Sexism-Man!
The unfair portrayal of minorities in writings about comic books
Johnathan Tuttle
I’m certainly glad to see that comic books are getting the attention they deserve. As a form of media, they are often sidelined by more traditional forms of literary endeavours. However, I was surprised by the content in the latest contest of wits found in the comments section of the Manitoban, which pitted fans of Batman against fans of Spider-Man.
Frankly, it’s a moot point who wins or not. These are fictional characters and arguing who would win in a fight ignores the fact that they are both heroes and probably wouldn’t fight against each other in the first place. Furthermore, it’s like asking who would win in a painting contest: Van Gogh or Thompson? It’s a question that cannot be answered and has no purpose in being asked.
More importantly, though, is the underlying reasons why the writers believe either Batman or Spider-Man is the greater hero. In both cases, the writers play up the manliness of each hero. The implication is this: good heroes avoid any semblance of femininity. Or, perhaps even further: women cannot be heroes.
Matt Flamand and Steve O’Donell state this rather boldly in their headline “Batman is totally badass!” In the opening paragraph, in contrast to Batman’s macho badass persona, Spider-Man is referred to as “a bitch.” What they mean by “bitch” is never fully explored. The simple fact is that they chose to show that Spider-Man was lesser by labelling him with an insult typically directed towards women. Not only is this insulting to women, but by directing the insult at Spider-Man we are lead to believe that he is worthless because he may be more “womanly” than Batman.
There is a dichotomy at play here, which structuralism helps to explain.
The structuralist model helps to identify preconceived notions of how both genders should act, and this applies to comic books aptly. For Ferdinand de Saussure, the Swiss linguist, this could also arise in semiotics as the signified and the signifier. In this case “bitch” is the signifier. The signified is what “bitch” means to us. The use of “bitch” here can only lead us to believe that women are not to be appreciated in the superhero realm. As the superhero realm is a reflection of our own desires in the real world, Flamand and O’Donell’s claims take on an increasingly sexist nature.
Jesse Beach shows a similar attitude in his assessment of Spider-Man. He avoids this tendency to adore the grandiose until the very end of his article when he states that Spider-Man is superior because “Peter Parker is a pimp compared to Bruce Wayne.” Yes, the most memorable and noble thing about Spider-Man is that he treats women as prostitutes. Beach revels in the amount of female companions Peter Parker has had over the years, while attacking Batman for not having a wife or girlfriend. Beach continues: “Bruce Wayne is a billionaire; he should be able to hook up with the hottest women of Gotham City like nothing. Peter Parker, a poor science nerd, has girls all over the place.” Even more than sexism, this article veers towards homophobia when acknowledging that “Batman is more interested in running off with Robin than in chasing the ladies.” The implication made here is that Batman is lesser than Spider-Man because not only does he not objectify women, but also because he chooses to spend his time with other men; possibly because he loves them. Oh, the horror of it all.
It’s no wonder then, with these two articles as evidence, that so many boys read comic books; the attitude conveyed about comic books is subversively antagonistic towards women and the LGBT community. It is important to remember that it is the attitudes towards the comics and not simply the comics themselves that show this tendency of supporting the masculine. There are a number of writers and titles who bring gender and sex inequity to the forefront of their comics and show that minorities in this media are just as worthy as their male counterparts.
Who wins in this battle? Sexism and homophobia, I suppose. Ultimately, though, there are only losers, not only until we can change our mentalities of the comic book medium, but until we can shake our unfair worldviews that portray other human beings as unequal.
Johnathan Tuttle is a politics student at the University of Winnipeg.
