Drawing from his childhood traumas, Lewis crafted a complex comedic persona that involved four social aspects: sexuality, gender, race/ethnicity, and disability. Through these social aspects, he challenged norms, was misrepresented, and was heavily criticized. During his Martin and Lewis years, he challenged what it meant to be a heterosexual male. Not afraid to display sensitivity and a childlike innocence, he pushed aside heterosexual normality and embraced distorted conventions. This did not sit well with some critics who thought his actions were appalling and what they considered gay. Lewis' feminine movement suggested a common gay stereotype of the era, though the intention was to represent girl crazy, sexual panic of an inexperienced young man.