The joker is gay

A potential problem with labelling the Joker as queer is the optic it creates. Taking the character's entire history into account, different readings could either see a troubled portrait of a closeted gay man feigning an interest in heterosexuality, or someone who is openly bisexual, pansexual or sexually fluid.

Due to that, let’s see whether Joker is gay, bisexual, or straight. A petition on Change. In Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's " Death Of The Family ," which Snyder called a "love letter to Batman from Joker, " Joker describes their battles as "dances," calls Batman "darling" and refers to himself as "yours" during their interactions, echoing his flamboyant, love-lorn portrayal in "Batman: A Death In The Family," which Snyder's story pays homage to, if only in name.

Let's find out.

Is the Joker Gay

Given his fixation on the world's greatest detective, he could even be sapiosexual. This part of their relationship has been highlighted in some of their biggest stories together, in comics or on-screen. His compulsion to Joker-fy his victims also feeds the homophobic myth of a gay conversion agenda.

Reversing the erasure of the Joker's queer identity also makes for more varied LGBTQ representation in the DC Universe, which Shestakova reminds us is important "because sometimes fictional characters [are] something real people hold onto. Snyder also has Joker tell Nightwing that he "always smell[s] so good," proving that -- as Shestakova points out -- the Clown Prince of Crime doesn't just have eyes for Bats.

That is why it's so important to me and other queer readers to return his homosexuality. This mainstream interpretation hasn't faltered, despite the couple's messy break-up. Interestingly, since then, Harley has been able to openly explore her bisexuality, recently revealing a secret marriage to Poison Ivy in an alternate dimension.

Or both? The Joker is always flirtatious with his arch nemesis. This opinion was shared by other comic book authors and artists for decades. Many fans believe that The Joker is canonically bisexual – or at least queer – but how deep does this fan theory go?

His sexuality has never been discussed in a canonical sense and most of his relationships have been extremely one-sided and self-serving- and with women. A fully outed homicidal maniac in the guise of something intended to entertain children could further the bigoted conflation of LGBTQ people with abnormality and monstrosity.

The Joker's relationship with Harley Quinn erased years of queer-coding that some fans are eager to see restored. From as early as the character's first solo comic series inthe Joker's relish of applying red lipstick has been characterized as an act of show girl-style beautification, not just fear inducement.

For those unfamiliar with the Joker's lengthy history of being both explicitly queer or queer-coded, or even for those who are aware of it, Shestakova's collection of evidence to support her case is well worth a look. The Joker has also had relationships with women.

Joker is bisexual, and even that is a stretch. While his feminine traits are stereotypes, it certainly adds another dimension to his nightly encounters with Batman. Is he trying to spook the Caped Crusader or getting dolled up for a date with him?

Fans Launch Petition to

Ultimately, Shestakova isn't calling on DC to graft something new onto a beloved character, as some fans have interpreted, but to "restore" something that was already there. He makes sexual innuendos, coyly asks for kisses and revels in any attention the Dark Knight pays him.

He had a wife in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Jokeand has shown an intimate interest in Harley -- though more as an object than a woman. By "return," Shestakova means that since Harley Quinn was introduced in Batman: The Animated Series in the early '90s, her infamous infatuation with her puddin' means Joker has been viewed in a more heterosexual mold.

But regardless of how we define the Joker -- or even whether doing so is an exercise in futility -- there are some problems surrounding the attempt.