Mr. R's Art Blog - Comics Project

Tache 6- L' íle Mysterieuse

2010-12-06T22:35:00.001-08:00

L'été dernier. J'ai passé mes vacances sur une île dans le Pacifique. Il s'agissait d'une île paradisiaque, elle est belle, très relaxant, j'aime avoir la paix et la tranquillité de cette île et il a tous les. Cependant, un jour, j'ai remarqué quelque chose d'inquiétant, j'ai dormi sur la plage et se sentit soudain une chose très laide à la recherche sur mes pieds. J'ai ouvert un œil, j'ai vu un requin sur ma jambe, il me parlait, je fermai les yeux et j'ai pensé que c'était peut-être juste un rêve, mais le requin m'a chuchoté à l'oreille et dit que, je peux souhaiter à tous i voulez, mais ce n'est pas un rêve., ses aaaahhh réel tout à coup. Ma vie est devenue un enfer! Je n'ai jamais rien vu de tel dans ma vie, il a commencé à pleuvoir et l'eau a commencé à augmenter, je pensais que ma vie allait prendre fin. Alors ce qui s'est passé ra Ahu. Je l'ai dit, vous êtes si courageux de se battre ou requins loin de moi, je n'ai jamais rencontré quelqu'un comme toi, oh oui je sais je sais ...!! Que puis-je dire Heureusement, tout s'est bien passé pour moi parce que mes amis qui était là pour m'aider, et après tout s'est calmé, et encore pour moi ce n'est rien, mais un rêve. Mais ce n'est pas un jour que je n'oublierai jamais parce que les choses que j'ai vécu cela, personne ne passe l'image serait, lorsque je dis aux gens l'histoire, il semble irréel beaucoup.

Women in Comics: sexual objects

2008-05-03T23:36:00.000-07:00

Comics are books which target group are especially youngsters. Young people are fascinated by these books in which “normal humans” like them have super powers and save the earth. Comic books are spread all over the world widely, young people look up to their heroes and want to be like them. It is important that these popular books contain appropriate contents. Therefore I think that comics, in which women’s bodies are drawn exaggeratedly, 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 secondary status in society.
We are living in the 21^st century and still the idea of women being the inferior gender exists in most people’s minds. The human brain has made such big developments over decades but sill this idea reminds in people’s heads. These boys and girls that read and grow up with comics, in whom women are portrayed as a sexual object, are the world’s future. If comics continue on showing women his way, also the thought of women being inferior will. Childhood is one’s most developing stage and therefore it is very important that boys and girls develop the right thoughts. If young boys grow up with the images and thoughts of women being an object of sexual desire put in their heads, they will develop a sense of women being subordinated and secondary and will also treat them like this. Young girls admire the super hero women’s bodies and dream of having such a body. Soon they will notice that getting such a body is impossible for them, which could give them the feeling that something is wrong with their body.
In conclusion I think that comic artists should think more before they publish their work. It is not necessary to show women in such exaggerated forms in order to create a super hero effect, I is rather harmful. In order to protect the children and to finally erase the thought of women being inferior to men from peoples minds, something has to be changed.

By Nicolas

Woman Portrayed in Comics

2008-05-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

I agree that in comic books, heroines are drawn with unrealistic proportions such as big boobs, small waists and big butts and always wear revealing costumes, but these images don’t make woman seem inferior to men. Heroines in comics are often drawn how they would be in adolescent male fantasies, but they are also given abilities and characteristics, just like the male superheroes, which makes them just as capable as male superheroes themselves.

Woman in comics are always drawn to please the male audience, with skin tight costumes revealing largely out of proportion body parts. But these women still have personalities of their own, they are also given muscles and their own super powers and they also manage to kick butt. Even men, in comic books are drawn in a way to please to female audience, with skin tight costumes of their own, revealing abundant, unrealistic muscles. Heroines in comics are often individuals, they don’t all think alike and they all have their own personalities, this makes them seem stronger and less dependant on the heroes.

The way that woman are portrayed in comics, pleasing the adolescent male fantasies could make a woman seem merely and object whose value lies in her ability to attract and please men, but these heroines are then given abilities, powers, costumes, strengths and personalities of their own which makes them seem less dependant on men, therefore, important individuals in society.

Gabriella Church

2008-04-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

All young children make many superheroes as their role models. They always say that they want to be like them and have super powers but what I do not agree with is when people draw the women figures in extremely sexual and voluptuous ways. The children are supposed to look up to these characters but all you are doing is corrupting their minds at very young ages. Many people also believe that the way women are portrayed in comic books proves that they are in ways inferior to men. These characters just badly influence the minds of young people. I think that the women in comic books should not be drawn in unrealistic and fake ways because people start to take comics seriously when they shouldn’t

Many kids like to read comic books because they find them interesting and colorful in many ways. But another reason many young boys and girls like to read comic books is because of the women figures. The girls always hope for they bodies to be as tight and perfect like all the women superheroes. They always look up to them and want to be them, and that’s why the women superheroes should be drawn in more respectful and sensible ways. The young boys of today’s day and age mostly only read comic books because that is the only way they can see women in short torn clothes. This is really having a bad influence on the kids minds and I think that by this way comic books would be corrupting more and more peoples minds.

