Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation

Description

Over the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied. Today, a time when many of these characters are billion-dollar global commodities, there are more female superheroes, more queer superheroes, more superheroes of color, and more disabled superheroes--but not many more. Superwomen investigates how and why female superhero characters have become more numerous but are still not-at-all close to parity with their male counterparts; how and why they have become a flashpoint for struggles over gender, sexuality, race, and disability; what has changed over time and why in terms of how these characters have been written, drawn, marketed, purchased, read, and reacted to; and how and why representations of superheroes matter, particularly to historically underrepresented and stereotyped groups. Specifically, the book explores the production, representations, and receptions of prominent transmedia female superheroes from their creation to the present: Wonder Woman; Batgirl and Oracle; Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Star Wars’ Padmé Amidala, Leia Organa, Jaina Solo, and Rey; and X-Men’s Jean Grey, Storm, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and Mystique. It analyzes their changing portrayals in comics, novels, television shows, and films, as well as how cultural narratives of gender have been negotiated through female superheroes by creators, consumers, and parent companies over the last several decades. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction: Representation Matters Representation matters A brief history of (female) superheroes Plan of the book Notes Chapter 1 “The Sexier the Outfit, the Fewer Questions Asked”: Wonder Woman1 Feminism and its containment in Wonder Woman, 1941–68 Wonder Woman in the Second Wave of feminism: 1968–868 Third Wave feminism in Wonder Woman in the 1980s and 1990s Race, sexuality, and gender politics in Wonder Woman in the 2000s New origin and new directions for Wonder Woman in the 2010s Conclusion: The “trickiness” of the female superhero Notes Chapter 2 “When You Go Out At Night, You Won’t Be Alone”: Batgirl(s) and Birds of Prey1 From Barbara to Batgirl to retirement: Femininity, fashion, and crimefighting, 1960s–80s Sexualized violence: The retirement of Batgirl and the “fridging” of Barbara Gordon From Batgirl to Oracle: Hacker, mother, leader, friend, 1988–2011 Batgirl on television and in Year One: Girl power, 1993–2007 From Oracle to Batgirl: Barbara Gordon rebooted, 2011–present Conclusion: The Batgirl of Burnside Notes Chapter 3 “Somebody Has To Save Our Skins!”: Padmé Amidala, Leia Organa, and Jaina Solo in  Star Wars1 Hero, leader, warrior, and diplomat in the Second Wave of feminism Heroes, leaders, warriors, and diplomats in the Third Wave of feminism: In print Heroes, leaders, warriors, and diplomats in the Third Wave of feminism: On screen Love triangles and sexualization in the Second Wave of feminism Love triangles and sexualization in the Third Wave of feminism Family and motherhood Conclusion: Legends, Lucasfilm, and The Force Awakens Notes Chapter 4 “No Such Things as Limits”: The X-Women1 “Second Genesis:” The X-Women in the 1970s and 1980s The best-selling comic of all time, bad girls, and transitions to television in the 1990s The 2000s: New and Astonishing X-Men, and transitions to film Conclusion: Rebooted comics, rebooted films Notes Chapter 5 “Slayers. Every One of Us”: Buffy the Vampire Slayer1 Third wave feminist sensibilities in pop culture and in Buffy Forging family Embodiment, love, and sex Heterofluidity and homosexuality Race and class Conclusion: Diversity, privilege, and girl power Notes Chapter 6 “Part of Something Bigger”: Captain Marvel(s) and Ms. Marvel(s)1  “This Female Fights Back”: Ms. Marvel, the “Female Fury” of Second Wave feminism Avenger, Binary, Warbird, survivor: Carol Danvers in the 1980s–1990s The 2000s and 2010s: The best of the best Captain Marvel, 2012–present: Flying with her own wings Two Captain Marvels: Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau The new Ms. Marvel: Whoever saves one person has saved all of mankind Conclusion: The changing face of comics . . . at the margins Notes Chapter 7 Conclusion: Gender, Power, and Representation  “This isn’t affirmative action. This is capitalism.” Struggling over gender Moving forward: Countering stereotypes and making mirrors Notes Bibliography Index