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Analysis of the Female Presence in the Male-Dominated Comic Book IndustryNicole ChoyChapman University, choy103@mail.chapman.edu

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Recommended CitationChoy, Nicole, "Analysis of the Female Presence in the Male-Dominated Comic Book Industry" (2017). Honors Papers and Posters. 5.http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/honors_student_work/5

Analysis of the Female Presence in the Male-Dominated Comic BookIndustry

CommentsPresented at the Western Regional Honors Council conference in Ashland, OR, in April 2017.

This poster is available at Chapman University Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/honors_student_work/5

Analysis of the Female Presence in the Male-Dominated Comic Book Industry Nicole Choy

choy103@mail.chapman.edu

•  Evolved from newspaper comic strips

•  Widely read & consumed by adults & young children

•  Polls revealed more women read comics than men

1930s 1940s

•  Surge in popularity after WWII •  Survey featured in Justice Society of America

(1944): 277 boys & 233 girls •  Another 1944 study: primary consumers

were children & adolescents

1950s 1960s 1970s

•  Surveys revealed that men were the primary consumers of comic books.

•  Disparate representation of female to male characters, featuring stories marketed for male audiences

•  Females remained an insignificant demographic to publishers

•  1984 Marvel study: 94% of readers were male

•  1989 Marvel study: distribution of boys & girls reading comics was approximately equal

1980s

•  Resurgence of female readers continues into 1990s

•  Female consumers became more vocal about their role within comic book culture

1990s - Present

•  Companies focused on most profitable demographic: adolescent boys

•  Fostered unwelcoming environment for women to break into comic book culture

•  Popularity of action comics with boys enabled publishers to produce content to continue to pique their interest, highlighting violence, action, & displays of masculinity

•  Young boys can project themselves into the lives of overtly masculine characters, empowering them with a learned masculinity that can become toxic

Visibility = Validation

Cultural Influence & Comics

Toxic Masculinity and Destructive Stereotypes

Women as Creators

Examples of Feminist Ideologies in Modern Comic Book Titles

Representation of Women

•  Like picture books, comics tell stories through image & text and are used in early childhood development to teach children about social norms

•  Studies reveal that children begin to define masculinity/femininity based on storylines featured in picture books

•  Representations of women in comics present readers with a template of gender roles for young girls in society

1.  Geoffrey D. Robinson, “Paul Ricoeur And The Hermeneutics Of Suspicion: A Brief Overview And Critique,” Presbyterion 23.1 (1997): 43-55. 

2.  Jean-Paul Gabilliet, Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comics (University Press of Mississippi, 2009).

3.  Jeffery A. Brown, “Comic Book Fandom And Cultural Capital,” Journal of Popular Culture 30.4 (1997): 13-32. 

4.  Jill Lepore, The Secret History of Wonder Woman (New York: Vintage Books, 2014). 5.  June M. Madeley, “Women and Readers of Graphic Novels,” Salem Press

Encyclopedia of Literature (2016).  6.  May M. Nahara, “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Picture Books,” ERIC (1998). 7.  Mike Madrid, The Supergirls : Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, And The History Of

Comic Book Heroines (Minneapolis, MN: Exterminating Angel Press: 2009) 8.  Sue Thornham, “Second Wave Feminism,” The Routledge Companion To Feminism

And Postfeminism, ed. By Sarah Gamble, Routledge, 2001, 25-35. 9.  Suzanne Scott, “Representation and Diversity in Comic Studies,” Cinema Journal,

no. 1 (2015): 120. 10.  Suzanne Scott, “Fangirls in Refrigerators: The Politics of (In)Visibility in Comic

Book Culture,” Transformative Works and Cultures 13 (2013).  11.  Tim Hanley, “Gendercrunching July 2016—The Creators and Characters on the

cover of Marvel and DC Comics,” Bleeding Cool, 12 Sep 2016. 12.  Valerie Walkerdine, “No Laughing Matter: Girls’ comics and the preparation for

adolescent sexuality,” Critical Theories of Psychological Development (1987):87-125. 13.  Wonder Woman, Vol. 36, No. 229, March 1977 14.  The Amazing Spider Man, No. 121, March 13 1973. 15.  Thor, No. 1, October 2014. 16.  Thor, No. 5, February 2014. 17.  Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane, No. 4, October 1958. 18.  Batgirl, No. 35, October 8 2014. 19.  Batgirl, No. 36, November 12 2014. 20.  Zalbenal, “Exclusive: ‘Batgirl’ Gets a Brand New Look from DC Comics,” MTV

News (July 2013). 21.  Green Lantern, Vol. 3, No. 54, August 1994. 22.  All-Star Comics, No. 13, October 1942. 23.  Y: The Last Man, No. 23, June 2004. 24.  Harley Quinn, No. 25, February 2016. 25.  Saga, No. 25, February 2015. 26.  Wonder Woman, No. 1, September 2011.

•  Function as a medium of popular culture & are influenced by changing social & cultural trends, like other forms of art, literature, & media

•  Academics can study comic books for unique perspectives of history & culture

The introduction of more female characters and feminist stories correlates to the second-wave of feminism and a shift in social

emphasis on the importance of gender diversity and representation in all forms of media and popular culture.

•  Through the 1980s-90s, more female characters were introduced & existing ones earned solo titles, becoming household names

•  These comics empower readers through diverse representations & by featuring strong female characters & feminist themes

The Adult Female Brat

•  Characteristic to post-war America

•  Represented women as spoiled, willful, & expecting to get what they wanted

Women in Refrigerator

“The inclusion of females in stories is specifically discouraged. Women when

used in plot structure should be secondary in importance.” – DC Comics (1950s)

•  Mainstream comic book culture remains unwelcoming for female creators

•  2011: DC Comics debuted the New 52 (canonical reboot of existing titles) & the creative team went from 12% female creators to 1%

•  July 2016: 18.4% of DC comics’ & 15.7% of Marvel creators are female

•  Gender disparities in publishing comics seems to be independent of social movements & ideological shifts within society

•  Blogging & social media increased accessibility for female creators & consumers

Comic Book Industry and Consumer Demographics

References