To conclude I think that the superheroes in comics should be changed. All of the superheroes give very wrong impressions to young children of today’s day and age. Superheroes should be models for other young children; all children like to look up to the superheroes and want to become like them and if they are transformed and made in more respectful ways than the later generation will improve a lot!

Women in Comics...

2008-04-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

In my opinion is that the more the adolescent is involved in reading the comics, the more his opinion would be swayed. Since, the majority of the comics have ‘unrealistic proportions’ regular comics users would tend to side with the comics’ opinion which supports, the targeting of adolescent boys. Even though many of the women in comics fight for a ‘good cause’, still many of the readers are attached to the comics, in a sexual manner, rather than for the cause. To those addicted comics women may be portrayed as a ‘lesser’, but for the occasion or rare users of comics it would all be equal.
Even though many of the superheroes are shown in this way, and there are many reciprocals between female and male characters, such as: Superman & Superwoman. Since, the proportions on Superwoman are different to Superman then the image portrayed between the two is different. Hence Superwoman is shown more for her proportions even though she has the same superpower as Superman. The comic industry made Superwoman in this manner so that one would think this way…

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n252/bchizel2/superwoman.jpg

Women in Comics

2008-04-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

In a lot of comics women are viewed in very tight cloth and big proportions. I agree and disagree with the statement about women being sexual objects in comics.
I think the statement is somehow true, because women are drawn in tight cloth and with big proportions. The cloths they’re wearing are tight and mostly have a deep cutting. The female curves are shown very big and unrealistic. But the big proportions, like muscles and biceps, make them look strong which is good. In a lot of comics women are shown as fragile and weak, so it is good that there are women in comics as superheroes not only as victims. With giving the women tight cloths, they try to get teenagers read it. Men / Superheroes are drawn, shown in a different way then the women. So women are somehow sexual objects and somehow not.

By Lea

Dream Girls

2008-04-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

Women in comic books are, regrettably, portrayed completely surreally, with strangely proportioned bodies that almost always feature larger-than-life breasts, tiny waists, and legs that, apparently, stretch on for miles. The outfits they wear also seem strangely chosen for their day’s work: what good are corsets, bikinis, miniskirts, and high-heeled boots when you are meant to be keeping evil at bay? The answer is, they are not, which is why so many women characters in comic books are portrayed as secondary to the men these same books feature. They are meant to look pretty as the superhero’s girlfriends while the men do the “real” fighting. Even in cases where the woman is the main character, her outfit is hardly less revealing, showing that these characters are, on the whole, not as important as their male counterparts. However, although this does put women in a lower place in the comic book world, the real world does not necessarily reflect these sexist views.
Even if everyone who read comics believed, upon seeing these women objectified in well-known publishers’ (Marvel, DC, etc.) books, that women themselves are to be treated as nothing more than the subject of fantasies, that all women should have figures in the shape of ridiculously exaggerated hourglasses, and that women are in all other ways not as capable as men are, and then treated women they met in real life in this manner, they would still make up a relatively small percentage of the world, and cannot single-handedly be blamed for all the acts of sexual violence committed against women. Secondly, not all readers of comics do believe these ideas, just as all illustrators probably do not intend to state that women are inferior to men, even if their drawings imply this idea. Therefore it cannot be said that comic books are a huge factor in causing men to commit acts of violence against women in real life—in fact, it may even be better for men with these impulses to read a book and fantasize over fictional characters rather than attack a real woman to get the same feeling.
Of course, it cannot be said that the objectification of women in comic books is a good thing: in fact, it is the complete opposite. It is a sad reflection of our times that while men and women in some parts of the world are slowly reaching equality in workplaces and the home, the traditional view of women is preserved from the nineteen-fifties, and this view itself goes back through the ages, all the way back to cave dwellers’ times: that the woman must beautify herself at home while the man goes out to do the “real work”, which is, essentially, what many female characters in comic books are doing. Even female superheroes who supposedly are strong women are less muscular than the men. However, while this is a sad and backwards part of the pop culture, it is no more than that: it is unlikely to influence people to behave differently with women in real-life situations just because they have different expectations from their comic book dream girls.

The women and the comics

2008-04-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

In my opinion the women in the comics it's not a sexual simbol, ok the clothes are a little bit shorter, but is not a motive to be worry, because the kids that read don't have enough maturity. And the women in the comics is not inferior than the men , because some comics books the super hero is a woman, and this make the woman important, and she has the same capacity than the man to save the world. Comeback about the clothes, the teenagers that have more maturity can think that the woman is a sexual symbol, because of the body and the shorter clothes, and the girls that see the woman in the comics can start think that the super hero (woman) is more thin or more beautiful than the real woman, and can start with a sickness that the woman is perfect and the real one is not, and start to have a diet or something like that, and ths make the girl sick.

