Leslie Caribou blogged last week about how she reacted when she learned that in the not-too-distant past superhero comics not only welcomed women, but were actually marketed to them:
And when I think about those fangirls during WWII, I think about what we have in common. Did they run through fields imagining that they were flying, just like I did when I was little? Did they tie blankets around their shoulders as a makeshift cape, and insist upon wearing them in public despite their parent’s efforts to get them to leave said cape at home? When they missed their loved ones who were away at war, did reading comics help ease the pain, just like the death of a comic book character helped me cope with the loss of my grandmother? And when their fathers came home in a casket, did they wish that Miss America or Miss Victory had been there to help them? Did they wish that a superheroine had been fighting alongside their father, to protect him from the enemy soldier who had killed him, as I have wished for a superhero to be real so many times?We shouldn’t be asking if comics are for women. That’s stupid. There is nothing about having a pair of X chromosomes that makes you dislike comics. What we should be asking is: What happened since then? Where did the cartoonists, the fans, the characters go? Did women suddenly become uninterested, or did the developing comics subculture exclude women?
September 7th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
huh? This was always about punching other people in the face.
Girls never went for that. Never will be.
September 7th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
As a woman, I feel like punching people in the face quite frequently. Starting with those who insist I don’t like something that I clearly do.
September 8th, 2007 at 6:04 am
get back in the kitchen woman!
September 8th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Honestly, I remember being amazed when I read Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation series and grew to understand how much women filled the void left by the men who went off to fight WWII. I have yet to fully grasp how post-1945 the genie was put back in the bottle (women’s equality) and kept there to a large extent until the late 1960s.
I wish Trina Robbins was a name that popped up in comics discussions more. She has a wealth of knowledge and appreciation of unique aspects of comics history that few others have.
Thanks for the link, as it also made me aware of the feminist art history studies essay, Why Have There Been No Great Female Artists? (don’t be fooled by the title)
September 9th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
There’s buckets of face-punching in Birds of Prey. Even paraplegic Barbara Gordon jumped out of her chair to pound Spy Smasher into a bloody pulp recently, following a great cheap-shot from Manhunter, who is not at all averse to out and out brawling.
Maybe the disconnect comes from the increased emphasis on separate gender roles for children in the 50′s. Comics were aimed at boys, just like cowboy shows were. That didn’t stop my Mom from sporting a six-shooter capgun.
September 10th, 2007 at 9:06 am
You’re pretty close there, elvee. Shifting cultural attitudes about gender roles drove a lot of young female readers away from superheroes. Also, there was a HUGE dip in comics sales in the 50′s and many superheroes in general were canceled in to obscurity. Among these of course, were the women superheroes (except for Wonder Woman) and aviators.