Essay On Portrayal Of Women In Watchmen

In “The Female Link: Citation and Continuity in Watchmen” by Erin M. Keating, the author adds to the discussion of women in comics by negating that Watchmen was not an example of “the revisionary superhero narrative” because women were still being represented as conservative. Watchmen does not address the societal gender identities but rather it continues the gendered identities that were already in comic books. “In Adult Comics: An Introduction, Roger Sabin describes women in comic books as ‘‘invariably either plot devices (there to be rescued) or sex symbols (all plunging necklines and endless legs)’’. The author describes that Wonder Women was created as a sex symbol to appeal to male leadership by her creator, William Marston. Unlike Wonder …show more content…
The Effects of Sexualized Female Characters in Superhero Films on Women” by Hillary Pennell and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, the authors differ by conducting a study to examine the influence of depictions of female in superhero films. Superheroines can be empowering toward their audiences. Superheroines such as Storm and Mystique from X-Men have this affect due to them being physically strong, confident, and intelligent. Despite they are seen as sex objects from their sexual appeal, they display disdain for feminine modesty in a manner that empowers the audience. However, sexualization of characters tends to reinforce gender roles beliefs in female audiences. One main theme in superhero films is the theme of objectification. The objectification theory details that the media encourages the sexualization and objectification of women by the use of women’s bodies being objectified in media such as magazines and television. In the study by Aubrey et al. (2009), the research examined the effects of female objectification in American music videos. The study found that participants who saw high objectification of females had more negative attitudes about sexual harassment than participants who saw low objectification of females. The present study’s results did not reveal a direct correlation between exposure to the sexualized-victim female characters in the superhero films and gender role beliefs. However, the study did produce that the group of …show more content…
Bushman, the researchers differ by conducting an experiment to produce results detailing the effects of video games on an individual. According to the article, empathy is used to rate the participant’s responses to the games. In a previous study that utilized the game Grand Theft Auto (GTA), male characters are seen as aggressive ad dominant while female characters are submissive and weak. The purpose of the females is to entertain the male characters. For example, the females can be abuse and murdered by the ales, yet the male will be rewarded for their actions instead of punished. This led to a decrease in empathy amongst participants. This came from the participants being more tolerant of sexual harassment amongst females and females being more likely to view themselves as sex objects as a result of the game. The researchers built upon similar previous research by expounding on the question of how identification with the game character in violent sexist games affected the participant’s empathetic attitudes toward female violence victims. The results showcased that the research was conclusive with previous research revealing that video games have the ability to desensitize individuals as well as reinforce masculine beliefs to