[UPDATED]Modern Feminism vs Comics - The Unrealistic Standards Set Goes Both Ways

[UPDATED]Modern Feminism vs Comics - The Unrealistic Standards Set Goes Both Ways

If you haven't noticed by now, women and girls have joined us men and boys in the comicbook fandom. As women entered our world, so did modern feminism, and this brought up problem in the way women are portrayed in comics. Well, what about the other half? The men!

Editorial Opinion
By RextheKing - Jun 24, 2014 07:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

DISCLAIMER:  WHILE I MAY NOT BE A FEMINIST(WHICH IS DUE TO HOW MODERN FEMINIST HAS CHANGED IT'S DEFINITION), I AM IN NO SHAPE OR FORM A MYSOGYNIST, SEXIST, BIGOT, OR AGAINST WOMEN HAVING EQUAL/FAIR RIGHTS!


[UPDATE1]  I understand the true meaning of Feminism, and you can say I am true feminist, but I choose not to associate myself with a group that has been tainted to the point that the true definition no longer applies in the slightest.  I'm an advocate for HUMAN equality, end of story.

Women's portrayal in comics have been an issue for quite a while now.  There are complaints about the way they dress, their physiques, and there not being that many strong female characters.

On the way they dress, yes 80% of the time it's very revealing, but can you honestly not say it's the same for the men?  Yes, in most cases they are far more covered, but it doesn't matter when their suits are so tight, it leaves little to the imagination on how they would look completely nude.



Many will say that the physique of female characters in comics are pornstar-ish, while the men get athletic physiques.  I have to dissagree here, because when I look at the bodies of the female characters, they look like runners and/or gymnast which is the perfect athletic look for female characters(allows them to be strong, fast, and flexible).  When I look at the men, most of them look like body builders, and when I think of athletic for men, I look for them to have more of a basketball player's physique, like The Flash or Spider-Man.  Yes, the body builder physique allows them to be immensely strong, but realistically all that muscle would slow them down, and allow little flexibility. 


[UPDATE2]  Over exaggeration in comicbook females are also a huge concern.  Each artist is different, but one thing each have in common, is to create the "perfect" body.  For women, the hour glass figure, tone body(legs mostly), breast being no lower than a c-cup(in most cases), and a round firm bottom.  This is why posing of female characters are very sexualized, to bring attention to the hour glass figure, the toned legs, arms, and stomach, the breast, and the bottom.  Men also have over exxaggerated bodies as well, such as huge and high set chest, washboard abs, and head size bicep and triceps.  In posing for male characters appear less sexual because they want you to see the chest, abs, and arms, so they shy from using the "broke back" technique, but the features that do sexual men are the chest, abs, and arms.   

I will admit that there are far more male superheroes than there are female, but let's not forget most of these charcters where created in the mid 1900's, during a time when women were looked at much differently than they are today.  While this doesn't mean they can't create new female heroes, you shouldn't expect them to just spit out a bunch of them to fill a gap.  You want them to take their time, and make sure they do the new character(s) justice, instead of just producing them to keep the female readers happy.

Even with all this said, it doesn't matter.  Why?  At the end of the day, what matters is that we look up to these characters because of the moral examples they set.  Just because Wonder Woman's costume leaves much exposed, we think no less of her because of it; she's strong, smart, and one of the best combatants in all of comics, so the last thing we're thinking about is what's she's wearing and what body type she has, we just want to strive to be like her.