Women in Comics

2008-04-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

I completely agree with this issue because I feel that comics are mainly entertainers for little children. They are meant to be for kids who don’t have enough maturity. And if they are exposed to revealing costumes rather than comics, then they are going to develop a different attitude towards women. Artists need to understand that little children don’t notice realistic figures, they don’ care if the face and the body is proportionate. Infact, because of these realistic figures, children tend to forget the storyline and give all their attention to the character’s body and clothing. The natural curiosity that comes to adolescents at one age takes place too early due to such comics which only results in lack of maturity concerning these issues. Due to these comics, children build up inappropriate attitude and behavior towards women, which contributes to the view of women being inferior. If you look at the picture of the women from one of the comics, the first thing that anyone would notice is her clothes. Why does she need to be dressed like that? She can wear something appropriate and still look like a super woman. Comics generally show women with big boobs, slim waist, etc. Artists intend to show these women as role models, but they turn out to be images of adolescent fantasies. The aim to create comic books is to get away from our real world and dive into deep imagination, but still that does not mean that artists can create such illusions of women. These illusions only rise up the expectations of boys and bring down the self-esteem of girls. Artists need to make this mode of entertainment contribute to the innocence of little children. These comics need to teach them good morals rather than corrupting their minds in a way that affects their view later on in life.

Riddhi Shah

Women as sexual objects - real

2008-04-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

I strongly agree that comics showing women as sexual objects, wearing overtly sexual and revealing outfits give adolescents the illusion of a woman. Women in general are demeaned and made to appear as eye candy for the rest of the world rather than what they really are which is intelligent, equal beings, the counter part of a man, no less, no more. It is highly irresponsible of the media and of comic book creators to allow these images to be displayed. They are, or should be, fully aware of the massive influence they hold over the general public- especially teenagers who are their main target and their main customers. Obviously teenage boys are more prone to buying comics that have half naked women parading about the covers, but what perhaps the creators do not realise is the type of ideas and the state of mind they give these boys.

Televisions, novels, magazines, newspapers, radio, internet… comic books. These are all forms of media that influence the public and the way they think and there is no denying this. It is the responsibility of these outlets of information to make sure they provide the people with the appropriate, hopefully correct, information and meaningful, right ideas. Especially if they cater mostly to teenagers and children, the most easily persuaded and influenced part of society. Comic books are bought mostly by collectors and teens. If these comic books contain nothing more than women with voluminous breasts and shapely figures that are revealed in skimpy outfits, fighting crime or being damsel’s distresses, then what sort of images are being fed to the bendable minds of the youth? The girls will become insecure of themselves as they compare their own imperfect bodies with those of the goddesses that adorn the pages while the boys lust after these bombshells and begin to think that these are the only type of real women in the world. They also look down upon women. They think of them as the part of the society that are meant for the entertainment and pleasure of men and as the figures that are just there to be the ‘victims’. Women cannot stand up for themselves, and even if they can, they can’t seem to do it without revealing some skin. Clearly, this does not reflect real life or the people in it, so why lead young minds astray and cause them to go through the difficulties of having to find out the truth over time after years of confusion, pain and insecurity?

We cannot forget of course, that comic books were originally intended to escape reality and allow us to delve into worlds unlike our own. However, this is not an excuse to create an illusion of the people of the world. No woman is so perfectly created so as to have large breasts, a rounded butt, perfect hips, flowing locks, a stunning face; no wrinkles, blemishes or imperfections. If this is the ideal woman, then every teenage girl will grow up worrying that there is something wrong with her and that she is ugly and fat. This is probably one of the main contributors to the plastic surgery craze that the world seems to be in. Everyone wants to have themselves changed to look more beautiful, thinner and sexier. It is the insecurity of women and the expectation of men that has lead to this and comic books with it’s almost-nude women is just one of the many influences that have lead to this state of mind. Creators should be more aware of the affect they have and try to create heroes that perhaps are closer to reality, real heroes. Ones that people can actually aspire to be.

-shai pie

Women in comics

2008-04-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

In comics, women are drawn with very revealing clothes and unrealistic proportions. They are portrayed as if women were here to please men, and the comics are becoming images of adolescent sexual fantasies. In reality, women don’t look like how the comic authors draw them. But they are also drawn as very strong and can do what men can do like taking care of criminals. Also, when we think about it, women aren’t the only ones portrayed “wrongly” in comics, men also have tight clothes, and tons of muscles which is impossible to have.
Those comics have a lot of influence on other people. For the boys, it makes them think that they are superior as women and they see them as sex symbols. And for the girls, it can influence them in a negative way because some of them would like to look like them which are impossible because of the unrealistic proportions. They have huge breasts, tiny waists, big butts, etc…
I think that in comics, women are portrayed in a wrong way, but not always. The only shocking things are the body parts proportions and their too revealing clothes. Otherwise, women are also portrayed as strong, and can do what men do like killing criminals and making the law be respected. I still think that women should be drawn a little more realistically, and have some less skimpy outfits.

by Audrey Germain

For and against the statement

2008-04-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

I do not think that because women in comic books are wearing tight clothing and have the "ideal" body show viewers that women are inferior to men and deserve a secondary status. However, I do agree that the drawings of women show a sexual image towards adolescent boys and make the girls think that the images are what they themselves are supposed to look like.
In my opinion, although the women are very busty and wear very revealing clothes, they all are very strong and still fight against criminals and law breakers. Often some of the women are criminals too, but they still fight and are very strong which does not show that they are inferior to men as the criminals seem to be mostly men. I believe that these comics give women a way to see themselves as strong and independent. Having these women in comics, drawn with muscular bodies’ show that women can fight too, they can stop enemies and have superpowers like any other “superman,” which is not usually the case in now day movies and books. I think that these women in comics show that a girl can play any “boy’s” game they wanted and play it even better than the boys themselves.
Although I believe that the women’s roles in the comics books are better than in real life, I think that it is true that the women in these comics look as if they were draw to appeal the minds of young boys and the comic artist that draw them. These drawings make the women look “better” than they would actually look if they were drawn in proportion, but they are not drawn to show that women are strong individuals, they are drawn to show a women as a sex symbol for men.

