Esmé S
How has portrayal of women in American superhero comics changed since the 1940s and what caused these shifts?
QUOTES:
“Frequently, comic book writers employ female characters as little more than plot devices designed to provide emotional drama and backstory for their male counterparts.” —Women in Refrigerators: The Objectification of Women in Comics by Kyra Nelson
“This blow to both Marvel’s fictional denizens and its readers culminated in fans, creators, scholars dubbing “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” as the “coda of the Silver Age” of comics. The significance of the story in the wider history of the medium cannot be denied, but what of the woman herself? Decades after this “shake-up,” Gwen became defined solely by her death.” —The Gwenaissance: Gwen Stacy and the progression of women in comics by Gabriel Gianola and Janine Coleman.
“Since the '90s, idealized bodies have relaxed to some extent. More importantly, comics seem to be improving in their ability to portray powerful, relatable women … More women are writing comics now than in the past, and women often are more balanced in their portrayal of women as well as more interested in creating powerful women” —Women in Refrigerators: The Objectification of Women in Comics by Kyra Nelson
Notes Document
Bibliographic Information:
Author: Kyra Nelson
Title of article or book: Women in Refrigerators: The Objectification of Women in Comics
Title of publication (if article in magazine, newspaper, or journal): Brigham Young University
Page numbers (if article in magazine, newspaper, or journal): 73-81
Publisher: Brigham Young University
Date published: 2015
URL (if applicable): https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=awe
Paraphrased Notes: Include Page #s
-Female characters in comics are often killed off to further male characters' stories. This trope became known as “women in refrigerators” because in a Green Lantern comic the main character’s girlfriend is killed and put in a refrigerator.
Direct quotes: Include Page #s
“Frequently, comic book writers employ female characters as little more than plot devices designed to provide emotional drama and backstory for their male counterparts.” (page 2)
“Other women of the early comic book era were similarly sexualized. In 1941 the world of masked crime fighters saw the rise of Phantom Lady, a pin-up girl whose costume progressively showed more and more skin” (page 2)
“Women of the post-World War II era generally did little more than fall into the damsel-in-distress role.”(page 3)
“Although Batwoman and Lois Lane were not objectified by unrealistic proportions and low-cut outfits, they were objectified by their extreme need to be married and their seeming incompetence to do much else.” (page 4)
“The Comics Code Authority eventually lost power, and women in comics became increasingly sexualized. The '90s was a particularly notable decade in comics for impossible body proportions with very few clothes to hide them.” (page 4)
“Women in comics, however, are often portrayed as so weak, ditzy, and disposable that it is hard to form parasocial relationships with them. Therefore, women are more likely to be negatively affected by the idealized female body images portrayed in comics.” (page 7)
“Since the '90s, idealized bodies have relaxed to some extent. More importantly, comics seem to be improving in their ability to portray powerful, relatable women … More women are writing comics now than in the past, and women often are more balanced in their portrayal of women as well as more interested in creating powerful women” (page 8)
“Simone is a notable example of this for her work on the Birds of Prey comic book line. Birds of Prey is a DC Comics publication which portrays an all-female team featuring Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk. Compare this to the Spiderman Loves Mary Jane series Marvel intended to cater to female readership. While Spiderman Loves Mary Jane attempts to depict a dramatic teenage love triangle as written by two adult men, Birds of Prey presents strong women overcoming difficult personal challenges while defending their city. It's not hard to see why Birds of Prey is still in print, while Spiderman Loves Mary Jane ran only briefly.”(9)
Summary of Source (2-4 sentences)
This source talks about how women portrayed in comics were often either extremely objectified or only portrayed as love interests for male characters. In the 1940s in early comics they were very sexualized, but when the comics code authority made comics be more family friendly women were instead only shown as love interests. In the 90s when the comics code became less effective they were again more sexualized. Currently the portrayal of women has improved somewhat because of more women writing comics.
Does this help me answer my question? Why or why not?
This helps me answer my question because it talks a lot about the portrayal of women in comics over time.
Lingering Questions
Who were some of the female writers who helped impact change in how women are shown in comics?
What are some more specific examples of how increasing numbers of women writing comics has improved how they are portrayed in comics?
Connections to other sources
This has some connection to one of my other sources: “Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American comic because that also talks about how the comics code authority changed comics.