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DeusExSponge
DeusExSponge - 6/24/2014, 8:00 PM
I think it depends on how the artist portrays and draws the men and women. Although I do agree that heroines look athletic, some of their portrayals do go towards that pornstar-ish look. I'm not saying all of them do, but quite a few comics do.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/24/2014, 8:05 PM
@Deus Yes I do agree there though, some artist over do it, but again the artist is going draw these characters in his or her own style, and some artist love to over exaggerate certain parts of body.
DeusExSponge
DeusExSponge - 6/24/2014, 8:46 PM
Rex - Agreed, but it doesn't really help when some heroines have costumes that expose them a lot and only adds more to them being sexualized. I think the costume change that Carol Danvers got, when she became Captain Marvel, was not only great but rather refreshing. I'm not complaining about heroines looking sexy, just that sometimes I think it gets overboard i.e. Starfire.
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 6/24/2014, 9:33 PM
If "what matters is that we look up to these characters because of the moral examples they set," then what's wrong with putting Wonder Woman in something that's not overly sexualized? Part of being a supporter of equal rights is treating women as more than just objects. And some of the costumes donned by super heroines are tantamount to objectification.

It's one thing to look at porn. But to portray porn-star-like sexuality as the norm (as opposed to the occasional woman who portrays these characteristics because it fits her character and personality) for women - either in appearance, actions, or personality (or lack thereof) - is perpetuating centuries of cultural subjugation against women. And saying that it's not misogyny or bigotry is extremely ignorant.

Feminism is the belief that women should be equal, should be treated as such, and should be treated with respect. Feminism is NOT hating men, or thinking women should be/are superior; that's called misandry, and is terrible, just like misogyny. Not being a feminist is the same thing as being a misogynist. Joss Whedon put this concept very eloquently in a speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDmzlKHuuoI
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 9:42 PM
Dear God. This is well-intended, I have absolutely no doubt about that, but boy is this coming at the problem from the wrong perspective.

I think I can sum it up by your quote here: "Just because Wonder Woman's costume leaves much exposed, we think no less of her because of it..."

The problem is, most people really do think less of her because of it. Especially on sites like CBM. How many times do we see the same comment over and over again about how Gal Gadot won't be able to "fill out" Wonder Woman's costume? That she's too skinny? That she has no boobs? Or her legs are too thin? Or her arms aren't big enough?

Pretty much 90% of fanboys expect a DD breasted, pornstar Wonder Woman in her extremely exposed outfit. They reduce her to a sex object. Is any male's character so ridiculously defined by their looks and sexuality? I guess Batman and the controversy of Ben Affleck can be argued, but most people doubted whether he could put on enough pounds to be intimidating. That's a VERY far cry from how sexualized most people want Wonder Woman (and every other female character) to be. If you don't believe me, look at any article on this site that talks about Mary Jane and just look through the comments on what kind of actress should portray her. It's disgusting.

To them, it doesn't matter how good of a grasp Gadot may have on her character, or how Snyder's writers will portray her. ALL that matters is her physical appearance, and that's something that ABSOLUTELY needs to change.

While we had to suffer through one or two female characters ogling Superman and calling him "hot" in Man of Steel, that's just not even on the same planet as what female characters have to go through. Trying to equate the two and complain that male characters are being overly-sexualized is silly, quite frankly. No one defines Thor by how sexy he looks...they respect him and take him seriously because of how powerful his skills are. Same goes for Captain America, the Hulk, Hawkeye, Batman, Superman, and the rest.

I guess I take this topic a little personally because I just don't think males have any legs to stand on in this topic. Women literally suffer and have to go through so much crap on a day-to-day basis (things that most men have no idea of, or couldn't care less about), while males have literally everything tailored to their preferences and their desires and their benefits. And for the record, I'm a guy too. We seriously have no right to complain about anything like this.

I've used this analogy before, but it's like complaining that a franchise like The Hunger Games doesn't have a male lead, and how that's so 'unfair'. Okay, well, 99% of movies in Hollywood have male leads, and you're going to complain about this? How ridiculous is that? So yeah, IMO there IS no "other side" of feminism. I know I'm being a bit harsh, but I feel it's important to get this kind of thinking out of our systems as soon as possible.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 9:54 PM
And yeah, like CavalierTunes said, you're coming at the term "Feminism" from the wrong angle as well. It's not a bad thing. It's become diluted and misinterpreted through the years, and that's extremely unfortunate. But its definition is EXACTLY what he just said. It's the desire for equality. We have to look past the "bad name" that's been given to feminism, and aspire to do everything we can to promote equality. We should be proud to be feminists.

