Is This Sexist?

In an article that came out today, Newsarama posted some cover art to an upcoming issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST (which I’ve REALLY been enjoying, for the record).  Normally, this would kind of slip by unnoticed, but I saw a few blog articles on the Internet proclaiming the cover as “sexist”, and I’m trying to figure out why.

The image depicts Batman I/Bruce Wayne restraining Wonder Woman with her lasso. She’s struggling, and her arms are cut by the lasso. I’m not saying it’s right to do that to a woman, let’s just get that out of the way; I’m in absolutely no way saying that violence towards women is okay. The problem is, neither is this cover. I could get it if it she was severely beaten and bloodied. I could get it if there were 30 guys standing over her beating the hell out of her.  I could get it if this cover occurred monthly. But it simply doesn’t.  I see an image designed to catch the eye, imply the struggle between two characters, and create a memorable visual.

The argument on hand would have to most likely be “Well, why Wonder Woman?”. I can’t really see that as being sexist either; from a story standpoint, she’s a character who is in conflict with the other characters (she’s one of the many heroes who doesn’t remember Maxwell Lord, whereas Batman recently joined the ranks of those who do and are trying to stop him) and presumably provided a fight.  Why can’t Batman be the one that’s beaten by Wonder Woman? I don’t know; why is it okay for him to beaten, but a crime when she is?

Again, this isn’t me trying to provoke anything, and I’m probably going to regret opening the flood gates like this, but I just don’t see this image as sexist.  Any comments on the matter are welcome, but please remember to keep it civil.

Update: Upon closer inspection, her arm’s aren’t bleeding. I’d seen a few complaints of bleeding arms, but upon further inspection, what appears to be cuts are the arm straps of her costume.

About Christopher Baggett

Christopher Baggett has owned and operated The HomeWorld independently since 2009 after spinning it off from his previous concept, 'The Anime Homeworld'. In addition to journalistic endeavors, he is an aspiring novelist. Arizona born military brat Christopher currently resides in the Georgia area.

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6 comments

  1. Honestly, I don’t see it as sexist one bit. People who read comics should realize that it’s a world filled with violence. Wonder Woman beats the living hell out of men and women all the time. It has little to do with aversion to men or women. Batman has had fisticuffs with criminals of either gender many times in during his dark career, but it’s not because he’s a chauvinist. It’s just how comics are. People ought to grow up.

  2. I think the “sexist” part comes in due to the connotation that arises when women are tied up. I remember there being outrage over a cover where Misty Knight and Black Cat were tied up as well, but that was more akin to those specialized Japanese films featuring tentacles. But really, this is not the first time WW has been tied up in some way. Given her history, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen every other day. *Joke, calm down*

  3. I’ll hold up my hand and just say it… I don’t get the outrage. So it’s sexist to have a man dressed as a bat tie up a woman in a flag but it’s not sexist to make a fortune based on said woman being dressed (barely) in said flag…

    Ok that was just an outrageous comment for the sake of being quasi-controversial. I agree with the posts above. There isn’t anything inherently sexist about the design other than what someone can gleam when they dig too far into it and over analyse. Again this is yet another case of peope doing our thinking for us. If you find this immaterial offensive in any way then by all means don’t buy it! If you’re an adult and have the power of free thought then carry on and go about your day

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