Women in the Superhero World

When you think of super heroes and super hero movies, what comes to mind? Superman? Batman? Spiderman? While all these characters are amazing and intriguing, did you notice how they are all male? Very rarely do people automatically think of super heroines and female characters before their male counterparts. Yes, these male superheroes may be better well-known than female heroes and supporting roles, but why exactly is that? I’ll answer that for you: it’s because the media (particularly film) puts them on pedestals–far above most of the existing female characters. Now, why is this important? Why should you think about this? I’ll give you a clue: it all has to do with female representation and portrayal. 

Superhero movies have been around for a while, so we have a lot of female representation to look at, particularly how these female roles have evolved from old to new movies. We’re going to start by talking about the early superhero movies in the 1900s. It’s with these early superhero movies that I’ve noticed female characters usually fall into one of two roles: they’re either a damsel in distress or they’re the love interest of the main character. While these two types of characters do add to the plot, they’re not good for the representation of females because female characters can be so much more than that, and they’re not being portrayed like that at all. 

It is true, romance may add interest and heighten the drama of a movie, but it also can cause a problem. The problem is that this theme is overused. In so many superhero movies, we see the leading lady almost always being a romantic interest. We see this with Superman and Lois Lane, Batman and Cat Woman, Robin and Barbara Gordon and Starfire, and this even transfers to newer movies with Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris, Tony Stark and Pepper Pots, and Thor and Jane Foster. The list goes on. 

The portrayal of women in this role is so important. Past this romantic element, women do not have a lot of substance in their characters. They do not compare with their male counterparts at all who are very complex and are seen doing amazing things; with all this action going on, very commonly do the women essentially sit on the sidelines helping with medial tasks or being held hostage. They’re shown as less powerful and less important. This is where it gets heavy because it is here where the media projects these image to its audiences, and who’s in the audience that can especially take away from this? Girls and females. This is the image that they’re getting, that they’re not as good as men, they’re weak and not powerful, and this simply isn’t true. 

Now the question is raised, “Is this portrayal what we want girls to think about themselves today? Do we want girls to think they’re not as important, they’re not strong, that they’re not smart, and they’re only good for a guy to fall in love with?” No, absolutely not. We want them to believe that they are just as good as the guys, if not better, and that they can be strong and confident, and be great leaders, too. 

This confidence and self-image boost, however, is helped by the development of new female characters and roles. Today, we have great role models in superhero movies for girls and females to look up to. We have Black Widow, Peggy Carter, Storm, Mystique and Kitty Pryde, and next year we’ll have a new Wonder Woman to look upon. These women are all strong, confident, and project great values that we want everyone to take away from instead of the girls that just sit by being one of Batman’s many love interests. We want girls to have confidence and be great people, and the involvement and development of these female superhero characters is how we’re going to do that. 

While the new development of these characters is great, there’s still problems with sexism and sexualization. There’s a quote by Cracked.com (http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-marvel-movies-keep-screwing-up-female…) that I would like to read. “According to the Marvel Universe, institutionalized sexism against women exists everywhere at all times and all situations.” This is so inherently true. Women are being put in more suggestive stances during battle and in movie posters, they’re wearing more tight fitting clothing to “highlight” their features, and they’re treated overall just by their attractiveness and not their overall character. Mic.com (https://mic.com/articles/123525/how-superhero-movies-treat-women-in-11-p…) commented on this by analyzing movie posters that show the sexualization of women. The Hawkeye Initiative (http://thehawkeyeinitiative.com/), another website, depicts the ridiculous relationship between men and how they’re portrayed differently. They showcase artwork of superhero men, particularly Hawkeye, being portrayed the same way females are to highlight just how ridiculous it really is. Women are so much more than just wearing tight battle uniforms and posing instead of fighting, and it’s maddening to see them being portrayed as these shallow and incompetent people. 

Superhero movies are becoming more and more popular, so this increases the importance of having strong female characters for the audience to look upon. Do we want the audience to take away negative images about female characters just because of how they’re portrayed by the media? No, definitely not. Do we want them to feel incredible and super confident, and as capable as those female superheroes? Yes, definitely, we want viewers, especially girls, to feel incredible and think they can do anything despite possibly being a “girl”. Female representation and portrayal is so vastly important because it’s not just characters that are being exuded by the media, it’s the patriarchal and almost misogynistic ideas. Girls, whether super or not, have the capability to be strong, independent, and can do anything they set their minds to, just like the guys that they are so often sitting on the sidelines for, if not even more so.