He-Man ---> Xenoblade Chronicles and the Sexualization of Males

In an earlier post, I talked about rape culture. The definition of rape culture is that women are sexualized in a way that men are not. It is true, in part. Men are sexualized but only in some ways is their sexualization different from women. This could be due to physical differences. While men and women both have breasts, their breasts are not exactly the same. Men have a broader chest while women are more gracile in comparison. These differences, long time ago, were markers that we looked at to determine who would be a good provider and who would be a good mother. In the case of men, we sexualize the parts of the body that show they would be a good provider- namely their chests.

Some of the ways that men are sexualized that are the same as women. Men can be raped- physically or mentally. Men can also wear that weird fantasy armor that doesn't protect anything and shows off way to much skin. And this is because things are changing.

A. He-Man

Summary: Prince Adam of Eternia gained super-strength due to the Sorceress of the Castle of Greyskull endowing him with the power to change into He-Man. He used his power as He-Man to protect Eternia and Castle Greyskull from the forces of Skeletor. He received help from his friends Teela, Man-at-Arms, Cringer, Orko, and the Sorceress.

Commentary: I choose He-Man as the first character on this list for two reasons. First, He-Man is an over-muscled male hero. Second, his unrealistic fantasy armor. He wore boots, leather bikini shorts, belt, and a leather harness with an armor plating in the center of his chest.  Even Battle Cat (Cringer) was better armored.

 


Connections:  He-Man and Battle-Cat are the alter-egos of Prince Adam and Cringer.

These two made an appearance on an episode of the animated comedy series Drawn Together called "Lost In Parking Space Part One. He-Man goes to a mall and parks Battle Cat.

2. Drawn Together: Lost In Park Space Part One
Summary: This was a reality type show for cartoon characters. Eight characters agreed to live in a house together. These characters wre named Captain Leslie Hero, Princess Clara, Wooldoor Jebediah Sockbat, Foxxy Love, Toot Braunstein, Ling-Ling, Xandir P. Wifflebottom, and Spanky Ham. In this episode, Xandir and his roommates, except for Clara, go to the mall. Xandir tried to park in a compact, but they get trapped.
Commentary: This show was a very sexualized show and it was very easy to find an example of this in Drawn Together. While they are stuck in the van in the parking space- Wooldoor tried to seduce Captain Hero. Also in the opening of the series, you can seen Captain Hero dressed in lingerie.

Connections: Princess Clara was a princess that was supposed to belong to the Disney-trope, a sort of amalgamation of characters.

This identification was further confirmed when in the episode "Spelling Applebee's" a carriage similar to Cinderellas' was seen. Also Disney princesses can be seen inside it of it.

One princess looks like Cinderella and another looks similar to Snow White. Snow White was also a character on the television show Once Upon a Time. 

2. Once Upon A Time

Summary: The Evil Queen cursed the people who lived in the Enchanted Forest. This curse brought them over into the the real world and took away their memories. Emma Swan and Henry Mills tried to break the curse.

Commentary: Regina Mills, the mayor of Storybrook, has the personality of a rapist and may even be one. But this wasn't about her, it was about Graham, the victim. Grahams' heart was taken from him as was his ability to make his own decisions. He had no agency. He was her pet.

These two websites have some good discussion about this:

http://babydraco.dreamwidth.org/18877.html

http://amuseoffyre.tumblr.com/post/28998441108/gender-in-once-upon-a-time

 

Connections: Mr. Gold aka Rumplestiltskin is also known as the Dark Lord. 

The Dark Lord (aka the Dark one) is also the main villain in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Of course this could be just a coincidence.  The term 'the dark lord' is a rather generic term. What brings this together I think is that Rumplestiltskin has a son named Baelfire.

Baelfire was the name of the a type of destructive spell or weave in the Wheel of Time series.