Women make up roughly 51% of the population...yet they're so ridiculously underrepresented in the film industry. How many female directors/producers/executives/etc are there compared to males? How many female lead characters are there compared to males? How many female characters are reduced to being the typical powerless love interest, or stuck in a love triangle, or treated cruelly just so the male lead can avenge them or whatever, with no other thing that defines who they are as a character? How many times is rape used as a shock tactic, rather than exploring what the female victim actually goes through?

And us males are seriously going to have the gall to complain about how "sexualized" male comic book characters can be sometimes? Do you see how silly and misguided that is?
CavalierTunes
CavalierTunes - 6/24/2014, 9:56 PM
@SauronsBANE1

I completely agree. You either believe women are equal, deserving of respect, and are human beings (i.e. being a feminist), or you don't. This whole "I'm not a feminist, but I'm not sexist" thing makes little sense. Either you think women are people or you don't.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:01 PM
I really agree about changing Wonder Woman's outfits, but it does make sense about guy's being as nude as girls. Let's look at Street Fighter and make comparison of some Street Fighter images I found, and compare male and female.(Note: I don't know anything about street fighter, but I know the ladies' outfits have been under scrutiny before.)

Ladies:







Many would argue this is sexualised, probably over-sexualised, and I would tend to agree. But let's look at some males to.

Guys:







Now, compare the two. Now, I know the ladies have been made to look sexualised, but if you compare the pictures, the guys are are sexualised as the women. If not more. the first and last male pictures are guys in nothing but pretty revealing underwear. The ladies at least have some breasts covered, but all the males I have shown do NOT. Now, in our current day and age/culture, we sexualise women's breasts very much. I love breasts on women. But regardless, if we want true equality, we have to realize that even though there is a social stigma of women's breasts and not men's chests, it is the same. Now, because the women's legs are often exposed and they are often wearing nothing besides the most revealing outfit, people would argue about it being to revealing. But what about the third male pic I posted? He is wearing nothing but a pretty revealing pair of underpants. I'll admit it, I reacted more to the female pictures than the guy with almost nothing on, but I realize they are in a way one and the same. But yeah, I do agree about the clothes thing, though I do want SOME covering up, though women should never be afraid to hide their bodies.

SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 10:08 PM
I literally couldn't agree more, CavalierTunes. Somehow, the term "feminism" has become completely twisted on its head. It's made out to be some kind of radical, wrong-headed idea when really it's exactly the opposite. You said everything I could possibly say about this, except much more succinctly haha. Well said.

@BatManHeisenberg, All I would say in response to that is, check out the "Hawkeye Initiative", which is one artist's effort to depict male comic book characters EXACTLY like how the females are. It really hones in on just how much more sexualized women are than men. In men, muscles doesn't automatically equal sexualized. It's more than just the superficial details. Seriously, and I'm aware of how entitled and self-righteous I sound, but your mindset is just so dangerous. I really implore you to check this out:

http://thehawkeyeinitiative.com/
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/24/2014, 10:15 PM
@Bane The biggest problem with Gadot's casting was her not having an athletic build, which was one of the main problems with Affleck'(he does have an athletic build, but fan want comic accuracy) casting. Yes many brought up the chest, but half of those were jokes, and the others were being serious, but then people such as myself brought up the fact that Wonder Woman is not defined by her chest size, and the idea that a cinematic Wonder Woman should have DD is ridiculous.

There will ALWAYS be that problem with immature guys, or just plan young boys treating our favorite female characters as sex objects, but that's due to one, comics still being male dominated.

