Comics have a shameful history of depicting women as sex objects. Many female characters are nothing but a bundle of boobs and legs and flowing hair. Comics Worth Reading has linked to a blog entry entitled If Male Heroes Were Sex Objects. I love it. This is social commentary with a sense of humor.
Apparently this tirade was started by this upcoming Frank Miller cover to upcoming All-Star Batman and Robin #5, due in July:
Here’s a cover that the blogger drew up in response. (More covers are available on her site.)
The comics marketplace is notable for the absence of female creators and consumers. Could covers like this, and the attitudes they represent, possibly be one of the reasons?
Elsewhere, this article about the state of the comics industry contains the following passage:
The Japanese have known this for some time. Manga makes up 40 percent of all printed material published in Japan every year. Practically everyone — young and old, male and female — reads manga because there’s a manga for everyone, and it’s available everywhere. It’s a true mass medium — an example of what the comic industry in America could have been, and what it may yet become.
Perhaps if U.S. comics publishers did away with sexist content they might double their potential audience because their product would appeal practically everyone — young and old, male and female.
Just a thought.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Dave // Apr 25, 2006 at 14:51
Manga is fundamentally different than US comic books because it covers a significantly wider series of topics. If US comics covered a wider range of topics then it’s possible that they’d get a wider audience. However, just because manga has a wide audience doesn’t mean that it’s not sexist. From what I’ve seen manga has a decidedly sexist streak to much of it. And if you think that our comics are too lurid or quasi pornographic and that manga is a step up from that, take a look at it some time. Most US comics don’t have bare breasted women in them but there are plenty of manga that do.
I respectfully suggest that manga is more widely read in Japan than comics are here because they cover a wider range of interests (ie, more than just superheros and monsters) than the majority of the US comic industry. Also, manga seems to be more widely accepted in Japan as an art form than “just comics” here in the US.
Keep in mind that the above opinions have never actually been to Japan, but from what I’ve read on the subject of manga and anime this seems fairly consistent.
2 jdroth // Apr 25, 2006 at 15:46
Ah, yes. You are absolutely correct, Dave. I can see how my statements above read exactly as if I were saying that manga is non-sexist and therefor has a wide appeal. My mistake. I’m well aware that manga is full of sexist stereotypes, many of them more severe than in the United States.
What I meant to say is that currently in this country, comics are a male-dominated entertainment. This is not going to change unless some fundamental industry premises are revised. One of these (but not the only one) is the rampant sexism.
The U.S. and Japan have different cultures. While manga thrives overseas despite the sexism, I don’t think comics can thrive among women here without strong female characters who offer more than just sex appeal.
3 Lyle // Apr 27, 2006 at 08:45
Dave, I think they key difference with manga is that, while there is a lot of sexist manga out there, there is also a lot of non-sexist material to be found. More importantly, without the shared universes, one can expect something that doesn’t start out feeling sexist to stay that way.
I generally agree with you that manga reading is more widespread because comics in Japan cater to more audiences, but I think a factor in that is that a Japanese comics reader can isolate themself from material they find sexist more easily than an American comics reader. (It is possible, but, without turning to manga that requires work.)
For me, the biggest issue is that a double standard is clearly at play in what’s considered “mainstream” comics. Unfortunately, this is the face of comics to the audience that doesn’t read comics and not titles like Amy Unbounded, Owly and True Story Swear to God.
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