What is a Superheroine?

General discussions about superheroines!
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Asmodeus
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For many people, the word 'Superheroine' is directly associated with specific attributes and characters. They are costumed vigilantes who uphold justice. Ask the average person to name one and you're guaranteed to hear names such as Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Woman. These names have become so well know and iconic that you would be hard pressed to find someone who has never heard of these Superheroines. They're well know and given the amount of attention they receive here it's telling how much people love these characters. For a lot of people on this site, these famous three is what sparked their interest in the genre and shaped their fetish.

Except me. I have little attachment to comic book Superheroines.

So, you must be asking 'Why are you here?'. Why hang out on a site that focuses on characters or a media you have no love for? The answer to that is simple; I love Superheroines. The main difference is that the catalyst for my love is wholly different than the majority here. I grew up on video games and anime instead of comic books. If you were to ask me to name a couple of my favorite Superheroines, I would answer with names such as Samus, Estelle, and Misaka. I wouldn't be surprised if you have no idea who any of them are. They are all heroic females, but I highly doubt many people would consider them Superheroines despite the fact they do share some traits with comic book Superheroines. Samus wears power armor, has an in universe alias that her foes call her (The Hunter), and has gone against high authority for the sake of the universe. Estella has no costume or alias, but her determination and heroics has inspired many characters throughout her journey. Misaka is know as 'The Railgun' and has no quims about engaging in vigilantism.

If I were a name the series that sparked my overall interest in Superheroines, it would be Sailor Moon. For the unaware, this was a Magical Girl show that aired sometime in the late 90s. What sparked my more deviant interest and formed my kinks, however, were three hentai series; La Blu Girl, Twin Angels, and Angel Blade. All of them display heroic women fighting evil and are all 'Superheroines' in their own right.

For me, a Superheroine is simply a heroic female with the will to do good. It's more of an abstract idea than a set of certain traits. With that in mind, what is your definition of a Superheroine and what series/character sparked your interest? I'm curious.
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Femina
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I think you'll probably find we here have a pretty varied answer to this question as well. A good number of us would consider most non-powered crime fighters, spies, dramatically dressed video game characters etc. to fall under the SHiP banner. There's perhaps a few who would get nitpicky about it... but the majority of conflicts about SHiP here tend to be in the 'taste' department.

Woe be unto thee who prefers bare thighs to hose... and vice versa... for the war hath begun.
Damselbinder

I believe we had a thread on this a while back which got rather definitionally contentious. I think the best way of thinking about it is tone and the genre/medium in which the character appears.

Take T'Pol from Star Trek Enterprise. She has a distinctive, alluring outfit; is dedicated to fighting evil to some extent (esp. in, say, season 3 where the crew's mission is explicitly to save Earth from an impending disaster), she has formidable combat skills and has superhuman strength; she's even a telepath. If she appeared in Marvel comics doing the sorts of things she does in her own show, she'd certainly be a superheroine. But her show just isn't the kind of thing where you'd describe someone as a 'superheroine.' I mean, no-one calls Spock a 'superhero' do they? It's not unarguable given what he does and what his 'powers' are, but it just doesn't feel right, does it? It doesn't fit with the genre he appears in.

Now take the three ladies from 'Totally Spies'. They have no superpowers at all - but I'd be more inclined to call them superheroines just given the cartoonish, comic-y tone of the series in which they appear. Again, it's not unarguable. Maybe you should call them 'super-spies' instead, or something, like what people call James Bond. But, still.

The main lesson, however, is that it's word that obviously has a pretty loose definition. This is not a question that can be settled distinctly.
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five_red
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This is a question I've asked myself, given that I have an interest in characters from around the world, and therefore run into a lot of potential superheroines. I also blog about these superheroine characters, and make videos about them, so I'm forced to make decisions about whether a given character qualifies to be included in a blog or video about superheroines.

The general rule of thumb I apply is that a heroine is a superheroine if she meets both these criteria...
  1. She fights crime or is an advocate for law, order, and justice in some way.
  2. She has abilities beyond normal humans AND / OR wears a costume.
Rule one differentiates heroines from villains. Rule two differentiates heroines from superheroines.

