Source (1, 2) Specifically Brianna was referring to this this unfortunate incident, and the even more unfortunate response.
It’s really terrifying how common this piece of rhetoric is and how extreme people will take it. I have lost count of the number of people who say that if you view the clearly hyper-sexualized female character as objectified maybe it’s you that’s the problem.
The characters we critique cannot have agency, and their creators are responsible for choosing what aspects of the character they communicate and when. When they make “sexy” be the top and almost singular priority for a female character – it’s a problem and it’s the creator’s fault.
– wincenworks
The myth of fictional characters possessing agency and thus “choosing” to dress a certain way has always been a pervasive rhetoric against BABD and similar sites/communities. That’s why it’s on the bingo.
Over time, we’ve collected a bunch of posts devoted to debunking that mentality, so I went back and introduced a tag for them.
~Ozzie
See the key to sexy armor is not to over sell it – don’t bombard people with sideboob and cleavage – give it a focus point and and make the rest work. If you need to – make multiple sets and keep in mind the character while you do.
Trust us, you can always count of the fans to see the sexy.
– wincenworks
I literally just read somebody suggesting that the “iron man” in all new all differen avengers van’t be pepper potts because the armor has no boobs….what ._.
But Rose, how can fans possibly believe it’s a G I R L in there if the suit doesn’t have BIG IRON TITTIES?! [/sarcasm]
In case anyone wondered what All-New All-Different Avengers is:
Regardless of who this particular Iron Man is supposed to be, Pepper Potts rocks the boobless Iron Man suit just fine. Ask Stjepan Sejic (seems this artwork was deleted from dA. Here’s it’s archive.com copy).
~Ozzie
People really need to stop playing their faith in boobcups. They’re not necessary if you have boobs, and by now everyone should know that the boobplate does not guarantee boobs underneath:
– wincenworks
more on Iron Boobs | more on boobplates
edit: found another post about gendering Iron Man’s suit!