I’d like to discuss this more! I’ll include Loki as an example in a reply to this (because we always need more Loki). Thoughts?
Continuing the discussion from Nope, men and women aren’t equally sexualized in comics:
(To be fair, we are still talking about some hetero-normative stuff…)
I think the Marvel movies sometimes push that a little bit, though. I think outside of the printed comics, and talking instead about movies, Marvel does a pretty decent job with diversity. And I think they cater pretty strongly to the female gaze and the gay male gaze. I mean look at Thor and Loki. Even Iron Man is a pretty boy.
Go to about 11:45 in this super-fun short. “Not here, baby.”
And the women are all dressed sensibly! Even Pepper Potts – no massive amounts of cleavage, and while the cut-offs are sexy, they are also practical and very easy to relate to. Black Widow is in a skin tight outfit, but there is no over-abundance of cleavage or stomach. Again, sexy but practical, and it fits well with her character.
And what about Sif? Sexy, yes, but strong. There is no way this character wasn’t at least in part inspired by Xena (which has a huge lesbian fan-base, and often winked about that). Her costumes are again, sexy but in a very realistic way that gives you a sense of her power.
I adore Sif. Her voice makes me feel funny. 
