"Ithaqa" Comic Book Update #177 A Reflection On Women In Action Narratives
Ruth is a badass, I've said this before, but I'm always happy to be reminded of this fact... So anyway, looking at panels 3-7 today confronted me with a strange epiphany...I've basically never seen a bloodied up woman getting scrappy in a visual medium.
When it comes to most action films where a woman is fighting, she may get beaten up, but she never really walks away looking like this:
The hair stays perfect, maybe she licks some blood of her lips, but that's about it. Even in anime, we seem to have an aversion to the female face reacting biologically to being punched. They usually just get those dusty scuff marks.
It seems to me, that unless the context is domestic abuse/sexual assault we don't see a black eye, a bloody nose, or any hint that the face has taken serious trauma.... Which is interesting, cause we love those badass moments where a completely broken spider man musters the last of his strength to save himself/the day.
We're all about that bloody horizontal cut on a man's nose, it lets us know he can take a beating, but rise above it!
But putting a lady character in that exact situation seems to make us uncomfortable, and to be honest even just typing this up to talk about it kinda makes me feel strange, like this topic shouldn't be breached.
It's just interesting to me because this is something I didn't notice until I started looking at Theresa's artwork, and now I can't unsee it. Even in Ghost In The Shell, when The Major's body has been totally ripped apart, her face, torso, and hair are completely pristine.
Wtf right? Am I taking crazy pills here?
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You are totally not taking crazy pills ! I also notice the same things ! Apparently women = beauty, and this association must be stressed and preserved no matter what. For example, if a woman isn't good looking, then she isnt of 'real' value or character. She's probably old or not important, etc. It's weird.
But yes, in terms of violence, women's beauty is preserved even when she's taking damage or is involved in action sequence as if it is INCONCEIVABLE that women's pain trumps women's role to be eyecandy...
Am I rambling again . __ .;;;;
Anyway, I love Theresa's arts because of the humanistic approach contained in them :> Her figures seem real and convincingly human <3
Also I love this kind of topic <3 Thank you for raising it o7
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"it is inconceivable that a woman's pain trumps her role as eye candy" - if I was writing a book on the subject you bet your ass I'd use that line in it haha. I think you managed to crystalize what I was circling around, into a single line. Well done haha, and yes, I'm super lucky to have a bunch of artistic women in my life pushing me in the right direction when it comes to representation!
Yes, watch our for veryspider, she has more talents than you might think!
I can see myself falling into this trap as well. And while some creators may make those choices based purely on the maintenance of the heroines sex appeal, knowing myself I think there’s an equal part that are just plain squeamish contemplating & visualizing violence against women, both on a personal level and even a professional level!
Since the entertainment industries are still unfortunately male dominated, there may be a tendency to self censor and play it safe. I recall how there was even controversy over a rather benign X-Men billboard, as some opponents felt it advocated violence against women!
So while there is clearly a case of outdated gender roles in entertainment that keeps us from treating male & female protagonists equally, I’d like to think that in many cases (pretty much any non T&A centric work) the motives are a little more pure, even if still a bit misguided.
I think female creators like Theresa are more willing to break that barrier, possibly unconsciously as they may carry less baggage and a different viewpoint to the violence.
Beyond that, it’s been just a few edgier souls who have strayed outside of the tropes you’ve described!
I agree, I don't think it's conscious or malicious. I have to believe that anyway because I wasn't even aware of that disparity until like 24 hours ago, and I don't want to believe that thats was because I was actively trying to push a male agenda haha.
I think you're right that a big part of the solution comes from just have a more equal balance of gender working (and WRITING) in Hollywood. Plus, people just drawing things in a more frank, less baggage-y way sounds exciting to me...
Can't believe there was controversy over that billboard....
Also, can I just say how refreshing it is to have a civil discussion about tropes between both genders? The steemit community is truly a beautiful thing., unmatched on the internet
It is nice to have our small, engaged, and civil Steem community right now!
I think the reason this topic really hit me is because I’ve been working on my comic in which I’ve based the characters off friends, two of the main being strong female leads. It’s a blast, it helps me write the characters and feel more engaged... but ... as I’ve realized the hell I need to put these characters through to tell a great story, it’s strange, jarring, and makes me uncomfortable. I feel like I’m personally beating on these ladies, and it’s tough! I’m sure most storytellers feel the same recording the harm done to their favorite characters, no matter the circumstance or gender.
Thank you for this.
I didn't realise this fact before, it's funny that some stuff are just so weird and imbalanced and accepted by society, until someone comes out and questions the status quo, only after that then people realise that it's not really fair or just.
I believe it's important that women in art got wounded and became ugly and distorted, because it is a fact of life. There are actually arts out there that beautify women being tortured and killed, and though the art itself might be pretty, the message they convey is disturbing.
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Exactly. Consider how a woman and baby appear during labor and childbirth! Way off par from the pretty lady standard. Yet life is a beautiful event, a beautiful thing even when it may seem ugly.
Yes! It's so true! And I'm glad you've brought it up. This exact thing has driven me insane for a very long time. It's uncomfortable to look at a beaten/bloodied woman, but celebrated in a man. We all rejoice when there's a badass female heroine taking part in the action, kicking ass and taking names, and yet somewhere along the lines it was decided that she only gets to keep that role if she "looks good" while she's doing it..? I think (hope) that the fact that we are noticing this and calling it out means we should see a shift in the near future.
Yeah, it's so ingrained in me that I honestly felt viscerally uncomfortable even suggesting that women in art should display signs of injury.
It felt like I was talking about a fetish or some crap, and not just noticing a glaring inconsitency!