The Hawkeye Initiative

The Hawkeye Initiative
Type of site
Tumblr
Available inEnglish
OwnerSkjaldmeyja[note 1]
URLthehawkeyeinitiative.tumblr.com
CommercialNo
RegistrationNone
LaunchedDecember 2012[1]
Current statusActive (offline as of Dec. 5 2018)

The Hawkeye Initiative is a satirical Tumblr page similar to Women in Refrigerators that comments on the depiction and treatment of female characters and superheroes in comic books.[2] The site features fan art of Marvel character Hawkeye in various poses held by female characters that the artists believe to be impossible or sexually provocative.[3] The site's intent is phrased as "to draw attention to how deformed, hypersexualized, and unrealistically dressed women are drawn in comics".[4] The site further states that these poses are seen as normal and go unnoticed by many readers when performed by female superheroes.[5][6]


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "The Hawkeye Initiative puts our favorite archer in superheroine poses". CBR. 3 December 2012. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Sexism exposed in growing geek culture". Daily Illini. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ^ "The hilarious Hawkeye Initiative pokes fun at sexist comics art". Blastr. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  4. ^ "About". The Hawkeye Initiative. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. ^ "The battle against 'sexist' sci-fi and fantasy book covers". BBC News. 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  6. ^ Aldama, Frederick Luis (2020-08-17). The Routledge Companion to Gender and Sexuality in Comic Book Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-55930-3. Archived from the original on 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-12-13.