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Betsy Braddock--Porn Star - Ta-Nehisi Coates
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There are threads to this conversation that totally resonate with me: characters you love being re-created as hoochie-mamas is both common and horrible (right up there with characters you love being killed off to prove someone's "edginess"). And, to a large extent, the babes are just gettin' babe-ier, and it's worse than it used to be.
For me, the issue passed from "it's just the nature of the business" to "wait, this actually feels ooky" when Warbird's suit was drawn so thongy. I mean, she's the first feminist superhero! :)
But there's another thread that seems to focus on comics, or geekdom, as the source of this upswelling (or swelling up). I think this ignores the broader trend of pornstar-ness becoming the norm in pop culture in general. I saw a woman leaving Target in tights and thigh-high boots the other day.
TV, movies, fashion; there's a trend of impossible proportions and improbable exposure. Nerd-dom contains many fantasies of the feminine, from Trinity's (and Batwoman's) decidedly un-stiletto boots and narrower silhouette to Olivia Dunham's (and Jessica Jones's) cool strength to Pam Beesly's smile, as well as the fetish-gear cheesecake we've been talking about. Although she wore some pretty provocative costumes, Jennifer Garner won over the fans of (the TV) Alias precisely because of all the ways she ISN'T like Pamela Anderson.
I'm not saying it's ok. I'm not saying it's less common than you make out. I'm saying the opposite. I'm saying it IS a problem, and it's EVERYWHERE.
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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