Isabelle Lobo

The Deceptive Ways of Comic Books

2008-04-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Comic books are defined as magazines that are filled with cartoons that show what the person speaks or thinks. A supehero is defined as a "superhuman character" who has great powers to fight crime or evil. Nowhere in these definitions does it include that heroines are supposed to be sexual, volumptuous characters that use their powers to fight crime. However, in comic books, heroines have started to be stripped of the clothing that once covered them in good form, and have started to include impractical proportions. These heroines have truly become "adolescent sex fantasies" and have provided as examples of idealistic women, and nothing more. Women have been drawn with big busts that are not balanced at all with the body drawn. The stomach is drawn absolutely flat, and the costume that heroine's wear are very revealing.
Comic books are supposed to be a source of entertainment, not a source of sensual pleasure. They are meant to be read for the story and not for indulgences. At it's peak, comic books were once only bought and high praised for its great story and characters. Now many adolescents go out to buy comic books to scrutinize the heroines that have been drawn in such implausible and unlikely manners. Comic books are being deprived in a way where only how the characters look matters. There is no attention paid to the story, and in many cases comic books have great stories. Because the bust is made so big and the stomach so small, it draws people's eyes to that area. In reality, it is not possible for women to look like this which makes it harder for women to look as "good" as the heroines in the comic books. Not only this, but they are criticized for not being able to look like any of the women in comic books.
Sexism has become a problem in comic books. What is the need to draw women in misleading ways if women can be portrayed in a better sense? The idea of heroines in comic books is supposed to show that women are equal and can be just as powerful as men. While comic books do not neccessarily make women seem partial to men, they give rise to the idea that women are only intended to be sources of sexuality, and nothing more. In this case, women do seem inferior to men since they only are in comic books for one purpose which is to provide sexual pleasure. Comics don't require any sort of women that look erotic to be read--they just need a good storyline. They're a deceptive source of what women should look like, and adolescent boys should not have to be exposed to such sources. Adolescents should be able to have the privilige of reading comic books, and as a result, the woman image depicted in comics needs to be changed.

Women in Comics

2008-04-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

Women in comic books are definitely portrayed in extremely fictional ways. They are shown wearing the tightest costumes with the fittest bodies. In reality, every woman is not like this. In my opinion, these comic books do have some sort of impact on teenagers' minds influencing them on what women are, or should be like. I don't think it's fair towards women at all because by seeing all of these characters in comics, people have higher expectations of what a woman should look like.
The ways women are portrayed in comics have an influence on how people treat, and see them in real life as well. Men might think its okay to judge and compare how a woman in real life looks like compared to a woman in a comic book, but it's definitely not. How these women are shown in comics has definitely had an influence on the whole idea of men being superior to women. These women are shown as objects, shown off, and vulnerable. Women need to get credit for them being much stronger than that.
Since boys aren't the only ones that do read those comics, there are teenage girls that get affected by them too; affected in a negative way. When these girls see how women are portrayed in comics it makes them think that that's how they should look like to be considered "pretty." However, I don't think this is true as the women portrayed in comics are ideally fictional. Personally, I think comics should be bought for whole other reasons than why or what they're actually bought for at present times.
-Krishna Shroff

Women in Comics by Ankita Pandey

2008-04-29T02:10:00.001-07:00

Women in comics are mostly seen as a super heroine. Sometimes they are also seen as a evil in some comics, but the costumes they have are always very sensual. These costumes are made to attract the men and women also. Artists usually create these costumes for their own benefit as these sensual looks attract the people all around the world. But why only women are portrayed dirty? Why not men? Thus women deserve a secondary status too as women are not created for these kinds of comics. In comics, women are made very unrealistic. For example, they have larger breasts, slimmer waist, and also broader hip. In reality, women are not build like the way they are in comics. They are created in this way to attract and add the sensual look so that guys enjoy looking at them. Not only men but also women think of dressing up like these comics to look more attractive. When people talk about women, especially guys, they portray women as an object that only attracts people and do not have any power or strength to fight for themselves. They think that girls are really weak and are always saved by men. These give a very wrong message to the women in the world and are often described as “delicate darlings”. Some men think that women are created for their sensual body. The result of this thinking is that they start taking advantage of women by raping them. Thus, women deserve a secondary status by creating more comics in which women are seen as a super heroine and where they can protect themselves. I have created a comic where my hero is a girl and I show that she saves the people all around the world without the support of men. She fights men and proves that women are not weak! Here it is seen, that women do not have a superpower but create a sensual seen. The word Mermaid is in bold because the girl is just a mermaid not a super heroine.