If you seriously don't think the male character's aren't over sexualized as well, then... well that's normal. We don't notice it because they are men, with bodies, we think we want, but as I said, their suits aren't hiding anything. They might as well use body paint to put their costumes on.

@Cav Is Wonder Woman just an "object" though? No, many immature guys may treat her as so, but that doesn't mean that's the way she's portrayed in the comics. Also those immature guys do not represent every male reader of comics.

Wonder Woman's suit is over sexualized, but so are most of the male suits. Just like how the artist over exaggerates the body, they add that into the costume. To bring in the idea of the perfect woman and man.

What feminism is suppose to be and how it's presented in this modern day are two very different things. I could go forward with this part of the argument but I'd be here all day.

I love Joss, but he's wrong. I'm not a feminist, yet I frown upon women being treated unfairly, and I do believe women deserve equal rights. I just notice that there is inequalities amongst all sexes, which modern feminist fail to see or acknowledge.



BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:15 PM
SauronsBANE

Checked it out. I guess I would agree that women are meant to look much more sexualised, but isn't it wrong to say that a man who is wearing the equivalent of a woman's outfit, if not less, AND is in a sexy pose, is as sexualised? That third pic I posted was outright as much or more sexualised than the women's pics. Now in comics, I'd agree that women are much more sexualised. Women wear almost nothing and/or are perfect 10's, and guy's can range from bleh looking to very handsome. But I was just pointing out it CAN go both ways, and to say that a guy in almost nothing not as sexualised as a girl with somewhat see through clothing or whatever is a bit weird IMHO.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/24/2014, 10:18 PM
^ I mean to put "" around perfect.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:20 PM
I will go on record nd say two things however, despite their lack of clothes, men often aren't in as a sexualised POSITION as women. I'll agree that's key. I will also agree that almost ever woman in comics has been sexualised in one way or another, and not so much men. I was just arguing for clothes and what not.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:21 PM
*and *every
Wolf38
Wolf38 - 6/24/2014, 10:22 PM
"Dear God. This is well-intended, I have absolutely no doubt about that, but boy is this coming at the problem from the wrong perspective."

^That's kind of what went through my head.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 10:23 PM
@RextheKing, I truly believe that YOU are one of the few people who don't look at female characters as sex objects...but you are seriously over-estimating the amount of people who think like you or I do. I'm willing to bet any amount of money that MUCH less than "half" were actually kidding about Gadot's chest size. Most people aren't joking. Most people really do define her by her chest size. You seriously don't have to look far on the internet to see proof of that.

@BatManHeisenberg, I agree that the third picture you posted is ridiculously sexualized. Totally. It truly can go both ways, but again, the percentages are just so off-kilter than it's not even worth having a conversation about. You'll see MANY, MANY more pictures of women being sexualized than males. The ratio isn't even close. Again, it's The Hunger Games all over again. Complain about the tiny minority of things not going our way, when the overwhelming majority of everything else is catered to our advantage.
Wolf38
Wolf38 - 6/24/2014, 10:23 PM
"I will go on record nd say two things however, despite their lack of clothes, men often aren't in as a sexualised POSITION as women."

That also is key.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/24/2014, 10:24 PM
The sexualization of both the men and women are to draw the eye, which is why comics have art, but what keeps you reading is the personalities of the characters, and as I said, that's what strives us to want to be like them, not what they wear, or what kind of body type they have.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:33 PM
SauronsBANE1

