The 5 Most Ridiculously Sexist Superhero Costumes
Female superhero costumes are the comic industry's "No Cooties" signs: They prove that the people who designed them think about girls (a lot) but don't really know how they work and are making sure it stays that way. I am not an enlightened man. I consider the wipe-clean cheerleader costume a greater advance in clothing technology than the spacesuit. But the only "strong" in many "strong female comic book characters" are the oblique muscles required to point their ass and boobs in the same direction.
Marvel
Psylocke's buttocks are like the Mona Lisa's eyes, they follow you no matter what angle you're looking from.
Behold five characters whose costumes are so impossibly, illogically sexual that they look like they were designed by M.C. Escher after he didn't get laid for 20 years.
#5. Power Girl
Charged with making a female Superman, Power Girl's costume designer's only thoughts were "breasts" and "done." They'd already given Supergirl a miniskirt (and, as a consequence, the entire population of Metropolis got a panty shot). With Power Girl, they upped the ante and opened a tit-window. Most spandex heroes have a symbol on their chest summarizing their character, and so does Power Girl: an empty hole full of cleavage.
DC
Check out the empowerment on that!
There is no counterargument. Fans and writers have tried to explain Power Girl's breast-viewing port several times, and each theory is more ridiculously unsupported than the breasts they're attempting to justify.
DC
And why doesn't her costume inflate when she flies?
The most common (and ridiculous) explanation is, "I am strong and empowered and therefore love being naked and stared at." You know, the same reason Superman flies around in a thong. One writer claims it's to show that she's healthy, so we can only be grateful that Krypton never discovered gynecology. Another is the idea of distracting villains, because when you mainly fight robots and aliens and can punch through a tank, your best weapon is nudity. Oh, and the absolute best explanation:
DC
"I show off my tits because I'm such a dumb blonde I can't even finish my own clothes. I also cry. Girls do that, right?"
DC have made it very clear that they consider the rest of Power Girl a superpowered breast-delivery service ("Faster than a speeding bullet! Bigger than a human head!"). They once changed her entire back story from solar superpowered alien to magical Atlantean and back again, and the only thing that stayed constant was the hole in the costume.
DC
Even on-panel you have a disappointed girl and a ridiculously pleased baby-faced manchild.
#4. Starfire's Reboot
Starfire has always been the Captain Kirkiest character, a brightly colored alien demanding to be shown "more of this Earth thing called love," but her latest iteration is about as sexy as a speculum. It's certainly going for the right place, but it's so cold and clinically aimed that only those who've given up on regular sex could enjoy it.
DC
I'm not saying the designers view women as sexual targets, but she has big glowing red weak points to help you aim at her throat and crotch.
Of course, in the story that revealed her costume, she spent most of her time nude and bikini-clad, presumably because that was the only way to make her costume look reasonable.
DC
This is basically her new costume. And personality. And motivation.
Note the character actually telling you, "If you have a problem with this, you're totally a prude." In 2011, DC rebooted their universe to attract a new market*, and their rebooted Starfire made sure the new demographic wouldn't contain ovaries.
*Because their existing one is famous for hating change and not multiplying.
DC
The site isn't playing saxophone music. You're just hearing it anyway.
Critics have pointed out that the original Starfire was always polyamorous, but that's like saying the original Superman could only jump really high. Starfire is now best known for the Teen Titans cartoon, which had 2 million viewers, aka 20 times more people than were buying her comics. So many of her biggest fans were young schoolgirls, the market demographic least likely to read comics and most likely to be warned to stay away from people who do. The TV show's version of Starfire was an awkward-but-hopeful shy girl who wanted to be cool and make friends. She was a positive character who allowed awkward-but-hopeful shy fans to insert themselves into the show. The comic's decision to take the same character in a much creepier "I'd like to insert myself" direction couldn't have been more poorly timed.
DC
The new direction is "Literally break your own spine to aim breasts at male eyes."
Her rewritten back story apparently had her coming from the planet Penthouse Letter. Her ignorance of human conversation manifested itself via thinking it's unnecessary to know someone's name before having sex. The rest of the team are already bragging about who's ridden the interplanetary bicycle in the first issue, in the middle of a firefight in which she's saving them. I understand the direction they're going for, but come on, guys, we already have the Internet for porn.
