An inquiry into how popular images might effect our perceptions of things.


Write an argument supporting or refuting the statement below.



The comic book heroines shown above are drawn in such a way, with their revealing costumes and unrealistic proportions, that they become nothing more than images of adolescent sexual fantasies. By portraying women in this way it helps to form the idea that a woman is merely an object whose value lies in her ability to attract and please men. These images help to form the ideas of both young male and female readers towards women and contribute to the view that women are inferior to men and therefore deserve a seondary status in society.

Make sure your argument is organized and is supported by a logical stream of thought. In your opening paragraph outline your position, in the second one support your position, and in the third convince us why you are right! Find an image from the internet to use as visual evidence in support of your argument.

Monday, April 28, 2008


If you read a comic book in which the super hero is actually a woman, you will soon notice that the true nature of the women body isn’t expressed in that comic book. We see that they are always drawn with great curves, big body parts, but always looking good, but the truth is not always expressed in a comic book, it is usually the way of thinking of the society that is drawn in a comic book.
A superhero is made probably to give an idea of salvation to the society, because there is always a bad guy, who is willing to destroy the city, and the superhero appears and saves everyone, so basically a superhero represents a good image to the people. And the best way to represent this idea is to create a good image of the superhero. I have never seen a superhero represented by an old guy, without those big muscles, and skinny, no, you won’t find a superhero with these characteristics because it simply doesn’t exist, all the superheroes, male or female; they all have to look good. Men in comics are usually very strong, muscles very well defined, because they have to give the idea that they are actually good to the society, but good in a proper way, because no one can be good for the entire society just for being strong, but for doing good things. Women in comics are always pretty because the creators of the comics have no other ways to represent them. The creators can represent men by making them very strong, or very tall, but they can’t draw strong women, with big biceps and etcetera because when you look to a society, you don’t easily see a woman with these characteristics. In comic books, the reality is not expressed, so there wouldn’t be any problem in drawing buff women, but it would cause an impact in society, because for them, the true nature of women is their beauty, so in my point of view, women are not seen as the weakest sex, but as the most attractive sex, because the people expect that from them, they expect them to be beautiful, they don’t really care if she is strong or weak, so basically, cartoonists, to sell their comics easily and to be accepted as a good cartoonist, he makes his own superheroes in such a way that the society will approve him. So basically, the society doesn’t see women as an inferior race, they think of them as the most beautiful race, so they want to see that, it is not their intention to boycott the women in comics, they just want a good image of what they believe.

”Spiderwoman” did not even exist before “Spiderman”, she was created probably because the society had to see a female version of one of the most appreciated superheroes. So again, women are not seen as a the weakest sex, but the most beautiful sex, it is a fact, but that doesn’t mean that they are discriminated in real life, because reality is not always expressed in a comic book, but a comic book creates a different world for the reader, that makes his immured to this world, where everything can happen, and since women is considered an icon of beauty, the cartoonists have no other way to represent them but making them beautiful…

No comments: