Gender and Sexuality in Batman

Introduction to Gender and Sexuality 

Throughout watching the Batman films, it was easy to see how little women were included compared to male characters. There was never an even ratio of women to men, and the ways in which women presented were completely different. This is evident in all of the films, and although representation gets better throughout time, women still fit into a very minimal amount of roles. This often includes that of love interest, villain and damsel in distress. Furthermore, when looking at gender in Batman, it is important to think of the binary opposition of masculinity and femininity throughout the films, and how explicitly it is presented. This is evident throughout the many different incarnations of Batman in various ways. 

Masculinity vs Femininity 

With the exception of Batman (1966), there is an obvious difference between the costumes worn by male and female characters. Masculine outfits often tend to be heavily armoured and fully protective of the body, often featuring a mask. However, feminine outfits are usually much more skintight, and often cover less surface area of the body. For example, in the sequel to Burton’s Batman (1989), Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman is known for the latex suit that clings tightly to her figure. This would not be the most practical costume for someone to fight in, and she is largely sexualised throughout the film, often needlessly, due to this suit. Although Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in the The Dark Knight trilogy, is less sexualised, her costume is still very tight to her figure. This is especially obvious compared to Batman’s outfit, which is padded out with faux muscles and obvious weaponry. Finally, in 2016’s Batman vs Superman, Wonder Woman’s outfit consists of a top and a skirt, with her arms and legs fully exposed. This is completely impractical in a fight, even if Wonder Woman does have superhuman strength. This again contrasts the outfits of the two main male characters, who are again made to look stereotypically masculine with muscles on the suits. The reason that I haven’t included the 1966 Batman film in this analysis is because although Catwoman’s outfit is again skintight latex, there is no padding or muscular additions to Batman’s outfit. In fact, he wears shorts over tights, and his whole outfit is also tight to his body. This is still not as overtly sexual as Catwoman’s costume, however there is no patent masculinity as there is in the other incarnations of Batman. 

The Roles of Women

Another way in which masculinity and femininity are presented as opposites is the roles that men play in opposition to women. As I mentioned earlier, women are confined to only a few roles, such as that of a love interest, damsel in distress or villain, or sometimes more than one of these at once. These roles often involve a woman’s sexuality, especially when the women are all lusted after by Batman. In the various films, Batman is never seen without a love interest, and him being a 'womaniser'  is a large part of his character. This presents women as the submissive gender, as they are often expendable to Bruce Wayne. The women we see throughout the films are often overtly sexualised, whether it is a main character or a background actress. Although it can definitely be argued that Batman is also sexualised due to various training scenes, especially in the most recent films, he is never made to use his looks or his sexuality in lieu of his intelligence or other skills. This is in contrast to Catwoman (in all 3 formations), Vicki Vale, Talia al Ghul and Wonder Woman. An overwhelming amount of their screentime is taken up by their alter ego’s/disguises using their sexuality to get information or to seduce Bruce Wayne. The character Vicki Vale, who appears in Batman (1989), is not a villain or hero like the others. She is a photographic journalist who has an interest in Batman, and then develops one with Bruce Wayne once she attends a gala at his manor. Although her job is a big part of her character overview, the main way in which she drives the plot is by being Wayne’s love interest, and becoming a damsel in distress that needs to be saved. This contrasts slightly to the presence of the other female characters in the various franchises, who use their sexuality to trick or deceive Batman.  

Catwoman 

In Batman (1966), Catwoman is asked by the other villains to seduce Batman whilst using her disguise as a Russian journalist. She then brings Batman back to her apartment, when she goes to ‘slip into something more comfortable.’ This is what keeps Bruce Wayne in place whilst the apartment is filled with enemies to kidnap him. By using her sexuality rather than intelligence, this element of her personality is presented as the most important factor, reducing her to her body rather than her mind. This is not to say that feminine sexuality is a bad thing, or should be kept taboo, but to use it alongside men that all have obvious intelligence and other skills is reducing women to just their sexual persona. This portrayal of Catwoman does change in the later films, with Pfieffer’s Catwoman using both her intellect and physicality throughout the film. However, at the end of the movie she kisses Christoph Waltz’ character in order to distract him, and it is this act of sexuality that allows her to defeat him. Although you can’t deny that being randomly kissed would be distracting, when placed alongside the actions of the male characters and Catwoman’s own throughout the film it seems to be a strangely sexual act for such a violent end. 

