9ENO 03- gender identity in comics

toxic masculinity- describes form of gendered behaviour

• manhood is defined by violence, sex, status and aggression
• strength is everything- emotions are a weakness
• a mans strength is measure through sex and brutality
• feminine traits e.g. emotional vulnerability can have your status as a man taken away
• our culture equates masculinity with physical power

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-we-mean-when-we-say-toxic-masculinity

can look at crimes involving gun violence as evidence e.g. mass shootings in Las Vegas in 2017- most of these crimes are committed by males

• is there a gendered component that contributes to these crimes?
• our culture can make young men feel as though they are ‘failing at being a man’
• can fill this need to be manly (created by toxic masculinity) through violence, abuse of women and children in their care etc.

hegemonic masculinity- validates a powerful man’s position in society and explains why men maintain dominant social roles over women and other gender identities perceived as feminine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemonic_masculinity

1938- superman in Action Comics

Key findings:

• large sense of forcefulness and aggression- imperative verbs, deontic modality and use of exclamatives with face threatening acts
• could reflect historical contexts- men were going to war there was anger and aggression towards the opposition (general ideas of what men were supposed to be like may have included forcefulness)
• sense of self-importance- he is able to disregard rules and instructions as a result of his status
• illustrations reflect this- leaning towards female character in an aggressive way (matches aggressive language)

1971- superman in superman comic

Key findings

• aggressiveness subsides- suggests it’s now viewed as a negative trait for men to have
• arrogance and self-importance is more emphasised- very boastful about achievements and has a superiority complex (not just better than women but all humans)
• introduces concept of toxic masculinity- what it means to be a ‘man’
• gender roles are reinforced- ideas of marrying and having children which reflect societal norms and assume heterosexual relationships (reaction to Women’s Lib + beginnings of the sexual revolution)

• female characters in comics from the 90s and their response to third wave feminism- does it reflect changing attitudes brought on by the movement?
• Lois Lane- how she changed from a feminist icon in the 30s to more submissive in the 70s (is this the same as the change Wonder Woman experienced)
• look at modern day comics to see if they reflect attitudes to women nowadays
• it seems that rather comics reflecting changing attitudes to women they counteract the feminist movements going on at the time and take more of a stereotypical male attitude towards women (reflects patriarchal society and the need to constrain women to a household)
• look at male representation in comics as well as female representation- gender identity aka. how are all genders represented?

• Zimmerman and West dominance approach

men are more likely to interrupt women. This asserts dominance and shows a higher power status

• Marked and unmarked terms

unmarked terms are the ones typically used by females and they are inferior to the marked terms and usually have more negative connotations

• Lakoff’s deficit theory

e.g. empty adjectives and asking more questions than men- women’s language is lacking compared to a male’s language

Coakley and Pike

• Gender is conveyed through binaries (male and female) that are oppositional and based on biological factors
• They are completely different to each other and these differences form expectations of how each one should be defined and identified
• This ideology is so deeply rooted in our society that we don’t tend to question it

Connell and Messerschmidt

• Hegemonic masculinity (toxic masculinity) is white, heterosexual, middle class, able-bodied masculinity that is superior to femininity and homosexuality
• Traits include aggression, strength, speed, invincibility, competitiveness
• It devalues other forms of masculinity e.g. disabled, black, gay and devalues femininity and homosexuality

Johnson-Young

• Categorisation of gender is based on social and cultural influences instead of biological factors

Daphna Joel research

• It is rare for someone to have an exclusively ‘male’ or ‘female’ brain. Most people have characteristics of each

Wonder woman- taken from Wonder Woman Chronicles #1 (1940s)

1940s comic strip

• strong women are represented as villains- Wonder Woman thinks the fact the girl has been drugged and hypnotised is clever, suggesting there is admiration for the villain
• Wonder Woman’s strength is conveyed through the use of deontic modality- she ‘can’ and ‘will’ do things. This coincides with the idea that strong females are villainous- she’s portrayed as a strong woman but idolises the villain
• use of marked and unmarked terms ‘mistress’- less power in females and also has sexual connotations, suggesting a possible appeal to a more male audience
• conveying strong women as villainous coincides with cultural influences- women wanted to break out of their conventional roles after having ‘male’ jobs during WW2 but the comics are suggesting that going against ideals is wrong

 

Wonder woman- taken from Justice League of America volume 1 #143 (1977)

• Interesting idea of containing women and playing to stereotypes of ‘hysteria’
• continued use of marked and unmarked terms- suggests although things have progressed in society for women there’s still this idea of inferiority- superman’s thoughts interrupt her speech suggesting he’s more important (Zimmerman and West dominance approach)
• Implied meaning- the only explanation for Wonder Woman’s physical strength and ability to fight is that she’s being controlled implies women should not be strong
• could suggest that with the Women’s Lib movement the comic industry is trying to send the message that women are crazy and their strive for independence goes against societal values. Could also be caused by the 1954 comics code authority which is still active and bans portraying women as heroines
• doesn’t reflect the changing attitudes to women- even though legislations have given women more rights and they are protesting for equal rights to men comic books do not reflect this as they are still trying to ‘contain’ women. Reflects the attitudes of those against the Women’s Lib movement

• Wonder Woman over time- see the developments in her language use and whether this reflects historical and cultural contexts
• Lois Lane- created 1938
• Batgirl- created 1966 supposedly represents women’s lib