3. Wheel of Time: Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

Summary: The Wheel of Time series was a story about a world not to different from our own. But this one goes through repeating stages and has magic. This magic was divided into two parts: Saidar and Sadin. Saidar was the feminine power and is controlled by women who call themselves Aes Sedai. Saidin was the masculine half of the power and was tainted.  Men who were found with this power were stilled (the power was removed). The Dark Lord tried to take over. Three boys were destined by the pattern to stop him. These boys are Rand Al'Thor, Perrin Aybara, and Mat Cauthon. In the novel- The Crown of Swords there are three different plots. Rand battled a Forsaken and got the crown of Illian. Egwene Al'Vere, another friend of Rands', and Siuan Sanche take control of the rebel Aes Sedai. And finally, Mat along with Elayne and Nynaeve are in Ebou Dar looking for a tool that would counteract the Dark Lords' control over the weather.

Commentary: Mat Cauthon was a gambler and a ladies man. 

He liked to chase women. In The Crown of Swords, Mat found a woman who liked to chase  and ambush him. So, you could say that he was raped or at least was forced into sex.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/106903

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/03/the-wheel-of-time-re-read-a-crown-of-swords-part-17

Connections: The Wheel of Time series was heavily based on mythology and folklore. Many of the characters have Arthurian connections. For example Egwene was based on Queen Guinevere. Berelain sur Paendrag, while not having a direct connection to Arthurian legend, may have a familial relationship

One of her distant relatives was King Artur Hawkwing Paendrag or as we would know him, Arthur Pendragon from Le Morte d'Arthur.

4. Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory

Summary: A compilation of 8 books about characters from Arthurian Legend. Book 1 was about King Uthers' reign right up until King Arthurs'. Book 2 was a story about King Arthur and Emperor Lucius. Book 3 was a story about Sir Lancelot. Book 4 related a story about Sir Gareth of Orkney. In Book 5 there was a tale about Sir Tristams de Lione. The Holy Grail tale was told in Book 6. Queen Guinevere and Lancelots' affair was discussed in Book 7. Finally in Book 8, we hear about King Arthurs' death.

Commentary: This story was chosen because of Elaine of Corbenic. She was a grail maiden, who at first was sidelined, until Mallory's compilation and then, she became a complete character. She fell in love with Lancelot. Lancelot, of course, didn't love her back because of love for Guinevere. Elaine didn't accept the rejection and with the help of her servant, drugged Lancelot and disguised herself as the Queen. Classic date rape scenario, except with the Lancelot as the victim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_of_Corbenic

http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/women.html

Connections:  The main character of Le Morte d'Arthur was King Arthur Pendragon.

He was a legendary king who supposedly united the British against the Saxon invader in the 5th or 6th centuries. Another of his relatives (alternate universe or otherwise) may be a man named Saga Pendragon, a prophet, from Rave Master. He was once in human form but got transformed into some sort of flower shape.

http://www.oocities.org/tcmofrave/characterstcm.htm

http://myniceanime.blogspot.com/2008/11/wikipedia-manga-rave-master.html

5. Rave Master by Hiro Mashima

Summary: A young boy named Haru Glory received a sword called 'The Ten Commandments'. With that, he went on a quest with Elie, Musica, Grif, Plue, Let and a couple of others. They traveled the world to get all the pieces to the Rave stone to counteract the corruption of the Dark Bring. Along the way they battled a criminal organization called Demon Card and an entity called the Endless.

Commentary: I chose this story because of the constant portrayal of the main male characters. Whenever they get into fights- sooner or later they lose their shirts. And also one of Haru's companions, a girl named Belnika, was a covert pervert. She liked to take a look at Haru as he undressed to bathe. Just wish I could find good pictures...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters.RaveMaster (see Belnika)

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/RaveMaster (see the shirtless scene tropes)

Connections: Plue, was a creature of unknown origin that traveled with Haru.

It was said that he was a dog, but most people can't figure it out. In the manga Fairy Tail- Plue was also a stellar spirit that journeyed with a girl named Lucy.

6. Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashina

Summary: Lucy Heartfillia, a celestial wizard, ran away from home to join a magicians' guild called Fairy Tail. She made friends and they had a lot of adventures. Some of them were simple like festivals and helping normal people. Other times, they are out saving the world from evil dragons, demons, and magicians.

Commentary:  There are two reasons that I chose this manga. First reason, is the constant portrayal of Grey. He was constantly losing his clothes.

And another was because Gray was being stalked by a female magician named Juvia.

Connections: The first guild master of Fairy Tail was a strong female magician named Mavis Vermilion.

She could be playful and reckless, but was a caring person for her guild mates. And she was smart. She was known as the Fairy Tactician because she could calculate moves that would give her guild the best chance to win. Though she claimed that the wings on her head were ornaments- they could be real. And if they wee she could be related to or of the same race as Melia Antiqua from Xenoblade Chronicles.

Melia was of the High Entia race Being of the High Entia also gives her a strong affinity for magic.

B. Xenoblade Chronicles

Summary: A Homs/Human colony was attacked by a mechanical race called the Mechonis. Shulk, Reyn, Dunbar and few other friends traveled the Bionis in order to find a way to stop the Mechonis once and for all. Shulk used vision he received from the Monado (a mystical sword) to lead him on his journey.

Commentary:  I chose this game because of the improbable armor that some of the characters wear. For example Reyn wore this crop top armor as shown below.

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6 degrees of Strong Women from Tomb Raider ---> Pippi Longstocking

     I should have had this one out yesterday because of the anniversary of the 19^th Amendment, but too many personal things were happening and I couldn't focus. I'm a lot clear more minded today.

     Women have the right to do so much more than we could two hundred or even a hundred years ago. We have the right to vote, to own property, to decide to marry or not, to have kids or not, and so on. It's not perfect.

     Over the decades since (and even a little before), we have earned the right to vote, to participate fully in government, and in our society- change came slowly. In the beginning, few women held offices. We have had at least 298 women serving in Congress. 31 women have served in the Cabinet. And only 4 SCOTUS Justices have been females. This, though, is only some of the positions on the federal level.

    On the state level we have also seen more women in politics. Since 1909, at least 36 women have held the position of Governor. 249 women have been mayors. There doesn't seem to be any numbers that state exactly how many women have held position in the various state legislatures. One Washington State site stated that 240 have been elected to their legislature and have given some numbers on other state positions  http://www.washingtonhistory.org/research/whc/ElectedWomen. The site the following link leads to: http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/resources/state_fact_sheet.php shows the percentage of women in their legislature by year. But it only goes back 1975 and doesn't take into account reelections and such.

Women have also made into the business and entertainment worlds. Once again no straight numbers- but here are a few websites that show some of these women.

http://www.waspbarcode.com/buzz/american-business-women-innovative-entrepreneurial-minded-women-history/

http://www.hoytlivery.com/articles/business-women-history-art0312.php.

Wikipedia shows that there have been at the least 2712 female singers in America. It also shows that there has been at least 7318 film female film actors. And at the least 6244 television actresses. Wikipedia pages also show 73 female sportswomen. And that there has been at the least 2273 female writers.    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_female_singers 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_film_actresses 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_television_actresses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_sportswomen

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_women_writers.

I'll say once again- things aren't perfect. There are inequities. Not all women get paid the same as men nor are there as many in higher political offices or running businesses. And there are men that are definitely sexist. But much of this isn't because there is some wide conspiracy but more that we forget to stand. Things change when we do.

And to celebrate female strength here are some examples of strong fictional female characters. All of them are just a little bit different. And that is because strength can be shown in many different ways- from the physical to the emotional to just being a different and unique individual. 

