What causes controversy? Well I was surprised to find out that Matthew Parris’ article Of course Tintin’s gay. Ask Snowy in The Times has caused a bit of a stir. Perry begins his article
A callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor? A sweet-faced lad devoted to a fluffy white toy terrier, whose other closest pals are an inseparable couple of detectives in bowler hats, and whose only serious female friend is an opera diva…
. . . And you’re telling me Tintin isn’t gay?
The wonderful part is that this has actually upset some people! A spokesperson for the Studio Herge is quoted in The Sun: “Just because there is an absence of women does not mean that Tintin was gay. “When the comic strip was created, women rarely featured in any stories of that time in the 40s and 50s. “Tintin is not at all gay – he was very macho in fact. He has many friends who are boys but they are not boyfriends.”
In the comments section of the Times article there are lots of people who seem genuinely upset over the thought of this sexual orientation in a cartoon character. The real response should be: Who cares! but I must admit I did enjoy reading the annoyed responses to the article. It’s amazing what people have the energy to get worked up about. Tintin is fiction, daubs of ink, enjoyable reading no matter what his sexuality.