“You prefer hypermasculine Superman”.
This comment was thrown at me because I said I prefer Diana with Superman.
At first I thought...what are you even on about?
Then I considered..hmm let’s see...does Superman really represent that any more than other male characters?
Batman imo falls under that as he more represents... physical strength, aggression, and sexuality...just look at who he is. He has the wealth, is a playboy, defined by danger and darkness, emotionally difficult, has fast cars, gadgets, has romance with many of women, uses a lot of aggression as his physicality is just as important as his detective skills. Batman is known for being brutal in combat. He is the ultimate symbol of male fulfillment. There is a reason why there is the term Batgod because he is seen as unbeatable as well. Steve Trevor is the blond white western male in in armed forces. The army represents aggression. Soldiers don’t cuddle the enemy. Also he’s been portrayed as a bit of a cad in past incarnations.
Superman is an alien raised by farming folk. Sure he uses strength but so do other superheroes, female and male, who have strength because they are meta human via their biology. Most of the time Kal/Clark is seen as someone who uses his compassion and is optimistic/gentle/idealistic/kind by nature...and his sexuality is pretty much tempered. Mostly he is tethered to one woman constantly. You barely see much of his sexuality. You just have to buy he worships one person only even though he is hot as f and is a long lived alien and actually quite the catch.
There are 3 aspects to hypermasculinity.
- callous sexual attitudes toward women
- the belief that violence is manly
- the experience of danger as exciting
I honestly don’t see how this can describe Superman. He is not a macho character. Maybe it can be looked at when he is with Lois as he constantly has to save her., ie she the female character constantly needs his shelter and protection. etc. But not really with Wonder Woman. She is a team member and she’s helped save his ass many a time. She is his equal and challenges him. They help each other as well...you know like any couple would. So no I don’t prefer hypermasculine Superman. I prefer an individual who has interesting personality and who imo compliments Diana. They share many similarities and differences which makes for an interesting dynamic. Being on her level doesn’t have to threaten what Diana embodies as a character and brings to the table.