Â鶹Éç

Available for over a year

Good morning. Batman was created in 1939 as a comic-book vigilante hero whose alter ego is Bruce Wayne. His sidekick Robin has remained forever young and has had several normal-life personae, the current one being Tim Drake. In a recent plotline, Tim comes out as bisexual. Tim’s first date with a male partner, Bernard, ends abruptly when Bernard is kidnapped by a new villain, the Chaos Monster. While being rescued by Robin, Bernard begins to suspect Tim and Robin may be the same person. Meanwhile, Tim has long been in an on-off relationship with fellow teenage superhero Stephanie Brown. Where does she now stand? Tim says to Bernard, ‘I don’t know what this means to me. I’m still figuring that part out.’ The comic strip’s turned into a multi-level dance of hiding, disclosing and discovering. In the sixties’ television series, Batman and Robin were both somewhat camp. The old joke had Robin saying, ‘If you’re so clever Batman, try wearing your pants inside your trousers.’ So the news that Robin’s bi may hardly seem a surprise. But his journey illustrates important features of what such a disclosure means. Identity is everywhere today. Around disability, race, gender, and several other designations, our culture affirms positive assertions of visible or hidden identities that until recently were sidelined if not vilified, and in some circles still are. The word ‘pride’ has come to epitomise that shift. What once dwelt in the shadows in shame is now worn as a badge of honour. The prophet Isaiah speaks to the exiles in Babylon at a time when they’re confused about their identity. He tells them, in the sight of God, ‘You are precious, honoured and loved.’ Whatever happens, whoever they discover themselves to be, these three words – precious, honoured, loved – assure them who they really are. All three words count; not precious without love, not loved without being honoured, not honoured without being precious – but all three, all the time, forever. Teenagers today inhabit a culture where norms are rapidly shifting. Many, perhaps most, doubt that even those a few years older than them have much to bring to their narratives of discovery and exploration. Perhaps generations that practised or tolerated exclusion and suppression have lost the right to set norms today. It may be that what someone like Robin, also known as Tim, really needs to hear is, ‘You are precious, honoured and loved.’ As for the rest, it may be ok to say, ‘I’m still figuring that part out.’