Seno's Soapbox

#2: Sex and the Comic Strip




    "Why do women in comics have such big boobs?"  "Comic books are degrading to women!"  "Those things are bigger than her head!"  "How does she stand up straight?"
    <sigh>  No wonder Dave Sim hates women. . .
      Me?  No, I don't hate women.  I actually like 'em a lot.  Fun to talk to.  Usually have interests outside of sports, beer, and computers.  Smell good too.  But those kinds of complaints drive me bug-fuck nuts, and here's why:
 

    The first two images are comic book covers drawn by a pair of artists renowned for their depictions of women: J. Scott Campbell and Frank Cho.  The latter two are covers taken from this month's issues of two popular, gender-oriented magazines: Cosmopolitan (for gals) and Maxim (for guys).
    Notice a commonality of theme?
    Welcome to America, kids.  Sex sells, and there isn't anything sexier than the female form.  Got a problem with it?  No sweat; feel free to move to Saudi Arabia, where the government mandates that women be wrapped in heavy clothing from head to toe and stored away safely inside the confines of the harem.
    At the risk of belittling the increasingly decadent state of "Western" civilization (that's a whole 'nother rant in of itself), commercial America's infatuation with hypersexuality isn't what is it at issue here.  After all, when was the last time you heard a male complain about the unrealistic beauty standards created by action figures or underwear models?  Never I'd wager, but then again, men aren't the problem.  The problem, of course, is the presentation of women as sexual idols, as this sort of thing actually does tend to bother the fairer sex.  As a guy, it's tempting to just write this reaction off as intrinsic low self-esteem, and while I'm sure that this does play a role to a certain degree, the female tendency to hate the merchandising of various parts of their anatomy runs a little deeper than poor self-image.
    The big complaint, as I understand it, is that glorification of T&A will lead to the view that women are only as worthwhile as the sum of their sexy parts.  Although I can't say I agree with this interpretation, I can certainly see why the ladies came to this conclusion.  Think about it: for most of recorded history, women have indeed been reduced to the status of sexual property.  They still make less money than men, and when they do try to make some cash or lead their own lives, jackasses like Dan Quayle give them shit for it.  Hell, they haven't even been voting for a hundred years yet.  But, and there is a hardcore "but" coming here, I might point out that this little argument is inherently flawed.  If women have been denied equal status with men for thousands of years, how the hell can that be the fault of sexually-charged advertising that has existed for little more than half a century?  Obviously, the two have no bearing on each other whatsoever.  The truth is that men do like to look at pretty women.  But good looks will only get you so far.
    I truly believe that the degree of respect women garner has nothing to do with how little clothing a model wears in a magazine ad, or in a drawing for that matter.  Respect is based on deed and thought, not image or body.  I think Catherine Zeta-Jones is amazingly physically attractive; I also think she's a narcissistic bitch (and why the fuck did she marry Michael Douglas??).  If women really want to be seen as more than a collection of supple body parts, then they need to quit bitching about silly shit like this and turn their minds towards more worthwhile endeavors.  Honestly now, ladies: how the hell do you expect to convince the chauvinists of the world that you're more than just a pretty face when all you seem to get passionate about is the size of Wonder Woman's bust?

Seno
7/7/01
 

Today's Question: What OFF CAMPUS character would you like to see more of, and why?  Let me know.

Good Shit: 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, published by DC Comics.  Well-written, hard-hitting crime fiction centered around one hell of a premise.  The first two years of the on-going serial have been collected into two graphic novels: First Shot, Last Call and Split-Second Chances.