Sometimes cis men online love being loud and wrong. One man, in particular, got Twitter-dragged for saying that the upcoming Birds of Prey movie, starring a diverse all-female cast, was going to “bomb” just like Charlie’s Angels because they “Removed any sex appeal these characters had” in order to appeal to all us girl-power feminists “instead of the core male comic book audience.”
They also added that “even women want to see attractive women onscreen.” Well, as someone who is in that latter category, I’ve got to say … everyone is looking pretty hot to me.
I remember watching the Suicide Squad and thinking that Margot Robbie’s costume was one of the most uncomfortable things I’d ever seen. Even in the press, during a profile with The New York Times, Robbie sort of played both sides, admitting that the costume was in character: “Ms. Robbie said she could justify the wardrobe: Her character is ‘wearing hot pants because they’re sparkly and fun’ she said, not because ‘she wanted guys to look at her ass.'”
Yet, she also said that, outside of character, “As Margot, no, I don’t like wearing that. I’m eating burgers at lunchtime, and then you go do a scene where you’re hosed down and soaking wet in a white T-shirt, it’s so clingy and you’re self-conscious about it.”
But it had to happen because director David Ayer said, “I didn’t think denim overalls would be appropriate for that character.” You know, the character who made her debut wearing essentially footie pajamas. And when we look at what Robbie is wearing in Birds of Prey oh my goodness, is that a jumpsuit? Not overalls, but the same energy.
Not to mention, all of the adult women in the cast are gorgeous, and Margot Robbie could be wearing a burlap sack and still be one of the most facially gifted humans on Earth. Plus, Dinah is still showing plenty of cleavage. She’s wearing a leather bra and a low cut, and Harley is wearing a bra and her zipper goes down to her underwear. There is plenty of skin to be had.
These shallow standards of sexual desirability are so boring. Do you really need a boob window and unrealistic body standards to know what an attractive woman looks like? Do you need Harley in uncomfortable, camel toe-causing shorts? Come on.
While I hate feeding the trolls, this subject always hits me because, as someone who does enjoy a little bit of fun T&A, I think, from everything I’ve seen, that Birds of Prey has really managed to bring it all together in a really beautiful, fun way, and I can tell you that is more than whatever Charlie’s Angels had going for it. Plus, Charlie’s Angels is a pretty defunct intellectual property, and we are the era of comic book films.
The time for Birds of Prey is now.
(image: Warner Bros.)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
