Tintin Forums

If Tintin's sexuality is indeed irrelevant to you, why are you getting so darned upset about it? Your rattled demeanor doesn't jibe with the uninterested attitude you claim to have. As for "proof" of the character's homosexuality, I don't think anyone here was trying to prove it. I know I wasn't! My point was: There are reasons to speculate about it (I cited one of them in my previous post), people have speculated about it in the past, they're going to speculate about it in the future, and there's absolutely nothing wrong about the speculation! It's a benign undertaking! What could be more logical than fans of a popular fictional character considering that character from various angles? I'm sorry, but I really doubt we'd be having this discussion if the speculation was about Tintin's HETEROsexuality.

tintinisthegreatest
WHERE IS YOUR PROOF?

The thing is, there´s really no need for proof. There isn´t one correct reading/interpretation for any work of art. Each reader will inevitably make some assumptions and interpretations of the characters, environment and so on (if you need examples, take a look around these forums). I find it rather interesting to hear these different interpretations, but I doubt if it´s possible to label one view "better" than another.

Andonis1960 brings up an excellent point; this discussion probably wouldn’t be so intense if we were discussing Tintin’s heterosexuality. I think this is because of this: up until a few decades ago, homosexuality was taboo, because Hergé was heterosexual, and because even in this day and age, a vast majority of people are still straight.
As a result, I think that we automatically assume that Tintin is either straight or asexual, thus the insulting statement that Tintin is homosexual is an assault on our normal thinking patterns.

A majority of people will always be "Straight", you can bet on it . . . as well as a majority of comic book characters! There have been Gay comic characters, at least as far back as the '60s, but they were featured in underground (read: X-rated) comics. Few will agree with me, but I think it'd be cool to discover that the Tintin books featured Gay characters(definitely not insulting as far as I'm concerned) in a non-pornographic context, portrayed in the discreet manner such characters could only have been portrayed so many years ago. We'll never know for sure, of course, but the books do allow for that interpretation.

You are absolutely right, adonis1960. The books are open to interpretation. By the way, the only reason I was upset was that I thought I had started a "world war", and I'm just a conservative about these kinds of things. I got carried away. I do agree with you that speculation is important, especially in the art world, because it opens us to new ideas and possibilities. (I just came back from an argument with my mother about this!) I just have a tendency to get riled up about issues like this because I have to do battle in school every day about things like this. I'm just an old hardliner. I had absolutely no intention of shutting down the discussion. I'm a big Tintin fan, as implied in my name, and at that moment, I was just upset. I hope this'll clear things up in the future if we talk again. One question: What do you think about Tintin's sexuality and what is your reason why?
Signed,
Tintin is the Greatest!

Some studies of Tintin states that he is a rather bland character and that most people could see similarities between him and their selves. So if that is true, then Tintin could be all sort of things, including sexual or non-sexual.

I see Tintin mostly as a non-sexual character, but in my book the friendship with Chang could be interpreted as two young boys that find some sort of deeper attraction to each other. The disturbing thought of that is the age of Chang and perhaps even Tintins age.

I can't really see Haddock as a homosexual so that leaves him out of the loop, for me. Calculus is clearly taken by signora Castafiore so he is probably one of the few that has some sort of love interest in the books.

The Thompson's relationship is hard to understand, it might be strictly work-related but it may also be something else. The strangest thing is that Thomson don't tire of Thompson's clumsiness, and vice versa. That may indicate that they have a deeper love for each other.

One character who sort of look gay in the more extreme gay-pride-parade way is Rastapopoulos in Flight 714, but that might just be connected to his flair for dressing up, as also seen in Red sea sharks. I have seen some statement from Hergé that he lost respect for Rastapopoulos in Flight 714 and the way he dressed in that book. If that have anything to do with him coming out of the closet I'm quite unsure of.

But on the whole, I can't see some sort of sexual aspects between the lines (or frames), maybe because it isn't there or because I just can't see it.

labrador road 26
I see Tintin mostly as a non-sexual character, but in my book the friendship with Chang could be interpreted as two young boys that find some sort of deeper attraction to each other. The disturbing thought of that is the age of Chang and perhaps even Tintins age.

Actually, can anyone confirm Chang's age officialy? Ever since I was little I always imagined him to be the same age as Tintin (he certainly looks it), but since I've gotten back into the books some people have said they thought he was a child instead. Did Herge specify?

