Sexism in comics: it’s something that’s there, and always in the back of our minds, but for the longest time it was something we didn’t talk about. It just… well, was. Buy any comic from any publisher, and you’re bound to get a fair amount of TnA (as it were) because, to put it delicately, sex sells. The more Witchblade shows of her body, the more likely the average male reader will want to look inside the comic. You know. Just in case. And hey, isn’t there a Suicide Girls comic at the moment? Oh, and wait until you guys see Vescell. Yay!
But, the plus side of all this is that now that we’ve discussed it, and we realize it’s all there, we can act appropriately. DC denies it, but in the DCnU relaunch it does appear that all the heroic women are dressed much less scantily than before. Yes, it does look like sexism in comics is indeed over. And who better to celebrate than the always hilarious Kate Beaton?
In her latest comic (ostensibly titled “Strong Female Characters”, unless I’m looking in the wrong place (no pun intended)), Kate Beaton writes on her site:
This comic was conceived by Carly Monardo, Meredith Gran and myself one night. We are professionals in the entertainment industry and we think we know what we are talking about when we say that there needs to be more strong female characters out there and we know just what to do about it. Finally, some women to look up to!
For the full comic, visit Hark, a vagrant. Hooray for the end of sexism!