Social and historical contexts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrayal_of_women_in_American_comics

http://www.academia.edu/20166079/Female_Representation_in_Comics_and_Graphic_Novels_Exploring_Classroom_Study_with_Critical_Visual_Literacy

https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&context=mcnair

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/social_role.htm

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1960s-america/a/second-wave-feminism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_revolution_in_1960s_United_States

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswomanfiles/2013/01/23/what-do-comic-books-teach-us-about-gender-attitudes/#4ecc88d52c16

https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-third-wave-of-feminism

useful for comic book excerpts

https://www.comixology.com/Superman-1939-2011-236/digital-comic/501461?ref=c2VyaWVzL3ZpZXcvZGVza3RvcC9ncmlkTGlzdC9Jc3N1ZXM 

https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2015/02/race-and-gender-in-comic-books

The golden age of comics (1930s-1950s)

• world war 2- women took jobs that were usually occupied by men while they were fighting the war e.g. truck drivers, welders
• this was reflected in comic books- female characters were portrayed as being more of a partner to their male counterparts
• wonder woman- created early 1940s in the world war 2 era and at this time was capable of holding her own fights
• after ww2 women were reluctant to return to their roles in society and this created a ‘femme fatale’ identity in comics such as the DC comic ‘The Spirit’

Comics code authority (1954)

• comic books came under attack for the portrayal of superheroines in comic books saying that the women were not homemakers, mother-love was completely absent and that gender roles were bent with characters like Wonder Woman acting out ‘lesbian fantasies’
• this policy self-censors violence, sexuality and ‘abnormal’ romance to emphasise the value of the home and the sanctity of marriage
• still active today in diluted form

Post ww2 and throughout the 60s

• Social role theory- men and women behave differently in social situations and take different roles because of society’s expectations e.g. women having lower status and doing domestic tasks
• during this time women given few roles in comic books- career women/sidekicks of male superheroes e.g. Lois Lane
• 1947 wonder woman part of Justice Society of America but only as their secretary, taking phone calls
• The Wasp (commonly comments on attractiveness of other Avengers) and The Invisible Woman (both created 1963)- neither holds a role different from girlfriend, wife and mother and seem to become stronger characters after becoming wives
• Batgirl (1966) representing women’s lib and goes from being a librarian to a strong congresswoman in less than 6 years

Second wave feminism (1960s+70s)

• inspired by Civil Rights Movement and focused on getting stronger roles for women in American society
• Civil Rights Act 1964- prohibits discrimination in employment because of a person’s sex
• many women in this movement were married and middle class who found their roles as housewife unfulfilling
• National Organisation for Women (1966)- focused on allowing women to enjoy all of the same rights that men do
• The pill (1960)- contraception meant women were freer to work, some argued it encouraged sexual promiscuity
• Miss America Pageant protest (1968)- burned instruments of women’s oppression e.g. bras and high heeled shoes

1960s sexual revolution

• social norms were challenged with regards to attitudes to sex e.g. more acceptable to have sex outside marriage
• production of porn started, the pill, women’s liberation movement
• 1965-1974 marked increase in amount of women who had sex before marriage
• beginnings of gay rights campaigns- at this time homosexuality was seen as a mental illness (DSM) and it was illegal to engage in anal sex so people began campaigning for gay rights

Third wave feminism

• Began in the 1990s
• redefine ideas of womanhood, beauty, sexuality, femininity and masculinity that the media had previously defined
• focused in more on the idea that women are from all different races, classes, cultures etc.
• perceptions of gender began changing- there aren’t strictly male and female characteristics but instead a gender continuum
• redefined women as being powerful and in control of their sexuality [

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/06/she-sheena-jungle-queens-enduring-ambiguous-allure-h-rider-haggard

• social/political influences- only portrayed as heroes when up against minority groups that were at the time still being lynched. Idea of being ‘at risk’ when around groups of black males
• late 30s and 40s wanted more female readers so started incorporating romance- stereotypical, might have ‘damsel in distress’ trope
• Black Panther created in 1966- a female queen and queer warriors could be reflecting cultural developments in society due to new legislation?

Questions going forward

• What sort of language is used in the comic ‘Sheena’
• Research comics with female characters from late 30s/early 40s to see if there’s differences in language use
• What sort f language is used in the ‘Black Panther’ comics and does this differ to ‘Sheena’

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/media-studies/superqueeroes-gender-and-superheroes#

• theories of hypermasculinity- Connell & Messerschmidt 2005, Connell 1987
• many female characters used as sidekicks to male superheroes e.g. Lois Lane, Gwen Stacey
• focus on binaries- there’s 2 genders and we don’t tend to question this (Coakley and Pike 2009, Jordan-Young 2010)
• representation of non binary characters as villains e.g. Loki

Moving forward

• Research the theorists mentioned
• Language use of female sidekicks
• Research comics with explicit queer/non-binary characters e.g. The Young Avengers, the wicked and the divine

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswomanfiles/2013/01/23/what-do-comic-books-teach-us-about-gender-attitudes/#507d552b2c16

• historical contexts have huge impacts on how women are represented in comics e.g. during WW2 Lois Lane seen as independent and this changed once the war was over
• during the 90s characters became more muscular- reaction to third wave feminism?
• NorthStar- Marvel’s first openly gay character- reflecting legalisation of gay marriage

Moving forward

• look into contrast between Lois Lane representations and how language use reflects changing attitudes
• research third wave feminism to see how this may link to comics