More importantly, and getting to the point of the pictures linked to be Johanna, how often do you see the guys posed in a way that makes it look more like they’re modeling for an underwear catalogue? Or, as has been the case with some cheesecake artists, look like the image was photoreferenced from more adult-oriented material?

[...] Comics have a shameful history of depicting women as sex objects. Many female characters are nothing but a bundle of boobs and legs and flowing hair. Comics Worth Reading has linked to a blog entry entitled If Male Heroes Were Sex Objects. I love it. This is social commentary with a sense of humor. [...]

These pictures are shocking (they wouldn’t get so much discussion if they represented some form of the status quo) because we don’t normally see Green Lantern, Superman or Batman sexualized in that manner and that makes one wonder why that is the case.

Does this show that some comic artists don’t consider the interests of readers who appreciate the male form (implying that the books that these artists work on aren’t aimed at a wider audience)?

To be frank, I don’t think it’s a bad thing if there’s a bias of which gender is sexualized in a comic. However, when I find that bias appropriate, they’re in comics meant for a specific audience, like yaoi manga, with other audiences being disregarded. The big problem comes when this angle (where one audience is shown preference) appears in comics that are supposed to be “mainstream” and appeal to various demographics.

Scott, you’re over-dramatizing. LiveJournal’s —-> that way. :)

Seriously, you may not have intended to minimize the issue, but the things you were saying are often used that way by others, which is why I’m suspicious of them.

Gail

;-P

[...] In the discussion about sexism in superhero comics at Comics Worth Reading, I mention Birds of Prey. What I would have liked to add was that I recall Gail Simone joking that the BoP fans who had issues with Ed Benes art should just wait for an issue where she’d have Benes draw a couple of the guys oil wrestling to provide balance, a promise that (to my knowledge — if it did happen I’d love to hear it) wasn’t met during Benes’ run. Unfortunately, I can never think of Google search terms that wouldn’t leave me fearful at checking the results. [...]

as for my comment, im sorry, i mean no offense by that truly but villainize me if you must. but to me, when something traverses several of the many blogs and sites i peruse then it is something more than buisness as usual. its a “hubbub” or whatever vernacular happens to be popular in your neck of the woods. and considering the 2 i mentioned pertaining to miller were and are largely being addressed by women, i dont think i was offensive as much as observant.

Gail

genderads.com has some good examples of objectification in the advertising industry. Along with a few examples of male objectification, but they are certainly more difficult to find.

so is it okay for women to draw cheesecake but not men? maybe, it seems to be okay for black people to call each other “nigga”.

what i find really interesting is there are alot greater offenders of the practice out there than frank miller, yet this is the second time this year that an image of his has caused a hubbub with some women on the comics blogosphere. why? because he is one of the living legends? one of the big names? so for that reason he should be above doing what he has done his entire career? frank miller doesnt owe anyone anything, when youve made it like he has you do what you want unapologetically.

as a man, i find some comics images of women offensive. actually, i find it more embarrassing than anything, that someone who dwells in a world of such retarded sexuality and myself read similar things for entertainment. but i also enjoy some cheesecake, and why shouldnt i? im a man after all :) the thing is, miller does it well, as do a few others. whereas most it almost seems like a despicable crutch.

unfortunately, this type of imagery is everywhere to the point that it is easy for most to accept as commonplace and normal, perhaps even demand it. watch tv, pick up a magazine etc….should comics be held to a higher standard? maybe. i think the bottom line for me right now is that this type of thing isnt all that is out there. i read a diverse lot of comics.theres many thatdont stoop to this level. neither does public radio or television, but we all know where the money is.

sex sells, and most people are buying. including quite alot of women, and more than one is in there making a few bucks off it as well. is it right? not necessarily, and im not saying just accept it because thats the way it is is the right thing to do either. but i also dont think making sweeping statements about men and assumptions about those who point it out is the way to go either.

Mely, they don’t recognize what they’re doing, or we wouldn’t have to talk about this problem in the first place.

Lyle, great example. BOP could have been a terrific crossover book, but the kinds of artists that get put on books about superhero women too often sacrifice story for crotch shots.

All that is besides the point, however, which is how disruptive these images can be in a story. The parody covers make this point well — I’ve trained myself (to a degree) to overlook the excesses (and it’s the excesss that’s an issue, as well as the double standard) but I find it distracting in this case because I haven’t had to ignore distracting, sexually idealized depictions of men to enjoy Birds of Prey.

So far, the most male-objectification I’ve seen in superhero comics was in the Arsenal mini-series with Rick Mays art… and that didn’t get in the way of the story.

Hm, I’m thinking it’s time to start campaining for Patrick Fillion (either he or an imitator did those Axe deodorant ads that were appearing in comics a few months back) to work on BoP…