gailsimone:

gruskek:

gailsimone:

wheredidgirlpowergo:

gailsimone:

wordsandloveandloveandwords:

gailsimone:

blugoblin:

To quote Motley Crue, “She’s got the looks that KILL!”

Hahaha!

I am going to say this with ALL DUE RESPECT, but it’s amazing that her fierce look was so impressive I didn’t even notice the OTHER clearly impressive attributes at first!  ;)

Gorgeous, fun cosplay, great drama, great costume, great pose, great photography, great PEEJ!

I still think it’s an entirely ludicrous costume, but she’s selling the character with her ferocity. Go her!

Okay, here’s the thing on that.

I get why people hate Peej’s classic costume. I think their hearts are totally in the right place, and let’s face it, on some level, it IS exploitative and tacky, even. I will grant you all of that.

But I think, for Peej, it works. For me, the statement from her as has always been not, “Look at my boobs,” but, “I don’t give a shit what you think.”

The idea that a sexy costume is empowering is, okay, sometimes just used as an excuse to dress a character in a way that she can be leered at. And a lot of the bad girl craze was just that, violent women dressed in almost nothing, with no personalities, just a collection of things to drool over.

If Peej was ever that way, I think her character outgrew it quickly.  I think it’s hard to look at Power Girl’s stories and think of her that way. You can think she’s hot, sexy, cute, adorable, whatever.

But of all the heroines out there, Power Girl is the one who always has that message…she can STILL KICK YOUR ASS TO THE MOON if she wants to.

I don’t always buy ‘this  sexy outfit is empowering’ thing, not coming from male creators about characters who are cliche (cosplayers are different and get to decide for themselves what they find empowering).

But PG’s boob window and Black Canary’s fishnets, I buy it with them. It’s not how they look, it’s how they are worn. It’s who wears them.  They like it, so I like it.

I know this is purely subjective and not everyone will agree, but I have such fondness for Power Girl and I know that part of it is because she simply doesn’t care what you or anyone else thinks about how she dresses.

Just my opinion. Everyone is welcome to disagree. But when Amanda Conner draws Power Girl, there is no question that she is happy with who she is and what she wears and that’s all that matters. For her, it makes sense.

My thoughts, anyway!

Also, to add to that, as someone who has a large chest, I’ve always looked up to this costume. Most times when you have a big chest, the response is usually either hide it because you look like a slut or show it off and get boys to like you. It is an asset. I think Power Girl’s costume is taking control of that. Its almost like saying, “I’ve got big boobs. Don’t like it? TOO BAD.” I can see why it has other messages but, as a bug busted woman, I dig her costume and attitude.

I didn’t bring that up, but yeah, that totally makes sense too. I developed earlier than any other girl at my school and the way PEEJ deals with her chest, I believe it. It makes sense to me.

Putting this same outfit on almost any other female heroine, I don’t think I would buy it.

Same goes for Starfire. Her planet’s culture (even men wear revealing clothing on Tamaran) and her personality and approach to sexuality fit her dressing style. She is at ease with it and comfortable to show this much skin.

Drawing heroines in revealing clothing can be perfectly fine as long as it suits them. The problem starts when it’s done for pure fanservice without any regard to what the character is like.

The other issue is the WAY the girls are drawn. If you bend the spine ridiculously or give us constant butt and boob shots with the rest cut off, even a costume that covers up more can look horrible. And even more so with the revealing ones. 

It simply boils down to drawing a character and not a set of assorted “sexy” body parts contorted for the straight male’s viewing pleasure (and I’m happy to note that there are men who find this obnoxious too).

I actually have a harder time with Starfire. I bought the excuse for her costume for years, until I talked with the writer who created her, and he said DC asked for a ‘t&a’ character and this is what they came up with.

I love Koriandr, I’d love to write her, but that has always bothered me a little bit. I’m behind on Red Hood so maybe they’ve moved away from that entirely, not sure.
Still a great character, but that made me like her costume less.