Let's take a few examples:
  • Wonder Woman fights for law/order/justice, has powers, and wears a costume. So she qualifies,
  • The Bionic Woman fights for law/order/justice, and has powers. So she qualifies despite not having a costume.
  • Batgirl fights for law/order/justice, and wears a costume. So she qualifies despite not having powers.
  • Valentina (from Darna) has powers, wears a costume, but doesn't fight for law/order/justice. So she doesn't qualify.
  • Rhoda (the android from Julie Newmar sitcom My Living Doll) has powers, but doesn't wear a costume and doesn't fight for law/order/justice. So she doesn't qualify.
But there are some borderlines...
  • Seven of Nine (from Star Trek) has powers, doesn't (really) wear a costume, but it is debatable whether she really fights against crime or for law, order, and justice, any more than her fellow crew members.
  • Eleven (from Stranger Things) has powers, doesn't wear a costume, but again it is debatable whether what she is fighting for could be describes as law, order, and justice.
Ultimately what makes Seven of Nine and Eleven borderline is that they come from genres that don't really involve crime -- raising the question, do they qualify for my Rule One? Characters may fight against evil, but superheroes in general (male and female) are so bound up in the Golden Age template of costumed crimefighters that even if a character has special abilities, it is hard to see them as a superhero if they aren't -- at least sometimes -- fighting crime. Of course not ever Superman or Supergirl story is about crime fighting. Not ever episode of The Bionic Woman was about crime fighting. But so long as crime fighting is part of what the character does, then Rule One applies.

So that's how I decide whether the term applies.

R5
Damselbinder

five_red wrote:
1 year ago
This is a question I've asked myself, given that I have an interest in characters from around the world, and therefore run into a lot of potential superheroines. I also blog about these superheroine characters, and make videos about them, so I'm forced to make decisions about whether a given character qualifies to be included in a blog or video about superheroines.

The general rule of thumb I apply is that a heroine is a superheroine if she meets both these criteria...
  1. She fights crime or is an advocate for law, order, and justice in some way.
  2. She has abilities beyond normal humans AND / OR wears a costume.
Rule one differentiates heroines from villains. Rule two differentiates heroines from superheroines.

Let's take a few examples:
  • Wonder Woman fights for law/order/justice, has powers, and wears a costume. So she qualifies,
  • The Bionic Woman fights for law/order/justice, and has powers. So she qualifies despite not having a costume.
  • Batgirl fights for law/order/justice, and wears a costume. So she qualifies despite not having powers.
  • Valentina (from Darna) has powers, wears a costume, but doesn't fight for law/order/justice. So she doesn't qualify.
  • Rhoda (the android from Julie Newmar sitcom My Living Doll) has powers, but doesn't wear a costume and doesn't fight for law/order/justice. So she doesn't qualify.
But there are some borderlines...
  • Seven of Nine (from Star Trek) has powers, doesn't (really) wear a costume, but it is debatable whether she really fights against crime or for law, order, and justice, any more than her fellow crew members.
  • Eleven (from Stranger Things) has powers, doesn't wear a costume, but again it is debatable whether what she is fighting for could be describes as law, order, and justice.
Ultimately what makes Seven of Nine and Eleven borderline is that they come from genres that don't really involve crime -- raising the question, do they qualify for my Rule One? Characters may fight against evil, but superheroes in general (male and female) are so bound up in the Golden Age template of costumed crimefighters that even if a character has special abilities, it is hard to see them as a superhero if they aren't -- at least sometimes -- fighting crime. Of course not ever Superman or Supergirl story is about crime fighting. Not ever episode of The Bionic Woman was about crime fighting. But so long as crime fighting is part of what the character does, then Rule One applies.

So that's how I decide whether the term applies.

R5
Very reasonable.
Asmodeus
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five_red wrote:
1 year ago
This is a question I've asked myself, given that I have an interest in characters from around the world, and therefore run into a lot of potential superheroines. I also blog about these superheroine characters, and make videos about them, so I'm forced to make decisions about whether a given character qualifies to be included in a blog or video about superheroines.

