From the
comments of
Breastblog 2007, on Power Girl's costume:
I don't mind her flaunting, I do mind artists and authors flaunting her *at* us.
Precisely. That's why I don't see why the window requires any explanation at all. Plenty of buxom women wear low necklines without expecting - let alone wanting! - to be leered at. It's the men that are the problem, not the choice of clothes. The comic book equivalent to that is that it's the way artists draw PG that is problematic, not the design of her costume per se.
Trying to 'explain' the costume just draws unwarranted attention to what isn't, in fact, the problem. And covering up her cleavage would, I'd argue, be conceding the sexist point, just as women shouldn't have to cover up just because some arseholes won't look them in the eye.
Totally agreed.
ReplyDeleteExplaining the hole in the costume is like explaining why Superman wears a belt to hold up his overwear - it just draws attention to something silly.
I also basically agree that having a "cleavage hole" (there's gotta be a better term for it than that - I apologize for the crassness of the one I used) is not really all that odd.
On the other hand, I'd hate having to disgard the excellent explaination given for the window in her JSA Classified arc just because it draws attention to her breasts again. The reason given, that was waiting for something that'd feel to her that she'd finally drawn level with Superman, made such perfect sense for the character and that complicated relationship with her father-figure has been part of her history just as long as the window has.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of her family ties, one thing I would really love to see is a flash-back team-up story between Karen and Earth-2 Lois Lane. A lot gets said about Kal-L's influences on her but Lois, a feminist who was succeeding in a difficult career all the way back in the 1930s, must have had at least an equal impact.
The reason given, that was waiting for something that'd feel to her that she'd finally drawn level with Superman, made such perfect sense for the character and that complicated relationship with her father-figure has been part of her history just as long as the window has.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean that now that she's become Chair of the JSA she might finally fix the hole in her costume? I'm willing to just shrug away her ever expanding bust size over the years, but her current get-up just emphasizes her freakish lack of nipples...
Flidget -- See, I have to disagree with you on that explanation being a good thing. I like the idea (implied in her early appearances) that she was avoiding the S to avoid being considered a subordinate and assert her independence. The way Johns stated it it sounded like she was looking for something to show Superman to be considered good enough to stand with him, as opposed to simply wishing to stand on her own.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea (implied in her early appearances) that she was avoiding the S to avoid being considered a subordinate and assert her independence.
ReplyDeleteSo do I. I'm OK with the Johns twist, though, since it strikes me more a "searching for identity" thing rather than a "low self-esteem" thing.
But the bottom line that derails most of these logical arguments for me is that Power Girl is not a real woman making empowering decisions. She is a drawing whose words are put in her mouth by men to justify another man's decision to draw her costume without breast coverage.