you know what, no. I'm not putting this in the tags right now because we just lost Jaydick and I am not losing Brudick too. I am not letting y'all disrespect comic history just because ew Dick got adopted when he was an adult and they have an age gap.
I'm not qualified to talk about the history of gay adult adoption so instead here's some resources:
https://jgspl.org/same-sex-adult-adoption-a-result-of-marriage-inequality/ - https://web.archive.org/web/20240507221333/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/11/how-marriage-inequality-prompts-gay-partners-to-adopt-one-another/281546/ - https://lawandinequality.org/2021/03/24/where-theres-not-a-will-theres-a-way-what-we-can-learn-from-same-sex-adult-adoption/ - https://web.archive.org/web/20240511124237/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/magazine/the-lost-history-of-gay-adult-adoption.html - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_adult_adoption
tl;dr when people couldn't get married, guess what they'd do? whatever they could to make sure they were always in each other's lives. when you are not allowed to love who you love the way that you do, you make it work. because they can't stop us from loving each other.
(important to note that Dick got adopted in 2001. y'know what wasn't legal in New Jersey in 2001? Gay marriage. also important to know that that's about 60 years after Dick was intro-ed in the comics.)
I really need y'all to understand that Batman and Robin, Bruce and Dick, have been around since the 1940's. that is such a different world in terms of queer history. like I really need you to sit and think about that.
Dick was explicitly described as Bruce's best friend for many many many years. the most familial it got was "brothers" which- how often are two male characters described as "brotherly" to justify the close the relationship they have without actually admitting that they're clearly in love with each other?
Dick and Bruce used to share a bed, had multiple fake weddings (I believe, might have just been once but still,) were explicitly partners in everything, are basically soulmates (Bruce will always have a Dick that is a multiversal constant,) Dick is described as the most important person in Bruce's life- none of that has to be read as romantic, but saying it can't be romantic is devaluing how much they mean to each other.
for fuck's sake part of the reason the Comics Code Authority existed was because Batman and Robin were too gay. this is not a fucking joke.
"Batman comics were among those criticized when the comic book industry came under scrutiny with the publication of psychologist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent in 1954. Wertham's thesis was that children imitated crimes committed in comic books, and that these works corrupted the morals of the youth. Wertham criticized Batman comics for their supposed homosexual overtones and argued that Batman and Robin were portrayed as lovers. Wertham's criticisms raised a public outcry during the 1950s, eventually leading to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority, a code that is no longer in use by the comic book industry."
the issue was that they were both men. because that is always the fucking problem. they weren't concerned with whatever issues you have with Brudick, they just didn't want gay people in comics.
need I remind you of the other Comic Code Authority rules? from this same time, so 1950's-1960's.
"Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals."
"Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority."
these aren't people actually concerned with what's in media for the "right reasons" this is the same "think of the children!" bit that we still hear.
there were literally comic book burnings because of the fearmongering around this shit.
frankly, I don't give a shit if you do or don't ship Brudick. I don't care how you view their relationship. but it is an important piece of queer history. I'm not joking. comics are seen as nerdy or whatever now, but there were generations where this was the standard media that kids, especially kids in lower income areas, grew up consuming.
put some respect on this ships fucking name.
you see it as a father/son relationship? fucking go for it, but don't use that to erase us like people have been trying to for decades.
look, I like Damijon. and I like that Jon is canonically bi. I think these characters are really important to each other and the idea of Super Sons is adorable. but the impact of these two ships are not comparable.
Jon being canonically bi ruffled some feathers, Bruce and Dick being in a perceived gay relationship changed the world of comics.
