@G-Man: I don't know if any women have weighed in on this yet, but a very practical person to ask about this is Babs. This would be an excellent topic to have her input on.
Donna Troy
Character » Donna Troy appears in 2244 issues.
First appearing as a Wonder Woman doppelganger, Donna Troy has become one of the most beloved characters in the DC universe. Following the New 52 reboot, she is re-imagined as the perfect Amazonian weapon born of clay to battle Wonder Woman for the throne of Themiscyra.
Off My Mind: Are Men Supposed To Stare At Revealing Costumes?
Of course it's because sexy women in skimpy outfits sells (seeing that most comic fans are men), but I've always liked to view it as it allows the women to distract the bad "guys" and get the upper hand. :-)
I don't feel I am really fit to comment here. I don't agree with the whole, "asking for it" argument, nor do I believe that choosing to wear revealing clothing should leave you immune to certain people staring at you.
Basically, I think it's all about recurrence and intent. If a woman wears a revealing outfit because she enjoys the way she looks in it and/or wants to look nice for the someone(s) she cares about, then by all means she has the right. Then again, if revealing clothing is worn, and repeatedly she gets upset because undesirables are staring, then maybe it is time for a wardrobe changed.
I don't know if any of that made any sense, I'm just trying to make the point that there is no easy answer.
I think it all comes down to being made to feel like an object. I think (ladies correct me if I'm wrong) being checked out is not what they have a problem with it 's when they are made to feel only like a sexual object instead of a person who also happens to be sexy.
"Maybe she is provoking villains to stare at her chest so that she has a reason to kick their butts... "
Okay - so this is kinda weird, but the question is are men supposed to look at the tight and body hugging outfits or super women? I say YES and NO- and here is why.....
Like Donna - (Donna's outfit is not all that bad -in my veiw) If she decides to show a little cleavige I think it can be that she is baiting her antagonist. It's like if you stare at her chest - she now just has that much more reason to kick the crap out of you. This boogeyman obiviously fell for the trap.I find that sometimes when a strong women wears an outfit that is revealing - it's to see if you are equally strong enough to maintain eye contact and see if you are more or less interested in the woman herself. Aspenite said it well.
Other Female comic types are dressed that way BECAUSE they want to be alluring. Mysique and Poisen Ivy are really good examples of this. It adds to their Siren likness and gives a "beautiful but deadly" quality to them.
Some tight outfits seem semi-functional - Like Catwoman or Rouge. The outfits they wear seem to actually be suited to the needs and abilities for the most part.
Then there are outfits that make no sense what-so-freakin ever. I can't beleive that no has yet to mention EMMA FROST. Seriously,what is the point of that outfit ? Is showing that she is such a great psychic because she can telepathicly keep that thing on? She is a Telepath! She could wear a suit and tie and be super hero ready. It can't be that she is trying to "Siren" it up because she is no longer a villian.
Sometimes - though- it's hard to say why a charecter is showing more or less cleavinge and the fact is it's probably to sell comics - Like Zatanna.
This for me sucks. I would love to dress up like one of my favorite characters for Halloween. But since I am a women I am going to stick to my gender to dress up. I want to be X-23, but if my claws break then BAM! I'm just some goth chick. But all in all as a female I can see wearing very little while kicking ass. I would even suggest all the heroines tying there hair back. I'd want to be comfy while killing. So I see it as comfy and sexy.
Heroines have surely always been faced with this "problem" - unless their costume is particularly conservative. Back in the Silver Age, I guess half of the female members of the LSH would spend as much time worrying about the view from below - as they - and their more appropriately clad colleagues flew into action - as they did about fighting crime! When the original Batgirl appeared for the first time, she swung high above the Caped Crusaders while her fly away skirt blew around her - no wonder Robin was bowled over! (Cover of Batman #139)
In modern comics, you are right to say that there are far more exploitative costumes than the one Donna Troy wears. We all know artists who will depict any heroine you care to name with little more than a thong for the bottom half of her costume. Trouble is, sex sells and if DC and Marvel think they will sell more comics by depicting the likes of Black Canary, Emma Frost (or whoever) in scantilly clad costumes, then they will do so. Which re-opens the whole are comics for kids, or adults debate and whether their should be warnings and gradings for certain issues and titles.
I'm also not a fan of the term "fem nazi". There's still a need for "feminism", and taking a few extreme examples of things some feminists have said (usually out of context) and calling all feminists "Nazis" is about as bad as calling all Muslims terrorists, in my books.
Beyond that, I agree with most of the comments that you're bound to get some looks in a revealing outfit, and it's the nature of the look that determines whether it crosses a line or not.
