Oh my head!
Aug. 16th, 2009 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
megwritesIs there a rule somewhere that says the women in SF/F cover art must look like they're just copypasta of fashion models, except with bigger boobs?
I went surfing around a few of the sites of artists who do the covers for SF/F books and I swear I've seen some of those women in the advertisements and fashion shoots for Vogue or Vanity Fair or something like that. One picture - which I shall not link here - featured a model with slicked back hair standing behind something and I realized that I'd seen nearly that exact same pose, model, and body type in an advertisement for body wash.
Somebody really needs to do something about SF/F cover art's representations of women. Like, right now. Because no matter how revolutionary the text, if we (the larger we) are still representing it using old, harmful standards of beauty when it comes to women and people of color, we're taking two steps forward and two steps back.
Which, if you do the math, leaves us exactly where we started. And I'd really, really like to be somewhere different than where SF/F is right now. Somewhere that has less tramp stamps and improbably tight fitting leather (seriously? How do you fight demons and vampires wearing that stuff? And how do you not sound like a walking fart machine when it starts squeaking? God, the chafing must be unreal!) on the cover of urban fantasy novels.
Just once, I'd like to see a cover which features a model wearing practical shoes. High heels are great for cocktail parties, but when it comes to fighting off the monstrous undead, I recommend a solid pair of Nikes. Because otherwise you're going to fracture your ankle during a battle and get eaten. And I will not feel sorry for you because anyone who tries to fight a vampire while wearing a pair Manolo Blahniks is sealing their own fate.
I went surfing around a few of the sites of artists who do the covers for SF/F books and I swear I've seen some of those women in the advertisements and fashion shoots for Vogue or Vanity Fair or something like that. One picture - which I shall not link here - featured a model with slicked back hair standing behind something and I realized that I'd seen nearly that exact same pose, model, and body type in an advertisement for body wash.
Somebody really needs to do something about SF/F cover art's representations of women. Like, right now. Because no matter how revolutionary the text, if we (the larger we) are still representing it using old, harmful standards of beauty when it comes to women and people of color, we're taking two steps forward and two steps back.
Which, if you do the math, leaves us exactly where we started. And I'd really, really like to be somewhere different than where SF/F is right now. Somewhere that has less tramp stamps and improbably tight fitting leather (seriously? How do you fight demons and vampires wearing that stuff? And how do you not sound like a walking fart machine when it starts squeaking? God, the chafing must be unreal!) on the cover of urban fantasy novels.
Just once, I'd like to see a cover which features a model wearing practical shoes. High heels are great for cocktail parties, but when it comes to fighting off the monstrous undead, I recommend a solid pair of Nikes. Because otherwise you're going to fracture your ankle during a battle and get eaten. And I will not feel sorry for you because anyone who tries to fight a vampire while wearing a pair Manolo Blahniks is sealing their own fate.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 07:42 pm (UTC)I so am ready for that trend to be over now. I'm tired of books that are supposed to be for women by women being splattered with really exploitative looking art. I don't like the implication that a woman's power is some how so inextricably linked with her sexual attractiveness.
I seem to recall the leather outfits in the X-Men movies giving the actors a lot of trouble; they were so stiff the actors couldn't move properly.
Good point! I think I remember reading something like that, too. I get why you wear leathers when riding, but it seems like wearing them while trying to fight in close hand-to-hand combat wouldn't be to your advantage.
Plus, I had a friend who tried to leather pants thing once on a whim. She sat down in a booth at a restaurant and it sounded like she was farting every time she so much as moved. Needless to say, she never wore those pants again. From then on out, I pretty much laugh at the amount of leather clothing that people think is sexy.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 11:51 pm (UTC)In my experience, when the leather is broken in properly, it tends to be very comfortable and non-squeaky (not so much the fake plastic leather, which is very very squeaky and doesn't ever seem to end up less squeaky). But getting to that point sometimes involves some pain/discomfort and embarrassment, as well as attention to care for the leather (the higher the quality, the softer and more supple and stronger the leather, also the more expensive). People using it in hand-to-hand combat situations... I would understand the reasoning for it (or at least for stuff like leather boots or jackets), even aside from it being supposedly sexy to wear. The material is very durable, if cared for properly (though I have no idea how one washes/cleans leather pants). You give up some mobility that lighter material would allow for a little more protection.