[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site.  We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like the romper!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

We all grew up wanting to be supergirls – maybe not with all of the superpowers – but to be strong, smart, independent chicks who could handle themselves and still wear rockin’ heels. But the world of the superhero has always been a boys club (Wonder Woman famously started out as the Justice League’s secretary). Next week one of the most famous comics in history will have a female hero for the first time; and not just your run-of-the-mill, butt-kicking woman; but a hot, rich, Jewish, lesbian, butt-kicking woman.

But is this kind of character a blow for women’s rights, or are comics really just holding back the female image?

One of the concerns over women in comics has always been that they are hyper-sexualized, which some say gives many of the people (especially men) who read them, the wrong idea about women’s bodies and their functions in the world. And it’s definitely true that the world of superheros seems to be populated by a race of  supermodels with Barbie-doll proportions and a propensity for leather. Catwoman is practically the poster girl for fetish garb, and even the great Wonder Woman can’t get rid of the freaking bustier (no matter how hard her writers try)! I mean, have you ever seen Powergirl? Apparently her “powers” are housed in her cleavage.

Ok, so from the looks of girls in comic books, guys are definitely getting the wrong idea about women and their bodies. But, on the other hand, it’s hardly just the ladies who get oversexualized in comics; any real guy with Superman’s physique would probably crumple under the weight of his own torso, so it’s hard to say it’s a one-sided problem.

And while the outfits may leave something to be desired in the coverage department, you can’t say that the women of superhero-land aren’t powerful. Supergirl could take on her Kryptonian cousin any day of the week and the girls of the Marvel Universe – well the X-Men alone have three ladies who could bend the planet to their will, all by themselves. Heck, even Lois Lane, without any powers at all, will jump right into the fray to get her story.

So if we assume that comics really are trying to tell the world what women are supposed to be like, can we really be mad that one of the major facets of these women is that they’re incredibly strong and self-sufficient? Isn’t that something we’ve all been fighting for the world - particularly men- to see about us for a long time? Which would mean that these “BAM! POW!” ladies could actually be helping our cause.

So what do you think?

Are all of these “super” girls just sad, over-sexed reflections of what men want to see? Are they holding us back? Or could characters like Batwoman be the heroes of the future – smart women who can take care of themselves and their cities, while still looking sexy?

The first time I’d ever heard of Watchmen was when I went to see The Dark Knight. There was a trailer with an amazing Smashing Pumpkins song, and it looked pretty cool. The trailer mentioned something about being based off of a graphic novel, so when I got home I called the bf since he worked at a comic book store in high school. (Nerdcore, I love it.) He told me that it was really good, and since I’d never read a graphic novel before, it’d be a good one to start off with. So I went and bought a copy.

I FRIGGIN LOVED IT. Here’s why I’m stoked about anything Watchmen; book or movie:

1) Incredibly well written: The entire time, I couldn’t put it down. Without giving anything away, it’s about a group of masked vigilantes who are considered superheroes, but only one of them has an actual power. The world is going down the crapper and they have to save it. But there’s just so much more to it than that. It’s written amazingly and you get everyone’s background history. You really get involved. Plus it’s won a Hugo award and is the only graphic novel on Time magazine’s “Best 100 English Language Novels,” which means it’s not just me who’s thinks it’s amazing.

2) Silk Spectre is badass: For once there’s a woman in a graphic novel who isn’t a total cheeseball. No offense to Wonder Woman or Catwoman, but the Silk Spectre would kick their butts, and look amazing doing it. You go girl.

3) In the film, Jeffery Dean Morgan plays the Comedian: Ever since Denny Duquette, this man has had my heart. I will gladly pay money to see him in anything. I can’t wait.

4) The underlying theme that anyone can be a hero: Like I said, only one of the “super heroes” has any real power. The rest are just normal everyday humans. They take it upon themselves to rescue humanity, whether the general population likes it or not. Yeah, vigilantism can be pretty stupid, but there’s just something about people stepping up for what is right that will always be inspiring, fiction or non-fiction.

5) It’s a graphic novel that men AND WOMEN can enjoy: Trust me, this one isn’t just for the boys. This is the first and only graphic novel that I’ve read, so it’s not like this is coming from one of those kids. Seriously, it reads like a novel, and it has a story that anyone can enjoy. Women can even appreciate the fact that there’s a well written love triangle in the story; it’s almost like watching a soap. It’s not like the horrid love story of Anakin and Padme from Star Wars. “Anni, you’re breaking my heart!” Really George Lucas? REALLY?

So I encourage you: go out and pick up a copy. Hell, put it on your wish list. You won’t regret it.

But even if the regular flailing, shrieking mess that we call “lovemaking” wasn’t bizarre enough, us soldiers of sexuality have figured out a never-ending list of even stranger acts to indulge in. And this isn’t like, you know, tie me up, spank me a bit, maybe some handcuffs. Bondage and creepy power relationships aren’t weird anymore, especially not with all those damn vampire romance stories these days. And poop, well, poop is gross, but that’s still pretty old news. We’ve all heard about poop. No, these are fetishes that would actually sound interesting if you brought them up at a party. Links may be NSFW, and incidentally now I have to throw my hard drive into the center of the sun or something.

Hypnosis

Was anyone else ever kinda creeped out by the hypnotist at your “official” high school graduation party? Did anyone else ever find anything weird about fat, sweaty guys putting groups of young students to sleep and then ordering them to dance at his whim, zombie-like, before making them forget about the whole experience? Creepy, right? More like sexy. Although if all those hypnotherapy ads are to be believed, I think quitting smoking, losing weight and reinvigorating your marital life are pretty hot, too. Sign me up?

Superheroes

Don’t you ever wish you had super powers? You’d soar above the city, eagle-like vision scanning the streets for miscreants, drop out of the sky like an arrow to put a halt to the madness, and… cue the crappy porn music? This happens every time you put the damn outfit on!

Hiccups

On the Internet, you can share your hiccups with everyone! And everyone wants them, too, or at least the small segment of the population that gets hot and bothered when the guy behind them at the concert drinks his beer way too fast. It occurs to me that we don’t have anything useful to say when someone nearby hiccups; we have “bless you” for sneezes, but hiccups just feel awkward. Maybe we should take a page from their books and try “oh, god, yes!”

Being Stepped On

This seems to be a man thing. I’m no expert in trampling fetishism, but it doesn’t seem like ladies really go for the four-inch stilettos up their nostrils. Like many fetishes, the idea of being men being aroused by beautiful women bruising the hell out of their faces seems to have a lot of latent gender trouble bubbling beneath the surface. One site explaining the fetish states, “It’s exhilarating for those that have ever wanted to submit to a woman.” Apparently the writer never considered all the other ways one might be able to “submit to a woman,” such as taking a turn cooking dinner or paying the damn child support.

Cake Sitting

There’s not a lot of explaining to do here, I don’t think. You take the cake and make it your chair. Honestly, there are better things to do with cakes. I can’t think of any right now, but I know there must be something. Any ideas?

• London will be thinking of nothing but sex for months! (The Guardian)

• According to the last link, this title is totally deserved. (The Sun)

• This is the best practical joke ever. Also, Springfield cops are really understanding. (rrstar.com)

• This little kid means business! (seattlepi.com)

• A list of gay superheroes…in Harper’s Magazine? Weird. (Harper’s)