Fig. 1 Selina Kyle as Catwoman wearing her classic outfit (DC Comics)
Fig. 2 Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in Batman Returns (dir. Tim Burton, 1992)
I.
I think everyone likes the DC comic book character Catwoman, criminal alter ego of Selina Kyle, created by Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane in 1940 [1].
Even Batman can't resist her feline charms and, despite the fact that she is one of his major adversaries, many stories depict them as a couple caught in a complicated romantic relationship. Probably this has something to do with Finger and Kane deciding from the outset that they wanted to give the character sex appeal [2].
Not that there's anything wrong with that! Even D. H. Lawrence approves of sex appeal, which he defines as the communicating of beauty and the kindling of a sense of warmth and gaiety.
For Lawrence, indeed, the loveliness of a really lovely woman - such as Selina Kyle, in whom sex burns brightly - lights up the entire world. To encounter such a woman - extremely rare even in a comic book universe containing wonder women and supergirls - is a genuine experience [3].
However, without wishing to jump on any kind of moral highhorse, I do sometimes feel that the kinky hypersexualisation of Catwoman has been taken too far in recent years and that this negatively impacts upon a character with a long and interesting history.
As one commentator writes:
"She's always been attractive,
however, her [...] complexity takes a nosedive when creators rely too
heavily on feline and female cultural connotations. When she's rendered
with an extremely minimal waist, but with boundless cleavage [...] her power is diminished." [4]
The same commentator adds that whilst the the way Catwoman is drawn in the comic books diverges from artist to artist, all too often "her imagery falls into the realm of overplayed sex fantasy" and her body is often "twisted submissively into feline poses" [5] that are essentially designed to titilate heterosexual male readers.
II.
Many people blame TV and Hollywood for this hypersexualisation of Catwoman; from Julie Newmar in the 1960s, to Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1990s, Catwoman has always been portrayed on screen in a manner that emphasises her physical attributes rather than her criminal skills and intelligence [6].
However, we might also remind ourselves that it was the comic book writer Frank Miller (in collaboration with artist David Mazzucchelli) who not only reimagined Batman as the so-called Dark Knight, but radically revised Catwoman's origin and character ...
Thus, in Batman: Year One (1987), we were now asked to accept that before becoming a cat-suited thief, Selina Kyle had worked as a dominatrix whilst also taking care of a 13-year-old prostitute named Holly Robinson.
And that, I would suggest, is a pretty much perfect example of the pornification of popular culture.
III.
So, how then would I envision Catwoman, if I were tasked with so-doing?
Well, I'd be tempted to return to her Golden Age look prior to the Batman TV show, consisting of a purple dress, a
green cape, a domino mask, and mid-length boots. It's a good look: sexy, but sophisticated and stylish, rather than porno-fetishistic in a way that - even if once transgressive - has now become boring and stereotypical. (See figures 1 and 2 above.)
Alternatively, I think I'd go for a look inspired by legendary English ballerina Margot Forteyn, as Agathe, in Roland Petit's Les Demoiselles de la Nuit (1948): see figure 3 below.
For ultimately my perfect Catwoman is graceful and stealthy rather than raunchy and explicit; a daring thief characterised by impeccable manners and charm, who steals rare and beautiful objects not because they are valuable, but because she enjoys the challenge and the danger involved; a woman who defies convention and lives on her own terms, but doesn't drone on about being empowered or feel the need to have the letters BDSM tramp-stamped on her lower back to show us how sexually liberated she is.
Fig. 3: Margot Fonteyn as Agathe the Cat in
Roland Petit's Les Demoiselles de la Nuit (1948) [7]
Notes
[1] Kyle features as a mysterious jewel thief called the Cat in Batman #1 (Spring, 1940). Although she doesn't wear her iconic cat-suit and mask, the story
establishes Kyle's character as a feline femme fatale who both frustrates and attracts Bruce Wayne.
[2] As mentioned, what Finger and Kane did not originally give Catwoman, however, was a costume or any form of disguise.
It was not until her third appearance that she donned a full-face furry cat mask and not until sometime later that she adopted what became her regular look prior to the Batman TV show, consisting of a purple dress, a
green cape, a domino mask, and calf-length boots. This costume is distinct from the sleek and shiny catsuit
she is now known for.
[3] See D. H. Lawrence, 'Sex Appeal', in Late Essays and Articles, ed. James T. Boulton, (Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 143-148. I discuss this text in relation to the thinking of E. M. Cioran in a post published on 24 September 2018: click here
[4] Elliot Swan, 'The Oversexualization of Catwoman Harms Her Character', on CBR (6 June 2013): click here.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Julie Newmar was the first actress to play Catwoman during the first two seasons (1966-67) of the live-action TV series Batman, starring Adam West as the caped crusader Bruce Wayne and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson (aka Robin). Newmar later revealed in an interview that the skin-tight costume she wore left her no option but to tell the character's story with the movements, postures, and gestures of her body.
Unfortunately, due to an injury, Newmar was unable to reprise the character for the full-length movie based on the TV show (dir. Leslie H. Martinson, 1966), thus opening the way for Lee Meriwether to play Catwoman. But perhaps the most famous actress to do so is Michelle Pfeiffer, who haphazardly stitched and squeezed herself into an iconic shiny black cat-suit in the 1992 movie directed by Tim Burton, Batman Returns, playing opposite Michael Keaton's Batman. This movie was far darker and more sexual in tone - as well as more violent - than many fans and critics were anticipating.
Pfeiffer's latex costume - of which there were dozens made at a $1000 a pop - was designed by Bob Ringwood and Mary E. Vogt. Some versions, made from a cast of Pfeiffer's body, were so tight that she had to be covered in baby powder in order to get into them. Ringwood and Vogt found it problematic to add actual stitching to latex and so they essentially painted what looked like stitching on to the suit with liquid silicon while it was worn by Pfeiffer.
[7] Roland Petit's one-act ballet Les Demoiselles de la Nuit premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Marigny on May 22, 1948. The libretto was by Jean Anouilh, with music by Jean Françaix. The costumes and set designs were by Leonor Fini. Petit created the role of Agathe especially for Miss Fonteyn.
It tells the tragic story of a poet-musician who falls in love with his beautiful
cat Agathe, who has magically assumed semi-human form. Agathe initially attempts to be faithful
to her human lover, but is eventually seduced by the sound of male cats howling in the night and the desire for freedom. Leaping from a rooftop in order to escape, the poet-musician tries to grab hold of her and they both fall to their death.
Readers might be interested in an earlier post on feline femininity - 'Reflections on the Case of Irena Dubrovna' (4 June 2022) - click here.
Readers might also like this piece of artwork slightly reimagining the work of Finger and Kane from the first issue of Batman (Spring 1940) that I didn't have the chance to use in the main body of this post:
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