1. Strong Female Superheroes Undermine the Current Form of Masculinity
View this video on YouTube
While Fantastic Four (2015) didn't do too well (Rotten Tomatoes), their comic counterparts have been popular since the 1960s. However, in the 1960s some readers wanted the fourth member, Sue Storm, out (D'amore). Even though Sue Storm was considered one of the most powerful female superheroes, her most 'valuable' power seemed to be her body and her ability to boost team morale (D'amore). During the 60s she was portrayed as weaker and her power of invisibility was a curse. She was frequently captured to the point that a campaign began to remove Sue Storm from the Fantastic Four. As you can tell, that didn't happen. However, this speaks on the treatment of female superheroes. They are meant to be admired and to work as a housewife figure, nothing else. If they're just a strong as men, if they work like men, if they are deviating from the 'norm' then masculinity is undermined. If women deviate from their role as a nurturer and take on the role of defender they are not a 'damsel in distress' that men assume they are. If women can be what is considered masculine this invisible division of men and women falls away. Michael Lavin explores the role of strength and dependence in Women in Comic Books. Superheroes like Supergirl are told that even if they're strong, they will still depend on someone. Superman vows to care for Supergirl like a big brother even though "it hardly seems like anyone with Supergirl's formidable powers would need looking after by anyone" (Lavin). And so the female characters are in this awkward situation. They're strong but they are still shown as needing to rely on someone.
2. The Current Portrayal of Female Superheroes Rests on Biological Determinism
Biological determinism states that based on gender, a person is hardwired differently. In the case of women, it dictates that women are hardwired to be submissive, non-aggressive, and naturally domestic. And, in their naturally submissive nature, something to be looked at. Sue Storm is a major case for this. The best power a female superhero could have is the power to be the quiet housewife. Take The Fantastic Four #21 (1963) where Sue is overcome with the desire to clean which hints at the 'naturally domestic' nature of women. Maryjane Dunne from Portland State University examines the alter egos of superheroes in The Representation of Women in Comic Books, Post WWII Through the Radical 60s. Upon their inception, most female superheroes lacked the professional roles men had. Invisible Girl and Wasp were just girlfriends and Catwoman worked odd jobs (Dunne). In the case of Wonder Woman, she was 'feminized' upon the creator's death to fulfill a more traditional role of female superheroes. She went from a powerful army nurse to a mostly powerless secretary (Dunne). This whole aspect of presenting female superheroes as less powerful in the workplace rests on the ideology that men and women play different roles in life. Men like Batman get major companies. Women like Invisible Girl get a husband.
3. The Wardrobe of Female Superheroes Works Primarily to Satisfy the Male Gaze
Honestly, just look at the outfit differences between male and female heroes. The amount of skin shown by Sue versus her male peers is extremely disproportionate. Laura Mattoon D'amore points out a scene where Sue is seen in a bikini getting dressed while Dr. Reed is shown fully clothed in her piece on the invisible woman in Americana: The Journal of American Pop Culture, 1900 to Present (D'amore). Wonder Woman doesn't wear pants in a majority of her renderings and sleeves are a no-go. It could be argued that Wonder Woman doesn't need this layer of protection, but neither does the fully clothed Superman. One of the writers for Wonder Woman, William Messner-Loebs highly objectified Diana. He "kept making her more...um...hot? Wearing thongs" something many of his male peers appreciated (Cocca). In his eyes, the less clothing the more money (Cocca). Wonder Woman, more importantly her body, was a tool to be exploited for financial gain.
4. Modern Comics Conform to a Singular Identity
View this video on YouTube
In the 1960s, The Fantastic Four had a mostly male audience (D'amore). Most comics had a mostly male audience and a mostly male cast. Edward Avery-Natale's study of over 70 years of DC comics points to the male monopoly on the industry as a reason the industry is as it is. This male monopoly "results in gendered narratives that reflect the imaginings of these males with almost no consideration whatsoever for the intervention of women" (Avery-Natale). Female comic books readers exist. Go to any Comic-Con and I can promise you you'll find at least one female there. Marvel and DC's latest movies and television shows are bringing new fans to comic books by allowing them a way to get started. However, as a 2015 article in The Guardian cites that "53% of Facebook users who 'liked' comics, graphic novels and various other iterations of the term used for the statistics were female" (The Guardian). This ignorance of the female readership is isolating the female reader. This could lead for bad news for the companies. If the female readers stop, they lose a huge part of their readers. In the case of Wonder Woman under Messner-Loebs, he introduced a bloodier and sexier Wonder Woman and the audience became more male and heterosexual (Cocca). He managed to isolate an entire group. By choosing to cater to a specific group not only does he lose money but he also conforms to a singular identity. The comics are catered to a white, heterosexual male and if there is slight deviation, there is suddenly a feeling of exclusion from the piece.
