You sure do have a purty mouth.
We see harmful portrayals of women in the vast majority of the media we are exposed to; movies, television, and magazines just to name a few. There is one place where this occurs that I never gave much thought to, even though I have them in my face in them almost every day. Comic books have some of the most outlandish portrayals of women that I’ve been subjected to, but I hardly give it a second thought. Leggy, busty women comprise the overwhelming majority of female heroes. In all the comics I have ever read I have not encountered one female hero that was not either completely perfect in physical appearance or that was the exact opposite and bestial or disfigured in some way. It is as if being stunningly attractive is a prerequisite for a female comic hero.
They do not just have the women in normal situations, on covers and in cover art they have women in very seductive poses that displays submissiveness and flaunts their sexuality. Male characters are almost always depicted in battle or in preparation of battle, you never see a man with hands on hips and pant-less.
That is not to say there isn’t some justification in being very fit, in the comics they are constantly fighting villains and are continually being physically taxed. This does not, however explain away why all of them are drawn to be absolutely perfect. Where are the broken noses or the scars that would come with constant fighting? Even Susan Reed, the Invisible Woman is the pinnacle of beauty and fitness even after giving birth to her second child in the most recent Fantastic Four story line.
Even comic books pander to the idea of typical male fantasy. These are publications whose stories, even though most of them lie in the realm of fantasy, take place in worlds that mirror our own. So why not heroine that mirror women we see in real life? It’s as though it’s being suggested that one cannot be powerful without being beautiful. I believe the insistence that the heroine be drawn to an unachievable standard of beauty cheapens the importance of female characters in today’s comics.
Male heroes are by no means held to the same standards. Male characters run the gambit of appearances. Where as most of them are very muscular and in good shape they are also scarred, flat nosed, obese, slimy and disfigured. The male hero need not be attractive. His entire worth is based on his merits and deeds.
I am sure I know the reason that there has not been a sizable outcry about these depictions of women, the comic book industry boasts a 95% male readership. I do not think this excuses these kind of images. One might think that comic books are geared towards younger men and that explains these images. The average age for a comic book reader, however, is 24.
I do not think this reflects the desires of those who enjoy reading comic books. I, for one, find that it detracts from the validity of comic books as a mature form of entertainment and I know many of my fellow readers feel the same way I do. We enjoy these books for the rich stories and wonderful artwork, not to ogle drawings of women. I believe the industry would be better served to have a variety of representations of women, not the cookie cutter beauties that are plastered all over the pages of my favorite titles.