So, I’d like to start this post by saying if you haven’t seen Black Panther – go see Black Panther.  As soon as humanly possible.

From a BABD perspective, there’s a couple of really interesting and exciting aspects of the armor of the Dora Milaje (royal guard, aka bald women in red).

Firstly is while they do put an odd amount of emphasis of broadcasting that the wearer has breasts – they still read quite clearly as practical (very decorative, but practical) battle attire. It doesn’t rely on the lore to convey the purpose, and is easily some of the best female attire in a Marvel movie to date (and much, much better than the previously featured comic, seriously).

And they look so amazing when they’re together as a unit:

(Also if you love costume design in general you’ll want to see this movie simply to appreciate the authentically African inspired Wakandan outfits)

The second is that the all female royal guard, in Africa, is not without historical precedent.  The Dahomey Minos (referred to as amazons by Europeans because… colonialism) who started as royal guards, became a militia and ultimately fought in wars against colonizers (who spoke highly of their courage and ability)

– wincenworks