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.