The Flintstones Have a More Modern Take on Marriage Equality & Gay Rights Than the GOP

The Flintstones--one of the beneficiaries/victims of the trend to reboot every beloved thing from your childhood--have a new series with DC Comics by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, and Chris Chuckry. Hailed as being "surprisingly dark and honest," the new Flintstones mines the original's satirical tone on modern living, but opting to cover more serious issues with less of the "it's a living" kind of schtick.

In the latest issue, #4 (available now), the newfangled concept of marriage causes some controversy among the folks in Bedrock (Bedrockers? Bedrockians? The Bedrocked?).

Fred and Wilma decide to get hitched anyway, and on their way to a marriage retreat, they run into Fred' gunkles (read: gay uncles) Adam and Steve (wait for it) hanging out in front of something called the Homo Erectus (there it is). The schtick, after all, is still alive.

Adam and Steve have also been thinking of tying the knot, and so Fred and Wilma invite them to come along to the retreat, after which Adam and Steve decide to get married, causing some prehistoric hysteria among The Bedrocked. Fred, however, is not about that life.

Fred's childhood speaks to the so-called "gay uncle" theory, that is, gay men have passed on their big, old gay genes by proving themselves invaluable in the rearing of the children of close relatives, thus increasing the heterosexual rate and success of reproduction.

Meanwhile, for someone who hasn't grasped the concept of shoes, Fred Flintstone is surprisingly with-it when it comes to gender and sexuality. Take a note, world.

[h/t] PinkNews