A. Tomb Raider 1996

Summary: Lara Croft was hired by Jaqueline Natla by the way of Larson Conway to recover an artifact called the Scion. This artifact was found in Peru in the tomb of Qualopec. After she found that fragment of the artifact Lara was attacked by Larson. Croft found out from him that Natla hired another person to find the other pieces. Lara broke into Natla Technologies and learned of the location of another piece of the artifact located in Greece. Getting that piece and connecting it with the one she had led her to the third. And it showed her a vision of the past and power hungry rulers that once held the pieces of the artifact. When she found the last piece in Egypt, she was ambushed by Natla- who turned out to be one of the ancient power hungry rulers. Natla tried to reclaim her powers, but Lara was able to stop her.

Commentary: Yes, this was the busty Lara Croft and probably also the one that had many gratuitous panty shots, but she was and still is a strong female character. She showed that a female can still be confident, strong and still be sexy. 

Lara Croft was intelligent woman who could handle many weapons, and completed many death defying physical feats. The character was an archaeologist and so was schooled in history. She carried dual pistols with infinite ammo. She could also be seen using shotguns, dual magnums, and Uzis. Lara also dived off cliffs and hung off ledges, just for fun.

Here's an interesting article that talks about Lara Croft and discusses whether she is an icon or a bimbo: http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/

Connections: There was an allusion to Lara Croft in the video game "Primal." In a cemetery in Athea, the character Jennifer Tate broke a few tombstones while she tested her powers.  One of these was a tombstone which seemed to be Lara Croft's, only with a few misspellings. 

1. Primal 2003

Summary: A young girl named Jennifer (Jen) Tate learned that she had a supernatural origin (half demon) and had to battle demons.  She traveled to Oblivion and from there visited four realms that it encompassed: Solum, Aquis, Aetha and Volca. Traveling with Jen was a little gargoyle named Scree. Together they worked to restore the balance in Oblivion. Along the way they met many different people and different creatures.

Commentary: Jennifer Tate was a seemingly normal human until she learned that had demon heritage. She also discovered that she could shape shift, having four demonic forms. She physically became stronger, faster, and more agile. Later on, she even learned to fight with energy blades.

What made her unique was that she wasn't a highly sexualized or even more mainstream female character. She was more of a rock chick and dressed the part too. She was witty and sarcastic.

http://mocktendo.multiverseworks.com/cctomsgames/index.php?id=jennifertate

Connections: In Solum, the Queen Devena comes in riding a solum biped. 

This solum biped looked very similar to the tauntaun seen in The Empire Strikes Back. Maybe the solum bipeds and tauntaun were related.

2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Summary: 3 years after destroying the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance was at one of their bases on an ice planet named Hoth. Luke went to check out a possible meteor landing, but found it was really a droid sent by the Empire. While Luke was out there, he was attacked by a wampa which he defeated. But he lost his gear and got really cold. Around this time, he had a vision where he was told to find Yoda. Hans had to rescue him. 

The Imperial soldiers attacked, having found them the rebels due to the droid that Luke found. Everyone escaped and Luke used this moment to find Yoda. Hans and Leia hid in an asteroid field and eventually headed for Cloud City to seek out Lando.

Unbeknownst to them, Hans and Leia were followed by Boba Fett ,bounty hunter, hired to capture Hans. Fett made contact with Lando and, so when Lando met up with Hans and Leia, he betrayed them to Fett. Fett took Hans into custody while Lando helped Leia escape.

Luke realizing that his friends and family were in danger, left Yoda and raced to Cloud City. There, he encountered Darth Vader. Vader cut off Lukes' hand and then revealed that he was Lukes' father. Luke realized he wasn't ready to finish the fight and escaped. He was found by Leia and Lando.

Leia, Lando, Luke, and the robots decide to rescue Hans.

Commentary: Leia Organa was one of the early female action heroes. She was the leader of a rebel army going up against an Imperial army. An Imperial army that blew up her planet. She was a soldier with all their foibles. A little sarcastic and a little angry. She was also smart. Leia wasn't just a figurehead for the rebels, but an actual leader who helped to plan and carry out their missions. And not only that- she was a princess. She showed that princess didn't have to be rescued but could rescue themselves.

http://www.thatgirlmag.com/5-reasons-princess-leia-is-awesome/

Connections:  Luke Skywalker has been on many different planets besides Hoth.  

