Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Barbie Supergirl. In pink. ehhhhhh. And man tackle.

Looks like I'm in a blogging mood tonight, Must be all the nervous energy from the chocolate egg I ate earlier.

Barbie Supergirl? Barbie's are fucking horrible. My particular brand of feminism hates them, they're fucking bimbos. And you want to make the DC female superheroes into Barbies? You want to take away all their individuality, their distinctiveness and separate identities and pour them all into one hollow plastic identikit shell? Fuck. Off. My beef with Barbie is they are sold as the ideal woman, the prettiest, the most slender, the tallest, the best shape you can be. And there's only ever one shape. From the website - From urban teen to fantasy queen she's every girl! Not mine she fucking aint.

From Valerie D'Orazio's blog, I bring you Pink Supergirl.
I am not making any comments on the validity of pink as a colour. It has as much place in our world as red, blue, green, brown, black and yellow.
My beef is not so much that Supergirl has never worn a pink outfit. I'm all for adapting costumes to make them your own. I couldn't give a shit how popular they are with kids. My problem is that it seems whenever companies are trying to sell something to women and girls they make it pink. Car Insurance. Mobile phones. Air travel.

It seems that pink is what being a women boils down to. It's lazy, it's condescending and it assumes we all like pink. And are shallow enough to buy something just cause it's pink. And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

On a brighter, less sweary note, lets see more man tackle in our comics:





Thanks Messrs Ross! Keep producing these and if I ever meet you I'll buy you a drink!

5 comments:

Rachel Keslensky said...

The only thing that's pink is my DS. And that's only because the fuckers apparently never released Ice Blue in the states.

... Gimme some teal, dammit. Teal is a perfectly respectable color that appeals to women, AND it's in fashion right now!

Rachel Keslensky said...

(Although, I should add on the only reason I tolerate a pink DS is because it's a light pink.

Light, dainty, "just a few shades off of white" pink is at least tolerable. Hot pink is a big HELL NO.)

Anonymous said...

Well, also keep in mind that pink is the official color for Breast Cancer Awareness and they are many pink products on the market that donate part of profit to Breast Cancer research. That's why I always buy the "Pretty in Pink" ear plugs for working in the wood/metal shop (I'm an art major) or sleeping.

Plus, I just happen to like the color pink. It's goes great with my skin tone. I understand that not all women like pink though and I understand their frustration. For years, I had convinced myself I didn't like pink out an act of rebellion but as I got older I came to my senses. I realized that it's stupid for to pretend you don't like something just because it happens to be popular.

I like my pink digital camera too. I think its sleek...and it takes good pictures which is what's important. (The other colors for that specific camera look ugly. I didn't want puke color tan or dull/no-sleek black.)

So, yeah, I don't mind the pink products, but I do think there is a large amount of idiocy amongst marketers toward just about any product for any female consumer base. They just can't seem to get past the idea that women are intelligent and have their own incomes or something. Then again, I can't help but wonder if markets in general underestimate the mental capacity of consumers.

philippos42 said...

(psst. "Messrs." is the plural of "Mr." Are you claiming that Ross is plural?)

I find the proliferation of Barbie/superheroines bizarre. Shouldn't these be different franchises with different themes, forms, strengths, ideas of femininity, & well, proportions?

Saranga said...

Messrs is plural? Oops. I just like the sound of it. Tis a good honorofic.
Thanks for pointing that out :)