There's a big difference between "sexuality" and "sexualisation".
And I'm commenting on female characters in general, not just the villains.
I have no problem with the female body as long as it looks realistic and is appropriate for the role. And nudity or partial nudity or tight clothing is fine too - there's nothing shameful in the human form and I think as a society it's about time we got over this idea that female bodies especially are inherently sexual and therefore "dirty".
But again, I come back to this word "appropriate". Miss Information's new dress is pretty deliberately sexy on her part and probably not terribly functional - I assume there's a reason for that which will be made clear, and if she's not physically fighting then that's fair enough. I'd be complaining if she was wearing that (or the standard spandex) in her FV assistant role, because it's not work appropriate.
I hate Tactics Wraith wearing heels to run around fighting villains, for similar reasons. Not appropriate, because she's far more likely to injure herself and you simply can't run as fast in heels. Heels are primarily worn to make you look taller and/or sexier, and there's no need for Wraith to care about either of those things when she's trying to get a job done, especially with the added disadvantage of reduced mobility. Not appropriate.
And where on earth did Mind-Phyre get a costume that's obviously tailored especially for her, if Rook City's been practically destroyed and Exemplar has to wear a suit made of rags?
Props to Parse though. She looks comfortable and not restricted by her clothing. But it's interesting that the most "comfortable" character (apart from the Scholar) has Asperger's, presumably with the common symptom of sensitivity to touch meaning she wouldn't be able to cope with a tight costume, while the "normals" almost all wear them. She's wearing "normal" clothing because she's "not normal".
My second complaint is the cookie-cutter approach to bodies. The message to me is "This is the only type of body that is allowed to be a superhero, and this is the only type that is attractive." I'm sure Adam doesn't mean to send that message, but that's the message nonetheless. And it's the same "idealised" body shapes we're constantly being bombarded with from other media. As a woman I'm tired of those relentless pretty identical images that are held up to us not only as ideals, but as the only possible option.
I know this is very much atypical, but I know a woman who is about 5'6" and maybe 200lb. She's broad-shouldered and muscular, but she's clearly overweight and could stand to lose 40lb to reach a "normal" weight. I met her at the gym. She was leading an aerobics class I joined - I mean PROPERLY leading, as she did everything the class did and more. By the end of the hour she'd hardly broken a sweat (I was exhausted, it was a tough class), and she lead FIVE different aerobics classes every day. So big and fit? Totally possible. Slender and fit? Check out Olypic heptathletes or decathletes. Muscular and fit? Wrestlers, or hammer throwers, or sprinters.
Not just one " ideal" shape.
