When I rolled past this booth in the giant moving masses Tuesday,
I did a double take on the words “Men at Arms.”
“You are sexist,” I told them. “I
was in the Army too.” I laughed to take
the sting out of the words; they laughed back.
But it is sexist.
Even when I was a kid, females in some comic strips had very
exaggerated attributes. Tiny waists, big
boobs, huge hips were the norm in some strips like Terry and the Pirates. Today, this attitude has gone beyond just a
few strips to have become more of a norm in books and illustrations as well as comics.
As I continued my roll through the Con, I noticed a high
percentage of booths featuring buxom ladies…usually as heroines, than in past
years. Yes, there was some Miss Marple
here. Yes, too, there were acres of cats
and dogs, triangles, and even landscapes.
But my sense of humor was captured by the avenues of breasts as they won
the wars.
I began photographing the booths with my tongue stuck in my
cheek. Once we rolled into the Gaslamp
District outside the Convention Center, my camera found acres of real women
selling products while using their bodies as sales tools. Sex sells indeed. When the shorts or tights are tighter or
shorter than the norm, sex really sells.
The Geezer and I joked that we should call one entry “Butts
and Guts.” No, I didn’t photograph the overweight
man in the skin tight, see through, white hero suit with the tidy-whitey’s
underneath. My jaw dropping distracted
me from my camera. I shot a lot of other
dramatic visions though.
Sunday was kids day.
There were wonderful kids in costume everywhere, a Children’s Film
Festival that lasted all day, panels discussing kids things, and a whole
corridor set aside for real games the kids could play like Pokémon. Little sexism this last day when much of the
focus was on the kids. We loved it all.
Life is Really in the
Footnotes:
As a long-ago fan of Terry and the Pirates, I do remember the exaggerated feminine forms. (Not that I was skinny myself, you understand, but no one really looked like that.)
ReplyDeleteHow could I explain that doing what guys did, didn't mean I was one of the guys?
I got confused. So the surgery is this week? Sexism is still pretty bad. The incidence of Marines and rape in Oceanside made the papers here. Dianne
ReplyDeleteYes, sexism is alive and well. I'm glad you had such fun. I always. Love your posts.
ReplyDeleteI used to ask my mother if she named me for Terry (the pirates comic strip) but she spelled it differently. Sounds like you both had a great time.
ReplyDeleteYes, I noticed the sexism in the costumes that you took photos of from past conventions. Boobies are the important attribute of the day. I wonder how we would feel if men padded their under ware in costume to make them well hung? Women do not focus on that to evaluate a guy, but men sure do focus on those mammaries.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a GREAT but exhausting weekend!! Thinking of you as you count down the days! Love the costumes, you both look smashing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
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