The Portrayal of Women in Comics

2008-04-29T01:21:00.001-07:00

Although it is true that any heroines in comic books have unrealistic proportions and wear revealing clothing, it is doubtable that this portrayal of heroines changes what adolescents thinks of the world around them. There are many kids that read comics all over the world and many of them respect women—for them, comics do not change their outlook on women. There are many people around the world who believe that the way women are portrayed in comics promotes the idea that women are inferior to men but there are also many people around the world who read comics and are not affected by what they are looking at. Comics are just for fun and the things they portray should not be taken seriously by anyone, and usually they aren’t taken seriously.

Comics that portray women in revealing clothes usually target the average teenage reader. This means that the targeted audience is old enough to not be affected by the things that are portrayed in comics. Children this old are old enough to understand that comic books are just for fun; nothing in them should be taken seriously. People who say that these comics really affect the way children think of women have obviously not read these comics themselves. It is true that women in comics are shown with unrealistic proportions and with revealing clothing but what is not true is that comic books seriously affect the minds of teenage readers.
Furthermore, also in competition to women in revealing clothes, there are many superheroes that are shown in revealing clothing and unrealistic proportions. If it can be said that heroines shown like this are the sexual fantasies of teenage boys, then it can also be said that these heroes are the sexual fantasies of teenage girls; which, mostly likely, is not true at all. Also, many advertisements today feature women in revealing clothing; they are in movies and are all over the media. Out of all of these types of media, only comics have been scrutinized so much. The average teenage reader does not base his or her life on comics; comics do not make them what they are.

Vipul Dogra

Are women in comics adoladolescent sexual fantasies?

2008-04-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

Many people reads comic as it is their favorite. They enjoy the story, the heroes, and the physical appearance of the characters. There are two different opinions about women being adolescent sexual fantasies due to the unrealistic proportions and different type of cloths they wear, and they deserve a secondary status in society. Some people agree that the proportions are unrealistic and some people say that it is not related to adolescent sexual fantasies. Well I think that women are not adolescent sexual fantasies.
Many comics’ women are drawn in unrealistic proportions and have tight cloths, but if we look at the comic overall, mostly everything is like that. Men are also drawn in unrealistic proportions and have tight cloths and huge muscles. The whole story is something that is impossible to happen, which why the readers enjoy. The people and objects and the story in comics are over exaggerated in different meanings. People think that women in comics are adolescent sexual fantasies, but this is what the comic writer is trying to do, so that each character is perfect in means of powers, style and proportions, to be a superhero.
Women are not adolescent sexual fantasies just because they have unrealistic proportions and having huge breasts. Even men are like that with huge muscles, and all characters are overly exaggerated. Comic authors are overly exaggerating the characters so that they look perfect enough to be a superhero, not for all girls and women aiming to be like them. Women do not deserve a secondary status in society as they are equal as men.

somewhat agree and somewhat don't

2008-04-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

Heroines of most comic books are expressed with revealing costumes and actions. These comics are usually read by teenage children. So, these showy costumes of heroines from comics could stimulate young teenage children's minds and let them abuse the comics in inappropriate ways. Thus, it is beyond doubt that heroines in such comics had been degraded to nothing but an adolescent sexual fantasy.

However, one idea that I can’t agree with is the fact that these heroines in comics contributes to the views that women are inferior to men. Most of the heroines of comics are revealing, but that doesn’t mean that they are inferior to men. They are strong and have super powers so that they can shoot laser beam from their eyes, and can fly. So, for that idea, I don’t agree.

So, for the question, “Heroines from comics are adolescent sexual fantasy and it contributes to the views that women are inferior to men,” I somewhat agree and somewhat don’t agree with it.

Woman or sexual object

2008-04-28T22:19:00.001-07:00

Today Comic books are still thriving even though the world is shifting from the physical one to the digital one. These stories about heroes and heroines are mostly read by young adolescent boys who enjoy the stories. Apart from the stories the boys read them for the graphical images of women that are in the story. These women are portrayed as models with exaggerated physical structures, or in simpler terms the women in comics have very slim and have big breasts. In many circumstances there are women all over the world comparing themselves to these drawings of what a perfect woman is supposed to look like. This has the ability to cause a lot of damage in the world. This also makes boys look at women as a sexual object rather than an equally respectable human being.

The colors and brightness of the comic is what lures the boys into reading this stories and to adolescent boys it is the sexually depicted women that keep them reading. Young boys have no experience at all with the internal parts of women. When women in the comics wear tight and scarce traces of clothing, the view that boys have of them are tainted. Due to the clothes and body structure of these women, boys lose their respect for women and might not think of them as equal and more as inferior beings.

To sum it all up, women in comic books should not wear such tight and skimpy clothes but should have more conservative outfits. They should be seen as respectable figures that can be admired by both males and females. This will both boys and girls to that every individual is different and there is no such thing as a perfect woman, like that of the comics.

Ishan Benegal

Big Boobs

2008-04-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

In most comic book men and women are portrayed in ways that are mostly impossible. Men and women are not as slim and fit as they are in the comics. This is what catches the readers eyes, the fact that its ‘unreal’. Young men usually get attracted to these images of women barely dressed with everything out there leaving no room for the imagination and they buy comics for that. Usually these images get to people heads and make them believe that this is what a woman has to look like—big boobs, thin, big waist and skinny legs. Most women look nothing like the comics and men too. Men are shown to have ‘big muscles’, this creates an image for women, making them think that a man needs to look big and strong for him to be good looking, this is completely hard for them to do. The comics that are drawn make men and women have low self esteem when they look nothing like the picture. These pictures get them to think that this is what they are meant to look like. Art is a way of expressing yourself. The artists that draw these comics have a certain technique; this technique is showing their ideal image of men or women.

