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.
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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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