Is The Solution To The Male Gaze To Sexualize Male Characters Too?

[Zelena]

The bottom two comics are from the 1990s.

And has the situation improved?

[worstblogever]

And has the situation improved?

Safe to say the answer is, "not really, no".

[achilles]

I think the solution is to offer different work for different audiences. Some people are going to like cheesecake art, and some will be embarrassed by it (and others will like it in some contexts but not others.) If there's a marker for sexualized male characters, those comics can be made too.

Now of course the proper solution to the male gaze is to blind all males.

[Zelena]

Now of course the proper solution to the male gaze is to blind all males.

Or to propose quality. I prefer Alan Davis to people who draw women like anthropomorphic snakes…

[Agent Z]

https://comic-watch.com/news/badass-...-ralph-tedesco

This an interview with Ralph Tedesco from Zenescope and he touches on the discourse.

I don't know if this is really proof of much. He does say that a lot of their female writers have no problem working for them (which, hey, good for them) but I don't think it sheds light on how large the female audience for cheesecake art is.

[From The Shadows]

Ma favourite solution is to show very different kinds of women… The woman is not “a thing”, but “a being”.

True BUT also, That series I believe had a lot of what the poster was talking about as in sexualizing male characters. Kurt and Brian were quite the beefcake at the time - AT TIMES, but the women were sexy as well.

[Zelena]

True BUT also, That series I believe had a lot of what the poster was talking about as in sexualizing male characters. Kurt and Brian were quite the beefcake at the time - AT TIMES, but the women were sexy as well.

Even London was sexy with Alan Davis…

[Shalla Bal]

....

I mean if Ed Benes were to draw Black Canary with cleavage twice the size of her head, shouldn't he draw the Flash with an equally large butt?

No, not the butt.

Flash should be drawn with a large "package"--the front view. In other words it should be clear that there's some equipment under their costume, since the costume is (usually) skintight. I don't read comics now, but back in the Silver Age many artists drew men as being absolutely flat below the belt. No bulges where should have been bulges. A few artists--Buscema, Colan--used shading to suggest some dimension, but most of the time the superhero men looked like Ken dolls. Where's the appeal in that?!

Under their uniforms/costumes, ballet dancers wear dance belts, football players wear heavy duty jock straps, etc., but you can still see there's something there.

[SJNeal]

^ ^ ^

The very suggestion that other men also have a package seems to make many heterosexual men extremely uncomfortable; hence the ever popular "Ken doll" look we still see in most comics.

[ERON]

No, not the butt.

Flash should be drawn with a large "package"--the front view. In other words it should be clear that there's some equipment under their costume, since the costume is (usually) skintight. I don't read comics now, but back in the Silver Age many artists drew men as being absolutely flat below the belt. No bulges where should have been bulges. A few artists--Buscema, Colan--used shading to suggest some dimension, but most of the time the superhero men looked like Ken dolls. Where's the appeal in that?!

Under their uniforms/costumes, ballet dancers wear dance belts, football players wear heavy duty jock straps, etc., but you can still see there's something there.

^^^This is why Superman wears trunks.

[ed2962]

^^^This is why Superman wears trunks.

A lot of people don't realize it, but this is literally true. Superman originally was supposed to look like a circus strongman or a wrestler back in the day. Sometimes these guys would wear trunk over their tights show their junk wouldn't show.