Who are female characters for?
Anna N. at Jezebel (a site which has been responsible for keeping me entertained during long working days) writes Women And Cartoons: Beyond Breast Size, using this BBC article as its jumping off point.
She raises some good points and asks some good questions. I know when I first started reading comics, pre-puberty, I didn’t really think much of the supposed sexiness of the characters I was reading about. I just saw them as strong women. The older I got, however, the more I began to question the difference between the written portrayal of these characters and how they were drawn. Couldn’t some of these female characters just wear a few more clothes every now and then?
There is definitely plenty of troubling images presented to women of all ages — in comics as well as cartoons — but I think there are still plenty of strong ones, too (and sometimes, characters show both). I loved reading the comments in this thread at Jezebel — you begin to see who women relate to and why (lots of Darias out there, but also a good number of Sailor Scouts and votes for Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Deaths and Deliriums. Even a few Rogues and Shadowcats). While we may have a way to go, I’m glad to see there’s someone for everyone out there.
