I Want To Talk About Dick Grayson's Beauty, Sex Symbol Status, And How It All Connects For A Moment.

I want to talk about Dick Grayson's beauty, sex symbol status, and how it all connects for a moment.

This is a prelude to an upcoming post but I needed to include this separately because the other was getting too big.

First of all Dick Grayson is a beautiful man.

And you're probably thinking "well, no duh. Everyone knows that." but what I mean is Dick Grayson was intentionally made to be beautiful.

For a little historical context, around the late 1950s the culture in the US was changing. It was around this time, that people began exploring and accepting what they called a "feminine man".

This was really taking place in cinema and stuff where they began to show softer versions of men doing "typically female roles" as heroes.

One example is the movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", a 1962 Hollywood film. In summary, it takes place in the midwest and is centered about Cowboys, gunslingers, the shebang. But the point is, there are two male leads in the movie - Ranse Stoddard (played by Jimmy Stewart) and Tom Donophon (played by John Wayne). Ranse and Tom are both the heroes in the film but with a key difference. Tom is like the sheriff of the town, loved by all and focusing his time on practicing his gun skills. The savior of women and normal people, he's the typical masculine hero. His face is rough and handsome. Ranse however was the new wave. He doesn't care about carrying the gun, he thinks it's uncouth and focuses much of his attention on sending the evil guy (Liberty Valance) to jail through laws. He doesn't want to kill and he takes a more advocative approach. He is also loved by everyone despite not being super masculine. Ranse's face is clean and almost dainty in comparison to Tom and Liberty Valance's.

Despite the complete opposites they are, both men are considered heroes. On one hand, you have the very male typical hero but on the other hand, you have the feminine male hero. At one point the evil guy laughs when Ranse walks in wearing an apron because serving tables is a "woman's job", but Ranse doesn't let it bother him.

How does this connect to Dick Grayson?

Dick Grayson is the feminine hero of DC. DC jumped on the pretty boy hero train.

I Want To Talk About Dick Grayson's Beauty, Sex Symbol Status, And How It All Connects For A Moment.

That's also why in the Teen Titans (1966) comics, Dick keeps being referred to by endearingly feminine pet names by the titans which they seem to only use on him.

Standard gender roles: Men were expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold while women were expected to be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Sound familiar about a certain duo?

But Dick? He plays both male and female gender roles in a time period where it wasn't socially acceptable to do so.

So my point is, Dick was created to blur the lines between gender and the way his character has progressed - he's meant to be the definition of a man opposite to male toxicity.

He can cook and do laundry whereas Bruce, the image of male dominance cannot.

This also falls into another role of Bruce and Dick's but it applies here as well in hindsight.

One thing people need to understand is that Dick was created to be the antithesis of Bruce Wayne. For all the gloominess that Bruce is Dick was meant to be the joy. He is the light to Bruce's darkness.

Which is why Dick often acts as the loving mother to the batfamily while Bruce acts as the stern father. Because Dick was created for the female role.

Part of the reason why I love Dick and Kory is because they do this at a time where girlbossing and malewifing wasn't a thing. Kori is consistently the dominant one when it comes to love in their relationship while Dick plays a softer, more "wife like" role. The way Kori is taller than Dick and buffer than him ✨

He is quite literally a queen consort - that is the role that Kori begs him to take after she is forced to marry someone her father picks out for her. But Dick refuses in tears because his morality cannot bear becoming a mistress and ruining someone else's marriage.

I know this is a long tangent but here's where the sex symbol comes in. Dick was created to be the most beautiful figure in DC but him being beautiful is not supposed to be confused with him being objectified.

Being beautiful is just something he was born as. What people do as a result has nothing to with DC

Take this for instance

He's literally just showering and comes out of the shower to find a random little girl singing about his and batman's identities. Creepy? Yes. Very much so. So he chases after her and finds her gone. Well there's nothing he can do now, he needs to go back and analyze what's going on and contact the other titans-

Crap.

Look at all the women that are ogling him, and even the ginger looks as if he doesn't know if he's jealous or wants to join - but there's nothing Dick did to make them do that. He's literally minding his own business and got caught outside. Did he hit on the women? Did he seduce them? Did he purposefully show off and make a loud commotion because he wanted the attention? No!

