I am so mad right now, I am shaking. Gal Gadot, the actress playing Wonder Women in the Batman vs Superman film (did you get that part about how the film is referred to as Batman vs Superman?) was asked by an interviewer if her small breast size qualified her to play the part.
Gadot was interviewed by Good Evening with Gai Pines, an entertainment show in her homeland Israel…
It’s been said that you’re too skinny for the part. Wonder Woman is large-breasted, is that going to change?
Thank you, media for directing the public to focus on Gadot’s breast size. We all need to pay a little more attention to critiquing female anatomy. Also, since Wonder Woman in a movie probably means Wonder Woman in more merchandise, we really need to make sure we get the character’s breast size right for kids’ toys and games.
I can’t even count how many blogs I’ve written about sexualized female superheroes. Wonder Woman finally appears in a movie, not even her own damn movie, but the 8th Superman and the 9th Batman one, and she gets asked about her breast size? Wow. We live in backwards, fucked up, sexist times. In case you think this interview an anomaly, it’s far the first time the media has judged Gadot’s body as inappropriate.
And what does this interviewer even mean: “Is that going to change?” Is he asking Gadot if she is going to get breast augmentation? Or is he asking her if the character will no longer be identified with that particular breast size?
Here’s Gadot’s excellent response. She can add me to her fan list.
Hmm. I represent the Wonder Woman of the new world. Breasts… anyone can buy for 9,000 shekels and everything is fine. By the way, Wonder Woman is amazonian, and historically accurate amazonian women actually had only one breast. So, if I’d really go “by the book”…it’d be problematic.
The breast size comment is just moronic and sexist.
But putting on weight to play a muscle bound character? Well, imagine if Christian Bale didn’t gain any weight to play Batman. The reaction would be the same. It’s convenient than whenever somebody says something about a woman’s body – it’s somehow automatically “sexist” -which is a buzz word that shuts down any critical or reasonable thought, like if I say that Batman is racist and Superman is a Nazi. It just create instant “controversy” and foaming at the mouth by applying that word to something we like.
What I don’t understand is why Cavill and Affleck are directed to pack on bodyweight to play the part of a FANTASY character, why does the same reasoning not apply to the female lead? Who is a beautiful actress no doubt, but again playing a FANTASY character, not playing herself.
Just to point out that the concept of “historical” amazons is absurd and… the idea that women have to cut off a breast to be able to shoot, would be valid only if they have freakishly enormous breasts and the hands of a t-rex, but if that was true, archery would have been their last issue.
The topic of amazons is captivating, because it shows a very interesting and deeply rooted misogyny of ancient Greece that if a woman was to be a powerful warrior, she’d have to mutilate herself. Amazons were a word of fiction in the Greek world and the breast-removal has been a flight of fancy… but the idea has stayed… and people obviously believe it.
This girl they have taken for the role.. I am unclear how is she supposed to represent a person, who has quite the muscular physique. I have been training some hand to hand martial arts and I have sparred with many women with frail physique… they could be powerful, strong and excellent but the absence of serious muscle mass affects them. OK, WW is amazonian, she is magical, so super-strenght without the muscles can be accepted… but why not being represented by someone who actually looks like someone who is training and imposing?
In American action/superhero comics/films the large size of the male character and his big muscles are there to fulfil male power fantasies while thin/petite muscle-less female characters with the emphasis in large breasts and hips are there to fulfil male sexual fantasies (or to,be more precise,what many men in US film/comic industry presume is the main sexual fantasy for white males) .Notice how the focus is on MALE fantasies.WW on the other hand is a muscular, mighty superheroine who is a lot like a female Superman i.e. she was designed to fulfil female power fantasies too in a similar way Superman does it for boys.This makes her the coolest DC character.Casting a thin/model actress to play the part is disrespectful for the character b/c they reject the WW identity and what makes her special in DC universe.
And while we have seen actors/actresses transform their bodies for a specific role this is for well known stars like Brad Pitt (for ‘Troy’) or Linda Hamilton (for ‘Terminator 2‘) who got the part b/c they were famous.
It makes no sense to cast an essentially unknown actress like Gadot and then put her into extensive weight training to try and make her more Amazon-like.Why not cast an Amazon-like actress like Carano in the first place? Asking her about her breast size is the icing on the sexist cake.Really lame.
And Gadot doesn’t even have the correct body type (mesomorph) for muscle development.She seems to be naturally ectomorph as most female fashion models are.(In weight training an ectomorph is a body type-a thin person who can effortlessly sustain a low fat physique, but does not add muscle/body weight easily).
Both Gadot and Carano have the same height (1.74 m) but Gina weights 15 kg more (50 vs 65)! .15 kg is a massive difference that even a man will need years of weight training to cover.Gadot can-and will-gain some body mass but nowhere near Carano’s size.
I have to add though that the emphasis here is on ‘Fantasy’ .In real,actual,war conditions muscles do not make a great soldier.Skills, mental focus ,stamina,will,courage, resourcefulness are what in fact make a fighter.Size alone doesn’t make someone a war hero.But we are talking about the fantasy DC universe here and the way they strip WW of her identity.In other words Gadot will be fine to play a female heroine in some other film. Besides she was a fitness trainer in the Israeli army for two years.
