The
book The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism,
Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines by Mike Madrid is one that
addresses the representation of women in comic books. This representation is
one that involves a scenario where the women are shown from different
perspectives. However, it recognizes that being women in society is not an easy
matter, even in the 21st century and because of this, there should
be the advancement of a situation where women are given more prominent roles in
comics. In addition, Madrid considers the way that the representation of women
in comics, especially in the beginning, came about during a period when men
still made more money than women, and were therefore considered to be providers
and protectors. He also considers the way that women continually face an assault
when it comes to having control over their bodies, as seen through the
presentation of women in scanty attire and large breasts by media. The
presentation of women is shown to be a challenge for the image of women in
comics, especially when one considers that comics were originally only intended
for a male audience. Therefore, this book seeks to explore the way that super
heroines have evolved over time from some of the weakest characters in the
world of comics to among the strongest as presented in the modern world.
The
exploration of the evolution of the super heroine is a significant aspect of
this book. This is because Madrid seeks to explore such women as the Blonde
Phantom, Black Canary, Manhunter, and Wonder Woman, among others, in a bid to
gain a better understanding of the manner through which these individuals have
evolved through the decades.[1]
He considers the stereotypes that have plagued female superheroes, including
their being considerably over-sexualized to such an extent that their relevance
is based more on their image than on their actions.[2]
The over-sexualization is shown to have reached its peak in the 1990s, when
there was the promotion of a bad girl trend that had serious negative
ramifications for the image of the women superhero. Another significant aspect
of women in comics that is explored by Madrid is the way that they are
portrayed as being inferior to men in addition to their being portrayed as
pining for the love of a man to the highly ineffectual reasons behind their
decisions to fight crime. Therefore, Madrid ensures that he considers the evolution
of the manner that women superheroes changed over the decades to such an extent
that there was a significant improvement of their image in comics. Thus, he
considers their evolution from weaklings to individuals of great strength who
are not only selfless, but also brave, like their male counterparts.
Madrid
begins his assessment from the 1940s and moves it over the decades to the
present. He considers the manner through which women superheroes were forced to
endure the same problems are their counterparts in real life.[3]
Among the most significant of these aspects is based on the way that they were
perceived. Thus, if women fought as hard as men, they were looked upon as being
too masculine and when they expressed their feelings, they ended up being referred
to as either spoiled or as bitches. Moreover, in circumstances where they
either submitted to or were rescued by men, they ended up being viewed as weak.
Therefore, Madrid essentially promotes an image of women superheroes as
undergoing the same issues as women in real life in such a way that he provides
a perspective concerning the way that society viewed them. He shows that society
was essentially not satisfied with women, and would always find something to
fault them. However, while this may have been the case, it is pertinent to note
Madrid makes sure to show the way that these superheroes evolved, as seen
through the way that comic book creators who grew up in the women’s liberation
movement were able to change the perspective of female superheroes to a more
positive and equal one.
Therefore,
Madrid considers the way that despite women in the real world being a way from
attaining equality, the same cannot be said of superheroes, which are closer to
such a goal. This is especially the case when one considers that Wonder Woman,
for example, is featured in different comic titles on a consistent basis[4];
a sign of the rising equality in the world of comics. Furthermore, an
all-female cast is often published in the X-Men series by Marvel Comics; the
latter being a cast that has proven to be quite significant because of their
considerable capabilities and strength as portrayed in the Marvel universe. Additionally,
the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four is a woman, the Invisible Woman,
and this is in combination with her also balancing her role as a mother and a
wife. The most dominant comics, Marvel and DC, have undertaken to make sure
that they display a diverse array of female superheroes in such a way that has
proven significant since these individuals are pushed towards headlining
comics, such as She-Hulk, and Bat-Woman. These women have been developed in
such a way that they inspire the current generation to overcome gender bias and
instead have the women within it fight for their dreams.
Madrid
is also concerned about the failures that comic book companies have made over
the years. This is especially the case when it comes to the way that they have
failed to develop decent films which female heroes headline. The film studios
that are associated with these comics have failed to ensure that such strong
characters as Catwoman and Elektra as well as Supergirl are provided with an
opportunity to truly portray the image of the modern woman.[5]
A consequence is that when the films portraying these women have been complete
failures due to the lack of significant effort being place in their
development. Moreover, Madrid notes that women continue to be portrayed in
comics as targets of serious violence; a sign of the manner through which
female heroines continue to show the experiences of real life women. It is
noteworthy that such individuals, despite coming out of such experiences
stronger than ever, are a sign of the way that they are portrayed as inferior. While
this may be the case, it is essential to consider that there are increasingly
vocal voices calling for the better treatment of female characters in comics. The
latter action is significant because it has come to influence the way that
female characters in comics are treated, including a process within which women
stop being portrayed as victims, and are instead placed in the lead as strong
characters.
One
of the biggest flaws of the book is that it does not dig deeper into the
violence against women that is touched on. It would have been extremely interesting
to consider the substantial number of women superheroes that have been
tortured, raped, maimed, and killed since they began being portrayed in comic
books in comparison to their male counterparts. A consideration of such
circumstances would have made for an interesting analysis of the treatment of
heroines in comic books over the decades and the manner through which, despite
their being portrayed as strong characters, their treatment was still inferior
to that of male superheroes. One of the reasons that make this book highly
significant is that it gives hope that the super heroine will eventually gain
equality in such a way that inspires their real life counterparts to attain the
same.
In
conclusion, Madrid makes an examination of the way that super heroines have
evolved over time from some of the weakest characters in the world of comics to
among the strongest as presented in the modern world. The exploration of the
evolution of the super heroine is a significant aspect of this book. Madrid
begins his assessment from the 1940s and moves it over the decades to the
present. Moreover, Madrid considers the way that despite women in the real
world being a way from attaining equality, the same cannot be said of
superheroes, which are closer to such a goal. Finally, Madrid is concerned
about the failures that comic book companies have made over the years,
including not putting much effort in the development of viable films headlined
by female heroes.
[1] Mike Madrid, The Supergirls:
Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines (Revised and Updated)
(Exterminating Angel Press, 2016), 28.
[2] Matthew Facciani, Peter Warren, and Jennifer Vendemia, "A
Content-Analysis of Race, Gender, and Class in American Comic Books," Race, Gender & Class 22, no. 3-4
(2015): 218.
[3] Madrid, 1.
[4] Ibid., 110.
[5] Kaitlyn A Cummings, "Same Image, Different Lens: Revisiting the
Critical Reception of Two Different Generations of Cinematic
Superheroism," Panic at the
Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal 1, no. 1: 28.
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