Arguing that Dick Grayson shouldn't be a sex symbol just seems wrong to me considering that it's not a fault of his.

It's like telling Kori not to have large breasts and telling Dinah not to wear fishnets.

People still ogle them regardless of how they dress because they're just that attractive. You can't tell someone to look a different way because you don't like the attention they're receiving...that's literally the opposite of everything people should be fighting for

Arguing that Dick Grayson being a sex symbol is a problem because he's too beautiful and blaming the actions of other characters for thinking so is just...

it's wrong.

He was created to be beautiful to fight male toxic masculinity. He's woman coded for a reason.

We should be embracing him. He represents everything male freedom should be about. He constantly placed in a female role, in female positions-

In queer positions-

He's acrobatic, slender, and sensual. He's gentle, loving, and beautiful.

When has the beauty of a person ever been a reflection of their character? The way fandom is going, it's implying that because female characters make sexualized comments about Dick's body, it's somehow Dick's fault for looking that way. We're blaming him for his "womanizing" ways as if he hasn't put his heart and soul into every relationship he's had. And while we're busy calling him a womanizer, we conveniently forget that the women he's in relationships with have significant personalities of their own. We inadvertently reduce their beings to plastic bags, ignoring that they have broken up with each other because of being unable to resolve conflicting beliefs, different career paths, different lifestyles, and more. It's not a one way road with our treatment of Dick. It's a two way street because we're harming both Dick and strong women like Kori, Barbara, Bea, Shawn, and Helena by pretending what they believe in and live for is unimportant in love.

Instead we should be exploring how the objectification might have an impact on Dick's mental health rather than blaming DC for using characters to describe how hot Dick is.

All the beautiful traits of Dick Grayson - his ambiguous sexuality, his overwhelming love for people, his affection for his friends, the way he cries and feels for others - all of it is beautiful, is it not?

From his very creation Dick was meant to be someone who breaks gender roles. The constant attraction he receives from both men and women in all of DC's media is evidence of that. The Grayson comics push the boundaries of his sexuality as much as DC will allow. To be queer without coming out with it. He is the feminine hero.

Everyone seems to hate that he's being called a sex symbol but why does that bother you? Dick Grayson IS the pretty girl of the comic universe. He IS the babygirl of DC.

DC has created the perfect view of what it's like to be a woman through Dick Grayson and we're spitting on the most accurate representation of a female that comics have ever created by blaming them for expressing what it's like to live as a woman.

Part 1

Being at Wayne Manor was a stress for Richard. Of course, big and dark house makes the kid feels a lot of fears, but one day, Dickie met HIM...

Tags

dick grayson bruce wayne dc robin dc comics batfamily dc fanart alfred pennyworth richard grayson dc batman dc bruce wayne dc characters dc batfam poor little guy let's make Bruce feel sorry for scaring kids!!!

43 notes View Post

leckeres

1 year ago

......yeah, that's about what I'd imagine for Bludhaven's avatar, too. And of course Bludhaven loves Dick right back. 💕

2K notes View Post

leckeres

1 year ago

Hello, I woke today wondering whether Slade and Dick sleep together in royal au and when they started sleeping in one bed at all 👀 Did it surprise Dick etc

Have a good day 💕

Hi, love!! Thank you for asking -3-

At this point of the story (the one on tumblr of course) they haven't shared a bed yet! As big of an asshole Slade is, he is anything but well prepared and so he knows Gotham customs pretty well - he just chooses to ignore them most of the time. He knows that Dick could actually start to hate him if he forced him to sleep in his bed before they got married and as tempting as it is, he gives Dick his own rooms.

Dick was meant to move into Slade's chamber after the wedding, where they'd consummate the marriage and then Dick would just stay there permanently. Buuut as you know, in the last part Dick got stabbed so he wasn't really in a shape to do anything of the sorts. After Villian allows Dick leave the hospital wing, Dick returns to his old rooms. They should be sharing bed at this point, yes, but Slade wants to make sure that Dick's wound is healed properly. Instead, Slade visits Dick in his room pretty much everyday :3

So, the short answer is: they haven't slept together yet and they start sleeping in one bed after Dick is completely healed 💕

A short scene because this just got into my head:

------

Dick walked further into the garden, wrapping his cloak more tightly around himself. The snow was reaching his ankles even in the boots with thicker soles and he cursed Defiance's weather under his breath before quickening his step.