#3. Wonder Woman's "Compassion"
Wonder Woman preserves 1940s sexism like a chunk of amber in a bustier, exploited by modern artists to reanimate terrible extinct ideas in some sort of Chauvinist Park. Her weapon AND weakness are both bondage --she has a magic lasso and can be kept hostage if she's tied up, but only if it's by a man. Ninety years after women were allowed to vote, she wasn't allowed to wear a jacket because the fans complained too much. That happened in 2010, and the general consensus was that she should consider herself lucky she's allowed to wear pants in public (and that the "fans" are actual cavemen).
DC
Damn those feminazis, we can only barely see that the breasts are bigger than her head!
As Seanbaby will tell you, Wonder Woman's classic outfit makes her look like a cross between a stripper and a stripper who can't afford enough clothes to get to work. And that's not the outfit we're looking at.
A recent comic story line featured an "emotional spectrum" of Green Lantern rings based on different colors: red rings use rage, yellow rings use fear and violet rings use weaponized male relationship anxiety. The all-female Star Sapphires use the rings to steal superheroes, encasing them in the wonderful brainwashing power of love until they don't want to hang out with their old friends anymore. And while every color ring puts the kidnapped character in the same "skintight with highlights" look, the Sapphires decided to forgo that "tight" bit and just paint Wonder Woman in a few places:
DC
DC's website makes Total Recall's stance on gratuitous boobs look conservative.
The costume was so ridiculously naked that another version had to use her iconic WW logo to hold her boobs, facing toward the camera. This shows that at least her designer's subconscious is good at making clothes suitable for their intended purpose.
DC
If you're thinking near-total nudity is just the Star Sapphires' thing, here's their gender politics with a male Star Sapphire.
DC
I've had dreams like this, too, but I don't draw and sell them in public.
In a climactic battle in the recent Blackest Night event, the Sapphire ring lets Wonder Woman triumph over the black ring of death itself because of her feelings of love for Batman. Even in a life-or-death struggle, the most famous female comic character in history is only allowed to live because she wants to bang a man. Though in fairness, wanting to sleep with Batman isn't sexist.
Warner Bros Pictures, DC Comics, Polygram Filmed Entertainment, though we're not 100% those guys actually want credit for this
He knows everyone wants to touch them.
I'm just not sure I see why it's sexist. Exploitive, yeah. Silly, obviously. But, when I think of sexism or racism or anything similar, I think of negative stereotypes and lies. I think of damage, basically. Old school superheroines being treated as morons who wind up, themselves, needing saving from men is sexist. But if you take a good female character, one who is intelligent, clever, strong, loyal, and whatever other good traits you like, and add tits, does something bad happen? Is she no longer those things because she's also impossibly (literally) sexy and wants to show it off? I feel like that's more damaging to women; the idea that if you are attractive, you are stupid and worthless. Because I thought that was the point of feminism; to make sure everyone realized that women were as intelligent and useful and important to society as men, even if they had breasts. If we required all the women look flat and plain, wouldn't that just be supporting the old stereotype that we were supposed to kill? Now, someone will read this and say "But isn't there a middle ground?" Yeah, sure. But why bother? If we admit that it's okay to make the women sexy as well having all those positive superhero traits, why do we have to stop at some level of sexiness? It is escapism, it is fantasy, and it's a visual medium. If we bring the argument to a discussion of where the cutoff is, I say it's wherever people stop liking it. Powergirl wouldn't be any better in any way if she was more fully covered, so why not let people drool over her if they want? If they all fought crime in wool sweaters and jeans, there would be no benefit to anything at all, except that they would be less interesting to look at.
ReplyJust a quick correction in the pictures. It might've been pointed out already, but the first image of a Star Sapphire wasn't Wonder Woman, it was Carol Ferris, the original Star Sapphire (the name is even right next to her). When Wonder Woman is wearing the Violet Ring, her costume goes to the second example. It's shown in the other comics that when a character dons a Lantern Ring, their costume goes into one similar to the others, but with their own insignias shown, as well
ReplyI don't know. Those costumes ARE ludicrously revealing, true. On the other hand, you can't just dismiss the fact that American prudishness is notorious and equally as mind-boggling.
