Introduction

Suddenly, in June 2011 the DC reboot was announced. In September 2011, the reboot of the DC franchise happened. What is the DC reboot? It is as it sounds: A whole reboot of the comic universe that DC created. Everything before the reboot is not canon and does not exist - A new start.
Even long before the reboot sexism and feminism have been an ongoing issue throughout the comic ages.

Most say that they only made the issue worse. They promised equality, exciting new starts and 'sexually liberated woman'. This was to draw in new readers but I think they alienated the loyal fans.

I will mostly focus on how the DC 'higher-ups' battled the issue of feminism and sexism in the new reboot of the DC comics. I clearly think that they handled it poorly and insufficiently.

When we think of women in comics, we would definitely think of big breasted, scantily-cladded woman. Correct? Sure, it's attractive, sexy and visually appealing.... but is it practical? Is there really common sense to these woman being subjected to these kind of poses?

I am a Female Comic Book Fan

As the title states, I would like to claim that I am a female comic book fan. Your first thought would probably be skepticism. Really? A female comic book fan? I admit, I only really got into actual comics part late 2010 and so purists would probably tell you I am a try-hard, one of those girls who only say they like comics to be 'cool'. Actually, I really loved the whole DC/Marvel universe through animated shows such as Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, Justice League and Young Justice, etc since I was a young child. DC/Marvel was my childhood. But I digress. My point being is that, I love superheroes and I am a girl. At a younger age, because I was a girl I would look up to other girl superheroes. Sometimes I would dress up as them, relate to the characters and pick their toys;  but not because they're 'sexy' and absolutely not because I, myself, wanted to be sexy - I just really loved the cartoons and my idols. As I got older, I realised that I wanted to delve into the actual physical comic books and spent a lot of money into the books. I fell in love with comics, and as complicated as the whole timelines, different universes and diverse characters thing, I kept with it; buying new comics every week and buying tradebacks of compiled comics. I was truly emotionally invested in the characters and their stories.

Then rather suddenly, DC announced that they will scrap all current running series and create the 'New 52'. At first I was appalled, but I tried to keep an open mind on the situation. They had promised better things - including gender equality.
Throughout the year of the new DC reboots, there were announcements and rumours of more female artists and comic writers and more comic books about female superheroes. But I was to be disappointed. The new lineup didn't include more female artists/writers and it certainly didn't include a lot of female centric comics.

The 'New 52'

I picked up Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws at my favourite comic book store; expecting great things. But the more I read, the more I became upset. Sure, Catwoman has always been portrayed as a femme fatale with wily, sexual antics. Sure, Starefire has always been scantily-cladded and sexy. But that's not what I was disappointed about, I was really disappointed with how they were newly written and drawn - they were still the same sexualised objects they were before, possibly even worse. DC had promised me liberated women, instead they gave me sexually needy women. This article delves more into the sex-driven side of women portrayals in comics.

Catwoman, Selina Kyle's, first panels are of her breasts and of herself in sexy lingerie. In the last page of her first issue she is having full on sex with Batman. I love Catwoman, and yes, while I do expect her to be sexual, I certainly did not expect so much of it. It was like the whole comic was oozing with sex - but not in a nice way for a woman.

Starfire is now part of the Red Hood's crew in Red Hood and the Outlaws, but instead of the usual cheerful loving alien, she was cold and almost mechanical. The first panels of her were gratuitous shots of her in a bikini on a beach. And then when she starts a conversation with a male main character, she offers sex. There was no love in it, she just offered it. That was not the Starfire I knew and loved. A article writer wrote about her 7 year old daughter's reaction to the new Starfire whom she was a huge fan of. The little girl felt the new Starfire was a stranger and felt it was definitely not the Starfire she idolised.

These characters were not rewritten to cater to the new readers, or to all the readers as DC claimed. No, they were catering to the male readers. This was just fanservice.

So what?

There will probably be a lot of responses like: "Oh, you're probably looking into things far too seriously. It's just a comic." or "Women have always been like this in comics, so you should just leave it" or even "I like boobs and therefore your point is invalid"
Everyone has their own opinion on how they see things. But if you have an x-chromosome, you just don't know how it feels like to be a girl.

Think about it this way: Why are the male superheroes not in equally as little clothing, or why do most of the women superheroes die in degrading ways or are decommissioned in degrading ways. The women mentioned are raped, humiliated, assaulted, etc. You should be thinking about how women are being portrayed in pop culture as this reflects on how society is today. Children will somehow read these comics one way or another and be influenced, continuing a possible never ending cycle of the view that women are lower than men. I'm not asking for stories about sunshine and rainbows, I just want stories about women being equally as strong and heroic - and not dependent on men.

Now you're probably thinking 'She's starting to sound like the utmost feminist.' True, but what about gender equality? Women are humans too. Women can be fans. There is not only male comic book fans but also a large number of female comic book fans out there. DC announced great changes, but they did they not uphold their promises.

References

Hudson, Laura., (2011, September 22), The Big Sexy Problem with Superheroines and Their 'Liberated Sexuality'. Retrieved 2012, April 26
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/22/starfire-catwoman-sex-superheroine/

Lee, Michele., (2011, September 27), A 7-year-old girl responds to DC Comics’ sexed-up reboot of Starfire. Retrieved 2012, March 29
http://io9.com/5844355/a-7+year+old-girl-responds-to-dc-comics-sexed+up-reboot-of-starfire

Rogers, Vaneta (2011, September 20), PRO-GIRLS Pt 1: Where Are the Working Women in Comics?. Retrieved 2012, April 26 
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/pro-girls-where-are-the-women-in-comics-110920.html

Siegel, Lucas., (2011, May 31), UPDATED: DC UNIVERSE Reboots in September. Retrieved 2012, April 26
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/DC-Universe-Reboot-Announcement-110531.html

Simone, Gail., Women in Refrigerators.  Retrieved 2012, May 6
http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/women.html