Mike Carey on the Magneto/Rogue relationship

[xdoop]

[Banned]

Comments

[joysweeper]

It's not that the male villains can't be or aren't portrayed that way. It's that they're also portrayed as Evil Towers of Ominousness, and any sex appeal they have in that state is entirely apart from the writhing sensuality of the female villains.

For the male villains, sexuality is an accessory. Some pick it up casually, some base their entire image or purpose around it. For the female villains, sexuality is built into their entire premise. It's having skin. They'll do different things with it, and for some it's a much bigger part of their image than for others, but there are very few without it. Isard might be one, I suppose. Advances on Fel notwithstanding.

[halialkers]

What about when Bastila Shan went to the Dark Side? She didn't exactly turn all stripperific....and then Mary Marvel's evil costume arguably showed as much skin in Final Crisis as the heroine Wonder Woman's did.....

[joysweeper]

Angry Underwear. And did Wonder Woman get upskirt shots or grab a phallic rod with a look of bliss in Countdown?

Sexuality is always innate to women in comics just in general. Yes, the heroines are skimpy too, I'm not arguing that. I'm pointing out that in comparison to how crucial an element sex is in the men, sex is much more essential to the characters who happen to be women. Bad guys even moreso than good guys.

And I'll peace out here, since it's too late at night for this. Here I promised myself I wouldn't get into arguments about feminism...

[kiplingkat]

It's true, Moonstone, Goblin Queen, White Queen, etc. but I think it is more indicative of men's feeling about sex and women. It is assumed that an "evil woman" would automatically exploit men's "weakness" for women and sex and therefore gain power over them by hurting them in a place where they feel vulnerable.

Which is just sexist as all hell, on every single level.

[crabby_lioness]

The same thing has been noted historically when men write about women rulers. They always sex them up, even when there's no evidence to support that premise.

[greenmask]

I'd wonder if it wasn't a power thing too; women are 'supposed' to be supplicant in sex and therefore in a sexual situation men are always "winning". Powerful men, or a majority of men in a patriarchal society, may feel (subconsciously?) threatened by an undeniably powerful woman (Queen, President, Empress, Tower of Psychic Ability..) and therefore introduce a strongly sexual element to her history. Thus, if they met her, they would win because she would allow them to penetrate her.

It is rapey and gross, though, so I hope my armchair is full of bad psychology.