I'll break this down as succinctly as I can:
Some comic book artists draw female characters quite disrespectfully. Particularly egregious is a pose which has come to known as the "brokeback" in which a woman is drawn twisted so that both her breasts and ass are visible like so:
To demonstrate how ridiculous these drawings are, a movement started (I think by Noelle "
Gingerhaze" Stevenson?) wherein artists would draw the male comic book character Hawkeye (from the Avengers) in the same demeaning pose and/or clothing as the woman in one of these illustrations. It came to known as the
Hawkeye Initiative.
This week's
The Line It Is Drawn was Hawkeye Initiative inspired. B_Granderson suggested Spider-Man as interpreting Guillem March's cover for Catwoman #1 from summer 2011.
Enlarge.
Also, read Nicole Stevenson's fantastic
Nimona!