<![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same - io9 Comments]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same - io9 Comments]]> http://io9.com Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:30:09 PDT Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:30:09 PDT http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4619999 Annalee,

My compliments to you for a great post highlighting the same narrow range of looks for female superheroes that then serve to shape the perspectives, ideas, and ideals, of their fans.

Of course, another female superhero who exerts equal or even great impact lives in another genre of female superheroes with similar disproportionate portions is Barbie the doll. But before her time and the time of the female superheroes who you cite, are the powerful chracters of the seemingly well-meaning and seemingly harmless fairy tales and stories that generations of children hear as very young children.

Such stories as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White are filled with messages about beauty and evil, whereby the most beautiful physical structures embody good and meritorious. Accordingly, parents and policy makers (including candidates seeking elected political office) need to be aware and proactive concerning the female superheroes portrayed in all types of reading material and broadcasts on screens ranging in size from big to small.

Dr. Gordon Patzer
author of "Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined"
[www.GordonPatzer.com]



Dr-Gordon-Patzer

]]> 8:362025:c4619999 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:30:09 PDT <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4488635 then watch "Project Runway" and take a look at Chris March's portfolio. He isn't 390 though, but he is overweight.

foofer

]]> 8:362025:c4488635 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:28:46 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4485652 I wonder how they took the BMI of a fictional character.

Anunnaki

]]> 8:362025:c4485652 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:09:01 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4485285 well i dont know about you but i just cant imagine a 390 pound wonder woman

ithidet

]]> 8:362025:c4485285 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:10:36 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4474375 @gybryant: Hah! Okay - hold on to those ideala. Let us know when you find someone who meets your ideals, and please, definitely follow up with us when you've hit those "ideals" for yourself. Something tells me that they might apply to some, but not to yourself. Treating the semantics with a high handed philosophical hammer doesn't press out the fact that the idea is completemy manufactured in and of itself. Although I suppose it's always nice to have goals, isn't it?

Ironic quotes? I don't "know" what you're "talking" about!

phoenix

]]> 8:362025:c4474375 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:22:22 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4472805 @gybryant: The point I see in this study is that yes, we have ideals embodied in the physical characteristics of these characters (sexual fantasy in the case of female characters and power self-insert fantasy in the case of male characters and never the twain shall meet), but

a) the depicted male physical ideal is more realistic than the female one.

b) if anyone breaks out of that ideal it is almost certainly going to be a male character.

femto

]]> 8:362025:c4472805 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:30:02 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4472798 I grew up reading and still read mainly Marvel comics... And yes my wife understands that's were my love for her small ankles comes from.

Final

]]> 8:362025:c4472798 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:29:47 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4469913 yeh you do relise the BMI is a pile of crap invented by the diet industry - I was talking the otehr week with an insurance broker about how elite sports people have problems with insurance as their BMI doesnt fit the models that insurers have.

Mouser_UK

]]> 8:362025:c4469913 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:52:22 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4468723 @DocGratis: @twreckx: And yet, they always seem to have enough body mass to maintain ample boobies...

ideaman2020

]]> 8:362025:c4468723 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:07:10 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4466769 @92BuickLeSabre: That comment sounded mean; it wasn't meant to be at all. Sorry if it did.

92BuickLeSabre

]]> 8:362025:c4466769 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:36:30 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4466761 @ProgGrrl: Just to remind them that they will never be a model or an actress?

I'd rather show it to every model and actress to remind them that they were once a tween girl.

92BuickLeSabre

]]> 8:362025:c4466761 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:36:08 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4466226 I love this post. I wish someone would apply this gauge to women models and actresses too. Then I could hand that to the mom of every tween girl I know. :)

ProgGrrl

]]> 8:362025:c4466226 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:59:31 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4464148 @ideaman2020: Further to what DocGratis explained, the researchers also go on to say

"The Marvel male is predisposed to be on the heavy side of healthy, which can be explained by the increased muscle mass of intense physical acitvity",

which indicates that they are aware that a higher BMI is expected in extremely physically fit individuals.

twreckx

]]> 8:362025:c4464148 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:18:31 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4463675 @ideaman2020: Try reading their statement again "considering that many of the women sampled are martial artists or extremely capable physically and should, if anything, have a BMI that indicates a higher body fat level than is actually present."

