sex for purposes OTHER than a punchline crosses some kind of line?
"FUNi should take [DBZ] out behind the woodshed, give it one last treat, then blow its f%#@$ng brains out before it attacks the baby again." ~Rocketman