| May. 4th, 2009 @ 03:24 pm Why do you hate prostitutes, people? |
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Scans_Daily seems to be going through a phase of love for Catwoman with a bunch of posts dedicated to her. Actually, it might be just one guy or gal doing all the posts; I am too lazy to check who is posting all that stuff, but the point is still the same.
One of the posts caught my eye because it contained some scans from Catwoman’s youth. I think this was some issue where Doug Moench tried to retcon out or at least downplay the origin story Frank “WHORES WHORES WHORES” Miller gave Catwoman in Batman Year One, where Catwoman was a common prostitute who one day puts on a catsuit and starts stealing stuff, because it was more fun and lucrative than being a prostitute.
What I want to ask is why people hate the prostitute origin story? Is it so bad that Catwoman was once a prostitute? Really? Street prostitutes are not allowed to leave their harsh life behind and start having superhero adventures with Batman? Batman can’t love a former prostitute? Is getting a dick in your vagina so tainting?
I don’t think these people are being entirely misogynistic, but only because there are no male prostitute characters to compare with Catwoman. Other than Booster Gold, of course. But Booster Gold whoring himself for money with old women was played for laughs. I’m not sure he counts for our purposes. In any case, I’ll give people the benefit of the doubt and pretend this is about sexphobia and not misogyny.
I wouldn’t call myself a fan of the prostitute origin, but I can see a big silver lining in it. Catwoman didn’t like being a prostitute, and I can easily see why, but then she saw this goofy guy in a bat costume having a more awesome life and she said “Hey! If that moron can do it, why can’t I do it?” And then she became a glamorous cat burglar by her own hand. You know what? I take that back, I am a fan of the prostitute origin. There, I said it!
Despite my better judgment I read some of the reasons why some people hate this origin, and frankly I don’t think these people are as progressive or enlightened as they seem to think. I am not putting their names, or bothered to read who said what, but you can check then out in the link above if you want to. And yes, these are from several different people.
“But in the end I just don't buy it as an origin for the world's greatest thief. That's the main thing with me. Selina is the absolute best thief in the world, bar none, and an amazing athlete as well. She's good enough at what she does that I feel she has to have been working at it for all or most of her life. I just don't buy that any significant period in her past was spent as a prostitute”
This one is insulting. Sorry, hos! You can never be the best at anything, it’s because of all the dicks you sucked. Frowny face :(. Sorry, it’s all your fault for whoring too much and not practicing other stuff!
For the life of me, I can’t understand how anyone can even bring this logic to a fictional world where Green Arrow is just a trust fund baby who one day picked up a bow and became the best archer in the world; where Batman is the master of whatever the heck he decides to be; where Oracle is the best hacked despite that she is a Librarian and an English major and not a computer engineer.
Why can’t a prostitute be a great thief? Oh yes… the dicks.
can't reconcile Selina ever having been a prostitute, given her very independent nature.
Sorry, Catwoman, you can’t be an independent woman. It’s because of all the dicks you sucked. Frowny face to you, Catwoman!
I could never reconcile this tough slum living prostitute with the high life living Selina.
Sorry, Catwoman, you can’t buy pretty things with the money you stole. It’s because of all the dicks you sucked. Frowny face, Catty, frowny face!
Selina as a prostitute is utter fail because it is simply bad storytelling. It does not make sense! Selina is a cat burglar. Prostitute to cat burglar is no way a logical shift.
Sorry, Catwoman, you can’t become a thief. It’s because of all the dicks you sucked. Frowny face.
Okay, this is getting repetitive. Let’s find a different take on that. Oh, here is one:
For me, Catwoman as a prostitute offends me mostly because Frank Miller was the creator of the idea. It's technically an interesting, innovative idea, but it can feel a little cheap, because Miller makes all of his women whores. There was no imagination involved in his decision for Selina's profession; he made the same decision he makes everytime he writes a female character.
This might surprise people, but Miller has written female characters who were not prostitutes. I know, it’s amazing, but it’s true. I saw it in a rerun of THAT’S INCREDIBLE!
But again, I have to ask, why are people offended by Miller writing about prostitutes? Oh, I don’t mind the whores! I mind Miller writing about whores. Well, why?
Am I again being mean to people, or maybe these people are being sexphobic?
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