Reply"Even in a life-or-death struggle, the most famous female comic character in history is only allowed to live because she wants to bang a man."
ReplyAre you trying really super hard to insert gender politics in there? I've not read the comic, but the description just sounded like standard "power of love" stuff. Y'know, the thing no one complains about if it's a man.
I agree that some of the characters (Sue Storm, Wonder Woman, Starfire) are clearly either sexist or intentionally 'showy', but as a woman and a comicker I have to admit that drawing flat-chested women that are still visually appealing enough to sell is more difficult than drawing a busty woman. The hole in Power Girl's uniform /is/ a bit inappropriate, but without the addition (or lack thereof) the costume would just look... off. We must also remember that many of these costumes should be easy to get into and/or wear underneath clothing while still being combat ready. Many women in comics still wear skirts, so it's not like they can wear a full-body spandex suit underneath their clothing like Superman.
ReplyThe costumes that have changed to become even more skimpy (Starfire, Sue Storm, Wonder Woman) are the /real/ sexist costumes. Wonder Woman and Invisible Girl's original attire was at least sensible in the fact that it covered mostly everything (though I won't comment on the sexism in their origins/history due to it's irrelevance to this article). The fact that they changed it to display more is the sexist part of their entire costume.
Now I know that by now many of you are going to comment that the outer appearance doesn't matter, that comics can sell issues of characters with smaller breasts or less muscles, but graphic novels are just that. Graphic. Novels. Graphic. Meaning visual. People don't pay only for the story, unfortunately (or else those witty webcomics featuring stick figures would make killings), and also enjoy the pictures that go along with the issue. Some artists/authors just don't know how to make a sensible, yet interesting and visually appealing character that can sell. I don't think it's meant to be sexism straight out, it just seems to come out that way. The only characters that we need worry about sexism with are the ones that are blatantly mistreated for gender or gain a smaller outfit with the more time passing.
Really Long for a Cracked comment but none the less good job thumbs up for you
(or else those witty webcomics featuring stick figures would make killings)
So I guess you haven't heard that the author of Order of the Stick ( a witth webcomic featuring stick figures) managed to get fans to pledge over 1.2 million dollars to aid him in printing more books.
I guess I get the point the author is making, and I'm not saying there aren't female superheroes that are clearly sexist, but to say that the entire industry is completely and purposely chauvinistic is pretty ridiculous. There are female costumes that aren't overly sexual. They're a minority, sure, but they're out there. Just like there are heroes like Iron Man that are only even vaguely human-shaped. Nevermind who the main demographic is, it's important to artists to be able capture, emphasize and design around the female form. Most superheroes are men. Female heroes provide a chance to explore a completely different aesthetic. Like with the costumes that are full-body and skin tight-- the complaint is that the costumes are sexist because no woman would actually wear one. Yeah, duh. No one would! But just about every superhero does, male and female. I guess my question is what the alternative would be. All the male superheroes wear skin tight and suggestive leotards while all the women wear chaste and tasteful costumes? Isn't that sexist?
Reply.... So you're saying that the uh, "female form" is somehow supposed to be... naked? I'm just trying to interpret your words here, where you state that male superheroes wear leotards, and the female costumes are "designed around the female form". Leotards or not, at least costumes made out of some magically impervious material that cover your entire body are PRACTICAL. Most female superheroes except like, Emma Frost, will be a walking scab after every battle because they're not wearing any! clothes! While being fleshy bags of meat and fat. How hard is it to understand this? I love if when people throw in this argument that there’s somehow no middle ground between “dressed in an outfit that even a stripper wouldn’t wear due to discomfort” and “burka”. We don't want burkas. We don't even want Victorian Governess dresses (although I think a superhero outfit with a slight Victorian motif to it would be awesome). Sexy is a-okay! But for god's sake, can you at least make it LOOK like you're taking your female characters like serious opponents for your baddies by giving them something they can, I dunno, fight in? By your own logic, skin-tight = already sexy; it should make the perfect balance of sexy to classy/serious if the artists give their women the same fully-covering, skin-tight outfit treatment the men get. That are also, you know - NOT a naked female body shaded in a non-skintone colour.