I’m… not too fond of her response regarding “historical amazons”. Not only is Wonder Woman a work of fiction, there have been no depictions of Wonder Woman where she only has one breast. Why is it that when it comes to understanding her character and mythology, we’re resorting to historical details that, let’s be honest. When it comes to slicing off one of your breasts so you can use a bow more efficiently is pretty much a myth in of itself. And given the track record of leading competent female characters we’ve had these past years who are proficient at archery,
Merida from Brave
Lara Croft from Tomb Raider (2013)
Katniss from The Hunger Games
Tauriel from The Hobbit
none of them have complained about their breasts being in the way.
The way I interpreted her interview is that no one involved in the making of this movie has any interest in her character outside of the fact that she’s a tough lady who can kick ass. That is it. She’ll have no character arc outside of probably being accepted by our male leads, she’ll always be tough and invincible (unless she needs rescuing) and there will probably be a thing between her and the Superman since the comics are doing that job right now.
When it comes to “by the book”, they shouldn’t be resorting to a history book. It should be a Wonder Woman book. Preferably Gail Simone’s take and NOT a New 52 take. We’ve already got our “last of” character in Superman, “My parents are dead!” for Batman, and constant “daddy issues” from both of them. It’d be nice if this Wonder Woman was the classic one who not only still has her mother, but all of her amazon sisters who again are NOT the New 52 Amazons.
Lame. The character in the comic books is not a petite, razor thin girl. By casting her, it actually affirms sexism and sends a message loud and clear that powerful women need to be thin. Comparing an actor to how they look in the comic book is not sexism – It’s comparing actors to how their characters look in the comic book. This was a chance for a wonderful actress who isn’t model thin to take on a great role.
Hi Brent,
I agree Gadot does not look like an Amazon. Also, as Women and Hollywood pointed out, she is basically unknown which means that a spin off WW movie is unlikely.
That said, the interviewer asked her about her breasts. Supposedly, she is bulking up. We’ve all seen actors and actresses transform their bodies for parts.
Margot
That’s infuriating! How insulting to her.
I am interested in her casting for this, as she apparently did her own stunts in 3 Fast and Furious movies. Sounds pretty suitable!
My issue with casting Gal Gadot is not her bust size but her model physique. It would have been nice to see someone, well, a bit more Amazonian.
Hi Cat,
Muscles would be great.
Margot
Agree about muscles .I said it before that IMO a great WW would be mixed martial arts star Gina Carano.You can see her in the 2011 film Haywire -an action/thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh-and she is the protagonist there. While the script is rather weak Gina is a real powerhouse on screen.In this film her legs look like they are made out of steel!She kicks major ass plus she’s not a bad actress (IMHO) .
http://media60.podbean.com/pb/84d49be2105dbf68ea7836db38e7e3e1/52bf296f/data1/blogs57/625448/uploads/haywire_3_1280.jpg
Gal Gadot simply has the physique of a model.Not right for the role I think.
Hi Mecano,
I looked at your link and Carano “looks” bad ass. I havent seen her movie(s).
I feel so mixed about this criticism that Gadot is too skinny. I get it, of course. I do the same kind of critiques, even with animation, as I did with the emaciated “Frozen” characters. At the same time, I hate how women are “too skinny” or “too fat.” I see both criticism, at the root, as the same. I’ve been trying to explain this ever snce People and Us started putting bulimics and anorexics on its covers, how that is not feminist. Asking Gadot about her breasts pushes me over the edge. jennifer Seibel Newsom, of Miss Representation, was interviewed about Gadot and said essentially the same thing http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1718529/gal-gadot-skinny-wonder-woman.jhtml
It’s complicated b/c everything is so fucked up.
Margot
I think the difference with Wonder Woman is that it’s not just that Gadot is thin and has a model physique. I mean, yes, people complain about Keira Knightley’s figure in general but here, I think most of us are talking about whether she is believable in this kind of a role. As Brent has said, this casting implies that women have to adhere to the same kind of physical ideal regardless of what role they’re playing. No, Wonder Woman isn’t unattractive, but they could have cast a more physically imposing actress. My concern is that they thought someone more statuesque and muscular would read as “masculine.”
But this is not about if Gal Gadot is too skinny or too fat to be beautiful, is about the lack of body diversity in women in films. Think about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Part of what makes his performance in Conan so famous is how physically imposing he is. You can see him and see the power and strength of Conan. Or think about Hugh Jackman in Wolverine. Lots of male action stars are big and muscular. They have to be threatening, they must transmit power, you have to believe that they can fight. Action girls, in film, not so much. First and foremost, they have to look nice and be sexy. Even if they can shoot a gun or use a sword, they have to do it looking attractive, and for people in hollywood, that means that they can’t have a muscular appearance. There aren’t a lot of actress that have action roles and weren’t thin and look like a model. How many women like Vasquez in Aliens or Sarah connor in Terminator 2 can you remember?
I prefer a WW that looks like AND moves like a warrior-not a fashion model.Gina has the physical ability, the body (actual muscle!) the experience (she was a martial arts champion) and the looks (think about DC’s very good animated WW movie a while ago).She is by far the best current actress for WW.And she is capable of acting,maybe not up to Academy Awards levels but certainly more than enough for a superhero film.
Check here how Channing Tatum got his ass kicked by Gina while filming a fight scene for Haywire 🙂
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gina-carano-5-things-know-214922
And as cat says yes probably some guys (in US studios) think Gina is not “feminine” enough (completely ridiculous)
Gal, is an athletic woman but I can’t see myself believe her in the role.Also she is relatively less known so a WW spin off is doubtful.
Right on Margot and Gal!!!