top of page

Damsels Not-So-In-Distress

  • geekologymag
  • Dec 4, 2014
  • 3 min read

By Sandra D. Sukraj

They bring you to fantasy-filled dwellings where your imagination can run wild. The vivid colours capture your attention. The battle between good and evil is intertwined within the crevices of each page.

The comic book industry has been around for decades. We’ve all owned a comic book, had a favourite superhero – or heroine – or dressed up as one for Halloween. But what some people overlook is how much sexism exists within those pages.

Writer and editor for www.thegeekanthropologist.com, Emma Backe, believes that while it wouldn’t be fair to say every comic book is sexist, forms of sexism are fairly rampant.

“If you look at the genre of comic books historically, even just literature in general, male writers tended to dominate the profession,” Backe said.

Superman, Batman and Iron Man are all draped in full costumes. Their female counterparts, on the other hand, are clad in more revealing, sexy clothing. DC Comics’ Catwoman and Wonder Woman and Marvel Comics Elektra are all laced with sex appeal.

Emma.jpg

“There has been a great deal written about the character of Wonder Woman, for example, and how her abilities, personality, romantic relationships and backstory have changed throughout the decades,” Backe said. “She’s been appropriated as a feminist icon recently, but her representation of women has been regressive and problematic at times.”

Avid comic book enthusiast and OCAD University grad Brianna Gallant feels that while companies like Marvel and DC are slowly becoming more representative - for example, the new Ms. Marvel is a Muslim woman - there’s still little care given to how female characters are depicted by comparison.

“Men in comics aren’t objectified; they’re glorified,” Gallant said. “They’re put into strong poses, doing heroic things. Women in comics are often contorted to show as many sexualized body parts at once - the ‘boobs and butt’ pose - and seem to be there for eye candy only.”

Undeniably, male superheroes are sculpted with well-defined abs and rock-hard bodies, but those bodies are fairly concealed.

“Perhaps the most blatant evidence of sexism in comic books are the costumes that most female characters are depicted wearing,” Backe said. “Female super-heroines are often shown in revealing, tight costumes that, from a strictly utilitarian level, would not be useful in fighting crime.”

Of course, the argument could go both ways in saying men are also stereotyped and objectified. Toronto comic book fan Brandon Vella feels it depends on personal views on characters.

“Could you suggest male characters were written in a sexist stereotypical way? As in they fit gender stereotypes? You could,” he said. “However, it’s not as much of an objectification matter.”

According to www.comicsbeat.com, Facebook data shows that nearly 47 per cent of comic book readers are female. Conversely, Vella feels although readership of comic books is close to a 50/50 split in gender now, this shift in demographics hasn’t translated into a wave of positive super-heroines or changed how most women are portrayed.

“Although Wonder Woman is being included in Batman vs. Superman, many have argued that Wonder Woman deserves her own movie and should not be treated as a secondary character,” Backe said. “Especially because she is a founding member of DC’s Justice League.”

Gallant states that men in comics may often be superheroes with unrealistic proportions, but it’s a male power fantasy they’ve created for themselves.

“Men created the superhero image to represent themselves. They made the super-heroines as something to look at, and love interests as something for the superheroes to save and bed,” Gallant said. “Sexism towards men doesn’t hurt men in the way misogyny hurts women; it isn’t systemic and it’s often been created by men themselves. It’s men who perpetuate masculinity and denounce femininity in men’s actions.”

However, not all female super-heroines are overly sexualized. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a prime example that in a male-driven genre, not all male writers exploit the “sexy” heroine.

“Male writers and artists can create excellent female characters,” Backe said, citing Buffy creator Joss Whedon as a “perfect example.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy is a great example of the progress that has been made for women in comic books,” she added. “The movie was written by Nicole Perlman, the first female writer credited to Marvel studios, and the movie also featured strong, complex female characters, such as Gamora and Nebula.”

The comic book world seemingly still has a ways to go, but it’s heading in the right direction.

“As more females start reading comic books, it raises the demand for more positive female characters in them,” Vella said.

Gallant agrees the future of comic books is going nowhere but up.

“With more female creators, we get better representation of women in comics,” she said. “I’m optimistic about the future of comics with less sexism, and more intersectional representation.”

15215608879_648c274865_z.jpg

For more on Emma Backe's work you can visit her site: TheGeekAnthropologist.com

 
 
 

Comentarios


Featured Posts
Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square

© 2014 Geekology Magazine. Proudly created with Wix.com

  • Facebook Classic
  • Twitter Classic
  • Google Classic
  • RSS Classic
bottom of page