Poorly worded but it says Supers should (given their strenght etc) have a higher BMI, which would "Inidicate a higher level of body fat" then the supers actually have.

They should have higher than average BMIs despite not being fat.

So not only should supers have an at least average BMI, they really should have an above average BMI, thus making the curve demonstrated by Marvel women even more absurd...

DocGratis

]]> 8:362025:c4463675 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:23:51 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4462325 @Evdor: Yeah, I think it's mostly a way for insurance companies to charge you more for being slightly more than skeletal. Seriously, people I know who are supposedly "obese" by BMI are generally not even slightly chubby. WTF?

Annalee Newitz

]]> 8:362025:c4462325 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:22:04 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4462240 "20-29 year old age range was chosen as the most appropriate range comparison for the apparent mental age of most adult Marvel readers."

K2

]]> 8:362025:c4462240 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:15:06 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4460868 Kind of funny when I came to this after just getting done hearing a scathing criticism of BMI (gist is: It's a really, really STUPID weigh to judge a person's health).

Evdor

]]> 8:362025:c4460868 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:27:07 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4460148 Unfortunatly, Buffy and River fit into that underweight ideal, despite the feminist storylines.

Rusty626

]]> 8:362025:c4460148 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:42:23 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4460113 @phoenix: Yep, physical ideals. We has them. Your nonconformity to mainstream conceptions of beauty does not make them go away. If there were no physical ideals, then there would be no beautiful people as you couldn't find two people that could agree on what beautiful meant. But there are individuals that millions upon millions of people agree are beautiful, thus suggesting that there is a beautiful ideal to which these exceptional individuals conform. Thinness is an aspect of that ideal. For now. I think.

You put ironic quotes around the word normal too, don't you?

gybryant

]]> 8:362025:c4460113 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:40:05 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4460017 @geekgrrl: Seriously. If you're a tiny Canadian with an adamantium skeleton, the BMI is a one-way trip to an eating disorder.

bryantpaul

]]> 8:362025:c4460017 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:34:48 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4459773 to play devil's advocate, BMI's a crappy way to judge health anyway.

geekgrrl

]]> 8:362025:c4459773 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:22:39 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4459772 what about the BMI of the average Barbie. Their primary target audience is young girls, children. their design is very similar to the average Marvel Superhero. Western society teaches girls and young men that an idealized women should have a tiny waist, and large breast. Hello implants.

foofer

]]> 8:362025:c4459772 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:22:38 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4459416 Ok, putting aside issues of how to calculate age, sample size, and variance due to artistic inconsistencies..

This is impossible to take seriously. These researchers don't seem to know what they're talking about:

"considering that many of the women sampled are martial artists or extremely capable physically and should, if anything, have a BMI that indicates a higher body fat level than is actually present."

HIGHER BMI DOES NOT INDICATE HIGHER BODY FAT!!!

"BMI is not a direct measure of body fatness and that BMI is calculated from an individual's weight which includes both muscle and fat. As a result, some individuals may have a high BMI but not have a high percentage of body fat. For example, highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness."

[www.cdc.gov]

Oh, and PS. I suspect the reason a high percentage of Marvel women fall into the "very fit" category might have something to do with their primary target audience being teenage boys and young men... maybe someone should fund a study on that.

ideaman2020

]]> 8:362025:c4459416 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:04:30 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4459136 @Strangeite: Compared to the boob shape for both marvel men and real life people?

cde

]]> 8:362025:c4459136 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:50:10 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4459109 Is it just me or is the BMI curve for Marvel women a little phallic?

Strangeite

]]> 8:362025:c4459109 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:48:30 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4459092 @SunZhiQian: But we love fat people committing Crimes. Case in point, The Blob.

