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Controversy has arisen over various sexual interpretations made regarding the content of Batman comics in the early decades. Homosexual interpretations have been part of the academic study of Batman since psychologist Fredric Wertham asserted in his Seduction of the Innocent in 1954 that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual." He claimed, "The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, of the nature of which they may be unconscious." Wertham wrote, "Only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the psychopathology of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend 'Robin.'"

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While Frank Miller has described the relationship between Batman and the Joker as a "homophobic nightmare,"[148] he views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crimefighting, concluding, "He'd be much healthier if he were gay."[149] Burt Ward, who portrayed Robin in the 1960s television show, has also remarked upon this interpretation in his autobiography Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights; he writes that the relationship could be interpreted as a sexual one, with the show's double entendres and lavish camp also possibly offering ambiguous interpretation.

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Will Brooker argues in Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon,[154] that a queer reading of Batman is a valid interpretation, and that homosexual readers would naturally find themselves drawn to the lifestyle depicted within, whether the character of Bruce Wayne himself is explicitly homosexual or not. He also identifies a homophobic element to the vigour with which mainstream fandom rejects the possibility of a homosexual reading of the character. In the April 2012 issue of Playboy, long time Batman writer Grant Morrison said that "Gayness is built into Batman. I’m not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There’s just no denying it. Obviously as a fictional character he’s intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay. I think that’s why people like it. All these women fancy him and they all wear fetish clothes and jump around rooftops to get to him. He doesn’t care—he’s more interested in hanging out with the old guy and the kid.”[155] Building on this, a Comics Alliance opinion piece titled The Gayness of Batman discussed the question of homosexual readings of the character, citing his relationship with the flamboyant Joker as "a monstrous distortion of the conflict between the closet and the scene."

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Creators associated with the character have expressed their own opinions. Writer Alan Grant has stated, "The Batman I wrote for 13 years isn't gay. Denny O'Neil's Batman, Marv Wolfman's Batman, everybody's Batman all the way back to Bob Kane... none of them wrote him as a gay character. Only Joel Schumacher might have had an opposing view."

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They can spin anything into being gay

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Not that it's a sure-fire rebuttal, but doesn't he bury it to the hilt in Catwoman regularly? Don't they have a recurring on/ off sexual relationship? If so, these agenda-chasers are forced to concede at least bi-sexuality, IMO.

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The son's name is Damian Wayne

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Not that it's a sure-fire rebuttal, but doesn't he bury it to the hilt in Catwoman regularly? Don't they have a recurring on/ off sexual relationship? If so, these agenda-chasers are forced to concede at least bi-sexuality, IMO.

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Not to mention that he has a son in the comics and the mother is Talia Al Ghul.

The son's name is Damian Wayne FWIW.

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Although there have been persistent concerns about the clinical evidence Wertham used as the basis for Seduction, his sources were made widely available only in 2010. This paper documents specific examples of how Wertham manipulated, overstated, compromised, and fabricated evidence—especially that evidence he attributed to personal clinical research with young people—for rhetorical gain.
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For example, in “Seduction,” Wertham links “Batman” comic books to the case of a 13-year-old boy on probation and receiving counseling for sexual abuse of another boy: “Like many other homo-erotically inclined children, he was a special devotee of Batman: ‘Sometimes I read them over and over again. … It could be that Batman did something with Robin like I did with the younger boy.’ ”

What Tilley found in Wertham’s notes, however, was that the boy preferred “Superman,” “Crime Does Not Pay” and “war comics” over “Batman,” and that he had previously been sexually assaulted by the other boy – all information that Wertham left out.

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What about the general "gayness" of the series as a whole, not just Batman's actual sexuality. Are there any undertones or even explicit depictions there?

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I really don't get the joker thing. Is he supposed to be a transvestite?

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Really!? Has the son ever grown up and become a crime fighter?

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Really!? Has the son ever grown up and become a crime fighter?

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