Women Superheroes Are Serving Justice; Are We Doing Them the Same?

​I have been completely obsessed with Wandavision lately…like watching episodes as they are released at 3 AM obsessed. As I was obsessing with the costume design for Wandavision, I got thinking about how women superheroes are portrayed in films, especially during Women’s History Month. The dominance that men have historically had in superhero comics and movies is quite obvious. As times have changed, women have been put into larger film and superhero roles. Yet even given the opportunity for simple representation, are these women superhero roles being given the overall justice they deserve?

Elizabeth Olsen plays the iconic Scarlet Witch in Wandavision, a popular character from the Marvel comics. In Olsen’s first appearance as Wanda, she appeared in a tight corset top. There seems to be a common theme with women superheroes having revealing outfits. While I am ALL for women should be able to wear whatever they please, I started to consider how Marvel is intentional about the appearance and outfits of their women superheroes to target towards the male audience’s gaze. This is not the case of a woman out on the street wearing what she wants, Marvel is making intentional marketing decisions to appeal to their audience. Olsen’s critique of her attire is what uncovers the problematic sense to these decisions. 

Elizabeth Olsen told Elle Magazine in 2018 that she felt her corset costume in Avengers: Infinity War was too revealing. She stated, “It’s funny because sometimes I look around and I’m just like—wow, I’m the only one who has cleavage, and that’s a constant joke because they haven’t really evolved my superhero costume that much…”. For some reason, a large requirement of being a Marvel woman superhero is to embody power and sexuality, yet Marvel’s men superheroes are not held to the same standard. They get to focus on their craft, while completely covered up. Olsen also stated that she does not think her costumes are representing the average woman.

In Wandavision, Olsen sported a leotard outfit modeled after the iconic image of the Marvel comic’s Scarlet Witch. Her outfit was more modest than the original Scarlet Witch depiction, which is a step in the right direction. Overall, I think women superheroes are moving in a great direction, but it is important to hold companies accountable for narratives they continue to perpetrate. 

HCXO,

 

Hannah <3

• marvel
• Women's History Month