Extremely awesome Women of the DCU poster

[nenena]

(Click for a larger version!)

So this Adam Hughes poster, subtitled "The Real Power of the DC Universe," has been making the rounds. And there's some debate on whether it's sexist or not.

My reactions:

1. Holy God that's GORGEOUS.
2. The women may be dressed similarly, but their individual personalities really shine through.
3. Are those... individualized... faces?! Why yes, they are!
4. Mary Marvel looks about ten years too old.
5. Oh wait, that's not Mary Marvel... it's Kate Kane?!
6. So why is the lesbian the only one wearing a pantsuit? (*headdesk*)
7. You'd think that with all of Bab's money and connections she would be able to afford a wheelchair that doesn't look so wretchedly behind the times.
8. Kara. Oh my God. Kara. She's sixteen years old, for crying out loud!
9. I can imagine both Selina and Poison Ivy taking Kara aside, either before or after the photoshoot, and giving her a good tongue-lashing. "Oh honey. That's not how you do a seductive come-hither face. That's not how you do it at all. And really, would it kill you to add an extra inch or two on your hem? You're supposed to leave a little something to their imaginations!"
10. Okay, I'll admit, the fact that EVERY SINGLE WOMAN* is wearing three-inch spike heels is pretty effing sexist. The gowns are varied and gorgeous; why can't we have a little more variety in the footwear, too?

* Granted, as was pointed out in comments, we can only see the shoes on five women, and it's kind of hard to tell what Barbara's wearing. If you ask me, though, her visible foot definitely looks pointed, so either she's resting with her foot en pointe, or she's wearing freakin' heels.

ETA: You know what this entry needs? Beefcake.

Here, let me ruin your childhood for you.

Disclaimer: Many of those characters are from Disney movies that are NOT from my childhood, actually.

Comments

[sora50.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit confused. How is putting the women in heels sexist? Showing an ignorance of women's fashion, sure, but sexist?

[nenena.livejournal.com]

Because it's enforcing a standard of beauty, if every single woman has the same footwear. Think of it as "options for elegance," if you will. The poster shows that there's a huge variety of formal wear that women can wear and still look sexy; from skirts to gowns to pantsuits. But yet the only "elegant" footwear that the artist could come up with was stiletto heels. So he's replicating a rather dim-witted and narrow standard of beauty in that case. And this particular standard of beauty (read: three-inch spike heels) is impractical, limits mobility, and can cause both short-term and long-term injury to a woman's feet, legs, and back.

There's no denying that heels - particularly stiletto heels - are sexist. And there's a lot of literature out there why, and I'm not going to go Feminism 101 here. But, like other sexist things (porn, stripping, a gajillion other items of women's fashion, etc), they can be reclaimed as legitimate fashion statements. But that's not what's going on here. I can understand if some of those women were wearing stiletto heels, but all of the women (with visible feet)? That's out of character, undermines the individuality that otherwise comes across for each woman, is lazy on the part of the artist, and yes, for those reasons, it's sexist.

[sora50.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. Thank you for explaining your thoughts. I disagree a bit, but I can see where you are coming from and I'm not confused anymore.