Well, on the one hand, you do have a point. There are a lot of absurdly-proportioned Pamela Anderson/Jenna Jameson-types in superhero comics. And while male superheroes are just as ridiculous with their rippling muscles and lack of beer guts, female characters always get the skimpiest costumes. (You'd never see Batman swinging around Gotham in bikini briefs and a bustier.)
But I don't think your guy reading comics is the same as watching porn. For one thing, he (hopefully) doesn't read comics for any sort of sexual gratification. He enjoys the stories, art, and characters. There is more artistic and entertainment value than in porn, which only serves one purpose. (Hint: it's not providing compelling stories.) Also, superhero comics, and comics in general, are far less degrading to women than porn. Plenty of women read superhero comics, many of which are written and drawn by talented, female-positive creators like Gail Simone and Colleen Coover.
Also, in terms of media which give men a realistic view of the female body, comics are the least of our concerns. Video games, Maxim magazine, G4TV, beer commercials, the Internet, and much, much more would be ahead of comics on the list of things that perpetuate the image of large-breasted, small-waisted, porn-y looking women in pop culture. Hopefully, though, your guy is as uncomfortable as you are with the unrealistic depictions of women in the media. Why not talk to him about it? Ask him his feelings about how the women are drawn in his comics. Poke fun at the fact that Wonder Woman's skimpy outfit isn't exactly protecting her from bullets (her bracelets can only do so much) or that Power Girl's costume has a cleavage window for some reason. I love superhero comics, but they are often RIDICULOUS.
Finally, there are plenty of comics that feature well-rounded, clothed women with realistic body proportions. Check out Strangers in Paradise, Sandman, Marvel's Alias, and Scott Pilgrim, just a few of the many comics which you can feel comfortable reading with your boyfriend.
But I don't think your guy reading comics is the same as watching porn. For one thing, he (hopefully) doesn't read comics for any sort of sexual gratification. He enjoys the stories, art, and characters. There is more artistic and entertainment value than in porn, which only serves one purpose. (Hint: it's not providing compelling stories.) Also, superhero comics, and comics in general, are far less degrading to women than porn. Plenty of women read superhero comics, many of which are written and drawn by talented, female-positive creators like Gail Simone and Colleen Coover.
Also, in terms of media which give men a realistic view of the female body, comics are the least of our concerns. Video games, Maxim magazine, G4TV, beer commercials, the Internet, and much, much more would be ahead of comics on the list of things that perpetuate the image of large-breasted, small-waisted, porn-y looking women in pop culture. Hopefully, though, your guy is as uncomfortable as you are with the unrealistic depictions of women in the media. Why not talk to him about it? Ask him his feelings about how the women are drawn in his comics. Poke fun at the fact that Wonder Woman's skimpy outfit isn't exactly protecting her from bullets (her bracelets can only do so much) or that Power Girl's costume has a cleavage window for some reason. I love superhero comics, but they are often RIDICULOUS.
Finally, there are plenty of comics that feature well-rounded, clothed women with realistic body proportions. Check out Strangers in Paradise, Sandman, Marvel's Alias, and Scott Pilgrim, just a few of the many comics which you can feel comfortable reading with your boyfriend.
I'm a girl who loves comics. Yes the women are unrealistic, but they also kick ass. These are strong powerful female characters, in more ways than one. She Hulk is an attorney, Jean Grey is a doctor, Storm was a goddess, Batwoman is ex military, Oracle is a technical genius, and Catwoman hung up her whip to try to raise her daughter. Super hero comics are fantasies, and yes the revealing costumes are a part of that, but it's not just about eye candy for the guys. Many of the first female heroes were created by women, and women put them in very progressive outfits, because it was a part of their fantasy, to jump from roof to roof top without a girdle, or to be queen of the jungle. These were free women, who were able to rise above the gender roles of the time, and kick ass. I'm not saying the comic industry isn't sexist, I'm just saying there's some empowering aspects to. Hopefully your geeky guy sees you as being just as powerful and sexy as the women in comics, if not make sure he sees your inner wonder woman.
Plus, skimpy costumes have gotta come from somewhere!
They can't just be limited to dodge porno scenarios (or worse, Disney, haha, you didn't think of that now, did you).
How boring (for both sexs) would halloween be without our super-heros?!
:D
Agreed. While there are plenty of skimpy costumes, there are also tons of strong, well-written female characters in comics. For instance, Marvel's Jessica Jones-- a detective, a mother, and a sometime Avenger.
I completely agree! I've been reading older Conan issues to get excited for the movie, and there's a character called Red Sonja;
http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/2011/02/red-sonja-comic.jpg
Yeah, that armor does nothing. But, the character herself is awesome. She handles a sword as well as any man, and kicks all sorts of butt.
Psssh... yeah, many female comic book characters kick ass, just not any from that misogynist Alan Moore!!!
I'll give you that, I still really enjoy Watchmen, but his penchant for portraying women as aging whores, who's only value is sex is very very bothersome. I have a similar complaint of Frank Miller, his treatment of Catwoman in The Dark Knight Returns was offensive. I think both use grit as an excuse to portray women very unfavorably. But I can't say I don't love alot of their work....alot can be said for a compelling story, even if I really don't like certain aspects...
Promethea has probably his strongest female characters. Also V for Vendetta isn't bad. I hear Lost Girls is interesting, but haven't read. But, yeah, Watchmen is rough on the ladies. Frank Miller is worse though, at least recently with Sin City and 300. But Dave Sim takes the cake when it comes to misogynistic comic book creators. You can't top the dude who devotes half of an issue of his comic about a talking aardvark to long-winded rants about how women are bringing down the patriarchy. Cerebus was a good comic for the most part, but Sim's work is tough to recommend to female friends and girlfriends.
You mean you haven't signed his I'm not a misogynist petition? :D Then again isn't popular opinion just a construct of the female void? So why would he bother with a petition lolz. Brilliant work though...