Totally. I agree. I was just pointing out it does happen, but honestly, women are so oversexualised it isn't even funny. I can say I am a strong feminist. For a while I didn't want to affiliate with the term. I have seem some nasty things said bu some feminists. I know a feminist at my school, and she talks shit all day about white people and white men specifically, but honestly, I don't care about some crazy prejudiced feminist. I know a kickass feminist at a game shop I go to. So I car about the good feminists and what it represents. Not some prejudiced jerks.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:34 PM
*care
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 10:43 PM
BatManHeisenberg, I definitely see your point. And it's not like you're even wrong at all (well, for the most part =P). But just to be clear, it's so completely distant from what female characters go through that it's just not really even worth fighting about. So I guess I would sum it up as: I agree that male characters can be sexualized as well, but it happens far more to women than it ever does to men and that's the larger and much more important topic that needs to be addressed. Fair enough, right? And as for all you said about feminism: great stuff man! You seem like you really have a level head on your shoulders. And trust me, I don't say that lightly haha. It's definitely one of the better compliments I can give nowadays!
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/24/2014, 10:56 PM
SauronsBANE1

Well thank you very much. I like to view myself as a realist and I try to look at stuff in all perspectives.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 11:09 PM
@RextheKing, Not to keep harping on about this, but let's take this quote for example: "The sexualization of both the men and women are to draw the eye..."

That's a very forgiving way to say: "Comic writers/artists (the majority of whom are men, by the way) specifically drew these characters in very sexualized ways in order to appeal to their fan base (the majority of whom are male children and teens), draw their eyes, and sell their merchandise." That says far more about the ulterior motives of these comic book writers than it does about anything else. And that is also something that absolutely CAN'T happen in the medium of film, where it'll reach a much more wide-ranging group of people and it'll have a much larger impact on pop culture than the comics ever would otherwise.

While there's definitely people like yourself who actually keep reading these stories because of the personalities of the characters, the strong way that they're written, the compelling drama, the stakes, and so on and so forth...I think it's extremely fair to say that most people don't look that deep. Most people don't care how strong of a character that someone like Wonder Woman actually is underneath. All they see is the cleavage, the DD breasts, the toned legs, the gorgeous face and flowing hair.

Obviously, I'm not advocating making the character 'ugly', but just tone down the inherent sexualization involved with all of this. It's unnecessary and it distracts most people from the things that truly make the character great. What's the point in dressing these characters up in such sexualized get-ups when all it does is deflect the conversation away from "what strives us to want to be like them"?

And all of this isn't even the main point of what I'm trying to say here. It's really silly to point out the sexualization of male characters (and as a result, dismiss the extremely important and much more pressing aspect of the sexualization of females). It does more far more harm than good.

And I know some folks will tell me I'm being way to serious about this and it's just comics and I should relax because it's not that important...but man. This entire mindset is just a stone's throw away from the flawed philosophy of "Men's rights", which is disturbing in and of itself. Not to mention how the recent shooter in California left behind extremely clear and definitive evidence that he advocated this philosophy, and that it spurred him on to take "vengeance" on random women that he felt "owed" him sex. Trust me, this is all very much part of the same problem. So harsh or not, I don't mean this to be a personal attack at all. Just stating my thoughts on an issue that's very personal to me and that I have very strong convictions about.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/24/2014, 11:12 PM
@BatManHeisenberg, Take it from me, those are incredibly important qualities to have in life...but especially on this site haha. Seriously though, both internet debates and face-to-face debates/discussions will go a lot smoother and will be far more enjoyable when one has the ability to look beyond themselves and see the other side of the argument. You seem like you have a handle on that, but I wish I had figured that out a lot sooner!
Vortigar
Vortigar - 6/24/2014, 11:25 PM
Oh jeez. This again.

Yes, there IS a difference. Its all geared toward the male fantasy.

The guys are types guys want to be and the girls are types that guys want to be with. Actual characters that are geared toward what girls would want to be or want to be with are few and far in between.

The rest of the babbling is just that. Babbling and excuses. (Street Fighter characters are a bad example due to cultural differences between Japan and the West. And even here you had to dig out Third Strike to find something that supports your theory. NO, look at SF2 instead, those are the icons. Leggy Chun-Li and skimpy suit Cammy as opposed to huge wrestlers, fat dudes, thin wiry stretchy guy, etc etc.)