-Noam

How women are portrayed in Comics

2008-04-28T20:26:00.001-07:00

Women in comics are unrealistically depicted; many images of women in popular culture have been accused of altering what people perceive as appropriate body types. The learned body image that develops is deeply tied to gender identity. During World War II, comic books were read by about 75 percent of the population. As a result of the increases in violent and sexual content in comic books, it changed the way the comics artist drew the women. Since its young and not so young males, then the women are going to look rather voluptuous because that's what gets young and old boys' attention. The pictures show that the perception of dream women was often drawn on the comics so as to sell more.

2008-04-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

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…

2008-04-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

These comic books created so that people are able to read them and have fun reading them so I feel that these views of women are inferior to men is ridiculous. Women deserve the right to have the same status when compared to men. Portraying women this way only encourages men to think that the woman is just an object who is only useful at pleasing men.

Reading these comic books does not mean that the teens or adolescences will think of women that why because everything in the comic books is so unrealistic. I feel that if these teens and adolescence are old enough to read these types of comic books they should be mature enough to differentiate between unrealistic drawings and real life. They should be able to tell that no women will come close to looking like the heroines in comic books because of the unrealistic proportions and revealing costumes. For the female readers, they should be able to tell that they will never be able to look anything like the heroines in the comic books but this not mean that these female readers will not try anything to look like the heroines in the books just to attract or please men.

Female readers should not try to look like the heroines in the book because they are never going to look like them. If these female readers try to look as skinny as the heroines, they might become anorexic which is dangerous and may cost them their lives. Teens and adolescence should be mature enough to differentiate between the real world and the unrealistic world.

comics project

2008-04-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

These are mostly read by young teenage boys, who enjoy reading these comics. The only treason these boys are interested in comics is because women are portrait to adolescence sexual fantasies, which gives boys a different perspective of how a girl should look like. I don’t think that these comics are appropriate for young teens. These female super heroes are drawn in very revealing costumes, exposing their breast. This gives men a whole different perspective of women and how they should look.

Most comic authors draw women in tight clothing, with huge breast. Young boys seeing the women in this manner want a normal lady to look the same, and reading these comics and seeing women in this kind of clothing, it might lead them to look at pornographic magazines which are not suitable for a young boy or young teenagers. When girls see these women heroines with these perfect bodies they would go on different kind of diets in order to look that way and that would in a later stage lead to anorexia. In normal life you would not see women dressed I such clothing, with such huge breast, flying and having superpowers.

I think that women should not be portrayed in such a manner in comics even though its not harmful and people only see it as a over exaggerated drawing , I still believe that its is very disrespectful toward other women who do not have such huge breast and such perfect bodies.

Women in Comics

2008-04-28T05:38:00.001-07:00

Comic books portray women as images of adolescent sexual fantasies, which please the men. This idea can be seen clearly through heroines, such as wonder-woman and cat-woman. The revealing costumes and unrealistic proportions assert that the artist drew only for the attentions of young men. On the other hand, men's costumes are not revealing any of their body. In my opinion, these specious drawings of women are indirectly implying that women have less social status than men.
One might say that men are also drawn with unrealistic proportions, such as Super-man. His tight costume reveals every outline of his arm and leg muscles, and his huge, muscular body is out of proportions compared to his small head. So with these unrealistic stories and characters, one might say that women are not drawn in way to imply that they’re in a secondary status in society. But looking at an unrealistic view, heroines are excessively showing their body parts compared to other heroes. For example, the picture shows Super-man and a woman. As one can see, Super-man has his usual costume: not showing any of his body or not sexually attracting the readers. On the other hand, the woman excessively shows her body, like her slim legs and part of her big breast. Teenage boys were the most common readers of comic books, and looking at this picture with a boy’s point of view, there is a higher percentage of that teenager looking at the woman more closely than the main hero, Super-man. In conclusion, women are drawn to draw attention and make the story more interesting for the teenagers—not for other purposes.
The woman has slim legs, big breasts, and thin waist which are an ideal body for women. In comics, women are drawn and used only to sell comics by pleasing teenagers with revealing costumes. In my opinion, this action indirectly gives an inferior status to women.

Women are not portrayed as objects in comics..

2008-04-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

Women are not being objectified in comic books even though they are portrayed in a sexual manner. Women wearing tight clothes and have large breasts, small waists and perfect hair are as un realistic as the super powers they posses. Women being dressed and proportioned the way they are in comics are to attract young randy teenagers, not to objectify and make them seem inferior to men, but to tantalize young adolescents with large breasts into buying the comic. Some people may take these comic drawing as offence to women, when they are merely an artist's creativity drawn on paper.

I feel that women are not being objectified in comics because comics are not real and are simply the imagination of a talented or un-talented comic book writer. They are not meant to be taken as seriously as some people do because they are fake. Where in real life does some one become a huge monster and turn green when they are angry? Can anyone shoot spider webs from thier wrists and walk up walls? Never, because all of these ideas and characters are not meant to be real, even though they may appear to be to some people. If we do not take a person flying or turning invisible so serioulsy, then there is no reason for us to take scantily dressed, clevage exposing, partially nude women so seriously.

