In fact, this leads us to Batgirl, because in the comics of that time, Batgirl ( introduced in 1961 ) was Batwoman’s niece, Betty Kane, and she had a crush on Robin. The Batman Fandom page for Batgirl notes that some experts believe that Batwoman and Batgirl were created to refute speculation that Batman and Robin were gay. These versions of Batwoman and Batgirl were not super long-lived, but in comics, there are always rebirths and recreations and multiple timelines, so the characters both went through changes. For instance, there is also a character named Bette Kane, who becomes a superhero named Flamebird (some folks suspect Kate's step-sister may become that superhero later on in the CW series).