http://www.about-face.org/by Barb Lien-CooperReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 You know, being a female comic book fan and having a brain in my head, I can't help but notice the unrealistic twelve inch waists and 38 DD cups on female comic book heroines. I think it's very unhealthy as well as unrealistic to show a heroine with huge breasts, a waistline that you could wrap your hands around, and rippling muscles. So, I decided that when I got to write a comic book, the heroine would be a Lisa Lionheart doll in opposition to all the Malibu Stacys out there. I'm pleased that my artist for Gun Street Girl has taken that idea to heart and made the lead character realistically pretty. Having said that, the vast majority of comics are promoting a very unhealthy version of the female form. I'm seriously starting to think I should report some of the more extreme comic book representations of women to about-face.orgAbout-face.org is a site we women have needed for a long time. The site is a kind of media watchdog of unrealistic images of women in media. They're of the opinion that unrealistic images of women in the media may at least partly lead to low-self esteem in women and girls, as well as eating disorders. So, about-face.org is dedicated to taking down these unrealistic media images. Their weapon of choice is smart, pointed, sarcastic critiques of media images. They're all about punching holes in the idea that super-skinny is somehow sexy or healthy. Now, I'm hardly fat, weighing in at 125 lbs., average height, small frame. But, neither am I Kate Moss or whoever. While I'm perfectly happy with my body, I feel for women who are oppressed by the unrealistic standards of media. What a natural weight for a person is/should be is up to the person in the body, right? I applaud the smart, sarky ladies at about-face.org and find their work to be important, informative, and most of all, needed. I mean, I'm in the comic book community where 90 percent of female images are exceedingly unrealistic. I mean, I know that comic book images are supposed to be somewhat idealized, but c'mon! For me, an website like about-face is a breath of fresh air. Written: January 20, 2004
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