The general rule of thumb I apply is that a heroine is a superheroine if she meets both these criteria...
  1. She fights crime or is an advocate for law, order, and justice in some way.
  2. She has abilities beyond normal humans AND / OR wears a costume.
Rule one differentiates heroines from villains. Rule two differentiates heroines from superheroines.
Interesting. Lets apply these rules to the Superheroines I mentioned.

Samus is a bounty hunter who is often employed by the Galactic Federation to take care of anything that threatens the peace of the universe. She has also gone out of her way to save an alien race from annihilation out of her own volition. Wears Power Armor. Definitely qualifies.

Estella is part of the Bracer Guild, a non-governmental organization created with the purpose of protecting civilians. She has no costume, but is a highly skilled combatant and has a device in her possession that can summon magic spells. Qualifies.

Misaka is one of the top Espers within Academy City. No costume, but she does have powers. Does stand against injustice, but won't actively pursue it unless it's in front of her face or it involves helping someone close to her. Borderline.
Damselbinder wrote:
1 year ago
I believe we had a thread on this a while back which got rather definitionally contentious. I think the best way of thinking about it is tone and the genre/medium in which the character appears.
My view is the inverse of this. For me, its how a character behaves and is presented within the narrative regardless of genre/medium or tone.
Damselbinder wrote:
1 year ago
Take T'Pol from Star Trek Enterprise. She has a distinctive, alluring outfit; is dedicated to fighting evil to some extent (esp. in, say, season 3 where the crew's mission is explicitly to save Earth from an impending disaster), she has formidable combat skills and has superhuman strength; she's even a telepath. If she appeared in Marvel comics doing the sorts of things she does in her own show, she'd certainly be a superheroine. But her show just isn't the kind of thing where you'd describe someone as a 'superheroine.' I mean, no-one calls Spock a 'superhero' do they? It's not unarguable given what he does and what his 'powers' are, but it just doesn't feel right, does it? It doesn't fit with the genre he appears in.
What about the genre makes you feel like Spock and T'Pol aren't Superheroes? I know nothing of Star Trek outside the fact it's a Science Fiction show.
Femina wrote:
1 year ago
Woe be unto thee who prefers bare thighs to hose... and vice versa... for the war hath begun.
High knee socks are better.
Damselbinder

Asmodeus wrote:
1 year ago

What about the genre makes you feel like Spock and T'Pol aren't Superheroes? I know nothing of Star Trek outside the fact it's a Science Fiction show.
Because they're just people getting on with their jobs. They're not 'crime-fighting', you know. Star Trek isn't exactly hyper-realistic or anything, but the tone is procedural, rather than heroic.
Asmodeus
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Damselbinder wrote:
1 year ago
Because they're just people getting on with their jobs. They're not 'crime-fighting', you know. Star Trek isn't exactly hyper-realistic or anything, but the tone is procedural, rather than heroic.
I can't comment on the show itself due to lack of knowledge, but I do somewhat see where you're coming from though. Having a job that helps people or benefits society is not the same as being heroic. That being said, I still believe it comes down to the character themselves. Like the difference between a normal mailman and a mailman who goes out of their to stop people from stealing mail. A Super Mailman you could say.
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argento
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A heroic act is a glorious way to serve as an example. For example, a teacher in a rural school. A superheroine, on the other hand, exceeds these characteristics.
ThatOnePervert
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My general definition for a superhero(ine) is someone with superior/unique power/skill who uses that power to fight for good.

For example, I wouldn't consider your basic cop a superhero, but I could accept Chun-li as a superhero because she's the only one on the force doing gravity defying kicks and shooting energy blast. I'd also accept the Green Lanterns, because while they are a large force, their tendency to spread out among the different sectors of space usually leave them as one of the few/only people for light years that can do what they do. Basically an exceptional do-gooder, preferably in a fancy costume, is what I'd call a superhero.
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