Sexism In Comics
Skin tight clothes, full, red lips, a small waist, voluptuous hips, and, of course, large breasts. This may seem like someone’s dream come true, but this is actually the description of almost all female comic book characters. In fact, up until recently, the only leading female roles in comics were the “damsels in distress” and the object of the superhero’s affections (which usually end up as “damsels in distress” more often than not). Some other common female roles in comic books are mother, sister, daughter, model, “hottie” girlfriend, “girl next door,” shrewd unmarried professional, prostitute, nurse, victim and the popular girl who ignores the hero.
When picking up a comic book one must realize that most comic books are written by heterosexual males, writing about heterosexual males, for heterosexual males. Therefore, the women in comics are drawn for these men. Women in comic books have similar features such as large and overly exposed breasts, very thin stomachs, muscular thighs, and the head, hands and feet are much smaller than normal. However, their features are so similar that if the characters were not in a specific costume and the hair was generic, you literally could not tell the female characters apart. This is not to say that men’s bodies are not exaggerated, however, their bodies vary and reflect the personalities and powers of the hero or villain. If pictures of Batman, the Hulk and the Joker (male superheros and villains) were placed side-by-side, the differences would stand out immediately. The Joker is not muscular in the least and wears baggy clothing. The Hulk is a huge, green, muscular man. Batman wears his distinctive black suit and cape fit with numerous gadgets. However, without their costumes, each character is drawn differently. Now, if pictures of Harley Quinn, Ms. Marvel and Power Girl were placed side-by-side the only thing you would notice is the different costumes. When these characters are in “street clothes” they look identical!
Gail Simone coined the term “women in refrigerators” after an incident in Green Lantern #54, in which Kyle Rayner (the hero) comes home to find that his girlfriend had been killed and stuffed in a refrigerator. Later this term evolved into “women in refrigerator syndrome” which is defined as the use of death or injury of a female comic book character as a plot device in a story starring a male comic book character. Harley Quinn was a major victim of abuse and death attempts by her boyfriend, the Joker. This was merely a plot device to show how crazy the Joker was.
Another problem facing females in comic books is their population. In the comic book world, the female population is less than 1/3 of the overall population. Men are usually used as “extras”, such as the bank teller when Clark and Lois go to try to cash Clark’s first check or the mechanic who fixes the batmobile.
The female mentality in comic books is a very interesting topic. When a female is victimized, her personality, world view, disposition and sense of self is never altered. Superman, for example, has almost killed Lois Lane several times and Lois will simply hug Superman afterward. It will be written in the book that Superman is filled with grief and anger but Lois doesn’t seemed bothered by the fact she could have died. Also, when a female character is kidnapped, she rarely demands answers for her own well-being. Instead, she demands answers on how the superhero is doing. This reiterates that fact that women are portrayed as little more than plot devices.
There is some good news for females in up-coming comic books. The comic book company DC is striving to make comics that are more appealing and less degrading to women. Gotham City Sirens and Birds of Prey are two comic book lines lead by very intelligent women. In Gotham City Sirens, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman have changed their previous lives of crime into that of a life of crime fighting. Also, Harley Quinn and the Joker are no longer together, freeing Harley Quinn from her long run with abuse and servitude. Birds of Prey is lead by the former Batgirl who was shot by the Joker and paralyzed. She is know known as the Oracle (a.k.a. Barbara Gordon) who is confined to a wheelchair and helps partners Black Canary (a.k.a. Dinah Lance), Huntress (a.k.a. Helena Bertinelli) and a few other female superheros with her amazing computer skills. In these comics, the superheros still have very form-fitting outfits on, however, not much skin is being shown. Also, the size of the characters breasts have decreased to a size that is, at least, plausible. These comics really give a sense of feminism.
Sexism in comic books has been an issue since comics were first made. However, no light was brought to the issue of sexism in comics until feminist movements began. Now, DC comics is making the first step to rid sexism from comics by making the story lines revolve more around the female superheroes. The artists on these comics are also drawing the female characters more proportionally. However, there is still quite a way to go before comics are rid of the complete patriarchy.
