The Nature of Sex and Sexism in the DCnU

I posted this long comment on a post over at Stars and Garters and thought I'd repost it here, to share and to keep it for myself for future reference.


An excellent post. I do feel the need to add a few things, however,

Because not all women are created equal. We don't think alike, nor do we enjoy the same things. Or get offended by the same things.

First, I'm a middle-aged white married woman who has been reading comics, mainly DC Comics, for over 50 years (egads, that makes me feel OLD).

I do prefer female characters to be strong. I prefer male characters to be strong, too. I want to read about good, interesting characters. I also like reading about quirky characters, ones with emotional conflicts, flaws that get explored in stories, and lots of other things, but mostly, I like them to be individuals.

I'm shunning most of the DCnU not because of how the characters are being treated, but because I just can't handle another reboot, especially one that negates so much of what I know and love about my favorite characters.

Batwoman is fine. She's knew without a lot of history to have negated. Catwoman, no matter how she's being written now, is out for me because too much is being denied as having happened. I'm sickened by what I've read about how she's being depicted, but my not reading her book has nothing to do with that treatment. I'm not reading Nightwing for a similar reason. I don't want to read Dick Grayson going backward in his life.

So, another book I'm not reading is Red Hood and the Outlaws because I detest Jason Todd (I'm one of the folks who voted for him to be killed). And as appalled as I am by how Kory is being treated, I'm also appalled by how Roy Harper is being treated. He was a wonderfully complex character, one who always tried to do the right thing and even though he enjoyed sex with any woman who was willing, he always respected them. And now, he's a moron, based on the panels I saw if he's willing to take advantage of Kory like that.

As for Voodoo, it wasn't the best way to intro the character, but it's a part of Pris that I remember and I'm willing to see where it's going. She is an alien, after all.

So, when it comes to the DCnU, I'm just annoyed and appalled by a lot of the choices they've made. I happen to like reading about males as much or more so than females. I like beefcake and therefore can't begrudge guys their cheesecake, provided  there's that beefcake for me and stories to go with both.

So yes, we all need to keep protesting how females are treated in comics, but let's also protest how idiotic and misogynistic men are so often portrayed, too, because that just keeps feeding the stereotypes and the wrong attitudes in the readers.