Male Superhero Costumes Get Female-Style Makeovers
Over at Fernacular (via Uproxx), they decided to try and demonstrate why some women aren’t too pleased with many of the costumes female heroes get by giving guys the same kind of makeover. The result is pretty hilarious, but because it’s hilarious, it points out the problem with this idea.
It just doesn’t work when you try to make men sexy by showing skin. It’s just goofy and an obvious joke every time. Put the exact same costume on a man with ideal anatomy and a woman with ideal anatomy, and those attracted to men will probably laugh, and those attracted to women are more likely to find it sexy.
I’m not saying this isn’t a problem, but I am saying it’s hard to “oversexualize” men in the same way it’s done to women, so I’m not sure if comparisons like these work. I wrote a whole post about this a while back, and got into debates about “false equivalency” and this and that, but it was an interesting conversation nonetheless.
Anyway, check out the rest of the hero makeovers below.
That last picture isn’t Fernacular’s, but it was in an Uproxx post about this series. (I deleted the link to the post since it didn’t publish in my last comment.)
I guess I’d say that the point of these things is to highlight the absurdity of sexualizing a hero character to this degree. Like, yes I get what you mean about it just reading as silly on guys, but a) I bet a lot of girls think the costumes girl heroes wear look silly and b) even if the aforementioned costumes do have sex appeal, that still leaves the possibility that they diminish the legitimacy of the character (and the hero) inside them.
In that case, the women probably have an issue with other women at the club who are scantily clad. But we never hear about their problems with girls at the club.
Yeah, it’s totally the same that woman at the club pick what they wear & super-heroine characters are drawn by men.
Exactly. They’re both sexualized. I mean, the dresses need not be so short and revealing. And yet. So obviously, this is a fake issue overall.
So you are sarcasm-inhibited as well. Because I outlined two entirely different/opposite descriptors.
Most folks on the internet look for mistakes so hard, they can’t see when they’re being toyed with.
I’ll be clear.
1. Women will make themselves look sexy to draw male attention
2. Men will draw women as sexy to draw male attention
What’s the problem?
The fact that you can’t tell the difference between the two, even after I point it out; that’s the problem.
And you refuse to elaborate (at the same time that you naturally understand that people have different perspectives, which brings in the need for elaboration). Rather suspicious, no?
Where are all of these comics where the female superheroes have exposed nipples? Come on, guys, if you are going to do satire properly it needs to have an actual relation to the thing you are satirizing. Like have Namor swap outfits with Storm or something to illustrate the point that these things are all about being selective.
But wouldn’t switching up Namor and Storm’s costumes actually be semi counter-productive, since Storm’s costume is actually LESS revealing than Namor’s speedo-thing.
Are you implying a double standard here, sir? Misogynistic swine!
I would love to see Kitty Pride wearing just purple pants in a Hulk smash pose if we’re pointing out the absurdity of gender portrayal in comics
I’m always just grateful that the Hulk’s pants stay on…
Oh for god’s sake! Why do people keep harping on this? Women in the real world wear outfits 10 times more skimpy and impractical then superheroes do and there isn’t any men telling them to do it.
“Sexy” female heroes are fun to look at, and there isn’t anything wrong with that.
Sure, women in the real world wear very skimpy outfits. Those women are not usually fighting crime while doing so.
Sexy female heroes may be fun to look at for guys. For a lot of women who want to read comics, they’d prefer if they could enjoy stories of ladies kicking ass without them all looking like porn stars.
Yeah and UFC guys should cover up!
Do I like watching a bunch of men in spandex, with every bulge and muscle pushing out? No, I wish there were more heroes who fit how I want them to look. Do I still love them? Yes, because despite them not dressing how I would like, they are still awesome characters. And so are the women.
Well said. If you’re up for a pretty funny little thing go to Google Images and enter the search phrase “romantic novel” 🙂
the submarine (aka namor) and the hulk wear even less. yet no male has ever complained that it sexualizes men. wwe wrestlers wear less than any revealing woman. yet again, no one complains about their outfits. heman wears alot less than she-ra….
need I go on?
these pics only look funny cause the costumes are of a feminine style. putting a man in a dress is funny too cause its of a feminine style. Do people find the hulk, heman, wwe wrestlers hilarious to look at?
If the goal here is to cover up female superheros, then I say: lighten up and let men enjoy their entertainment.