5. Comics Reflect the Ideals of Society at the Time and Can Foster a Gender Divided Community
View this video on YouTube
Comic books have been around for sometime now and the ideals of the 1960s are not the same as the ideals of the 2010s. As seen by D'amore with Sue Storm, as time went on so did her capabilities (D'amore). Edward Avery-Natale's An Analysis of Embodiment Among Six Superheroes in DC Comics from Social Thought and Research examines the shift in superhero appearance. He notes how "the bodies of superheroes have become far more sexualized, exaggerated, and unrealistic in recent years" (Avery-Natale). Jerry Siegel, one of the creators of Superman, stated that "Superman represented the stereotypically idealized male body type and potential for power" and goes on to say that his inspiration came from his "childhood desire to be 'real terrific' so that girls would like him." (Avery-Natale's) In Cineaction Sabine Lebel reflects on how comics are now a part of our culture, "they have become iconic symbols...in popular culture to mobilize and reflect themes, tensions, and anxieties of American ideology in terms of genre, gender, sexuality, class, politics…" (Lebel). Wonder Woman is another key example of the shifts in ideology. Under her original creator, she was well on her way to being a key symbol for powerful women. However, once her creator died, she was handed to other writers who stripped her of her powers and made her a secretary. Later on, her powers were restored (Dunne). So the less powerful role of female superheroes in the 50s and 60s is not too far off from the reality for women at the time. This idea of there being separate paths for men and women and different representations of the two only works to create a gender division. It can incite insecurity in the female readers as they feel the need to conform to a lifestyle like their idols.
6. Hypersexualization in Comic Books and Lack of Diversity in Comic Books is Promoting a Mythical Norm
View this video on YouTube
In the case of Sue Storm, the demands of readers saved her. She gained more powers and became a more valuable asset to the team (D'amore). However, there has been many demands for the reduction of breasts in female superheroes. In particular, Jodi Picoult requested for the breasts of Wonder Woman to be reduced to seem more realistic in 2006 (Avery-Natale). These requests were denied. In fact, editors of DC Comic's denied several of these requests from fans (Lebel). However, it wasn't just the comic book companies restricting equality. The Comics Code Authority job was to maintain the content of comic books. "The Comics Code Authority had now legal authority over publishers" but "many distributors refused to carry comics unless they came with the Comic Codes seal of approval" (Dunne). With the rise of the CCA came the downfall of Wonder Woman's strong feminist image (Dunne). On top of that, the CCA came along before superheroes like the Wasp or Invisible Girl. This could bring a clear explanation for their mostly love interest title. The comic books creators do listen to the wants of the people, on occasions. DC's Batgirl became more powerful as the women's liberation movement took off, Invisible Girl became a powerful Invisible Woman, and Wonder Woman got her powers back (Dunne). The characters themselves get passed around between writers. Ultimately, the writers determine their fate. George Perez, a writer for Wonder Woman, worked to diversify the character; "he drew Diana as more 'ethnic' to show that 'she is not American'" and he hinted at inter-Amazonian relationships (Cocca). During this time, fans were happy with the direction the heroine's story was taken. Most negative comments just demanded even more tolerance. The next writer for Wonder Woman, William Messner-Loebs, took a far different approach. He hypersexualized Wonder Woman and worked to make her what he wanted, a hot chick (Cocca). Marston, the original creator, wasn't entirely pure either. Though he wanted to create a strong female lead, he also had a fixation on showing bondage type situations (Lavin). Many critics interpret her Lasso of Truth to allude to sexual control (Lavin). This cookie-cutter, hypersexualized woman is promoting a 'mythical norm'. It appears like everyone is like that when in reality, very few are. For those not in the mythical norm they feel inferior. In this circumstance, the small waists and huge boobs of female superheroes and the subsequent approval from the male gaze makes female readers feel like they need to match those proportions.
7. Not All Superheroes are Created Equally and it Has to Do with Gender
In Avery-Natale's in-depth study of six DC characters, he read up on how they were created. Most importantly, he followed how male and female bodies were coded in comic design. With the aide of the Wizard Entertainment "How to Draw" guide, created by those in the comic book industry, he discovered the distinct differences in focus. He found that "lips, facial expressions, and hairstyles were...coded using the guide's discussion on how to make women appear 'sultry'" (Avery-Natale). While this was also coded for men, it "generally went unobserved" (Avery-Natale). Female superheroes, especially up until the 70s followed a much more cookie cutter idea than their male counterparts. In terms of careers, they rarely had professional positions. Most of them were love interests (Dunne). There wasn't as much variance for them as there was for their male counterparts. This can stem from the use of female characters in comics outside of superhero worlds. For some, female comic book characters because the equivalent of porn. It offered a different way to 'girl watch'. In this circumstance female characters were literally being drawn to cater to the male gaze and became more scantily clad as time went on (Lavin).
Share This Article