So your alternative: treat your male and female characters the SAME. Same respect, same importance, same considerations when it comes to outfits. So you can have your Namors and your Emma Frosts, who have practical reasons for going near-naked and know they’re sexy beasts while they do it too. But the vast majority of the women and men? They have no reasons to not be fully covered – be it practicality, OR their in-story personality. X-men have done it. Fantastic 4 have done it. People still very much enjoy and buy those comics. OMG, equality of sexes in my comics? I know - it’s a novel concept.
Not exactly. Male outfits DO show off a lot of the body in their skin-tight design, but the accentuated features are non-sexual. Male superheroes are almost disturbingly buff (usually), but female superheroes are over-exaggerated in a completely different manner. THEIR bodies are actually less suited for fighting crime than that of your average schnauzer, because schnauzers don't have giant breasts and booties and aren't constantly posing themselves painfully just to show off those features (mind you, a schnauzer that looks like that would be terrifying).
My point is that male superheroes are ridiculously exaggerated paragons of strength, while female superheroes are ridiculously exaggerated paragons of sex. I'd say that that is a bit sexist, yes.
This is a copy of a funny comment that I lost
ReplyWhy not embrace the stupidity and create a female superhero whose source of power is the male gaze? That would make the outfit make sense. It's a dumb source of power but aren't all superhero's sources of power kind of dumb? It least this would be dumb in an original and imaginative way rather than going with form 1A alien or form 2A radioactive accident.
Sensemaker
ReplyHide All
CJburst42902/03/12 04:09 PM +440
Yeah and it would work like Dora. Whenever the hero fights a strong villain she will interact with you Dora style and tell you to give her power by giving us a 10 minute shot of her boobs and ass
I'm not going to say that these costumes are 'right' or 'wrong,' 'good' or 'bad,' but I will say that this is the free-market at it's conflicted best.
ReplyI don't think any of these artists are being deliberately malicious towards women, or trying to send a message that all girls should show off their boobs (we can all agree some shouldn't), they're just trying to make money.
Most comic book readers are young men, who like sexy women, and that's what they spend money on, so that's what the market produces to maximize profits.
God love capitalism: you shouldn't worry about the perceived morality of anything the market produces, but morals are a total non-issue: it's all about the money.
Over-muscled superheroes are for catering to the male demographic's power fantasies. The women, however, are also sculpted to cater to male sexual fantasies instead of female power fantasies. Skimpy outfits =/= empowerment to most women, though muscles ARE a symbol of power in the male form (hence the need to show them off through skintight suits). I mean, why isn't She-Hulk as bulky as Hulk? It's because artists are too afraid their insecure viewers will be intimidated or bored by a woman if she's either too masculine or not showing enough skin. And even still, the outfits wouldn't be THAT bad if the women's so-called "fighting" poses didn't look like they were lifted from porn spreads.
ReplyOccasional T&A is reasonable, but when EVERY superheroine is supposed to look sexy while doing ANYTHING it's quite frankly sexist.
The concept of comic sexism is really flying over a lot of peoples' heads here.
I wonder where is She-Thing nowadays. She was basically everything you guys want.
I always thought namoor wore spedos cus he spends soo much time in the water.
ReplyAlso if I had his body I wouldnt bother much with clothes either.
I take seriously issue with the final example. It's basically claiming that men, all men, and only men, actually WANT to be sexually attractive, which is sexist in of itself. All humans have a natural, driving motivation to make themselves attractive to a mate. Sex is not solely the domain of males, and to suggest so is to espouse a truly antiquated view of human sexuality and gender relations.
ReplySo you're claiming that all women WANT to be in bikinis and sexy outfits all the time? That's kind of the whole point of feminism: to not be judged solely on their sexual attractiveness.
I read the last one and it got me thinking, how would you objectify men in a comic? I finaly figured it out. Introducing kind-guy-who-is-extremely-atractive-and-not-a-douch-about-it-who-also-dosnt-mind-doing-housework-also-his-penis-is-bigger-than-yours man.