The picture on the top right is an example of how un real comics are. The man in the picture is incredibly muscular which is very unreal. There is a huge monster in the picture which is fake as well, just an image from someones imagination drawn on paper. The woman is dressed very revealingly with un real proportions and she is supposed to be a super heroine and it is impossible to do the stunts and antics that super heroines do with the costume she is wearing. Most things in comics are exagerrated and people should understand that the women's proportions are exaggerated as well and that women do not have to compare themselves to comics because they are un real. Almost anything is possible in a comic book, many impossible things are portrayed in comics and they should not be taken so seriously. They should not be labelled saying that they are portaying women as 'inferior' because in my opinion it is not true.

Comic argument

2008-04-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

These comic books only portray women as people think they should look. They are just used as objects to make the comic book get more readers. When a young boy sees a woman with a short tight top showing her midriff and cleavage, it is almost guaranteed that they are going to buy it--maybe not for the actual comic, but for the pictures. I don’t think that portraying women in that way is appropriate for comics and certainly not in comics for kids. These images just make young boys start to have a certain idea on what they see women should be like or look like.

Because of how women are portrayed and appeared as objects in comics, it can reflect how men/boys treat women in real life. Also, when young girls see these pictures that show how they think women should really be, those girls then get self-conscience about their appearance and constantly struggle to look like the pictures. When girls see that’ that’s what boys fantasize over, that makes them feel the need to look like that too. Considering that people think they need to look like them, I don’t think that these comics are appropriate for a free time activity.

Why should young girls compare themselves to these pictures? Why should women be portrayed as objects? Why should men be allowed to have such fantasies on paper? Even though some people may think it’s harmless and that it is only considered as over exaggerated, others are comparing themselves to those pictures.

How Women Are Portrayed In Comics

2008-04-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

It could be easily interpreted that women in comic books are portrayed to be adolescent sexual fantasies but I don’t really think that is the case. I think the comics are supposed to be over exaggerated, from the plot to the powers to the features. Women are portrayed to have unrealistic and suggestive bodies, but so do the men. Women are more looked after in society which is probably why people make a big deal out of it, but comic books are supposed to be exaggerated.

Many comic books show women to amazing bodies and super tight clothes, but that doesn’t mean that they’re trying to make their comics porn. Men are shown the exact same way. Skin tight clothes and huge muscles. Its supposed to be a given that no one looks like that. Just like its supposed to be obvious that no one can turn invisible, fly or lift items 300 times their weight. Women in comic books are supposed to be portrayed as extraordinary, but not to be taken offensively.

All comic books that have women portrayed as having huge chests and completely flat stomachs and amazing legs also have men with huge muscles and extremely tight clothes and a completely exaggerated and unrealistic story line. Comic book authors aren’t trying to say that women are supposed to look like they do in the comics, they’re just trying to make everything from the features to the story bigger.

Just Giant Breasts or a Representation of an Ideal World for Comic Artist

2008-04-23T20:03:00.001-07:00

I believe that comics are pieces of art that represent what the artist’s most ideal impression of the world is. I think that artist use comics to show the world what they really wish the world and every one in it would be like. Let us begin with the female anatomy in the average comic. The women are abnormally thin and yet they still have giant breasts. I think that this is a representation of what the artist is looking for. The comic world is like a perfect world where everyone looks the way they want or the way they think they are.
I wouldnt say that comics are intending to imply that women are the weaker of the two sexes. They are not trying to suggest that woman are only items for leisure. I think that the artists try to create the perfect woman who all men would want. I guess you can say that the giant breasts are just what sell comics. Its not only the woman who are awkwardly proportunate. evan Superman and Batman have muscles that no man will ever be able to match. I think that in this quest to create something pleasing to the eye the story is a little lost. Say for example Superman. he isnt suposed to look abnormaly strong. he was just born on Krypton a planet where the gravitational pulls and atmospheric presures are much greater then that on earth. He isnt supposed to be extremly big looking he just should find it easier to move thing (including himself). Now i think that is something to debate. Weather the commercial side of comics is starting to negativly effect the story behind the pages.
But thats not the point i think it is clear that Comic heroines are not degrading to woman in anyway. and if woman do get offended by giant breats then they must explain why what the comic buying population wants is so bad. Its nothing that is trying to offend anyone. Sure maybe there could be a few more inches of clothing on some of the heroines to make things more approptriate for youger minds but other wise i think things in the comic buissnes are fine

Comics

2008-04-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Just because the women in comic books are portrayed in unrealistic proportions and are dressed with not many and tight clothes does not mean that they are inferior to men. Comic books are not something that influences the boys minds because everything is so unreaistic that it is impossible to be true. In my opinion, while reading the comic the adolescent boys do not even think about it whether the woman has normal clothes on or something else. Another thing is that the men in comics also wear tight clothes and are also portrayed in unrealistic proportions, why does not anybody talk about how they are inferior to women? The fact that the women have these unrealistic proportions in comics it does not affect the minds of boys but the ones of girls. After you girls see these women in perfect form and proportion they also try to be as thin and as good looking which leads to girls being anorexic, which is extremely dangerous. I think that the comic drawer is trying to create an ideal world for the superheroes and everyone looks perfect because they are superheroes. They are not an average person and that is also a reason that they are proportionally unrealistic.

