Tintin Forums

It has come to my attention that some members of the cult have certain views on Tintins masculinity. It has always annoyed me how cartoon characters can be pinned as being effeminate or gay with no evidence to support it. Don’t get me wrong! Im not Homophobic or have any issues with homosexuality, but in bamboozles me on how or why cartoon characters have secret sex lives. Why? Is it just another jibe at the characters just for fun (Tintin in Thailand), do certain groups associate characters for political use (Breaking free), or is it just for Media shock as they have to have something that will titillate the general public.
Its like the ‘Tintin is a Nazi’ theme that everyone always brings up because they have heard it somewhere and it sounds twistedly interesting, they don’t know the true facts just the hear-say.
So if anyone has any mature reasons to why Tintin is so often called effeminate please comment here.
Tintin, gays and Nazis…sounds like a good program for channel 5.

Tintin has no sexuality in my view. He is not homosexual or heterosexual - the issue does not exist in the stories. Same goes for his religion and political bias. There are people who speculate on an invisible world beyond the books, and these can spill over into fan-art (or comics), and is just a game that has no bearing on the real Tintin, but can be fun to play for those that are interested (I'm mainly not interested in that aspect).

The other part is divining a hidden world of Tintin that Hergé intended but is not explicitly stated. For instance, Hergé was a Catholic, so Tintin is a Catholic, or Hergé was a Nazi sympathiser, so Tintin has fascist leanings. The danger with this is people will project their own personal agendas onto the fairly blank canvas of Tintin. A gay person may see Tintin as gay, just as an English reader may see Tintin as English. Oscar Wilde favoured the view that Shakespeare was homosexual, or at least partly. That's okay, but it doesn't make it real. Especially as Tintin is a fictional character, not only does it make it less real, but it matters less. Tintin is a great reflection of whoever reads him.

Tintin is a great reflection of whoever reads him

I do understand this idea. Why Tintin constantly gets called gay, mainly by people that are not confounds me. Why, all I can think of they thinks its funny. Its in a similar way George commented in the '100 - greatest cartoons' thread, Tintin-is-gay-because-he-lives-with-a-sailor-with-a-beard-ha-ha.
I mean its more of an iquisitive thread into what other fans think. We've had Snafu say already that He thought Tintin effemnate in some scenes. One where Tintin says flying fish are beautiful. I couldnt understand this, and im wondering if he fell into the assumption made by others of his leanings.

The big news is here in the States is that some looney religious group has been pointing fingers at SpongeBob, saying he's gay. I say these people making the accusations need to get a life. He's a sponge.

The same thing goes for Tintin. I'm a pretty open, liberal person, but when people and/or groups start going around saying so-and-so is gay, I just try to ignore it. I mean, some people might say that Tintin's actions are affeminate at times, but back then, well, I guess people were more proper. Not like today's generation.

When it comes to deciding a character's sexuality, though, that's just something we can leave up to our imagination, as dumb (at times) as that may be. Take me, I'm a writer of fanfiction, and I can decide whether or not someone is gay, straight, etc, and write a story about him/her. But not with Tintin, because I love him too much!

In some cases it is certain members gay community that pick up on certain characteristics of a character and then claim them as an icon, however in most cases it is the religous right that are complaining because the character doesn't spend all their time womanising.

Sadly this is the case with Tintin I think. Basically most films have a love interest for the main character nowadays purely to show how the charactar is heterosexual. Because Tintin doesn't do enough to promote his heterosexuality then they leave themselves open to this.

Basically he's not at all feminine, just doesn't spend all hit time groping women in his adventures.

Rik

It shouldn't matter whether Tintin is gay or not. He's not, but he's not straight either. He isn't anything. Just like I've never seen Tintin go to the bathroom - it has no bearing on the adventure*. If the gay community were to take up Tintin as a major gay icon I think that would worry quite a few people, but I have to say it wouldn't worry me. In my own head Tintin isn't gay, but he will be in someone else's, and I like that about Tintin.

Everyone has effeminate characteristics, though I agree that the flying fish comment isn't a strong example of this! It does show the more poetic (?) side of Tintin's nature perhaps, but, to me, he comes across as a considerate person who is affected by what he perceives in the world about him many times throughout the adventures.

*Hmmm... perhaps not the best example given the context of this topic...

Tintin is asexual; he has no desire for sex. As tybaltstone says, he is neither gay nor straight.

I think a great part of Tintin is that he's a boy-scout with a caring attitude and an appreciation of nature. It's no suprise he would give a dry flower some water or enjoy the sight of some flying fish.

I just did a google search for “is Tintin gay” and I got a BBC report on the week's tabloids from Feb 2001. To quote:

Burning issue of the week:
Q: Is Tintin gay?

A: Yes. And so is his dog, Snowy. Or at least the Daily Star says so.

As Moonrocket mentioned above, it's a generational thing. All of the modern debate over Tintin's sexual prefrences (Spongebob's too!) and his alledged “effeminacy” proves that we've lost some of the innocence of the times in which the books were written.

Or at least the Daily Star says so

This is my point, I was wondering why people say he’s this gay icon. This Daily Star quote from Harrock sums up the attitude of the media using the gay connection in a derogatory way. I suppose its like when I was at school a lot of people would say Tintins gay because they thought it was funny, rather than that he enjoyed a bedroom relationship with the professor. Its just a bit dodgy that a cartoon character can be ridiculed like this, and the reasons why are stranger still.
However I have come to realise now that Tintin is not being singled out, as we have already examples of other cartoon characters getting accused of buttering the other side of the bread…He-Man, Spongebob…probably even Asterix and Obelix with their handlebar moustaches.
See now im thinking up lude relationships with comic characters, but why? I think I’ll go see a shrink…

I think it's kind of odd (to say the least) that I've NEVER seen a Tintin fancomic or anything similar that contains any amount of Tintin slash. Even "la vie sexuelle de Tintin" just has some Tintin/Castafiore pairing.

Of course Tintin's sexuality shouldn't and doesn't affect the greatness of the comic, it's a non-issue etc etc., but for all the manipulating fans do of their favorite things (slash fiction, fanart, fan comics like the aforementioned X-rated parody) you'd think that someone would bother speculating on Tintin/Haddock or something, considering that they sleep and live in the same place and are inseperable. And, you know, one is a sailor. Makes no sense, I tell yas.

you'd think that someone would bother speculating on Tintin/Haddock or something, considering that they sleep and live in the same place and are inseperable.

........................................................................... please, no.