ReplyHas anyone elce ever noticed that in the skintight costumes in comics each boob is individually wrapped? You would have to custom order something like that.
ReplyDefinitely.
Say what you want Starfire looks Great, she grew up in all the right places...Damn.
ReplyExcuse me while I drool all over myself.
I especially like 'It isn't humanly possible to bend in such poses' argument. Yes, because two aliens and a clay statue made alive by Greek gods, who all have super-strength and can fly are obviously subjected to human limits. You could make a case for more 'normal' characters, but considering that it's a world where supposed 'just humans' can be shot, stabbed and beaten to pulp dozen of times and in a couple of weeks be up and running like nothing had happened, catch bullets and fire 'life energy' being able to bend your spine in unrealistic ways doesn't look so bizarre.
ReplySo you're saying she actually did purposely bend? That makes sense? She bent her spine, so that...readers could see her...yeah, that doesn't make sense.
I was just going to laugh and move on when I read this article... until I saw the one where the author wrote yet another article to trash anyone who disagreed with his naive shallow perception of just what sexism is. I am sure he thinks proper ladies will raise up and praise him for the defense of our honor. It was too hard to resist to continue along the high road. You see, if you haven't already guessed, I am a straight liberal female who feels the redundant need to call bullshit. For one- I am a comic artist who happens enjoys drawing my female comic book characters in much the same fashion as these so-called sexist artists who don't know their way around a female body. I cannot speak for anyone else of my gender or otherwise, but drawing fantasy sexy women is hardly my idea of what sexism is. I can't exactly find it in my lil' ole feminist heart to be offended by men who find beautiful, powerful, and intelligent women sexy and want to draw them as such. Shame on men for their fantasies. No, I can't seem to muster up the energy for that kind of nonsense. Maybe since as a woman I have a clouded perception of what is offensive to my sensibilities. Must be all those years (say around in the last millenia or so) of conditioning from a male dominated society that drilled in my genders' head that women should wear clothing that covers all our naughty bits so we don't tempt the pure men of faith into sin, and any woman who enjoys the same base pleasures as a man make them unclean whores. That we should stay at home cooking and making babies. Maybe I am too blind by the concerns of religious and political groups telling me that I do not have right to make decisions about my own body. You know all that ridiculous stuff. Perhaps I should be more concerned about the outfits of cartoon characters and those blasted sexist comic book artists who "prove that the people who designed them think about girls (a lot) but don't really know how they work"... lets forget that that was a rather sexist comment in of itself assuming only males (and lesbians) draw sexy comic women. Maybe we can assume that there is no such thing as female porno directors too. I suppose you could say I am sexist against my own gender rather than acknowledge that women too would dress in skintight clothes and sleep with any piece of manmeat she wanted if she also had the body of a goddess and freaking awesome superpowers? Maybe that is only reserved for men. Yes, we can ignore the possibility that it is harmless human nature to sexually fantasize about the gender we find, I don't know, sexually attractive. Why stop there? We can also ignore the cultural reality that throughout history that the female form has been regarded as the ultimate symbol of beauty. Michelangelo that sexist pig and his little Renaissance friends too.
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesI think the idea is that drawing a sexy fantasy woman is perfectly understandable, but the idea of drawing these sexy fantasy women as scantily clad -- by CHOICE -- is a bit absurd.
That is, yes, a man would want to see a woman dressed like that, and perhaps a woman would want to see a woman dressed like that, but I do not believe a woman would dress HERSELF like that.
If we broke the fourth wall and had Wonder Woman tell her artist that she did not understand why she could not wear less revealing clothing, then it would all be understandable.
But why would so many female superheros don outfits that not only are very skimpy, but also outfits that seem to go out of their way to specifically show cleavage. (Powergirl being the most distractingly blatant example of this)
Me, if they had the characters themselves say, "Yeah, I'm showing my cleavage because it makes me bloody irresistible; I look not only gorgeous, but also sexy in a way that can only be done by dressing skimpily," then we would all say, "Oh, well, if that's so, then cool."