2008-04-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Young males and females are still growing in knowledge and are still trying to understand the outside world. What books they read, or movies they see, all of these things contribute to their character, or the person they will be one day. I do agree that the superheroes in comics have unrealistic body structures. They are also used as sexual models and tend to be unrespected. Comics are part of most young children's lives. They should display women superheroes in stronger and much more respectful ways.

Many comics attract kids because of the color, or the stories or mainly because they are fun to read. But part of the reason why comics are so interesting is because of the women superheroes. Comics are the only way young men are exposed to the internal part of women. Creating heroes with skimpy tight clothes and exaggerated bodies gives these boys a completely different view of females. Not only corrupting their minds, but giving them sexual fantasies that would make them want to read more. The idea of women in comics should change, their status should change, from being sex models, they should become helpful well behaved people, the way women are today. This will teach young teenagers who the female sex really are, and that they are respectful and kind.

To conclude, the stories in comics about women should be transformed. The stories that are currently being published give children the wrong sense of what humanity really is. The idea of a superheroe is to make people believe that you can help others, that you can make a change. It should not be read just for the women. Comics should be somewhat based on reality, and shouldn't be exaggerated as much as they are today!

Comic Book Controversy

2008-04-23T19:38:00.001-07:00

The idea that scantily clad female characters in comic books promotes misogyny in society and contributes to the view that women are inferior to men is ridiculous. Comic books are harmless fun, and the people that make statements such as this are too uptight.
The reason for this thought is that: 1) Comics are not read by a majority of society. They are not even read by the majority of adolescent boys, as most of them are in fact playing sports and such. 2) Even though the majority of western comics do portray women in scantily clad clothes, comic styles like manga do not.
Not only this, but the mere idea that comics have a large enough affect on an adolescent boy's mind to influence their actions is ridiculous. The characters in comic books fly, shoot lasers from their eyes, have super strength, and have a whole manner of crazy powers. The readers understand (unless they are very young) that they (comic books) are unrealistic, and that they sho uld not imitate them (they should not try to fly off a building, otherwise they will die).

2008-04-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Comic books are mostly read by young kids and teenagers. This is the age where youngsters enjoy reading comics and are drawn to them. There are comics which have male superheroes and female superheroes. The heroines in comic books have less value than the males because they are represented in unrealistic proportions and extremely revealing costumes. I agree that they make these female superheroes do become images of "adolescent sexual fantasies". By the way they are put together it looks like their purpose in the books is to appeal and draw men. In my opinion
I coincide with the statement as it does give woman a secondary standing in the world.

The female heroes in the comic books have disproportionate bodies and skimpy clothes. These factors attract young teenagers and therefore give them the idea that a woman's purpose in the work it to appeal to men. The artist of these heroines make their bodies have large breast and tiny waists. Their costumes exaggerate their dis proportioned bodies. Their costumes are both unrealistic and revealing because a superhero who has to fight crime cannot wear something that is going to fall of any second. Their costumes are also extremely tight, scanty, sparse, and show a lot of naked body. Even though this attracts youngsters, it does not serve the purpose of a superhero and only of a woman who is interest men.

To conclude this I defiantly feel that revealing and dis proportioned bodies of heroines degrade the status of women in the world. They give a sense that women aren't important and only have one objective which is not true. These comics put women down and give them a bad reputation. This is true as if you ask a teenager why they buy comics which have woman superheroes, they will probably say that they like the woman in the book. This shouldn't be why they buy comics but it should be because they like reading comics and enjoy the stories.
--Lianna

Comic Book Character Controversy

2008-03-06T22:52:00.000-08:00

There are many people who have written about comic books as a phenomenon of popular culture. Scholars, feminists and fans of comic book art have written books, theses and endless blog pages about the way women are portrayed in popular comics. One one end of the spectrum of arguments is that comic books do not present enough images of strong female characters and the ones they do show are one-dimensional and uninteresting. At the other end are those who feel that the portrayal of women in comics is misogynistic (a hatred and distrust of women) which is implied in the fact that most comic book heroines are sexualized to the point of becoming mere objects for the men in the story to use for their own ends. Both these arguments, and all the ones in between, are too complex to discuss adequately here. There are, however, some points of these arguments that you should consider when formulating your own argument.

Historically it has been adolescent boys who have bought the lion's share of comic books. Some defenders of the status quo say that the skimpy outfits and unrealistic proportions of female characters do play to the fantasies of young men, but that is the target audience and these images are harmless fun. Reactions to this position say that portraying women as the objects of sexual fantasies promotes the idea in young reader's minds that women are of a secondary status. This attitude leads to the subjugation of women's rights, promotes the idea that a woman's value is in her ability to attract and please men, and in the worst case scenario can lead to an attitude where violence against women is acceptable.

Like I said there are many varying shades and degrees to these arguments that are not outlined here. Where do you fall in this discussion? As a woman are you offended by the way females are drawn, or do you see these women as strong fighters of evil who are just as absurdly portrayed as male superheroes whose tights barely contain their bulging muscles? As a man do you find these female characters believeable, realistic and desirable, or do you find it insulting that anyone would think you are shallow enough that comic books would have any influence on the way you think?