Elastigirl and other Superwomen costumes

[netmouse]

Speaking of feminism, I recently complained on Facebook about how the male Incredibles have flat-heeled, knee-high boots in their supersuits, while Violet and her mom are both in thigh-high black boots with a definite raised heel. I wanted to share the ensuing conversation with the non-facebook crowd, and experiment with linking into facebook.

Try this link (should be public).

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_earthshine_/]

I'm totally with you. I think from as long as i've been old enough to notice, i've never liked the idea of superheroes in heels (well, i suppose if you're some sort of telepath or dream-warrior who never leaves your stronghold you can wear whatever you want, but that's not the point). They're just so damn impractical.

I can understand if the makers of The Incredibles (which is a movie i also love) wanted to "feminize" Violet's and Helen's costumes a bit to drive home the point that they're not just copies of Mr. Incredible -- to unite, in a way, the idea of femininity and super-powered strength by putting them in juxtaposition. Such an attempt is tricky, of course, because leaning too far toward social norms runs the risk of reinforcing stereotypes, but leaning too far away puts you at risk of communicating strength by stripping "femininity" (as it's culturally identified in the mass market) away.

Myself, i would think that just making a character female is enough to communicate the most important fact: women can be whoever, do whatever, dress however, etc. ... but i know all to well that i'm not the mass populace.

Thanks for this, btw. ... and i think Rosie's costume was awesome!