Analyzing Jughead: gay or straight pt.2–Kevin, sexuality, and subtext
Subtext is seen in everything. Why else do people think Bert and Ernie are gay, Daphne and Fred were doing the nasty when they often split up to “look for clues” and that Prince Naveen is two steps away from being a man-slut?
Subtext is the untold story behind every marketed canon story, and most of the time, it actually makes the canon story better and more interesting. It would seem that The Washington Post was suffering from subtext-overload when they interviewed Archie Comics artist/writer Dan Parent about his upcoming issue in which he unveils the first openly gay character in Riverdale, Kevin Keller.
In the story, Kevin first reveals he’s gay to Jughead over Pop Tate’s hamburgers. The line of thinking the Washington Post was on (as was I) was “Why Jughead? Why not Archie, Reggie or Betty?” (Veronica’s out because she’s still under the assumption that Kevin’s straight at this point in the story.) Parent said the conversation between Jughead and Kevin, along with why Kevin talks to Jughead first, goes no further than what is shown, but still… this is a very important question to ask. While there’s a lot of subtext that has developed over the course of Archie Comics’ history, much of it surrounds the mystery of Jughead and his seemingly asexual nature.
There are many believers in the notion that Jughead is actually a gay character because of his lack of interest in girls, his close friendship with Archie, and a rivalry with Reggie that could be interpreted as jealousy and sexual tension. Meanwhile, there’s another school of thought that thinks Jughead is asexual, a person who don’t feel sexual attraction to either men or women. And while there is a such thing as asexuality in humans, there is also a meaning of the word that encompasses people who can be romantically attracted to others and consider themselves straight, bi, or gay/lesbian. Further still, some asexuals might classify themselves as androgynous, transgender, aromantic(meaning they don’t feel romantic or sexual attraction to people), etc., as seen in the link above.
But all of this analyzing brings me to the questions of a) why did Kevin reveal himself to Jughead alone and what does it say about Jughead’s character, and b) how much subtext is there in this event and should Archie Comics do anything with it?
Firstly, Kevin decided to tell Jughead first about his sexuality because he could tell that Jughead is a person that doesn’t judge and is willing to accept anyone. This is illuminated in Parent’s interview with PerezHilton.com. He could also probably tell that Jughead is sexually different than the other Riverdale teenagers. While Betty and Veronica are fighting over Archie and Archie and Reggie are running after every girl in Riverdale, Jughead quietly, calmly, (and in a way, defiantly) decided not to participate. The canon reason is that he doesn’t like the hassle of girlfriends (one reason why he is repelled by Ethel and her advances) and/or he is still getting over his ex-girlfriend from another city, Joani Jumpp. But subtext can easily tell the viewer different.
But sexuality aside, Jughead has always been different in his ideology and personality, and because he’s so different, he can easily identify with and befriend other different people as well. This is why Kevin feels comfortable enough to tell him he’s gay.
As to what this says about future subtext in Archie Comics involving Jughead, there’s a lot to grab onto. The most obvious thing people (and, I guess, the Washington Post) grabbed onto was that Kevin might be a reflection of Jughead’s unmentioned sexuality. Kevin could be seen as a mirror image of Jughead if subtext was actually given credence by the Archie writers and they declared him an outed man.
To go along with that train of thought, the Archie writers could decide to intentionally play up subtext to make people really wonder about what’s going on with Jughead’s sexuality. There is one area of sexuality people forget about when trying to pin down Jughead, and that’s bisexuality. It’s not that big of a stretch–in various issues, Archie writers have toyed with the idea of Jughead and Betty going on dates and kissing (many Archie writers actually support this pairing), Veronica having a thing for Jughead after they shared a kiss in a school play, and even having Jughead and Ethel as what seemed to be an item, at least for a while. There’s even a story where Jughead goes goo-ga over some girl who turns out to be a Veronica’s spy on Archie. So, while there’s a lot of subtext for Jughead being gay, there’s just as much subtext for him being straight. Since this is the case, Archie writers could have a lot of fun and just mess with people’s heads-in one story, they could allude to Jughead liking Betty or some other girl, and then in another strip they could subtly allude to something happening with this friendship with Kevin or some other guy; in neither instance is anything out-rightly stated-there’s only just enough of a hint to keep readers’ wheels turning. The best part is that none of this affects Jughead’s characterization; since he walks to the beat of a different drummer, he would care less about what someone thinks of him if he happens to be seen somewhere in an intimate setting with a guy or a girl.
Archie Comics is already a company dear to a lot of people. Some might even give their comic books pop-culture cult status. But if Archie Comics actually took ownership and played with the subtext found in their comic books, they could become even more popular among their readers and possibly attract new ones. Two real-life examples of entertainment taking ownership of subtext-Scooby Doo and Yu Yu Haksuho.
As mentioned above, Daphne and Fred were often thought of as girlfriend and boyfriend and when the gang split up for clues, Daphne and Fred would always go together, “searching”, as it were. As their fanbase got older, many people started saying that they were canoodling instead of finding clues. By the same token, many people started the rumor that Shaggy (and everyone else in the group, for that matter) was smoking pot or some hallucinogenic drug to be able to hear Scooby talk. Pot was also the “reason” for why Shaggy was always hungry and willingly ate Scooby Snacks.
During the ’90s, Cartoon Network made some bumpers-animated segments that were used as filler in-between shows and commercials-that actually played off the Fred/Daphne angle, as well as an episode of Johnny Bravo. Also, when the first Scooby-Doo live-action film was made, a lot of the fan-favorite subtext rumors were included. Not only was Fred and Daphne an item in the film, but the idea that Velma and Fred had a romantic history and Shaggy’s possible pot use were included.
Yu-Yu Hakusho, a manga and anime by Yoshihiro Togashi (click here for the full run-down on the storyline), has two demon characters called Kurama and Hiei. Originally, Togashi created Kurama as a good-looking, debonair ladies’ man, but as the series progressed, fans started noticing chemistry between Kurama and his friend and fellow demon, Hiei. When asked about the characters’ relationship, Togashi said:
“No, I did not intend for this couple to appear, but now that people have brought it up, I find it funny and probably should have done it.”
It would also seem that Togashi began to play with the idea of Kurama being gay by drawing Kurama in poses that are only typically found among girls in anime (that odd, cutesy knock-knee standing position) and/or suggestively embracing Hiei:
Also, Kurama is frequently shown throughout the anime sitting on his knees when sitting down on the floor. He’s the only man drawn this way; all of the other men are drawn sitting cross-legged. The girls are the only other people in the anime who are drawn sitting on their knees.
Will Archie Comics ever play into the ideas many of their fans have? Probably not. At the very least, they might be extremely subtle about it. But on the other hand, if there’s anything Archie Comics is good at, it’s playing with innuendo, and if the writers decide to poke fun at readers’ ideas about Jughead’s sexuality, they would be more than capable of knowing how to do it so it can fit in with their Archie universe. Also, Archie Comics has surprised everyone lately by their latest string of comic stories, so who knows what they’ll infuse their later stories with. They might just surprise everyone once again and write the subtext-filled story everyone doesn’t know they’re waiting for.
Other Jughead articles:
Jughead is non-conformity and so can you!
Other sexuality articles:
Homosexual acceptance and denial in “Nosferatu” and “Dracula”
Other Archie articles:
Archie for today: updated plots and characters will attract teenage buyers
Riverdale’s first gay character: first reactions
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