# Is that a sword in the back of your dress, or are you just happy to see me **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 19, 2017, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365 "2017-06-19T11:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/21 "2017-06-24T23:06:28Z")
[Here ya go.](https://pics.me.me/if-you-wonder-how-wonder-woman-hides-her-sword-https-9gag-com-gag-az8v9oz-ref-fbpic-20034937.png) IIRC, she’s bulletproof in some according to some canons, so this would work. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/22 "2017-06-24T23:10:09Z")
Dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/23 "2017-06-25T01:03:37Z")
Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. Again, she’s _wearing her armor under the dress_ since she tears the dress off when chasing Baron Von Badguy and has her armor on. The sword is under the dress and over the armor. The sword stays up because, as the image plainly shows, the hilt (well, technically quillons I suppose) is hooked over the top of the fabric. I get that the image is just “haha, butts, that’s funny” but the overall confusion some people have about that scene is kind of weird. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/24 "2017-06-25T01:12:16Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I get that the image is just “haha, butts, that’s funny” but the overall confusion some people have about that scene is kind of weird. Butt cheeks are the first thing that came into my mind. But then, I have a really, \*\*\*really \*\*\*dirty mind! :o ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/25 "2017-06-25T01:39:07Z")
With her looks and enough cleavage, WW could drag a howitzer behind her to a gala. ---
**Author:** ![TYphoonSignal8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@TYphoonSignal8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TYphoonSignal8)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/26 "2017-06-26T02:21:31Z")
Also, why didn’t the German soldiers in the room notice it and raise the alarm? Everyone was looking at her so it wasn’t as if she was sneaking in… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/27 "2017-06-26T03:35:52Z")
People see what they expect to see. Nobody expected to see a sword. They saw a beautiful woman in an elegant dress, maybe with some sort of unusual ornament on the back of the dress. If they thought someone would be smuggling in a weapon, they’d expect it to be a man, and even if they thought that a woman might smuggle in a weapon for a man to use, they’d expect it to be a gun. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/28 "2017-06-29T20:39:26Z")
> [@TYphoonSignal8](#): > > Also, why didn’t the German soldiers in the room notice it and raise the alarm? Everyone was looking at her so it wasn’t as if she was sneaking in… Maybe they thought it was a back brace? ---
**Author:** ![DeepLiquid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deepliquid/32/14893_2.png) [@DeepLiquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepLiquid)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/29 "2017-06-29T21:15:32Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I grok that this is about melding femininity with bad-assery, and I can get behind that. However, the complete un-practicality of keeping a sword on your back parallel to your spine makes me eye-roll this a bit. Question: What kind of actual warrior would wear their sword that way? Answer: None. None kind of warrior. > > In a world where we are (rightfully) pointing out the sexualized and impractical ways female warriors are represented in fantasy, this momentary trend feels like a step in the wrong direction. Want to be a badass? Carry a sword in a way that allows you to actually bend your body, and to draw it cleanly/quickly, and _don’t_ commit to a fashion-first, function-second (or third or fourth) aesthetic. In the Blade movies, Wesley Snipes character wore his blade straight down his spine in a sheath built into his coat. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/30 "2017-06-29T21:18:23Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I don’t think anyone is wearing them out to events (well, it’s a big world so don’t quote me) but rather a “Hey, I can do this!” fun thing copying a key moment of the film and its marketing. Of course it’s a little silly – you’re copying a superhero. But having a female superhero do something fun worth copying, even in play, has been a long time coming. I can’t think of anything iconic that Black Widow has done aside from sprawling [three-point landings](http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iron-man-2-black-widow-scarlett_848.jpg). Count 'em. Eight points of contact. Could she be more Black Widow like? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/31 "2017-06-30T00:45:41Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. Again, she’s _wearing her armor under the dress_ since she tears the dress off when chasing Baron Von Badguy and has her armor on. The sword is under the dress and over the armor. The sword stays up because, as the image plainly shows, the hilt (well, technically quillons I suppose) is hooked over the top of the fabric. Given that the dress is relatively form-fitting and has no sleeves, yet her armor includes arm braces, that whole scene including the sword carry and the magic outfit change both stuck out to me as particularly poorly conceived. I assume that the director decided to go with it because it wasn’t worth tossing a clothes changing scene into the middle of an action sequence and we’d forgive her. And I did. But I do feel like there had to have been a better solution. Overall, I suspect that a lot of footage for the film probably looked very silly, if you pulled the camera back a few feet. The sword/dress scene is just one of the more obvious examples. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/32 "2017-06-30T02:23:25Z")
And on American Gods, Mr. Wednesday pulls a two-handed sword out of his left side coat. I wouldn’t spend too much time expecting a god/dess’s actions to fit our normal understanding of how it should work. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/33 "2017-06-30T02:36:05Z")
She could be keeping it in Hammerspace. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365/34 "2017-06-30T02:41:22Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > That one was cute, and I enjoyed the Harley Quinn mallet at the end. the mallet picture made me laugh out loud. I hope there aren’t a bunch of emergency room visits over this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-a-sword-in-the-back-of-your-dress-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me/789365.md?page=1)