A woman is running for president, athletes like Serena Williams are household names, and pop culture is replete with feminist heroines our foremothers could only dream about. Yes, generally speaking, it's a pretty good time to be a woman. The only problem is that we are still trying to overcome the sexism that is alive and kicking in the comic book industry. Boys read comic books, and girls should play with their pink Barbie dolls. The comic book industry is one place that still has not evolved as rapidly as we would all like, but it is trying. There are at least three types of sexism in the industry today, from the lack of women creators, the hypersexualized characters, and gender discrimination.
There is an enormous lack of female creators. …show more content…
Whether they are 45 or 15 all these female superheroes are objectified. These action-packed films typically feature a strong, capable, intelligent man fighting an evil force. The goal, of course, is to save humanity, but more often than not there is also an immediate need to rescue a damsel in distress. The female victim is typically delicate, naive, and defenseless, but at the same time sexy and beautiful. What she lacks in strength and cunning she makes up for in kindness and curves. It is not surprising (or insignificant) that she is often the object of the hero's affections. Pennell and Behm-Morawitz posited that exposure to these stereotypic female victims, whose primary appeal is sexual, may lower women’s body esteem, heighten the value they place on body image, and result in less egalitarian gender role beliefs and expectations. However, female characters have come a long way in the superhero genre, and it’s possible that the antidote to the helpless fair maiden is the competent, commanding superheroine. Still, today’s superheroines, like their female victim counterparts, are often unrealistic, sexualized representations of women figures, with large chests, curvaceous backsides, and unattainable hourglass dimensions. Their skin-tight outfits accentuate their sexuality with plunging necklines and bare skin.
With the lack of women creators to the hypersexualized
There is an enormous lack of female creators. …show more content…
Whether they are 45 or 15 all these female superheroes are objectified. These action-packed films typically feature a strong, capable, intelligent man fighting an evil force. The goal, of course, is to save humanity, but more often than not there is also an immediate need to rescue a damsel in distress. The female victim is typically delicate, naive, and defenseless, but at the same time sexy and beautiful. What she lacks in strength and cunning she makes up for in kindness and curves. It is not surprising (or insignificant) that she is often the object of the hero's affections. Pennell and Behm-Morawitz posited that exposure to these stereotypic female victims, whose primary appeal is sexual, may lower women’s body esteem, heighten the value they place on body image, and result in less egalitarian gender role beliefs and expectations. However, female characters have come a long way in the superhero genre, and it’s possible that the antidote to the helpless fair maiden is the competent, commanding superheroine. Still, today’s superheroines, like their female victim counterparts, are often unrealistic, sexualized representations of women figures, with large chests, curvaceous backsides, and unattainable hourglass dimensions. Their skin-tight outfits accentuate their sexuality with plunging necklines and bare skin.
With the lack of women creators to the hypersexualized