If the goal is to get male characters to show more skin then I say: right on, I agree, women need some eye candy too.
Woman dont fantasize about Namor or the Hulk, thats hat men do. So there is no comparison, objectifying men for the sake of men is not the same as objectifying women for the sake of men.
If women dont fantasize about revealing male characters, then that would explain why male super heroes dont wear these kind of outfits shown here. So whats there to complain about? Just trying to stop good entertainment?
Yes, of course, that is the solution! Women only complain because they want to stop good entertainment!
GOSH! There is nothing more we hate than GOOD entertainment!
Women aren’t complaining, feminists are. Women don’t give a rats ass about this non-issue.
Are you so dull as to not understand where your sentence went wrong? Feminists are women who are concerned with the equality of women.
Feminists are women. WOMEN are annoyed.
Fortunately, not all feminists are women. Unfortunately, not all women are feminists. Sadly, not everyone has a clue as to why these pictures are funny, & yes, it has to do with pinpoint accuracy.
Some women, with emphasis on “some”, are annoyed. The ONLY women annoyed are the feminists, because they are the only “trained” people here. They are, among other things, trained in being hysterically oversensitive to issues that bother no ordinary (and by far superior) woman. Who in their right mind gets their knickers in a twist over something as silly as comic book heroes? Don’t tell me that YOUR fantasies are boringly politically correct at all times …
And speaking of dull (yes, YOU started that line of inquiry) … are you not aware that feminism is much, much more than just the simplistic dictionary definition of “equality of women”?
In fact, feminism often goes completely against any notion of equality. Ever look up the VAWA act? It’s the “Violence Against Women Act” that created the new, sexist notion of “gendered violence” – meaning in practice that ONLY MEN can ever commit Domestic Violence because it’s a male gender thing. As you may have guessed there is no Violence Against Men Act except ordinary, gender neutral laws against violence.
Having a VAWA is not about equality. Equality would be ONE LAW against violence applied UNIFORMLY to both men and women (and funny enough, under those laws which do exist women are routinely excused or receive lower sentencing for the same acts as men).
VAWA is what you get when you have those crazy notions of the Patriarchy that paints ALL men as evil misogynists and both active and/or latent rapists. You can’t claim that feminist notions such as the obviously untrue “rape culture” have anything to do with “equality”. It has to do with hating and shaming men at every turn.
And yes, the feminist stance on “rape culture” is obviously untrue, because rapists are culturally among the most hated people on Earth, and the laws completely reflect that – ever notice how rape is, well, illegal? Surely a good and proper “rape culture” wouldn’t spend a dime on prosecuting rapists if the entire culture regarded it as good thing to strive for. Hell, if – hypothetically – men were that powerful, and if men were as evil as the feminists try to make them … why would a Patriarchy endorsing Rape Culture allow feminism to exist?
Rape culture is something subsumed under the umbrella of patriarchy theory, so just there it’s pretty obvious we don’t even have patriarchy. (Patriarchy being defined as a system created by men with the express goal of oppressing and exploiting women for men’s own benefit. Rape, according to feminists, is a tool that men use to keep women in their place so that patriarchy can continue to exist.)
I don’t know which side you’re on, but if you’re a feminist and rigorously stick to the equality issue only, yet let those crazy professional feminists speak for you, then I’m afraid you’ve been had.
Feminists today (the majority) have so much more on their agenda than just equality. I recommend “Who Stole Feminism?” by Christina Hoff Sommers if you happen to be one of those rare, unheard feminists that “want a level playing field, no favors asked”.
If you’re the Steinem, Dworkin, SCUM Manifesto type of feminist who think “women need men as a fish needs a bicycle” my prediction is that you won’t read that book. That group is, BTW, the most powerful and outspoken. They define – for good or bad – what feminism is, because they have the political clout (which). If you read it, though, you’ll know quite well what feminists are up to these days.
There is not one verifiable or true piece of information in that screed. Please, turn down. Just a bit.
That’s pretty funny.
so fight inequality in the work place, fight inequality in the legal system, fight inequality in the government. Im on your side there. But why do they have to go trying to change and censor beloved characters who are enjoyed by millions
Censor? No one is confiscating your boob-window Power Girl statues. Costumes and characters change with the times, and become a reflection of their audiences.
