Like Conan the Barbarian is wearing this
and no one questions his badassitude and it’s still a power fantasy, not him being sexually objectified. In fact it makes him look like MORE of a badass because he can wear tiny impractical leather shorts and he still ends up with nary a scratch.
I don’t want women to have to be wearing “OMGZ SUPER PRACTICAL” armor to be believable as heroes.
You see what I mean? I want to be able to remain a power fantasy and not a sex object even in tiny undies.
I want you to BELIEVE the heroine is tough enough that she doesn’t need full plate armor, because she’s been written as a badass and not a sex kitten… also I don’t want her in a chainmail bikini in a setting where the men get full plate.
This requires more of media creators because it requires them to write three dimensional female characters rather than just letting them raise a few necklines and call it a day.
Thoughts From The Peacock Angel 