I was wondering when the subject of age would come up! I've always seen Tintin and Chang as roughly the same age, between 17-22. Chang would definitely be the younger of the two. Haddock is, of course, older, possibly late '30s/early '40s. Relationships between mature adults and older teenagers are frowned on in the United States, but in Europe, attitudes can be quite different.

I imagine a sort of "love triangle" between Haddock, Tintin and Chang. Tintin's feelings for Chang dismay Haddock, yet his (unrequited?) love prompts the Captain to accompany him on his desperate search for the missing teenager in Tibet. Imagine how nuanced a story Tintin in Tibet might have been if Hergé had been free to explore the relationships overtly (assuming, of course, that homoerotic relationships actually existed)!

As for not seeing homosexuality in Haddock, I don't know what you're looking for. Effeminacy? Evidence of open interest in other men? Many Gay men aren't outwardly effeminate, and in the era we're talking about, discretion was of the utmost importance. In any case, the occasional hint of effeminacy in Tintin was as far as Hergé would have dared go in depicting homosexuality in the 1940s and 50s.

Consider this: Calculus's interest in Bianca shows us that Hergé wasn't opposed to introducing heterosexual love interests into his strip. So why didn't Tintin ever get one? Why didn't Haddock (Bianca notwithstanding)? What if shame over homosexual orientation was a factor in Haddock's alcoholism? Has anyone ever wondered why Tintin and Haddock remained together after the Golden Claws adventure was completed? And why was it necessary for Tintin to take up residence in Marlinspike Hall? Clearly, there was more to their friendship than meets the eye. Sure, it may have been a father/son kind of thing . . . but it may have been something else.

If, against all odds, what I'm suggesting is true, it would make Tintin a groundbreaking comic strip in an entirely different way! Specifically,in the way homosexual lead characters were depicted in non-pornographic situations, making them acceptable for adults and children to read about. Even today, such a concept would be revolutionary. I don't know about anyone else here, but I've never been particularly fond of sexually explicit comics. They're almost never any good!

The Thompson Twins, homosexual? Yipe! I guess it's possible, but the idea of them being interested in one another horrifies me!

I imagine a sort of "love triangle" between Haddock, Tintin and Chang.

I have a different opinion about Tintin and Chang. Tintin, being the caring, devoted person that he is, has shown unbelievable loyalty which could be seen as a sexual attraction, but we have to consider two things:

1. The way the books were written. Herge created a world where there is no sex or love interests (well, maybe Haddock and Castafiore, but Haddock finds her irritating), only adventure and the never-ending battle between good and evil. With that in mind, I think Tintin gets more of a rush, or turn-on, however you'd like to put it, by solving mysteries and going off on adventures around the world than the kind of rush any of us can get from love or sex.

2: The times when the books were written. Tintin was at the height of his popularity in the late 40s and early 50s, a time when homosexuality was generally frowned upon. Even if Herge wanted to make Tintin homosexual, for example, he would be running very high risks of being tried and imprisoned. This also brings up another point: The intended audience of the books. Herge was writing a comic strip aimed at young children and young teenagers. With that in mind, we can discern that even if Herge wanted to give Tintin a sex life, he risked alienating and losing his audience.

But I digress...

As for Tintin and Haddock, I think Haddock is more of a father figure than a possible relationship to Tintin. By the way, adonis1960, we haven't heard what you think Tintin's sexuality is. Could you tell us? I know I'd be interested to know.

I disagree that there's no mention of overt sexual/ love interests in the Tintin books.
There were a few married characters, Bianca spoke of having suitors, we know that Rastapopoulos exerted sexual magnetism over women in the unfinished "Tintin and Alph-Art" and, as I stated before, Professor Calculus was enamored of Bianca.
I also disagree that Hergé would never have thought of putting a homoerotic subtext in the books; in fact, many people disagree, because so many people believe there is one!
Homosexuality is part of life, and despite society's unenlightened attitude, many artists and writers have traditionally sought to portray it in their work.
Subtext is how homoeroticism appeared in movies and other mass media of the '30s, '40s and '50s (think of the Greta Garbo film "Queen Christina", or the Laurel and Hardy comedy shorts).
It was never spoken of explicitly, but it was definitely there.
In addition, I disagree that "Tintin" was written only for children. With its concentration on political intrigue, "Tintin" was far more sophisticated than the average comic strip.
Hergé himself said that the strip was written for children and adults.
What do you mean, you haven't heard what I think about Tintin's sexuality?
I think I've been fairly straightforward about it.
Judging by the available evidence, he was (discreetly) homosexual, as was Haddock.