In Infinity #1 Luke Skywalker was seen on the planet Galador right before it was destroyed. Captain Universe was there and may have saved him or maybe this was a different version of Luke.

3. Infinity #1

Summary: This story started with the Iluminati and Black Swan on planet they were going to terraform with a special type of a bomb. As it started, the Builders were invading worlds that they have deemed not suitable for life. They destroyed a couple of planets, one of which was Galador- where Captain Universe appeared to observe as it died. Then the builders flew off to destroy more planets.  Meanwhile Captain America, Hawkeye, Hyperion, and Thor chased Skrulls. Afterwards, they were told by Abigail Brand that something wasn't right. An unconscious Captain Universe was found and her memories showed that the Builders were heading their way. The Avengers headed for space while an Outrider snuck into the Avengers' tower, snooped around the Jean Grey School, and appeared at a SWORD facility. Finally the Outrider was confronted at Attilan, but escaped and returns to Corvus Glaive.

Commentary: There are many strong female in the Marvel universe, but I couldn't talk about them all. The one I chose to speak about was Captain Universe. Captain Universe was the power of the universe that chose a partner to bond with and in this story its partner was Tamara Devoux. Tamara Devoux was an amnesiac and in a coma for ten years. Together with the uni-power, Tamara as Captain Universe has access to a cosmic consciousness and could manipulate energy.

Connections: The Avengers were made up of a diverse group of people. One of their members includes a Brazilian man by the name of Roberto da Costa (Sunspot).  

Sunspot: top right frame

He was also the CEO of DaCosta International, former member of the Hellfire club, and adventurer. Before he became a member of the Avengers, he was a member of group called the New Mutants as can be seen in New Mutants #19.

4. The New Mutants #19

Summary: Dani Moonstar was in the hospital. Her friends and coworkers guarded her from a demon bear. Meanwhile, the Starjammers noticed Warlock and Magus coming to earth. Back at the hospital, the demon bear showed up. Ilyana put up wards, then her and Sunspot battled it. It ran off because of Ilyana's soul sword. The bear went after the hospitals' generators and then Ilyana's wards. This time all the New Mutants fought the bear and got transported to another dimension.

Commentary:  Dani Moonstar was a strong and unique character. She was one of the few female superheroes that wasn't relegated to the sidelines and she was a Amerindian to boot. From what I have read she didn't start out as the leader in her group, but rose to the occasion because of who she was. I also learned she was able to bring life to illusions, could talk to animals, and even became a Valkyrie. But I don't know much more about so here are a few articles to peruse.

http://jkjones21blog.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/superhero-role-models-danielle-moonstar/

http://girl-wonder.org/dimestoredames/2011/04/danielle-dani-moonstar-mirage/

http://whencomicbooksruled.blogspot.com/2013/11/dani-moonstar-versus-sarah-rainmaker-or.html

Connections: In one of frames of the New Mutants #19, there were a couple of easter eggs. Easter eggs are little hidden secrets that can be found in different types of media. These easter eggs were of well known people. One is of Alfred Hitchcock and the other is of Ben Casey. 

Ben Casey was a doctor on a fictional medical drama that ran during the sixties.

5. Ben Casey

Summary:  Dr. Ben Casey was an idealistic but intense surgeon at County General Hospital and this was the story of his work and fight to provide good care.

Commentary: Dr. Maggie Graham, an anesthesiologist, was first introduced to the show to be the love interest of Ben Casey. But there was a lack of chemistry. What we did get was a strong female character and role model that showed what a woman could do.

http://www.avclub.com/article/man-woman-birth-death-infinity-the-dark-medical-dr-101140

Connections: Ben Casey handled many cases while working at County General. Because of that he could have become well known, even famous. In a video game called Mother 1- there is a hospital called "Big Ben Casey"- which most likely referred to the aforementioned doctor.

