Recently I read an article by Ken Parille at The Comics Journal that took a critical look at the design of male vs female costumes in the collective Marvel and DC universe. In short instead of focusing on the objectified female characters and their scanty costumes it focuses rather on the abstract, often grotesque figures of the male characters and how their costumes serve to cover them. There are a number of points in this piece that I disagree with but the overall concept is one definitely worth considering and sent my imagination spinning.
The pretentious artistic explanation behind this is that the easiest and clearest way to expose the absurdity of any widely accepted cultural norm or other social construct is to show its opposite. The more accurate and honest explanation is that while reading the article, though thoughtful and serious it is, the first silly thought that came to mind while reading it was seeing male superheros wearing one of their female counterparts costumes.
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