Catwoman does again become stronger in The Dark Knight Rises, and her suit is seemingly less influenced by bondage and more by practicality. Considering this is the most recent incarnation of Catwoman, it does seem to be in standing with the speculated ‘third wave of feminism’ that was, and still is, taking place. People wanted a character that was strong whilst also feminine, and able to hold her own alongside the male heroes. This was mostly delivered in Nolan’s 2012 film, when Anne Hathaway portrayed Catwoman as a lady who used her femininity and skills rather than her sexuality to get what she wanted, although the two are quite possibly linked. There is an absence of her being a love interest in this film right until the very end, however this may be because Bruce Wayne is instead infatuated with Talia Al Ghul, a woman who lures Wayne into a false sense of security before revealing herself to be the daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, the villain of Batman Begins. Talia, like the 1966 Catwoman, uses her sexuality in order to trick Batman. However, the difference is that she does this for herself (and arguably for her father’s memory), and uses her knowledge gained by infiltrating Bruce Wayne’s personal life to invoke havoc on Gotham towards the end of the movie. However, this does still portray women as sly and not to be trusted, especially when combined with the betrayal of Catwoman at some points in the film. Overall, the portrayal of Catwoman throughout the film series has become increasingly more positive due to changing ideas of women in society. Although Catwoman is always seen as a strong female character, that also has quite complex sides in the later movies, she has become increasingly iconic for more than her looks. Due to the most recent wave of feminism, and the calling for more positive female representation in both comic book films and films in general, Nolan’s Catwoman is the most emotionally complex and least sexualised of the three. However, although Nolan’s representation of Catwoman is the best of the three, his other female characters are slightly lacking. For example, Rachel, who appears as a love interest in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, is killed off in order for Batman’s plot and persona to evolve. Although she presents herself as an independent  and intelligent woman throughout Batman Begins, Rachel then needs to be rescued by Batman multiple times throughout the film as she is not able to save herself. She is also sexualised much less compared to the other characters. She takes on a borderline maternal role, looking after Bruce Wayne and leading him towards good. Along with being a love interest, these two roles are very stereotypical of a man's expectations towards women. This, combined with Rachel’s fridging (the practice of killing women to further the male's storyline) in The Dark Knight meant that many female fans were not impressed with Nolan’s take on writing female characters, especially since Rachel was not adapted from the canon.

Modern Day Heroines

This may be why female characters were slightly reinvented for Batman V Superman (2016). This is the first time in many years that Wonder Woman has appeared on the big screen, and she definitely holds true as a feminist icon. She doesn’t have much screen time actually as Wonder Woman, and a lot of her prior appearances are as her alter ego, Diana Prince. Although Batman is shown as lusting after her, he is also shown as respecting her for her intelligence. In the fight scene at the end she doesn’t rely on the two men in order to fight, nor does she need to be rescued at any point. This is in contrast, however, to Amy Adams’ character Lois Lane. Throughout the film she needs to be rescued by Superman, and she is often used as bait and a damsel in distress to help the plot move forward. This is the same for the brief times we see Superman’s mother, who is eventually used in the climax of the film to make the two male leads fight each other. This recurring use of women to further ‘man pain’ is common throughout the films I have looked at, with women often dying  or becoming endangered in order for a man’s plot to advance.

Conclusion

Although there are slight exceptions, women being presented as damsels in distress alongside female sexuality are the dominant features of female characters throughout the various Batman franchises. Furthermore, none of the films fully pass the Bechdel test, as the last segment is to for the two (named) women to talk to each other about something other than a man. This is never fulfilled in the movies I have watched, and so they fail the very basic standards of female characterisation in films. Alongside the blatant sexualisation of all female characters,  it is appropriate to say that women are not well represented in the Batman movies. This is surprising due to the context at the times the films were made. I expected to see an increase in the amount of female characters occurring in films, and a decrease in the sexual aspects of their characters. However, in reality it seemed that no matter who the character was, she would always be presented in one of few ways. This is disappointing to see, as is the continuation of damaging ideals about masculinity that are present with the changes in the Batsuit and the need for Batman to always be in charge. There needs to be a new measure of equality present in the Batman films, from outfits to roles, as it is no longer acceptable for women to be shown in such a subordinate way.