Mysogyny is real and something we're slowly fixing. Feminism should mean only one thing and that's for things to be equal between men and women. Pick up a random comic book and count the number of things you can reasonably imagine a woman to be threatened by and a man to feel threatened by. That's not a 50/50 number.

'Modern' feminists, whatever the hell they are (they haven't even figured this out themselves) should be ignored as the waste of space they are. The fight is still important.

I'll not be back to this thread.
BawbScharf
BawbScharf - 6/25/2014, 12:41 AM
As someone who DOES have sexist tendencies and I am damn ashamed of it as women should absolutely NOT be treated like objects and should be equal, I feel the need to chime in here. Firstly, I grew up reading comics in the 90's DURING puberty and to say the way the women were drawn did NOT have an affect on me and the way I viewed women would be a god damn lie. It gave me the expectation of what a woman SHOULD look like. It set an unrealistic standard for women and what to expect from them physically ...and to ignore OTHER qualities because looks are the most important. Granted, it has gotten better as Gen 13 isn't really around anymore and as far as I know Rogue has been in a hood for most of the last decade and I believe psylocke is NOT wearing the thong-kini anymore. But to say that the way women are drawn does NOT have an effect on males and how they view women is unrealistic. When reading as a child I sure as hell didn't look at the male characters and say 'THAT is what I need to look like' because they were NEVER sexualized (unless Liefeld drew them but more often than naught that was a mistake)no matter what they wore.

As others have said, the intentions here are good ...but they are coming from the wrong perspective. Look no further than most comments section on this site and the breast and butt gifs as proof. They are never pecs of beef cake men nor is it of a guy on youtube clenching his butt cheeks. No, they are of women exploiting themselves because they believe that is what we, as a society, expect of them. And we were taught them from cartoons, comics, movies, and television. Comics are worse off because I do not think there was ever a main female character who wasn't sexualized in some way. I just do not get how one can say 'there is equality' when there is complete proof of it being the other way around.

As said, this comes from someone who acknowledges that he is a sexist and understands that he is WRONG in his way of thinking. I also acknowledge A LOT of that view point came from comics. There are a bunch who NEVER realize this and continue to see women in this way. Hell, look no further than the Anita Sarkisian debacle from last year when it comes to the slippery slope that is fanboy defensiveness of being told women are more than damsels in distress or T & A. It is PROOF that we as a society need to change and that media needs to change what we are being fed at a VERY early age.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/25/2014, 1:33 AM
A lot of you guys are making good points that I agree with and I'm not denying, the main point being the physical portrayal of women in comics can have negative effects, but my point was that there is a reason why its done(may not be a good reason but it keeps the money rolling in for the comic companies) and that there is two sides to the coin. Both the portrayal, physical that is, of cb women and men set unrealistic standards for how men and women should look and to deny that it goes both ways is simply not right. Still at the end of the day, for true cb fans what matters is the personality of the characters that we look up to.
BenjiWest
BenjiWest - 6/25/2014, 4:58 AM
Great article Rex. I think the shift has begun. The big two have been promoting the less sexualized heroine outfits as of late. DC is pushing characters like Stargirl, and Marvel with the new Ms. Marvel.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/25/2014, 5:03 AM
@doopie couldn't agree more.
@Benji its good that they are.
Pasto
Pasto - 6/25/2014, 5:17 AM
I feel like I missed something...
Pasto
Pasto - 6/25/2014, 5:30 AM
It's simple, we live in a day and age where women are looked at as objects and not people. Do men and women get treated equally? No. A women will be looked at differently than a man is looked at. And it's not only men that do this, sadly other women do this as well, but not the same way men do. SOME men will look at a hot chick with large breasts like "Damn, she is hot." Where as women will look at it like "Ugh, she is such a whore." And comics sadly don't help. Just look at the New 52's Starfire, she is basically an illustration of how SOME men look at women.

