First post.

I started this blog to celebrate a likely-unhealthy obsession with cartoon vixens. I also started it to share high-quality, high-resolution images of said cartoon characters since they're usually pretty hard to find online. I'll upload the images and also the vector files (either .png or .psd) so you can mess around with them yourself.

My personal favorite is Betty Boop, who is my first upload (*snicker*). I'll also upload images I've made of other famous cartoon vixens, such as Jessica Rabbit. I like Betty Boop because I see her as a yet-unfulfilled promise to women. It may seem like I'm just another perverted guy who likes hot cartoons, but Betty Boop is far more than that, for me.

I'm also what could be considered a practical feminist. I want absolute equality and freedom for women, which has yet to happen. Yes, we have many systems in place, and legally sexism isn't allowed any longer, but practically and culturally, sexism is still rampant. Far more rampant than any other 'ism.

Now how the hell could I construe Betty Boop to be a feminist icon? Simple. She is what women should be allowed to be. She is pure, in fact it is all but explicitly stated that she is a virgin, yet she is also social, free, and overtly sexual.

Talk about a revolutionary concept! And make no mistake, it was. The argument that someone could be both pure and sexual was new and very much a product of the roaring twenties.

Furthermore, I think that the creators of Betty Boop were aware of these cultural overtones, and didn't simply want to make a cute caricature of a flapper. Her entire character structure of overt sexuality, yet being a virgin, and not only being unjudged by her friends and town, but being specifically loved was very novel. I also find it no surprise whatsoever that when the Hays Commission and other organizations came down on Betty, she was censored in such a way as to be pure and, effectively, asexual.

I see Betty and the 1920's as a promise to women that, yes, you can be a flirt, and sexual, and playful, and still be a good person and accepted by society. In fact, the only aspect of Betty that I see as sexist is the fact that she is kept specifically pure, implying that even though a woman can be a flirt, purity is still ideal. But this was the early 1930's, any advancement at all is worthwhile.

The above image is a work in progress, and I'm still tweaking the lines. I'll upload a very high-res version later, after I feel that the lines are good.