Sexualized Superheroes

Superheroes, villains and comics have been around for a long time. Within the last several years, however, Hollywood has brought them into an even brighter, mainstream light. From the recently released Wolverine Origins (and its three respective X-men films) to the many makes of Batman, including The Dark Knight (which brought in over sixty-seven million in the box office on the first night of release back in July 2008) these types of movies have become quite popular. As any form of popular media, these images are prevalent in our daily lives and, even with the obvious fantasy world in which these heroes live, the images become our reality. The bodies, costumes, and even powers of these superheroes have represented our culture's ideal, particularly within gender roles.

These kinds of movies have an appeal to many with their mixture of action, romance, and the most important "good triumphs evil" ideology. Something as widely spread and well liked as a superhero should not be overlooked without studying critically the views that are being reinforced, recreated, or represented. As James Lull reminds us, "mass media's social influence is not always recognized, discussed, or criticized" (1995).

Let's first consider this image of Batgirl, Batman and Robin and what these characters costumes say about their masculinity or femininity. Much of Batman and Robin's costume is made solid, while Batgirl's crime fighting outfit is primarily some sort of stretchy form fitting material. It appears that the only solid parts of her costume include her breast cups and the tops of her thigh high boots (not seen in the picture; she sports solid high-heels as nearly all other female superheroes do). All characters are thin and toned. Batgirl's suit is ribbed, much like a corset, to enhance the flatness of her stomach and both Batman and Robin have muscles seemingly so defined, that they must be manufactured in their suits (it is a wonder Bruce Wayne doesn't have to manufacturer his shirts that way).

Frequent in the super world are female superheroes and villains portrayed as very sexual or seductive, most frequently in dress, but often in personality. Although it is important for women to understand that sexuality is something they are allowed to express, it contributes to a long standing representation of women: madonna versus the whore (Mayne). The super heroes may display their sexuality through their dress, but only the villains (or partial villain, in the case of Catwoman) are actually seductive.

Both Poison Ivy and Catwoman use a kiss to seduce and distract the male protagonist. I find it important to mention that both were, at least temporarily, successful. The message being sent to women here is that your sexuality is used for power and not pleasure. Power is something that any oppressed group is searching for, but this twisted form of control is not an appropriate way to teach women they should have equality--sexually or otherwise.

Catwoman may be on the extreme end with her ripped pants, completely exposed stomach, and the rest of her S & M garb (whip included), but there are many staples of the female super costume:

1) High-heels (obviously important for fighting or creating crime)

2) Form fitting costumes (costumes must accentuate breasts and buttocks)

3) Low-Cut, although completely skin tight, often on the male and female, female costumes often have a plunge at the neckline or zipper that is not completely zipped (X-men and Fantastic Four, for example):

With both heroes and villains, the super world has continually represented one idea of "sexy." Thin and white (or light-skinned, Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, i.e.). It is no wonder that the actress chosen to fill the role of the seductive Mystique, whose only costume as villain alongside Magneto in the X-men films is blue paint, is formal model, Rebecca Romijn:

The message is even more clear when these costumes are continuously used in the porn industry. Although the widely known female super hero Wonder Woman has yet to make a blockbuster, her outfit has been used many times and without much alteration, if I might add.

Let's not neglect masculinity as represented in these movies. As seen in many of the above images, the message to men about their masculinity is clear. They must be buff, they must be drawn to violence, and they must love and protect women. Male superhero costumes are made to make their arms, chest, and penis look big (without being fat).

Although thought to be a world full of alternate realities and identities, the super hero genre has served to reinforce heteronormativity and traditional gender roles with no representation of anything else.

Bibliography

Mayne, Judith. "Women, Representation, and Culture." In Reading Women's Lives.

Lull, James. (1995). "Hegemony." In Media, Communication, Culture: A Global Approach. New York: Columbia University Press.