And feminism no longer is what it use to be. Before, feminism was a belief that women had where we should all be equal. Now it's changed to 'If you have a penis, you're a monster', and my skin crawls every time I see that.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/25/2014, 5:44 AM
@pasto so true, and also women will judge men the same way they do other women. Men will judge other men as well based looks and their personality but are more inclined to keep it to themselves. We all judge people and at point will treat them like objects, but how you do it is what makes it a problem. When I start judging people in my mind I keep it there and remember I don't actually know this person and try my best to keep myself from doing it and when I get where I start treating the people I may be judging like objects I stop and remember he/she is just as human as I am.

Your lying if you say that you don't at any extent judge and objectify others, whether you make it known or keep it to yourself.
Klone
Klone - 6/25/2014, 6:06 AM
WW's suit is fine, it's only artists and fans that WANT her tits and arse hanging out that give everyone the impression it is slutty. Honestly, I've seen more men take up issue with the leotard than actual women. All normal, non-comic fans I've encountered don't even think of whether it's slutty or not because they see nothing wrong with it same as how males don't label He-Man a slut.
Klone
Klone - 6/25/2014, 6:07 AM
Everyone that is attractive gets objectified with gender not mattering. It's not some evil, only-male conspiracy set out to destroy women or whatever.
tvor03
tvor03 - 6/25/2014, 6:22 AM
Men are drawn with revealing clothing to highlight their power and strength. It's not sexual. Women are drawn with revealing clothing to give sad men boners. It's as simple as that, and every argument against it is horribly contrived.

And female characters are not drawn like gymnasts or runners. Gymnasts are very short, even the men, and their careers are over before they hit 20. Also both gymnasts and runners have very small breasts, as larger ones tend to get in the way for athletics. Female comic characters are drawn with racks that would make Kate Upton jealous.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 6/25/2014, 6:42 AM
@tvor regardless of the intentions behind why the artist draw male character, they are still over sexualized and set unrealistic standards. I drew a poison ivy piece of her nude with vines covering her nipples and genitalia, it was meant to show the eloquence of her power, but it was still over sexualized, and that was a few months ago. I was trying to capture ivy's essccense so I didn't care what she wore. Its done sometime to female in cbs too.

Sorry but being taller than the average runner or gymnast doesn't mean they still doesn't have the same physiques and enlarging breast is common in female cb characters... Plus runners and gymnast wear compressive clothing which make their breast appear smaller than they are.
Klone
Klone - 6/25/2014, 7:06 AM
Look at Ross' WW. Not remotely "slutty"

Actually looks dignified and proud.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 6/25/2014, 7:34 AM
I'd take a look at this about "modern feminism" and what not.

http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/12/reasons-people-believe-feminism-hates-men/

It's quite informative.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 6/25/2014, 8:16 AM
Great link, BatManHeisenberg. A big reason why the term "feminist" is looked at with such hatred these days is because a small, but vocal minority of 'feminists' gave it a bad name. But again, and like that link states, it's NOT how feminism actually is, modern or not. It's just like Westboro Baptist Church giving ALL Christians a bad name, or the small minority of internet "atheists" who make ALL atheists seem like religion-hating, non-tolerating bigots.

Anyway, the root cause of all this is sexism, plain and simple. And actually, while I wouldn't go so far to call it "some evil, only-male conspiracy set out to destroy women or whatever", that's really not so far from the truth. Check out this quote from the link:

"The mixed feelings about addressing men’s issues tend to stem from the fact that “men’s issues” tends to be the default in our society. We’re a male dominant society.

Many feminists are concerned that addressing men’s issues (or gender issues as a broad goal) will move the conversation completely away from women’s issues, resulting in no progress for the women’s part of the gender progress.
"

That's EXACTLY what's happened here. The article itself (unintentionally, I'm sure) pushes away the undeniably legitimate matter of women's issues in order to focus on the men. Again, my Hunger Games example keeps being proven true over and over again.
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