Joss Whedon has typically been labelled a feminist for his use of strong female leads in works like “Firefly” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, both cult hits which have cemented his stature in many sci-fi fan groups. His latest work is the new “Avengers” movie, to be released in the UK as “Marvel Avengers Assemble” on April 26th, but he seems to remain uncompromising on the feminism front.

“[Scarlett Johansson] worked her ass off to get that role, and she took the time out of her busy schedule and faced nerd musk to support her movie,” wrote a Reddit user called Last_Years_Villain in a thread which offered users the opportunity to pitch questions to Whedon himself, a form of Q&A known on Reddit as an AMA. “Have you dealt with the hypersexualization of women in Avengers?”

“All I can say is that Scarlett gets to do a lot more than be hot in “Avengers”,” Whedon responded, a response lauded by other users. His response can continue to be found in the AMA thread here. “It’s definitely dispiriting to have a woman play an heroic role and then be reduced to body parts by fan commentary, but that can only change slowly. And is.”

“[My political bent] comes from how I was raised – and my own very strong sense of being helpless and tiny and terrified (that goes away, right?),” he continued in another comment. “The only trouble it’s ever caused me is that once you take a stance as a person, people are always using that as a yardstick in your work, which can be kind of limiting.”