6. Mother

Summary:  In the beginning, a young couple by the name of George and Maria were kidnapped by aliens. Two years later, George returned alone. Later, in 1980, a young boy named Ninten was attacked by something. His father thought it might be related to something that Ninten's great grandfather George had been studying and asked Ninten to investigate. Ninten does so. He eventually discovered that an alien race was invading and that to stop it he needed 8 melodies to give to Queen Mary. With the help of friends, family, and a little bit of skill, Ninten traveled the world to search for those melodies and to save the world from the aliens.

Commentary: For this section, I let my daughter write information about the characters. She is a big fan and you'll probably be able to tell.

Ana:  Ana is a young 12 year old girl, living in the small town of Snowman. She is the pastor's daughter, and is known among the residents of her small town as "Little Mother", for she read and taught songs to the children only a little bit younger than herself in Sunday School. She plays piano, and her favorite possession is her bible.

     Ana had a secret almost no one knew - She was psychic, even if she didn't necessarily like them. And then her life changed the day two boys going by the names Ninten and Loid showed up on the church's doorstep. Ana's mom had been kidnapped, and she joined the boys on their adventure to save the world, hoping to find her mother along the way.

     Ana joins the team at level 1, much like every other character. She begins with Telepathy, and PK Lifeup Beta, a healing move that is likely better than what Ninten has at this point. (To compare, Ninten learns Lifeup Beta around level 27). By endgame, Ana can learn PK Fire Omega, easily THE strongest PSI in the game. It nukes all enemies on screen, winning you the battle. Fitting that it is the last technique Ana learns by level up. Ninten, on the otherhand, can't attack with his powers at all.

     Ana doesn't have the physical strength of her friends, as all her power lies in her incredible psychic abilities. In fact she has the lowest attack in the series! 

But . . ."If possible, one should have stamina and skills. However, for adventurers, perhaps the most important thing is the power of the heart to believe in something." -MOTHER Encyclopedia

Pippi Lindgren:  "I'm Pippi. Who're you? What is it you're up to? I'm off on an adventure every day. Don't think of me as boyish, OK?" Her quote from the MOTHER Encyclopedia sums her up perfectly. 7 year old Pippi is certainly an energetic little girl. Her mom, being an equally energetic woman, is likely where she got it from.

     Her story begins on a not so normal day, with her disappearance. Her mom asked a special favor of Ninten: Can you please find my daughter? He agrees, and finds Pippi in a tomb in the town graveyard. Ninten saved her, and after gifting him with her precious Franklin Badge, the two set off for City Hall. Along the way, Ninten realizes one thing - Pippi was fighting better than he was! 

     That's right! Pippi, despite being a whopping 5 years younger than Ninten, is very powerful. She starts at level 1 like everyone else, and you don't get to keep her long. But her stat growths have been shown to be the same as Teddy, who is an extremely strong 18 year old that joins later on. With a little training, she'll outtake Ninten in terms of stats. Too bad we don't get to keep her!

     Fun fact: Her last name comes from the name of "Pippi Longstockings" author. If spoken to after she is left with her mom in Town hall, she asks Ninten if her stockings are too short.

Connections: As stated above, one of the characters was named Pippi Lindgren. She was red haired, energetic, and strong. Because of the name and of the qualities she possessed, she may be a descendant of the original Pippi Longstocking from the book Pippi Longstocking.

B. Pippi Longstocking (book)

Summary: Pippi Longstocking moved into Villa Villekulla after her father, a sea captain, disappeared. She lived with her pet monkey, Mr. Nilsson and her horse. She had a suitcase full of gold, superhuman strength, and was a very optimistic person. She made friends and they had many adventures.

Commentary: Age should be no no distinction to strength in a woman. Pippi Longstocking had superhuman strength but it wasn't that physical strength that made her strong. What made her strong was the belief and the confidence she had in her self. Pippi had the never give up and never give in mentality. And she rarely ever did.

http://anuwomensdepartment.com/2012/08/06/pippi-langstrump-inspiring-young-feminists-2/

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