But it's almost like the male (and female, if you want to play it that way) artists make specific artistic decisions to make the women dressed unreasonably scanty; and these women tend to be intelligent, powerful women with no reason to wear clothing that is so revealing.
So ultimately, I suppose it's more about poor writing and simple wish fulfillment than the very idea of these women dressing as they do.
I dont agree Darksyngr. I could understand a few female superheroes showing off. I dont get how in an a universe full of superheroes almost every single female dresses like that.
(first of all, sorry for any english mistakes) God,if you'll allow me,I'll just copy this comment of yours and save it in my PC.
I love comics, and I'm a writer myself. In the last few days/months,I've been seeing this sexist thing in comics all over the place. As a reader, and a moderate aged person, I DO understand that there IS true in much they say, about how poorly constructed and how much a few superheroines seem to be portrayed only to make poses and stuff, but I never really fully understood that clothes thing.
Of course, a few outfits are really ridiculous - as several above and others -, but not all. I don't see - and NEVER saw - Wonder Woman less of a..."righteous"(?) woman than any other because of her outfit, or that she was somehow just "showing meat", even when I was a teenager. Of course, I can't deny that sexual fantasies never ocurred, but in that age that happens even with fully clothed women, so there's no difference,really.
I shall mention also that in the 70's, WW had her outfit changed because of feminist actions, for the same reasons as now. So they did as they wanted, and putted a fully clothed white outfit on her. Not much later, guess what? The same feminist group came back demanding that they put her old outfit back because, that way, quoting them, "shows that strong,powerful women can also be sexy".
I don't think that Powergirl's cleavage something ridiculous, and I agree, specially in that case, that if she said "Well,I have that window here because I want to and f**k you,that's why." it would souve it all.
About the fact that a woman woudn't dress HERSELF like that, we got to consider some stuff here. If the superheroine doesn't have powers,yes, it's pretty absurd that she shows her body, specially if she can get shot in those parts. But if she's some kind of superman-like powered heroine, than she can even get out naked if she wants to. Another fact is that,yes, a common woman woudn't wear those things, but we are not talking about common women here. We're talking about women who are wearing MASKS and go out fight crime everyday and meet another spandex-clothed women/men.
People are indirectly sayin' that a woman would only wear superheroine clothes as it is from a (male) fantasy perspective,but they're seeing that fact as from their own perspective themselves.
So,in the end,some superheroine clothes ARE kinda ridiculous, but don't make a generalization out of that.
No offense, but you make me want to puke. Shwnee says it all.Also I don't want to waste my time on this annoying comment.
I think, everyone would be happier if Power Girl just dropped any silly pretenses and admitted that she has a boob window 'cause she likes to show off her body and enjoys an attention it gives her.
Reply Hide All See All 7 RepliesShowing cleavage doesn't mean it's for attention. I'm sick of guys saying that.
"Doesn't mean it's for attention from guys" is reasonable enough, since many women are seeking attention from other women. But if it is not about attention at all, then what IS it about?
Some women have boobs that show as cleavage unless they're wearing big baggy tshirts all the time (it's hard to find properly fitting clothes for big boobs).
It seems a little unfair that some women's anatomy is seen as more 'attention seeking' naturally than others.
Guys, she is wearing a turtleneck and you can still see her massive melons through the HOLE SHE CUT OVER HER BOOBS. Sure, not all cleavage is there to get attention from guys - but Power Girl's patently IS.
Reply to HiddenFacedMatt: *deep breath*
* Fashion.
** Subsection 1: The fashion trends of today (especially ones marketed at women with large busts) tend to be exclusively designed to highlight that area. Be it through crimped clothing, large patterns, loud colors, decisive cuts, support, or simply cutting the neckline lower and lower, it seems clothing stares are generals in a war meeting concocting new strategies to make women bare their breasts.
** Subsection 2: Plain and simple, women like wearing pretty things. Regardless of whether any men are around, the (average) woman would continue to brush her hair and put on jewelery. The (average) man doesn't even notice what she's wearing unless it's jaw-droppingly (and dick-straighteningly) spectacular anyway.
