I’m a comic book fan, female and feminist. It’s not always easy for these identities to intersect.
Sometimes, I think that comics are changing, that this is a new era in which I can be a female comics fan and not have to deal with the rampant sexism that has plagued comics for so long. And it’s true, comics have come a long way, with Ms. Marvel, Jessica Jones, Squirrel Girl, Moon Girl and Storm from Marvel and Batgirl, Batwoman and Wonder Woman from DC. This year, we are getting the first female led comics movie in years with the new Wonder Woman movie. We have comics like Marvel’s A-Force which is an all female superhero team and DC’s Birds of Prey and Bombshells. We have independently published comics like Lumberjanes, Faith and Strong Female Protagonist that show strong, independent women representing diverse identities. Marvel has a Muslim- American woman writing a series about a Muslim-American teen, and they’re about to have their first black woman writer.
But it’s not all good news. As often as I am encouraged by the progress comics have made, I am faced with another instance of sexism in comics. From poorly written characters to objectifying art, I am frequently disappointed in the continuation of sexism in comics. Even some of the aforementioned comics such as A-Force and Bombshells exhibit unrealistic, sexualized body types in what would otherwise be feminist comics. I have often taken pictures of objectifying art in comics to send to friends in indignation, disappointed by tiny waists, revealing costumes and well-endowed chests. I want women in comics that look like real women, that represent different skin colors and body types, that wear costumes that would actually hold up in a fight. I am grateful for heroes like Jessica Jones, who fights in her leather jacket and beat-up jeans, and Cindy Moon (Silk) who is an Asian-American woman who regularly goes to therapy. Both women have PTSD, and their struggles are realistically portrayed.
On the other hand, we have comic book covers that objectify women such as this controversial Spiderwoman cover and this now pulled Ironman cover. I am disheartened by these covers that sexualize these powerful women and reduce that power to their sex appeal. Looking at the Spiderwoman cover, not only is her body type incredibly unrealistic but her pose is physically impossible and unbelievably sexualized in the way it showcases her body. I am even more disappointed in the cover featuring the new Ironman, black teenager Riri Williams. I have been excited for this comic since it was first announced, and am deeply saddened to see this black teenager so objectified and sexualized. Comics constantly takes one step forward and two steps back with racist, sexist and inappropriate portrayals like this and I’m tired of it.
On a different note, I was excited about this Mockingbird cover, but saddened by the response in the comic book realm. The front and center featuring of a feminist statement excited me, and I loved the blatant feminism being brought into comics in a way I hadn’t seen it before. However, many comics fans did not agree with me. The response to the cover was overwhelmingly negative, and caused writer Chelsea Cain to leave Twitter because she received so many cruel, misogynistic messages. Not only that, when she tried to respond to the criticism of the cover and the way she’d been mistreated by the comics community, she faced even more backlash. Even other comics authors were quick to say that she was overreacting, and saying that the response isn’t indicative of a systematic problem in comics (spoiler alert: it is). This whole situation was a perfect microcosm of the difficulties faced as a feminist in the comic book sphere.
I am tired of this sexism. I am tired of sexy costumes and unrealistic poses to show off women’s bodies. I am tired of backlash against powerful women in comics. I am tired of men writing female characters. I'm tired of spending money that supports a misogynistic industry. Comics has a problem, and it is time to make a change.
