We're Not Gonna Take It
In the last few months in comics, female readers, professionals and critics have been expressing their discontent over the way the industry has treated them, both on and off the page. Inarguably, this is justified. Sex sells and superhero comics in America have been a boy's club for a long time. This has resulted in an imbalance of exploitation and the growing pains of integration in many areas in our books, interviews and in our conventions.
Sometimes the hand of revolution wields a hammer where a scalpel is better suited and angst is allowed to lead in place of measured, problem solving thought. Applying blanket, abstract ideas and lumping people's actions together is distracting and divisive. It's understandable that many women are hurt by insulting stereotypes and depictions, but expressing that hurt in place of a reasoned dialogue might slow progress.
Mr. Me Too
Personally, I'm interested in progress, and I mean that literally. It may sound like a pandering platitude to say that I have a lot of female friends in the industry, or that an above average portion of my fans are female, but I do and they are. I've consulted with some of them, asking their opinions on opportunities for characters and women in the industry, and the replies represented a diversity that illustrates the complexity of the issue.
Not only do I always want to be respectful of them, but I have my own tastes to consider as an artist and storyteller. I like strong, complex female characters that reveal a truth about real women. Male characters with a female shell and no vulnerabilities appeal to me almost as little as stripper heroines gyrating their way through fight scenes. At the same time, I am a straight male and I do love the beauty of women. It's obvious in all of my work and the more I create, the more that love will be represented. I try to depict the characters as they are. Some are strong, some vulnerable, some care how they look, some don't and hopefully readers see some of themselves in that.
When discussing the issue of female characters, professionals and creators, I'm invested and have to consider myself a potential part of the problem or solution. It affects my friends, my work and my enjoyment of reading the work of my peers. All things considered, I hope we can improve the discussion.
The Boobies with the Bathwater
We need to be fair, but free. The problem is the mainstream perception and treatment of female characters is unflattering, insulting and dishonest. The dishonesty is the key to the solution. Frankly, some books are going to be from and for the boys' locker room. Guys shouldn't be robbed of the freedom of saying "chicks" and "boobs" and reading books that indulge these aspects of the human experience. Is this the most noble expression of storytelling? Of course not, but comics are entertainment and entertainment can be an opiate and if we want people to dig into their pockets and spend their hard earned cash, we must give them the right to buy whatever they want.
The New 52 DC Relaunch has been the primary target of criticism. In Laura Hudson's passionate call for balance, she addressed the depictions in Catwoman, Voodoo and the Red Hood book with Starfire. I wish Wonder Woman had been included in the article for the sake of contrast. In many ways, Wonder Woman doesn't represent the problems being addressed in the article, but she does represent the DC relaunch. If the relaunch is referred to in general language, then a full and fair depiction of DC's various creative voices should be represented. This is not to disparage the passion or hurt any female reader feels when looking at demeaning imagery, but to take that hurt and focus it towards applicable solutions.
Putting the Hero back in.
An important specific point that Laura made strikes the heart of the discussion. To paraphrase: Superhero comics are aspirational, and the depictions of these characters don't represent what women should aspire to be. That's pretty spot on, but it's only reasonable to mention that Catwoman and Voodoo are not superheroes. Voodoo has been a stripper for over a decade and a half so seeing her strip on splash page shouldn't really be a part of the discussion. Catwoman presents a more interesting problem, because it seems like people are more upset with the execution then the actual root content of the story. Still, Catwoman is a criminal and while we should discuss how she's handled, it shouldn't be within the context of her living up to an ideal. Like the Punisher, she's a cool character that doesn't bear the burden of being a role model.
Starfire, while not an iconic superhero, represents the disease more truthfully. For the reader's attention, she's twisting this way and that, pointing the rewards of puberty wherever we care to look. It's not a part of the scene, it's just the way Kenneth draws. Kenneth is a buddy of mine, being a Top Cow alum, and it's worth mentioning that he's one of the nicest guys you'll meet, and has more fun drawing than most of the industry. Divorced from this issue, watch Kenneth draw and you'll see that it'd be a crime to police anything that he puts down on paper, gyrations and all. The solution? It's up to the editors to figure out what books are appropriate for Kenneth and his ever growing audience. Was Starfire the right place? That's for the critics to decide.
The only way to police this is for creators and editorial to be honest and respectful when they tell stories. The tales can be about sex, or very flawed characters who happen to be women, but you know as a creator when you are shoehorning those elements into your story. When these elements are in a story, critics need to step back and consider what that story is about.
Eye rolling at D-cups isn't going to cut it anymore.
We need to speak up about books that handle female characters well and represent the ideals that female readers and creators aspire to. Specifically, we need females in the industry, pros and fans to be very vocal about the successes, perhaps even more so than the times we fall short. For dollars and cents, we need those books to do well so that the bottom line folks are encouraged about promoting these positive creators and characters. For every article about Starfire, there needs to be two about female heroes you like. Some culprits of exploitation are just running on autopilot and following the traditions of sexism in comics without meaning any harm. Forming a clear vision and direction for the future of positive, honestly depicted, strong women in comics is essential if we want things to improve.
Next Part: The Boobie Issue, Penciler in the Headlights