He wanted to talk with Slade and he had to do it now, before he lost his confidence.

Just as the guards told him, Slade was sitting by the now frozen fountain in the middle of the royal gardens, like he often did since their marriage celebration. No one really knew the reason for those outings but Dick suspected it had to do with him and the fact that they still didn't know who sent the man responsible for the stab wound in Dick's chest. The cold, biting air was a great way to clear one's head and help you think.

That is, as long as it wasn't turning you into an icicle, like it was happening to Dick right now.

Only, when Dick got closer to where his husband was, he noticed that Slade wasn't actually alone. Sir Wintergreen was sitting at the bench a few steps away from Slade, talking to him with a smile on his lips that was almost completely covered by his mustache.

Dick was about to turn away and go back inside the castle - he didn't want to interrupt them and it's not like his case couldn't wait - when Slade looked up. Their gazes met and Dick's breath left his lungs in a white puff.

"Richard?" Slade asked, visibly surprised to see him there.

Dick sharply inclined his head, "Your Majesty."

Wintergreen glanced at Dick with a knowing look in his eyes. He got up from the bench with a little groan of effort and patted his king on the shoulder with a smile.

"I'll leave you two to it then." He said.

"Oh no, sir Wintergreen, I didn't want to interrupt you." Dick said hurriedly. "Please, continue. I can come later-"

"Nonsense, Your Majesty." Billy waved his hand dismissively. "I was about to head back anyway."

"I'll see you later, Billy." Slade nodded at him and before Dick could try to protest again, Wintergreen disappeared behind the hedge.

"I apologize, Your Majesty." Dick said quietly, watching Slade stand up as well. "I wasn't aware you had company."

"Don't worry about it." Slade stopped before him to take his cheek in his hand, stroke his thumb alone the skin. Despite sitting outside in the snow for at least an hour now, his skin was still warmer than Dick's. "Did something happen? You don't usually seek me out like this."

"No, I just-" Dick started then stopped quickly and pressed his lips together. He searched for the right words in his mind because everything he wanted to say earlier suddenly disappeared from his head.

He could back up from this. Say something completely else and Slade would have no idea about what was going through his head in the first place. But Dick knew that he would never gather enough courage again if he didn't say it now.

Beside, Slade had an annoying habit of always knowing when Dick lied.

"You shouldn't stay out in the cold for so long." Slade scolded him, not unkindly after another moment of silence. He adjusted Dick's cloak. "You're shaking, little bird."

"I'll be alright." Dick smiled. "I should be getting used to this kind of weather anyway."

Slade's lips twisted in a frown as he shook his head. "It's not good for your health. And specially now, when you're still healing. Let's go back inside."

"A-actually..." Dick stopped Slade when he tried to guide him back towards the castle. He took a deep breath and felt the cold air dance in his lungs. It was now or never. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm completely healed now. Villain said so himself. So now I'm... I'm finally good to move into your rooms, Your Majesty. The way it should be after the celebration."

For a moment Slade just looked at him. If he was surprised by Dick's words, he didn't show it in any way. He just looked at Dick without saying a word and if it weren't for the cold wind biting at Dick's cheek, the young consort would surely blush.

"Your Majesty?" Dick breathed out.

In asnwer Slade took his own cloak off his shoulders and carefully wrapped it around Dick. He leaned down to press a kiss to Dick's cheek. "Walk with me."

"B-but you... aren't you cold?"

Slade smiled. He reached for Dick's hand and intertwined their fingers together. "I'll be alright." He echoed Dick's words. "Walk with me. We'll worry about moving your things later."

And so, Dick allowed him to guide them through the garden.

85 notes View Post

leckeres

1 year ago

I think they like jazz🤓

Reference:

hello dark mode users :)

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358K notes View Post

leckeres

1 year ago