Contributor
When I was growing up, I used to watch Teen Titans every Saturday morning. There was one particular character who I was able to relate to immensely. Her name was Starfire. Starfire was a teenage girl who believed it was okay to feel things, that kindness was the best superpower, and that friendship was important. She was a character I could look up to.
Now that I’m 19 years old, DC Comics (DC) has relaunched some titles, one of them being Red Hood and the Outlaws. When I found out Starfire was one of the main characters, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to see what my childhood hero grew up to become.
Unfortunately, when I was introduced to Starfire of Red Hood and the Outlaws, she was sporting a small purple bikini, posing in tropical waters while her male group members gawked at her.
This sort of thing isn’t uncommon in comic books. I know that. I’ve been reading them for years, but it still doesn’t change the fact that it bothers me. Sherry Lea, an illustrator from Ottawa, sheds some light on what the problem may be.
“A lot of the creators of these comics are men. They’re going to draw or write what they think will please their readers,” she says. “Most of the time they think their readers are going to be male so they try to target it towards that audience.”
Even though that’s reality, I can’t help but be irritated that there isn’t a single empowered female character in Red Hood and the Outlaws that I can relate to. All I see is a highly sexualized female for straight male readers to fantasize about.
Usually, creators justify their actions by saying that they are sexually liberating their female characters.
What’s done to these characters, however, is by no means my definition of sexual liberation. It’s proven by the way the creators of the new Catwoman spent the first several panels focusing on Catwoman’s assets—we don’t get to see her face even once.
Meanwhile, Starfire is cold, doesn’t believe in love, or remember anyone she has had sex with.
These two female comic characters aren’t sexually liberated; they are what straight males would like to think a sexually liberated woman is.
Lea agrees. “It’s a pity, really,” she says. “Since most of the creators are male they completely miss the mark when it comes to creating a woman character with depth.”
“They don’t know what it’s like to be a sexually liberated woman because they aren’t women,” adds Lea.
The fact is, many female characters in comics are more busy posing than actually doing anything. As a female comic reader, I could not care less about their outfits or sexual relationships.
I want to read about a character who is on par with her male counterparts. I shouldn’t have to watch some of my favourite characters prance through panels, bend over, and flip their hair back so they can sexually please some of the readers.
If the female characters were actually pursuing the male characters, going after what they wanted (whether it be an actual relationship, or just sex) then I could honestly say these women were empowered and sexually liberated. Until then, they’re just bimbos in bikinis, who serve as eye candy and nothing more.
I can imagine a world in comics where both male and female superheroes are equal. When I was younger and I read comics targeted for a younger audience, the dynamics between the characters weren’t about who was attracting whom. The stories were about how the characters grew, regardless of whether they were male or female. The character development was equal for every major character.
Female readers should be allowed to grow up with characters who they can look up to, just like guys. While male readers have characters like Robin who develop into the likes of Nightwing, female readers are stuck with characters like Starfire. Lea attributes the abundance of strong male characters, as opposed to female ones, to the number of male writers and illustrators in the industry.
“What we need to do is balance it out with some girls. Then we’ll start seeing a difference in the comic book styles” she says.
“That being said, some of the best works are created by male/female duos,” she says. “They really can grasp the dynamics of real interactions.”
I want to see positive female character development in comics for adults. When I think about the well-known superheroes—Batman, the Flash, Superman, and Green Lantern—the sad truth is that I can’t think of any female characters who are on par with them.
All those male heroes I just named have emotional diversity, and an actual complex personality. Female characters need that too.
Starfire shouldn’t have to be an emotionless lover in order to be a sexually liberated woman. The reader’s focus shouldn’t be on Catwoman’s ass. Females in comics should be just as badass as their male counterparts.
