Andrew Wheeler ponders Batman’s sexuality at the Ninth Art, and he comes up with one of the more interesting responses I’ve seen to the “Is he gay?” question. As I read it, Wheeler basically takes a “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” approach to the argument. In other words, it’s ultimately a matter of reader identification. If a reader, for whatever reason, chooses to believe that Batman is gay, then it’s so for that reader. If that’s a reader’s specific gateway, then so be it.
Personally, as a comics fan who happens to be gay, I’ve never bought too far into the secret identity/closeted sexuality metaphor. I see the mechanical similarities (passing by day among the regular folk, revealing your true nature on your own terms, etc.), but it’s never really spoken to me. For me, comics are an escape, and I tend to view a closeted life as the opposite of escape. That particular metaphor is depressing to me. (Though I do love the ongoing hunt for subtext in the Queer Eye on Comics pieces at Prism.)
Thinking specifically about Batman, I think he’s too emotionally stunted and obsessed to have a sexuality at all. It’s one of the parts of his psyche he’s sacrificed or suppressed to pursue his crusade. If he were capable of forming that kind of connection with another person, female or male, he wouldn’t be who he is. Because, as I see it, optimism is an inherent part of sexuality, envisioning the partner who can make your life better. And that’s just not Batman, as I see him.