@omerhi: But according to the article, active women who parallel the marvel women have a different bmi scale. A one-on-one comparison of a Marvel male to a similar looking real male (Say the none super powered black guy from the Avengers, or the punisher, or DEADPOOL <3) will result in a similar bmi. Take a similar looking marvel female to her real life counterpart (Say none (psychically) super powered women like Silver Sable, Jean Grey, or Storm, and their BMI will not be the same.

cde

]]> 8:362025:c4459092 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:47:39 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458719 @gybryant: "physical ideals?" whose ideal is that? Every guy wants to be a veiney monstrosity, and every woman wants a waist that'll snap like a twig? No thanks, I'll leave that ideal for someone else.

That being said, they're comic books. I think they're the last place anyone should expect reality, especially given the fan base.

phoenix

]]> 8:362025:c4458719 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:29:23 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458696 @SunZhiQian: or NORMAL people, in both cases, apparently. No one wants to see normal people fall in love. Or fight crime. Or apparently do anything else.

phoenix

]]> 8:362025:c4458696 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:27:56 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458676 OMG! Comic book superheroes often represent physical ideals! The patriarchy is making me hate myself!

Remember kids: Hell hath no fury like a woman compared.

gybryant

]]> 8:362025:c4458676 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:26:53 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458574 Males are not "normal". They're idealized and by and large hugely muscular and supremely athletic. Women are the same way. It just so happens that the idealized versions are not representative of MOST people, men or women.

hubris

]]> 8:362025:c4458574 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:21:32 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458545 @Plague:
frosted butts.
(goddamn it, it's like i have tourettes today.)

mitchel_stevens

]]> 8:362025:c4458545 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:20:19 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458424 I knew it! Kitty Pryde is anorexic!

Rus

]]> 8:362025:c4458424 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:14:58 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458252 Upon finishing said article, my contribution to the thread is "So what?"

Plague

]]> 8:362025:c4458252 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:07:00 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4458110 @SunZhiQian:
"And in a similar vein, nobody wants to watch fat people fight crime."

Or make legislation against it. This is why "AMAZING STORIES OF CONGRESSIONAL HEROES!" will never be seen at your local comic book store.

Miranda Kali

]]> 8:362025:c4458110 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:00:56 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457814 @foofer: Jim Blatent.. I mean, Balent, anyone?

ceejeemcbeegee (AKA!)

]]> 8:362025:c4457814 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:51:39 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457786 may be, but they are off the scale in sheer cuteness. ;)

froggy

]]> 8:362025:c4457786 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:50:52 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457741 It all goes back to what my cousin always says about romantic comedies and how 99% of them involve really good looking people.

"Nobody wants to watch ugly people fall in love."

And in a similar vein, nobody wants to watch fat people fight crime.

/yes, there are always exceptions

SunZhiQian

]]> 8:362025:c4457741 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:49:16 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457698 I'm quite surprised by these foundings. I figured their enormous breasts were easily 15 lbs apiece.

HeatherNumber1

]]> 8:362025:c4457698 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:47:42 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457582 @Neon.Wonder: I have the BMI of a space robot.

Annalee Newitz

]]> 8:362025:c4457582 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:43:42 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457566 or the race / gender of the writers and artists at Marvel. White. Men. Projecting their idealized female form into the graphic novel. That's why I love Fantagraphics. Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez's Love and Rockets is a nice alternative to Marvel pap.

foofer

]]> 8:362025:c4457566 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:43:18 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457501 My BMI is that of a women marvel super hero! Suck on that!

Neon.Wonder

]]> 8:362025:c4457501 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:40:56 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457442 And the BMI curve of the writers and artists at Marvel.

IHateWhatYouHaveOn

]]> 8:362025:c4457442 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:39:27 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457323 @DocGratis: Exactly. Their devoted fanbase is carrying that extra weight for them!

Macloserboy

]]> 8:362025:c4457323 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:35:29 PST <![CDATA[Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same]]> http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same#c4457138 Aww they should have included the BMI curve of the Marvel fans...
Just to counter count that skewed BMI of female marvel super heroes..

DocGratis

]]> 8:362025:c4457138 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:29:50 PST