Unlike classics like Superman or Captain America,today’s superheroesare action characters thatparticipate in unstoppable violence and transmit a negative male stereotype. “They are aggressive, sarcastic and rarely talk about doing good to humanity,” explained Sharon Lamb, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts, during the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association that just took place in San Diego, USA. ). According to the psychologist, “when they are not dressed as superheroes, they exploit women, show off luxury and transmit their virility through powerful weapons.” And besides, they only think of themselves. In short, they transmit a masculine stereotype that is not very suitable to the new generations. And he gives an example to the popular Iron Man.
Lamb has studied the influence of these superheroes through the media and marketing by interviewing 674 boys between the ages of 4 and 18 and comic book sellers. Together with his team, he has determined that marketing departments take advantage of the fact that boys are at the age of forging their identity in adolescence and transmit to them a restricted version of masculinity. “They show them that they can be a gamer or lazy, superheroes or lazy,” Lamb stressed.
In contrast, according to Lamb, comic book heroes of the past fought criminals, butoutside of their disguise they were real people, with real problems and very vulnerable, as in the case of Superman. “Those heroes were created to fight against social injustices during the rise of fascism,” remembers Lamb.