" I'd have to agree. As a woman whenever I wear a sexy outfit some people are going to look or stare. Admittedly, the only thing in female costumes that ever piss me off are the ridiculous heels. "Yeah, a skin tight suit makes sense in a mobility argument I guess, but I would imagine any gain from that would be lost trying to fight in high heels.
One of the lines on this article said fashion statement or a means of distraction, I would offer a 3rd-Get the attention of your target demographic ( men mostly, regardless of age). Since men are mostly visual in nature and just about anything with a scantily clad woman will get out attention they've hit the mark!
Well of course outfits are barely there. Look at Ms. Marvel riskay peice of fabric she calls clothing. The point is, super powers alone obviousely aren't enough, you gotta show some skin too.
"apparently superhero costumes were based off of circus costumes in the earlier years, and circus costumes apparently dont cover up very much. I believe Donna Troy's costume change was to make her look older. Most women in comics that are older have more revealing costumes. It helps make her look older when she has this kind of costume change. Writers try to find other reasoning for these costumes because people are always complaining about them. "
well said
The extreme amount of boobs in comics dosen't do anything for. It turns into a cheap thrill as opposed to something amazing. Powergirl for example she is amazing char but all people talk about is her boobs.
It gets old.
I don't know that she should expect anyone to stare; however, I think it would be somewhat unreasonable for her to be surprised when someone stared.
I like the waythe girls do their costumes. I mean just look at Powergirl, what man wouldn't stare at that during a fight.
Men will always look no matter what , friend or foe alike , a hero or will have that momentary thought about his female teammate but just for a second . But a villian on other hand , well that why villans they give in to those thoughts
Hey the sexiest costume I've ever seen in comics is Vampirella's costume, but I don't just buy Vampirella for that I also like the book. Also if I was living in the Marvel or DC Universe, had super powers and was on a team or just teaming up with Wonder Woman or Ms. Marvel, unless I had invulnerablity and could heal really fast, no way I'd even look anywhere but their face if I could help it.
It's not about whether or not people stare; it's about whether or not they are creepy, disrespectful, or rude when they do it.
I think the whole ludicrous coustume has a big advantage that alot of people take for granted, you have to remeber that alot of these people have secret identities so they dont really want you to remeber in exact detail what they look like so they wear these costumes to throw you off.
On a more serious note. Why do super heroines wear such *Ehem* "Family inappropriate" costumes if they don't want someone to look? I mean, up until very recently you could look up in the sky and get a peek at supergirl's underwear as she was flying around and Wonder woman wears nothing but a corset, didn't her mother tell her that's supposed to go under something? Their are definitely comfy and functional clothes they could wear if it was just a matter of moving around and most of them cover the entire body (sweatpants, sweatshirt etc)
Honestly it seems like they want the attention and the chance to show of their bodies.
" I don't feel I am really fit to comment here. I don't agree with the whole, "asking for it" argument, nor do I believe that choosing to wear revealing clothing should leave you immune to certain people staring at you. Basically, I think it's all about recurrence and intent. If a woman wears a revealing outfit because she enjoys the way she looks in it and/or wants to look nice for the someone(s) she cares about, then by all means she has the right. Then again, if revealing clothing is worn, and repeatedly she gets upset because undesirables are staring, then maybe it is time for a wardrobe changed. I don't know if any of that made any sense, I'm just trying to make the point that there is no easy answer. "I like this. Clothes in general influence how people view you, as well as how you feel about yourself. Forget the super hero thing for a moment, this can spread out to expression all around.
I've gotten to the point in my own life (/maturity I guess? not trying to toot my own horn.) that simply BOOBS doesn't cut it in terms of sexual attraction. Billions of women have NICE BREASTS or whatever, and I don't care. They are welcome, certainly, but I don't feel the need for immediate gratification by every woman I meet. That is for children, the little boys who haven't figured all that out yet. But there's a case of arrested development here. Sex sells to these people, who then grow up to do the exact same thing for a whole new generation of people, without even thinking about how stupid and terrible it is. Justifying it with "fill my hole" or calling you "gay" when you try to talk about the matter.
Anyone can draw a superhero woman with a focus on insane proportions. With that in mind, it's not special anymore. At first it's "Woah, she's hot!" but by now all these superheroines equal that same physical measure of "hotness" and none of it is attractive because they're all the same. Drawing massive cleavage is there to make up for deficiencies of a character. And a good character is way, way more sexy to me than generic comic book woman #17,492.
@ninjadude853 said:
Because some people like to use their minds critically when it comes to art." why does everyone look too far into this? its for the readers! "
No one asks you to examine things yourself, but there's a reason for everything whether subconscious or not, whether you feel like thinking about it or not. If the primary attitude of everything was "Hey, whatever, who cares!" then we never would have evolved past the most primitive stage.
