Josh Whedon Ready To Write Strong Gay Male Character

By
On Top Magazine Staff
| July 24, 2011

Writer-director Joss Whedon has said he's ready to write a strong gay male character.

The 47-year-old Whedon is best known for creating the teen drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel. He's also the man behind Fox's Firefly and Dollhouse. And Whedon has continued to contribute to the Buffy universe by writing several comics for Dark Horse Comics.

During a Q&A at Comic Con in San Diego, Whedon, who has written lesbian characters, was asked for his reaction to the LGBT community's embrace of his characters.

“Well, I'm against it,” Whedon, an atheist, joked, then added, “They're making the Lord angry.”

“You didn't think I was going to bring up Alien Resurrection but I am,” he added. “When I was writing it, discovering the idea of clone Ripley and robo Nona kind of coming to terms with the idea of being considered less than human despite the fact that they were both powerful and beautiful and internalizing that and feeling like an underclass of human being.”

“This is a powerful metaphor. In particular for the gay community. And for teenagers who are struggling with that. And ultimately it's a metaphor for everybody who feels like an outsider, but that was my first thought. That that was what made it interesting. And Buffy was basically a sort of extension of that, that kind of storytelling. I didn't actively go out with an agenda, but it absolutely means everything to me that the gay communities have embraced the shows because they are for them as much or more than anyone else.”

When asked whether he would consider writing an out-and-proud male character, Whedon said, “Yeah, totally. Absolutely.”

“I have actually wanted to do a book,” he continued. “I have a particular one in mind. It's not on the front burner. But I do think it's about time. At some point, you write enough lesbians, people realize: This is just a guy. This isn't feminism, this is Cinemax.”

“I think it's time for a little equal opportunity,” he added, then joked: “Besides, who doesn't love cock?”