I don’t fantasize about Namor or the Hulk. I don’t fantasize about fictional females either. I’m more into the real thing, but I do enjoy great stories with pretty pictures. And I’m not upset about women fantasizing about shirtless werewolves and vampires (to name one example). I’m more concerned about them latching onto the notion that they should measure their worth based on their ability to get a man, which is something.that romance novels and other prevalent mediums have done since forever, but they get universal mainstream acceptance while comics are still constantly lambasted over the slimmest of premises.
Ever see a romance novel cover?
” Do people find the hulk, heman, wwe wrestlers hilarious to look at?”
Yep, they’re cheesy. That stuff is ridiculous.
” lighten up and let men enjoy their entertainment.”
Ohhhh, comics are for men only now, I get it. I mean, it’s not like the industry is dying or anything, so of course they want to actively exclude half the population.
No no, theres entertainment for both genders. Comics have ripped guys, females who kick some ass and love stories
I think you’re missing a lot of the nuances of the conversation, tbh. Comics do have ripped men – they’re a male power fantasy. They’re not sexualized in the way that women are in comics, hence the entire point of this post. They have women that not a female power fantasy, they are a sexualized male fantasy. Female power fantasies and men sexualized from the female gaze aren’t being portrayed currently by any of the books from the big two.
Men and women do enjoy comics, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems with them that are worth discussing. No one wants to take away the Marvel Way of drawing, but it would be nice to expand drawing styles to engage and attract more people. I used to read most of DC & Marvel’s lineups but eventually pared it down to a handful of books because I was tired of feeling like I was reading things that were obviously not aimed at me.
They have ripped, sexy men in tight clothing accentuating their every muscle and bone: but that’s just because men like fantasizing about being like that, not because women enjoy looking at it.
They have badass, sexy women in tight clothing accentuating their every muscle and bone: but that’s just because men like fantasizing about it, not because women fantasize about being like that.
Ummm…really? Obviously everyone fantasizes about being awesome. But to discredit heroines just because their sex appeal is aimed at guys? Honestly, I have seen more women fantasize over the male superheroes than I have men over the females. Male supers are just as sexualized as the women, it’s just that most people don’t really find men in skimpy little outfits to be attractive. To compare the two is a waste of time because they aren’t the same. I truly am not a huge fan of EVERY male hero having the defined pecs and abs and spandex leggings and so on, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still love them. A costume is a costume. Don’t hate characters because they look sexy or unsexy or anything, hate a character for everything about them. If the typical female hero was just a “damsel in distress wearing barely any clothing and being overly sexual and helpless no matter the situation” then be my guest and hate them, because THAT would be aimed completely at men and abandoning women’s interests. But female heroes are BAD ASS. Most of the time they are even shown to outmatch the main character at times, or even are just kick ass characters on their own. Just like the male counterparts, they are sexualized. But honestly, if you can’t identify or feel or look up to or whatever a character just because you think she should be more covered up…well, that’s just sad. I will continue to love my superheroes who wear spandex even though I hate spandex on both men and women.
Let me guess the fifty thousand (exaggerated number) other guys complaining every time a post like this is made doesn’t count.
women who feel beautiful like to show it off though. 😐
men that feel attractive, may or may not, depending on whether they’re gay or freaks or something.
There isn’t enough thermite in the world to burn away the memory of that last photo…
Sure. Feminists are always making these arguments that essentially say, “It is ridiculous for society to expect women to do X, because if men did X we would think it ridiculous.” But of course that conclusion is only valid if you start with the assumption that men and women are exactly the same. But such an assumption is clearly absurd: It is obvious that men and women have a number of physical and psychological differences. You might as well argue that it is absurd to expect an airplane to be able to fly because a car can’t fly, and then try to emphasize this point by drawing ridiculous cartoons of people trying to make cars fly, and supposing that you have now proven that airplanes can’t fly.
Crappy argument.
Yeah, his argument is terrible — if only it were only two words long and obnoxiously huffy. Then you wouldn’t be able to say anything about it, right?
Clearly these ‘reverse gender’ costumes are an attempt at shaming male oriented comic design. Why? Why should males need to be made to feel ashamed of their biological driven urge to enjoy looking at attractive female figures?
Does the idea of males appreciating the female form threaten some people? If so why?
I surmise that women (and some men?) who do not like the idea that men like looking at images of attractive women are the ones with a problem.
These people seem to be under the impression, that men are a lot more simplistic than we actually are. They seem to believe if men enjoy the images of women in sexy and desirable clothing, We (men) can ONLY see women as sex objects. They seem to think we lack the human ability to know a thing can fit in multiple categories at the same time.
