Why Superman is One of the Top Gay, Queer and Kink Icons
By now, so much has been said about Superman and his legacy in 20th and 21st-century culture, but I will go ahead and say the obvious anyway: Superman is a gay and queer icon.
We all know it's true. And by "we," I mean the culture at large—not just queer people.
And yet, many people refute this phenomenon. The people who panic and become enraged when we talk about the queer resonance of the character created in Action Comics by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are folks who seek to erase the existence of queer people and the way they contribute to culture as a whole. That makes those haters homophobes and transphobes.
If you gatekeep superheroes in order to protect your heteronormativity and close-mindedness, good luck, because you have never had any control over them. And you never will. Superman is a piece of art, and art's subjectivity means you can't touch the way it resonates or connects for other people.
A Massive Impact on Queer Culture
Photo Copyright Cesar Torres
Superman’s impact on queer culture is rooted in a very obvious "closet allegory," where his double life and secret identity mirror the lived experience of "passing" and the performance of heteronormativity. This subtext is reinforced by creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's own status as marginalized outsiders. As the children of Jewish immigrants, Siegel and Shuster channeled their experiences of social alienation into a character who must navigate a world that doesn’t fully understand his true nature.
Furthermore, Shuster’s specific artistic sensibilities—heavily influenced by the "physique culture" and bodybuilding magazines of the 1930s, as well as his later anonymous work for the fetish publication Nights of Horror—infused the character with a hyper-masculine, "camp" aesthetic that serves as a site of both aspirational power and queer desire. Ultimately, this intersection of a "hidden" self and a theatrical, skin-tight costume has allowed the character to transcend his straight origins, evolving into a symbol of queer resilience that emphasizes the performance of identity and the rejection of domestic conformity in favor of a radical, alternative existence.
Detailed analysis of these cultural parallels can be found in Eric Berlatsky’s study on homosociality and triangular desire and J. Drew Stephen’s exploration of camp aesthetics in the Man of Steel’s cinematic history.
A Brief Word About the Costume
Christopher Reeve’s in the film adaptation of the comic
There is also an inherent gay and queer sensibility in the costume of Superman. It's bold, colorful, and skintight—not afraid to celebrate his massive chest, thick legs, muscular glutes, or any part of his body. His costume is as free of shame as his nakedness would be. Since the character's creation, the costume has been drawn in such a way that today we associate spandex with images of Superman. Most intellectuals won't name it, but I will: there is an erotic allure to his costume. It's no surprise his leotard and red trunks show up so often in the erotic imaginations of all kinds of people, including myself.
I have donned the Superman costume many times. You can see it in my Cosplay Archives, but also in my digital photo set, Ice and Leather.
Superman Resonates Loudly in Kink Spaces
Superhero Fetish Meetup at International Mister Leather 2019, Photo by Cesar Torres
If I were to name one fictional character that shows up the most in queer kink and leather culture (as well as cis/het kink culture), it would have to be Superman. We now live in an age of amateur porn, OnlyFans, and JustForFans, and it's easy to see the emblematic blue leotard, red trunks, yellow belt, and stunning red cape show up over and over in erotic scenes. People from all walks of life stage these as a way to embody power exchange, using the very stories of the character. In many of these videos, short films, erotic drawings, and AI-generated art, fans show Superman being subdued by kryptonite, Lex Luthor, or other villains, mirroring the beats of the comics, TV series, and films.
I have been a member and leader in leather and kink spaces for twenty years, and it delights me to see Superman motifs and costumes show up at places like MIR, IML, Darklands, and many more.
Photo Copyright Cesar Torres
Most journalists, writers, and academics are much too afraid to name this phenomenon of fans eroticizing Kal-El. That's were I come in. I write, live, and breathe superhero fetish. I can not only name my own fetish for Superman, I can describe for you how he tends to turn on so many queer folks I have met over the years. It will come as no surprise that whenever I have posted photo sets of myself in a Superman costume, I receive DMs and private requests for more—specifically, photos where Superman is bound, gagged, and punished. That's because the Superman character activates archetypes within ourselves that cannot be silenced.
What Superman Did for My Own Queerness
There is nothing wrong with erotic fantasies about Kal-El. Superman after all, helped me investigate my own queer and gender identity a long time ago. He helped me understand the dynamics of living in the closet, and in that sense, I parted ways with him many years ago—first when I came out as gay at 21, and again when I came out as non-binary in my late forties. Yes, Clark Kent still lives in a type of closet, but I don't. Today, I feel much closer to a Magneto, who emphatically does not have a secret alter ego. In terms of a superhero who aligns with my gender experience, I feel much more aligned with Mystique than the limiting confines of masculinity that Superman exists in.
And yet, I have much love for Superman, whose muscular and ethical beauty still dazzles my imagination.
Do I still play with Superman when I engage with other kinksters? You bet. That's the beauty of art, story, and roleplay. We can revisit characters, deconstruct them, destroy them, and even rebuild them as part of play.
Superman Keeps It Queer
The reason I wanted to publish this essay is that what I do here at HTKS—as the creator of a unique set of novels for queer people who want superhero stories—is rooted in love and support for my community. I love the kink and leather communities, where Superman is still emblazoned on many people's presentations as a way to be fiercely queer. There's truth and beauty in that. It is important to remind ourselves that Superman also belongs to us. No matter how much homophobes and transphobes may hate us, we know something special about Superman and Clark Kent. Nothing can change his status as a gay and queer icon.
