Although the comic book writing and illustrating industry is predominantly male, women are climbing their way up to the top. —Chloe Xtina
What do you think of when you think of comic books?
Supermen with muscular thighs jammed into tights running around some Manhattan-esque city using their testosterone to defeat a radioactive villain? Well, that’s what most non-comic book readers and even some comic book readers believe. And who are these comic books written and illustrated by? Well, looking at the breast and waist size of the female characters, we can conclude: men. But is Super Testosterone Man, really the spitting image of the comic book industry? The short answer, no. Or at least, it really shouldn’t be. Come on people, get your head out of the forties.
(Well, actually did you know that in the late forties, teenage girls were the main comic consumers. This was because a psychologist named Fredric Wertham published a so-called “theory” that comic books increased juvenile delinquency and parents stopped buying – and banned their children from reading – comic books. The new comic books were a wave of ditzy teenage girls who loved shopping and their boyfriends. Girls bought them because they were “supposed to like that kind of stuff”. But luckily, that generation came and went. Maybe it’s time to turn the tables.)
Although the comic book writing and illustrating industry is predominantly male, women are climbing their way up to the top. Frequently talked about writers such as Kelly Sue DeConnick are taking the comic book world by storm with new exciting superheroes. And they are not letting sexism get in their way!
At a recent Vulture panel, DeConnick told a woman who described the sexism she experienced as a woman who reads comics. DeConnick responded with, “No one gets to make you feel less than. No one gets to make you feel that they can decide what you like. Nobody.”
Female comic book readers aren’t the only ones who experience sexism in the comic book industry. Female writers, artists, and editors experience a hell of a lot of it. Take Janelle Asselin, an editor and reviewer of comic books, who received rape threats after commenting on the misogyny of a Teen Titans comic book cover in which Wonder Girl stands with breasts larger than her face, legs outstretched, a large bottom, and a very, very small waist. Asselin has created an online survey for women in the comic book industry on sexism. That survey was used by angry fans to further harass her with comments like: “Let’s see how feminist you are when [you’re] begging me for more[.]” and “Can’t wait to rape you, ****[.]”. There are plenty more awful comments. In another article, Asselin spoke out: “The fans that want to scare women off with rape threats are doing the reverse: We’re digging in our heels and shouting from the rooftops that we will not leave.”
Asselin and other female writers, artists, and editors are not backing down. The comic book world is changing for the better. With new comic book characters such as Captain Marvel and Miss Marvel who are selling like crazy (see “The Her in Superhero”), women in comic books are getting a full on do-over. (And now, Thor is a woman! — Side Note, the new Thor is written by Jason Aaron, who is not a woman.) No more ditzy and large breasted, now they are brave and sensitive and smart and hilarious. And even better, they are being written by women (DeConnick and G. Willow Wilson and many others . . . some women write male characters such as Robin or Spiderman).
Next time you go to your local comic book store, pick up a comic written and/or illustrated by a woman and see the new feministing, strong force that’s helping the comic book industry become bold and open. And to all my girls out there, never let anyone push you away from comic books. Never let anyone define your interests.
Supermen with muscular thighs jammed into tights running around some Manhattan-esque city using their testosterone to defeat a radioactive villain? Well, that’s what most non-comic book readers and even some comic book readers believe. And who are these comic books written and illustrated by? Well, looking at the breast and waist size of the female characters, we can conclude: men. But is Super Testosterone Man, really the spitting image of the comic book industry? The short answer, no. Or at least, it really shouldn’t be. Come on people, get your head out of the forties.
(Well, actually did you know that in the late forties, teenage girls were the main comic consumers. This was because a psychologist named Fredric Wertham published a so-called “theory” that comic books increased juvenile delinquency and parents stopped buying – and banned their children from reading – comic books. The new comic books were a wave of ditzy teenage girls who loved shopping and their boyfriends. Girls bought them because they were “supposed to like that kind of stuff”. But luckily, that generation came and went. Maybe it’s time to turn the tables.)
Although the comic book writing and illustrating industry is predominantly male, women are climbing their way up to the top. Frequently talked about writers such as Kelly Sue DeConnick are taking the comic book world by storm with new exciting superheroes. And they are not letting sexism get in their way!
At a recent Vulture panel, DeConnick told a woman who described the sexism she experienced as a woman who reads comics. DeConnick responded with, “No one gets to make you feel less than. No one gets to make you feel that they can decide what you like. Nobody.”
Female comic book readers aren’t the only ones who experience sexism in the comic book industry. Female writers, artists, and editors experience a hell of a lot of it. Take Janelle Asselin, an editor and reviewer of comic books, who received rape threats after commenting on the misogyny of a Teen Titans comic book cover in which Wonder Girl stands with breasts larger than her face, legs outstretched, a large bottom, and a very, very small waist. Asselin has created an online survey for women in the comic book industry on sexism. That survey was used by angry fans to further harass her with comments like: “Let’s see how feminist you are when [you’re] begging me for more[.]” and “Can’t wait to rape you, ****[.]”. There are plenty more awful comments. In another article, Asselin spoke out: “The fans that want to scare women off with rape threats are doing the reverse: We’re digging in our heels and shouting from the rooftops that we will not leave.”
Asselin and other female writers, artists, and editors are not backing down. The comic book world is changing for the better. With new comic book characters such as Captain Marvel and Miss Marvel who are selling like crazy (see “The Her in Superhero”), women in comic books are getting a full on do-over. (And now, Thor is a woman! — Side Note, the new Thor is written by Jason Aaron, who is not a woman.) No more ditzy and large breasted, now they are brave and sensitive and smart and hilarious. And even better, they are being written by women (DeConnick and G. Willow Wilson and many others . . . some women write male characters such as Robin or Spiderman).
Next time you go to your local comic book store, pick up a comic written and/or illustrated by a woman and see the new feministing, strong force that’s helping the comic book industry become bold and open. And to all my girls out there, never let anyone push you away from comic books. Never let anyone define your interests.