I along with most men enjoy looking at images of attractive and sexy females AND we respect and appreciate women too.
The sad thing is that: your point is that you still respect women, and your comment has more dislikes than likes.
Which proves to me that not only is there no overall sexism issue, but that people WANT there to be.
As a gay man, I am totally on board with this plan! Bring on the exploitative my-costume-is-an-overstuffed-speedo makeovers and the anatomically-impossible come-hither fighting poses. Equal-opportunity ogling is long overdue among the spandex-clad set.
Just as long as they keep Rob Liefeld far, far away.
Hahahaha, now I’m imagining a speedo with a cargo pocket on it.
Dammit, you totally owe me a new screen after that! OJ everywhere, arrgh…
I’m a comic artist. I’m amazed that people think practicality is even a “thing” in comics in which far less likely things (super powers) happen.
Both the powers and fashions are crazy. But for the love of God, never talk about the powers. Just criticize the fashion (with which only some girls have a problem).
But- but superpowers are totally real! *sob* Are you trying to tell me that my dreams of becoming Spider Man are a lie! =(
You need to expand your horizons if you’ve never heard a Superhero A has stupid / silly powers (Any discussion over Superman will eventually mention this for example). Just because you’ve not come across it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And before you ask, no I’m not going to do your googling for you.
Right, I was talking to a young lady who was telling me that Aquaman is scoffed at b/c he talks to fish.
Poor Aquaman, he’s f*cked thanks to his depiction in the Super Friends cartoon, this led to him being useless and only having the power to talk to fish becoming pop culture fact.
Most people haven’t even seen / will never see Super Friends, but thanks to shows like Robot Chicken the character will probably never be able to shake that reputation.
So much whinning and complaing… If feminists want female heroes to look like ugly nuns, they should start making their own comics and stop bothering those who already are.
As a female comic artist and admitted feminist, I think both male and female superhero costumes are usually completely ridiculous and impractical. Both genders are definitely portrayed in a very idealistic way (ie women with hourglass figures and big breasts, men with rippling muscles). While I do find these costume swaps hilarious, male costumes in comics can be just as ridiculous, if not more so, sometimes.
Agreed. You may remember when The Incredibles touched on this when they spoofed the uselessness of capes.
Oh, but capes aren’t revealing. Therefore, no one complains about how silly/impractical (besides Batman’s cape) they are.
Exactly. Hero costumes are more about what looks good rather than what is practical. Capes, cleavage holes, underwear on the outside; it’s just imagery.
I honestly couldn’t care less about whether or not a girl’s costume is considered classy and practical or skimpy and useless. Thats what I hate about modern feminists. They always complain and complain about the most insignificant of details, but they never do ANYTHING to help women who are being treated like crap in third-world countries (and sometimes first-world countries, too)
People please, sometimes a comic book is just a comic book. If it bothers you, don’t read it.
Considering the way the comments are being voted upon, I’m guessing the majority of readers are female. Now let’s see how many dislikes I can get. GO!
There cannot be a double standard because we (males/females) are so different that different rules apply. Men are ‘sexy’ by displaying strength, boldness, courage, etc. Comics and art only exaggerate this to the extreme. Women are biologically attractive by their physical appearance (if you don’t like it blame nature). So comics and art only exaggerate this to the extreme. YOU CANNOT JUDGE MALE AND FEMALES BY THE SAME STANDARD. We play with completely different rules and it’s something the femmists will never get and it’s why they will always be full of hate because they will never understand.
I see the dudebros have ganged up on this conversation, as they are wont to do.
Its a good idea, but they should make the costumes more masculine like wrestlers, these are very feminine. For example all you gotta do is remove the blue part of superman’s costume or the grey part of batmans and they look like wrestlers now. I dont understand what your problem is with sexy female costumes, but I do get it that you want more sexy male costume. sexiness is NOT objectification! sexiness is awesome whether its male or female. I dont get why women complain about sexy female outfits. In wrestling the guys wear speedos and no man has ever complained that it objectifies men, in fact its one of the most popular shows for men! I agree that male superheroes need to show more skin, though. ladies need some eye candy too! 😀
Hey, works for me. But that last one with the Supes package? Gotta even that out. Camel-toe, people! Where is the camel-toe?!
Superman “It’s like I’m wearing nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all”