Originally Posted by
Tiamatty
Why couldn't it happen? Why couldn't we have more male heroes with different body shapes, too?
And it's not about blaming comics. It's about blaming an overall culture that treats fat as something worthy only of scorn and mockery. It's also blaming economic conditions that make it incredibly difficult for low-income people to eat healthy. It's about a whole lot of things, really. Comics may be a small part of it, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to be better.
Quick clarification: I meant that huge chests and small waists are uncommon on particularly athletic women. Exercise burns fat, breasts are mostly fat, so a lot of exercise actually reduces breast size. So relatively few female superheroes would actually be particularly large-chested.
There! Is! Not! One! Way! To! Be! Fit!
There! Is! Not! One! Way! To! Be! Fit!
Yeah, why can't people just "get over" deep-seated emotional issues resulting from a widespread culture of shaming people whose body types aren't what the entertainment industry has decided is ideal? "Get over it" is one of those attitudes that makes it harder for people to actually deal with their problems. It is a stupid, asinine, privileged and harmful attitude. "Why do you have an eating disorder? Just eat healthy." "Why are you depressed? Just cheer up?" "Why are you handicapped? Just get up and walk." Screw every single person whose reaction to someone having emotional or psychological issues is "get over it."
Representation matters. It absolutely matters. There have been studies showing that it matters. Did you see the commentary when Wonder Woman came out, from women talking about crying in the theatre, because of how much it meant to them? Representation! Matters! It makes people feel better about themselves. It makes them feel like they matter. And they need that, because they live in a world that tries reeeeally hard to tell them they don't matter.
Edit: Oh, I forgot another counter to the "superheroes should be fit" nonsense. Superheroes! Are! Not! The! Only! Characters! In! Superhero! Comics! There are supporting characters! Including human ones who don't have careers that require perfect supermodel bodies! I mean, is Peter Parker so shallow that he would throw up at the very idea of dating a girl who's a size 16?