This reminds me of the episode of THAT 70's SHOW where Donna and Jackie are sitting by the pool in their swimsuits and the little kid comes up and looks at Donna's cleavage.
I'm female, and I think, whether admitted or not, the reason why people, both male and female, wear the clothes they do, is to draw attention to themselves or to say something about themselves. IMO, wearing something revealing, is an invite to look. And seriously, wouldn't you be seriously disappointed if you dress up in something hot, and NO ONE noticed???
Of course, if people want to do more than look, like Mr. Lip Licker, than they shouldn't be surprised if THEY get a reaction. Like contempt. Or the finger.
My big complaint, is that men think it is fine for women in comics to be traipsing about in next to nothing for their viewing pleasure, but think the men need to be covered up. Double standard, much.
"On a more serious note. Why do super heroines wear such *Ehem* "Family inappropriate" costumes if they don't want someone to look? I mean, up until very recently you could look up in the sky and get a peek at supergirl's underwear as she was flying around and Wonder woman wears nothing but a corset, didn't her mother tell her that's supposed to go under something? Their are definitely comfy and functional clothes they could wear if it was just a matter of moving around and most of them cover the entire body (sweatpants, sweatshirt etc) Honestly it seems like they want the attention and the chance to show of their bodies. "
And... Superman runs around with bright red man-panties on top of his long underwear. You know who else runs around in long underwear? Pretty much every other male superhero so...
" I've gotten to the point in my own life (/maturity I guess? not trying to toot my own horn.) that simply BOOBS doesn't cut it in terms of sexual attraction. Billions of women have NICE BREASTS or whatever, and I don't care. They are welcome, certainly, but I don't feel the need for immediate gratification by every woman I meet. That is for children, the little boys who haven't figured all that out yet. But there's a case of arrested development here. Sex sells to these people, who then grow up to do the exact same thing for a whole new generation of people, without even thinking about how stupid and terrible it is. Justifying it with "fill my hole" or calling you "gay" when you try to talk about the matter.@Crazy Pan said:
Anyone can draw a superhero woman with a focus on insane proportions. With that in mind, it's not special anymore. At first it's "Woah, she's hot!" but by now all these superheroines equal that same physical measure of "hotness" and none of it is attractive because they're all the same. Drawing massive cleavage is there to make up for deficiencies of a character. And a good character is way, way more sexy to me than generic comic book woman #17,492.
@ninjadude853 said:Because some people like to use their minds critically when it comes to art. No one asks you to examine things yourself, but there's a reason for everything whether subconscious or not, whether you feel like thinking about it or not. If the primary attitude of everything was "Hey, whatever, who cares!" then we never would have evolved past the most primitive stage. "" why does everyone look too far into this? its for the readers! "
" I just don't like when the characters whine about it that people are looking as if it's totally inconceivable that a person, especially a VILLAIN, would look. "@They Killed Cap! said:
" The extreme amount of boobs in comics dosen't do anything for. It turns into a cheap thrill as opposed to something amazing. Powergirl for example she is amazing char but all people talk about is her boobs. It gets old. "@darkrein said:
" On a more serious note. Why do super heroines wear such *Ehem* "Family inappropriate" costumes if they don't want someone to look? I mean, up until very recently you could look up in the sky and get a peek at supergirl's underwear as she was flying around and Wonder woman wears nothing but a corset, didn't her mother tell her that's supposed to go under something? Their are definitely comfy and functional clothes they could wear if it was just a matter of moving around and most of them cover the entire body (sweatpants, sweatshirt etc) Honestly it seems like they want the attention and the chance to show of their bodies. "all good comments...
I have to say that the new Birds of Pray is just overdone when it comes to cheesecake. I mean I like skimpy but the arts just ridiculous over there.
I don't really think so. To me, Superman's costume showcases the fact that he is a Super-man. It's skin-tight so that it can show off the fact that he's big and strong and masculine. At the same time Wonder Woman's costume shows off the fact that she is big and strong and indeed a woman. The costume has never been entirely about sex-appeal to me, although I understand that that is part of it. To me, it has always mostly been about the fact that she knows she's female and she's not ashamed of it.
I'm definitely gonna say low-cut is a tactical advantage. I do martial arts, and my Sensei ones made quite a point out of the fact, that if you can make your enemy pause for half a second, it's all the time you need to cut him/her down. He also pointed out, that the means of distraction can be anything from a bell and flashy clothes, to bosoms and your "junk".
In mortal combat, all tricks are fair. ^^
Plus those outfits makes some real good fan-service. ^^
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