In a word, no.
The comic and science fiction industries have always had issues around the appearance of its tightly-clad sexually-charged images of men and scantily clad images of women. This is endemic to the culture and often one of its worse features because it creates tension with the more conservative and sometimes puritanical culture of the nation at large.
Is there anything wrong with the images in and of themselves? No, it is more often the context of the images that creates the fervor than the quality or even the imagery.
Considering how often hyper-sexualized images are used to sell products world-wide, it is often hypocritical of modern media to single out comics, science fiction or fantasy images when their film equivalents are often exactly but there has always been the claim that comics are consumed by youth and as such should present better, more wholesome images.
This too, is hypocrisy at its finest.
So, should characters like the former Ms. Marvel (now Captain Marvel), Lady Death, Witchblade, or bad costume designs like the costume Susan Richards wore when she was Malice or the current revamp of Harley Quinn’s costume be considered less than proper?
Lady Death, Witchblade, Malice, and Harley Quinn
How about the inability of comic companies to put women in costumes more appropriate to their in-story needs? And yes, this particular rant is on DC but I could do the same for Marvel Comics or nearly any comic company that produces superheroes today.
– Why can’t Supergirl get a pair of pants or a full costume like Superman? Her latest design has a pair of boots with the knees missing…
– Why can’t Wonder Woman get and keep a pair of pants at all? Yes, she had a redesign for a hot second and when DC finished its DCnU reboot, she was right back in a variant of her classic look, again. Or how about a costume more appropriate for an acrobatic sword-wielding fighter to wear or an outfit that doesn’t look like a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen?
– For the love of all that is holy, why can’t Black Canary stay out of those fishnets into an outfit that is bulletproof? (Yes, for a minute she managed to get some armored leggings, when a writer INSISTED) but she is back in them again. She spends most of her time dodging bullets but can’t get a pair of armored leggings? ROBIN got a pair of pants nearly twenty years ago!
And you Marvelites, don’t gloat, because all you need to do is look at the old costumes for Mantis, Moondragon, Valkyrie, Clea and Mockingbird; embarrassing to say the least.
The solution to this problem lies with the writers, editors, producers and to a lesser extent, the readers. Comic companies are catering to their presumed needs of their readers. Granted, they create the costumes and therefore the desire, but they use sales as an indicator of whether they are doing a good job or not. Scantly clad female heroes in strange, completely unbelievable costumes (Witchblade) and anatomically impossible poses sell books and its as simple as that.
Recently, the comic companies have been catching a little heat from female readers and female writers wondering why in this supposedly modern age do we still insist on dressing female superheroes like ladies of the evening. This has prompted the tiniest response from most comic companies and a few costume redesigns have taken place.
Is this a major trend? Not really. Wonder woman still has no pants and that crazy, spiky halter top. Power girl still has a circle where her cleavage is (rumor has it she will be getting an upgraded, circle-free costume) and Black Canary is wearing something that looks like fishnets that double as body armor. Grrrr.
Ms. Marvel got an increase in rank to Captain and a complete costume for the first time in thirty years. It’s a step. There is still a long way to go.