Libby Cavey

The title of my FMP is ‘the sexualisation and stereotypes of superheroes’. I have into the ways in which particularly female superheroes are sexualised by the use of revealing and impractical costuming. I produced a costume for a female superhero on screen which will be practical and is not sexualising in nature. I have also explored the power dynamics between the male characters and what is interpreted by the male and females gazes. I thought about how classic superheroes, like Psylocke who’s nationality is unknown, can be reinterpreted through the lens of culture, time period and setting. In comic book style I created story boards and created my own planet which would be the battlefield setting. My first reference was ‘X-Men classic Omnibus’ illustrated by Dave Cockrum where I noticed the apparent sexualisation of the females, for example, storm’s costume is resemblant of a bikini which I found is a recurring theme in most female superhero comics. When looking at the ‘A force’ comic book series, illustrated by Jorge Molina, I noticed that the heroines wear completely impractical heels, which became a recurring theme in my research.  I also researched the scene in Enola Holmes where she is stabbed while wearing a corset, however the blade does not go through it. Many people have tested this theory and the corset boning channels would stop and slash or stab of a blade. I applied this technique to my final garment and also created the illusion of chainmail, by using knitting, and metal, by painting cardboard. For my final photoshoot, I collaged photographs of me wearing my garment, onto the planet background and also added in other people to fight.