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Misogyny in Hollywood is nothing new; nor is misogyny in comic book characters anything new, but folks like Scarlett Johansson are trying to send a clear message to the people in control of these things that that will not stand.
Johansson, renowned for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, a Russian assassin who ultimately ends up working for the Avengers, said that she felt Romanoff's character was far too oversexualized in her first film appearance.
Scarlett Johansson: Black Widow Was \u2018Sexualized\u2019 and Treated \u2018Like a Piece of Ass\u2019 at First https://bit.ly/3q17jZP\u00a0pic.twitter.com/10L2sD6dGg— IndieWire (@IndieWire) 1623880920
https://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/iWtBTkKlP1— red (@red) 1624010253
men are disgustinghttps://twitter.com/indiewire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— gen \u263e (@gen \u263e) 1624007234
i saw an article like this on fb and everyone in the comments are just victim-blaming her and making excuses about how hemsworth and evans were sexu*lized too :/https://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— kazee \u29d7 (@kazee \u29d7) 1623983158
It\u2019s called Joss Whedon— Invictus Prime #snydercut #restorethesnyderverse (@Invictus Prime #snydercut #restorethesnyderverse) 1623897294
"You look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized," she said, recalling how Romanoff went undercover as an assistant for Tony Stark, only to be ogled by him.
"Really talked about like she's a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever — like a piece of ass, really."
Duh. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve been waiting for the standalone movie to make up for that.pic.twitter.com/Zf71fstzFB— Blake Mays (@Blake Mays) 1623881037
no lies detected— Virginia Sugliano (@Virginia Sugliano) 1623921276
uhhhhhhh you mean since shes existed in the mcu films????? it's called men who can't respect women— esteber (they/she) (@esteber (they/she)) 1623899355
y\u2019all men in the quotes are weird as hell. pls get some btcheshttps://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— maya \u2661 (@maya \u2661) 1623954769
men being weird as hell in the quotes and proving her pointhttps://twitter.com/indiewire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— brynn (@brynn) 1623954507
"At one point [Tony Stark] calls her a piece of meat and maybe at that time that actually felt like a compliment," Johansson continued, commenting on how the hyper-sexualization at first felt like the point of the character and Johansson's fear that it was the only reason she was working.
"Because my thinking was different. ... My own self-worth was probably measured against that type of comment."
she really was and i\u2019m glad scarjo said this as the woman playing her, she\u2019s right about something for once, and the sexualising and degrading whedon gave nat in first avengers movies was just unacceptablehttps://twitter.com/indiewire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— ruth laufeyson 2 days till loki ep3\ud83d\udefcBLM (@ruth laufeyson 2 days till loki ep3\ud83d\udefcBLM) 1623953888
quotes making me sick. yall are weirdhttps://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— \u064b (@\u064b) 1623953644
she\u2019s absolutely right and it\u2019s so grosshttps://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— darth moll \u2600\ufe0e | loki spoilers (@darth moll \u2600\ufe0e | loki spoilers) 1623941262
some of you are saying that is how her character had to be in iron man 2, the problem is that natasha has been sexualized in the other movies too an the industry has always treated scarlett like thathttps://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— \ud83d\udc8c (@\ud83d\udc8c) 1623940908
\u201cat first\u201dhttps://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1405284550176133123\u00a0\u2026— hannah (@hannah) 1623931301
Johansson's own perception of the character, as well as fans' perceptions of her, have evolved.
Johansson's perception of herself has also changed.
"I'm a mom and my life is different," she said. "Obviously, 10 years have passed and things have happened and I have a much different, more evolved understanding of myself."
"As a woman, I'm in a different place in my life, you know? And I felt more forgiving of myself, as a woman, and not — sometimes probably not enough. I'm more accepting of myself."
The topic of Hollywood's misogyny and penchant for sexualizing women and making "gross" comments about the bodies of working women has been an ongoing discussion since the release of Framing Britney Spears. It has been addressed by celebrities such as Jennifer Love Hewitt.
It remains a problem that will not go away on its own.