He-Man as a gay icon
He-Man, a fictional superhero from the sword and sorcery franchise Masters of the Universe created by Mattel, has often attracted queer interpretations and discussions over his status as a gay icon.
The animated television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which aired from 1983 to 1986, focused on the character and established traits that would remain consistent in future installments of the franchise.
[7] The original series aired during the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981–1989),[a] which film scholar Jake Pitre acknowledges as a period in which producers attempted to "defuse any possible queer readings" of their cartoons.
[12] Professor Jes Battis also said the original cartoon series "dealt in themes of queerness and secrecy",[13] while Syfy writer Jordan Zakarin described it as "the gayest show that has ever been on TV".
[14] Slate's Sam Anderson—who described the original series as containing "accidental homo-eroticism"—also discussed Adam's clothing, particularly his "lavender stretch pants, furry purple Ugg boots, and a sleeveless pink blouse".
[1] Relating to this, Cornelius notes how the Village People modelled their outfits after the gay clone culture of New York and argues that He-Man, with his "leather strapping and 'furry underwear' ", would have "blended right in".
[29] British newspaper The Daily Telegraph said the character's dual identity represents a man's struggle to accept his sexuality; Prince Adam is closeted and has a secret while He-Man is "out-and-proud".
[30] Writing for The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, Matt Johnson described the series' depiction of He-Man as a "thinly veiled treatise on the state of gay male sexuality in the eighties".
LGBT lifestyle magazine Out described the original series as "one of the gayest ... cartoons of all time", writing that the 1987 film "turn[ed] an entire generation of boys at least a little gay".
[42][c] British magazine Gay Times listed He-Man as a cartoon character their editors were attracted to while growing up, noting Dolph Lundgren's depiction of him in the live-action film.
[35] Mark Morse, Mattel's director of global marketing from 2008 to 2017, stated in 2018 that the idea of representing him as openly gay in a future franchise had not been discussed at the company.
[50] Inspired by Mason's childhood love for the He-Man franchise and Skeletor, the auction included the work of fashion designers Helmut Lang and Marc Jacobs.
[50][46] Writing for Canadian LGBT-focused Xtra Magazine, Helen Whithead stated the art show allowed artists to "explore the sexy, camp side of the homoerotic He-Man muscle fest".
[46] In 2017, British company Moneysupermarket.com created an advertisement that showed He-Man and Skeletor embracing and dancing, which Joe Glass of Bleeding Cool described as "on the homoerotic side".
[34] According to Jennifer Malkowski, these fake trailers "amplif[y] queer subtext" found within works, with one such video titled "Brokeback Snake Mountain" referencing a subtextual romance between He-Man and Man-at-Arms.