** Subsection 3: When you exclude clothing that exposes the entire area (so no tank tops, bikinis, dresses, jackets, millions of shirts) OR clings to it (sweaters, pull overs, pajamas, wetsuits) the only thing the girl is left to wear is overalls, a potato sack, grandma's mourning shawl, or a Muslim abayya. She'd be unfashionable and called a prude.
* Rebellion. As evidenced by the hot debate on this comment thread, women wearing provocative clothing is still vaguely looked down upon by many members of society. Just like the thirteen-year-old who sips from his dad's beer can just because he was told not to, rebelling against authority gives a perverse satisfaction. It feels like a quiet buzzing in your brain that you're independent enough to go against the higher-ups.
* Pressure. Girls in certain cliques are simply expected to wear such clothing, and face ostracism if she doesn't. (You may argue back the After School Television Special response of: "Well, if those people would denounce her just for the clothes she wears, then they must not be real friends smilie face and rainbows!" Well, take a look at all my other points. Chances are, the hypothetical girl would be willing to try a low-cut shirt ANYWAY, so why on earth would she forsake her best friends and all the people she cares for over a tiny topic that she doesn't care that much about anyway?)
* Some days are f*****g hot and cleavage sweats like a b***h (I love how I made you squirm just now).
* Attention from men.
So f**k you, HiddenFacedMatt. f**k you with a chopstick right in the tiny hole through your male genitalia.
{Side note: I truly mean no offense to you, HFM - I just thought the above "fuck you" was too badass not to share with the world. You are fully entitled to your opinion, and I respect that. Smilie face and rainbows!}
@3thecaptain Fashion Subsection 1 and 3 are stupid and obviously untrue. Subsection 1 does have some relevance, but not nearly as much as you say it does. Fashion subsection 3 is so stupid it is not worth reading. The rest of it was okay, but the whole Fashion section makes me want to puke.
Uh, it's for attention. I'm sorry, but it is. Obviously, I'm not talking about looking down a girl's shirt at just the right angle, I'm talking about people who intentionally wear clothes that showcases their rack. Don't tell me clothes exist that don't do that and still look better than a potato sack because the female side of my entire family wears them. I might agree that some girls are pressured into showing off cleavage reluctantly because other girls pressure them to do so (other girls who themselves are showing off) but that's still a half-assed defense because it just pushes the argument back one step. I don't care that women do this, I just think it should be admitted.
The content of comic books is not affecting "impressionable teenage boys." Teenage boys effect the content of comics, because they buy them more than probably any other demographic. If you want to change what's in comics, BUY MORE COMICS. Or you know... b***h about it on the internet. But don't think this stuff is going to go away. It services a market.
ReplyI'm sorry, but you shouldn't focus only the majority...
They put out some things for minority too. Only these comics are, you know, minority. And really the very existence of female and gay superheroes proves they don't focus only on the majority.
Marvel and DC (and the other super-hero heavy comics companies) thrive on sensationalism. The whole point is "people like this thing, so let's take it to an absurd extreme." Instead of bitching about how unfair comics are, how about an article about The 10 Best Stories in Comics. Hell, you can even find some pretty good examples in Marvel and DC that don't rely on the huge boobs huge pecs stuff too much. God Loves Man Kills, comes to mind, or Superman: Secret Identity, or Marvels... or get away from superheroes completely and tell people about Love and Rockets, or Bone or Cerebus, or Stray Bullets. There are plenty of great stories in comics, and bitching about the most prevalent sensationalist part of that world is like bitching about everything on television because reality TV.
ReplyThat doesn't mean they can't go overboard.
This author should write another, equally pointless article whining about how porno is pandering to men who like sex and naked women.
Reply Hide All See All 5 RepliesYeah, because we should all equate comic books with pornography.
Porno can't be sexist.
What do you mean, can't be sexist? @ Rander
Saying that they have things in common (things like, "evidently catering to the male population") isn't the same as saying they're equivalent in every way. @ OminousChris
According to Luke that is.
Not that it's relevant, but there's no problem with some porn pandering to men who like naked women and sex, but it would be great to have some more porn which panders to women who like naked men and sex (the men in porno for men are rarely attractive).