The Truth About Oral Sex Between Batman and Catwoman

Did you hear the recent news? In the upcoming season 3 of Harley Quinn, we were to have a scene with Batman going down on Catwoman. You are reading this correctly, Batman engaging in oral sex with Catwoman, performing cunnilingus. However, this particular scene is under fire. Executive producer Justin Halpern explains,

"And DC was like, 'You can't do that. You absolutely cannot do that.' They're like, 'Heroes don't do that. So, we said, 'Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?' They were like, 'No, it's that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It's hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.'"

Is anyone remotely buying this? Now some old-timers may recall when toy sales dropped and Happy Meals got a bad rep after Tim Burton's Batman Returns. Yet, Christopher Nolan's trilogy was full of violence and adult content, with a toy line and no complaints. The same goes for the violent Batman of Ben Affleck's in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yet, there is no toy line for the Harley Quinn animated series. In addition, the show is rated mature for audiences 17 and up. Finally, let's be honest in that kids barely play with toys anymore when they keep themselves busy on your smart device.

I dare argue this comes down to power and good old-fashioned sexism. Cunnilingus is still taboo to many, and this stems from the act being seen as unnatural, for it does not result in reproduction. Others view it as unclean, even though the risk of STIs is lower in comparison to vaginal and anal sex. Another reason for its taboo is people, mostly men, view it as humiliating. Now, these ideas have transferred over to women's thoughts on the act, resulting in them rejecting it without ever engaging in it. Part of this also stems from how our patriarchal system views women and sex.

It is okay for men to engage in as much sex as possible before marriage. However, the expectation for women is to remain chaste until their wedding night. With the war of the sexes in the 1970s, this idea came under fire. However, it remains the norm to many. In addition to this antiquated thought is the idea that women do not or should not derive pleasure from any sexual activity. If such a woman does, then they are labeled a slut.

Media representation of oral sex on women is already lacking. The truth is you can find some in a few films, including the likes of Basic Instinct, Monster's Ball, and American Pie. Sadly, there is still some antagonism on the subject - take Blue Valentine as an example. The MPAA gave the film an NC-17 rating because one scene depicts cunnilingus. Ryan Gosling commented on the MPAA's decision, "There's plenty of oral sex scenes in a lot of movies, where it's a man receiving it from a woman – and they're R-rated. Ours is reversed and somehow it's perceived as pornographic." After some lobbying, the scene remains in the film with an R-Rating. Sadly the fact that this was a problem in 2010 shows our lack of growth.

Pornography is a predominantly male-owned industry of male entertainment. You will almost always find women performing fellatio, but rarely do you see men performing cunnilingus. Part of this stems from the power men have and want over women. Porn embodies this perfectly with a woman on her knees with a penis in her mouth. Now let us reverse this scenario with a woman above a man, such as in Achille Devéria's painting. You can also have a man on his knees for a woman as she lies on the bed. In both scenarios, the man is now submissive and deprived of his power. Rarely do men want to watch a man as subservient, but prefer to view the sexual domination of a woman.

We all know from the media history of Catwoman from comics to film as a sexual character. You see the outfit and cleaning of herself in Tim Burton's Batman Returns. In Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, she begins life as a dominatrix. With DC Comics' New 52 reboot, her and Batman have sex on the rooftop in her first issue. Hence, why can she not have oral sex performed on her? It is hard to fathom the idea that she would reject it. No, for we must allow Catwoman only so much sexuality and preserve Batman's dominance over his feline mate. Batman is the male power fantasy, and the notion of Batman going down on a criminal no less deprives him of his power over both women and injustice.

Finally, there is this idea of 'heroes don't do that' from DC Comics. It is as if DC Comics is treating this 80+ year relationship as your parents. Your parents only have procreative sex and nothing else, for the flame is out, and they need to be respectable members of society. This is not the 1950s, and Batman is not Andy Griffith. Although, I will say this fiasco has produced a large number of terrific memes on the subject.

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