Super Discrimination

Posted by Meg Allison, 05/29/08 03:00 PM

Comic books have long been a man’s domain — or so they say.

Most are written by men; drawn by men if the stacked and half-naked female characters are any indication; and read or at least marketed toward men. Yeah, okay, we have Jughead, Sabrina, Wonder Woman and the Archies, but come on! A lot of girls want hot heros in spandex!

Give me almost any buff-and-ready rendition of Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Wolverine, etc, and I’ll introduce you to a boatload of women — young and mature — who have at least one favorite super-hottie. The one they secretly watch on the late-night cartoon station. The one about whom they have very adultlike fantasies.

BUT, can you find even one decent Batman shirt in the women’s department? Superman, sure, he’s the all-American symbol, right? But the Dark Knight is almost non-existent outside the BOYS aisle.

Batman represents the best in the flawed hero. There’s just something about the deep raspy voice; the mask; the cape; the attitude; the angst! He’s enough to make a girl swoon…and who does that anymore? Not to mention he’s also super-smart, great with gadgets, and loaded. Batman is perfect imperfection. The perfect “save me” hero.

Yet, everything from the Dark Knight toys to candy to clothes are marketed toward the decidely testosterone-filled set. Good. Great. But don’t forget who spends the real money in America:

Women. Women with secret superhero fantasies in mind and the family checkbook in fist. Women who’d rather not wear their son’s Batsignal tee-shirt because it just doesn’t fit the curves.

It’s discrimination of the smallest kind, sure, but nonetheless it’s just plain wrong.

Category: , | 05/29/08 03:00 PM
|

Comments: [8]

  1. 1 Moira Rogers

    This is well timed, since I was just posting links to a contest where you can win a copy of my friend’s new release tomorrow…a sexy superhero story. (Or superheroine story, as the case may be. She’s got a sexy supervillian to contend with!)

    I, for one, plan to be first in line to buy tickets to the new Wolverine movie. (Oh yes, he’s the hero who owns my secret heart.) If someone gives me a character like that, I’ll give them my money. Lots of it!

    Comment by Moira Rogers · May 29, 04:31 PM
  2. 2 Angie the Hippo

    I don’t so much care for the whole spandex thing on men… now, if they have a nice chest with some normal size muscles the guys are welcome to take their shirts off, however! ;)

    And now I want a Batman shirt! :)

    Comment by Angie the Hippo · May 29, 04:40 PM
  3. 3 Sherry Jones

    I’m with you, Meg. Batman. Batman, all the way.

    Dark, broody, brilliant, heroic, but very flawed. And guess what? No super powers, except for exceptional brain power.

    And his bat signal is really cool. ;)

    I’ll take a size medium in grown ladies sizes, please!

    Comment by Sherry Jones · May 29, 06:15 PM
  4. 4 Denise Agnew

    I’m totally looking forward to The Dark Knight this summer, and the Woverine movie…oh, yeah. I’ll take that gown in small to medium, depending on the size. :)

    Denise A. Agnew

    Comment by Denise Agnew · May 29, 06:33 PM
  5. 5 Meg Allison

    Angie, most men look a bit … odd in spandex. But shirtless? Yes! Much preferred. ;)

    Well, ladies, I think we need to make our voices heard to the marketing people … either that or start making our own shirts, etc.

    Looking forward to The Dark Knight … and Wolvervine? First I’ve heard of this! That’ll definitely go on my ‘must see’ list. (GGGG)

    Comment by Meg Allison · May 29, 08:09 PM
  6. 6 Tina

    I’ll take an XL shirt, please. I was wondering the same thing the other day when I was shopping. My 11 y/o and I just walked to the boys t-shirt section and picked a couple out for her. She’s definitely not a Hello Kitty type.

    When is Wolverine coming out? I’ll take him over Batman any day. Sorry, I will. ;)

    Comment by Tina · May 29, 09:47 PM
  7. 7 Beth Shriver aka Scifibookcat

    I know what you mean. How sexist is that. It was that way with Star Wars too! There are lots of girls/women who love scifi. Check out Hot Topic and Torrid (http://www.hottopic.com & http://www.torrid.com) for cool tees with awesome graphics including Batman and Indiana Jones. I’ve been buying stuff for my daughter there for years.

    Comment by Beth Shriver aka Scifibookcat · May 30, 02:05 AM
  8. 8 Meg Allison

    Hey, Tina! Wolverine is very nice, too. ;)

    Beth, thanks so much for the links! I will definitely check them out. Btw, the heroine for my wip is named Beth. :) Always loved that name.

    Cheers!

    Comment by Meg Allison · May 30, 04:16 PM

Comments are closed for the article