- How and why have Tintin’s gender and sexuality been question?
The discussion about Tintin’s gender online has been constantly debated. But the absence of female or physically attractive characters in Tintin does not represent his gender or sexuality. There is no complete sexual dimension in Tintin comics, and homosexuality is a clear choice of sexual behavior, and in this book there is no such story at all. In Tintin comics, you can find the same answer as why no character dies. Because it’s a children’s cartoon for children’s readers. Judging gender and his sexual identity in it is a groundless generalization.
When you think about Tintin in the cartoon, there is no description of the main character’s family. There is no sexual description at all. Even him. Someone say they don’t know if it’s a man or a woman. Not getting old, not getting age. But this is also an advantage for readers of different ages and genders to empathize with him. His smooth face is also a device that everyone can assimilate.
Captain Haddok or Professor Calculusis so strong that it is difficult to assimilate.
In the case of Tintin, as the series progresses, there is less clear information about which country the land is from. This can have the effect of making it easier for foreign readers to immerse themselves in the main character when the cartoon is translated into a foreign country.
Hergé intentionally made Tintin avoid the feelings of love, and in the cartoons, there were blondes and young women.
Scenes were mainly used as a means to create intrigue or action.
The lack of heterosexual love in Tintin requires some understanding of the laws of pre-World War II publications in France. At this time, the legal regulations for children and adolescents were severe. The newspaper where Tintin was serialized was also a Catholic newspaper, so it helps us understand why Tintin does not have a sexual dimension.
TinTin was made to be read by teenagers, so the moral purpose is clear.
- Brave. He’s up against danger.
- be decisive Once you start, you don’t stop.
- To be dynamic. have creativity and mechanical talent
- Pure. No moral defects.
- Be active. Take the initiative.
- To stand up to the strong and help the weak.
- Clever. Use your wisdom to get through difficulties. Or coaxing or coaxing friends to reach the same goal.
- Charming.
He is philanthropists. He saves people from trouble without racial distinction.
According to author Hergé, his brother is the model of Tintin. His hairstyle was the same as his brother’s hairstyle. But since Tintin became famous, my younger brother, who was a career soldier, was so stressed out that he looked like Tintin that he shaved his head. Hergé used it as a model to create a character, so the character that was born was Colonel Spons, the villain
But Tintin’s adventures are part of literature, so how to interpret them is up to the reader.
Reference
Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin and gender part 1 [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/
Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829
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