Superwomen: gender, power, and representation

289 Pages·2016·4.145 MB·English

by  Cocca, Carolyn

Superwomen
ii
Superwomen
Gender, Power, and Representation
Carolyn Cocca
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
NEW YORK • LONDON • OXFORD • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
1385 Broadway 50 Bedford Square
New York London
NY 10018 WC1B 3DP
USA UK
www.bloomsbury.com
BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2016
© Carolyn Cocca, 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting
on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cocca, Carolyn, 1971- author.
Title: Superwomen: gender, power, and representation / Carolyn Cocca.
Description: New York: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury
Publishing Inc., 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016007660 (print) | LCCN 2016012839 (ebook) | ISBN
9781501316562 (hardback) | ISBN 9781501316593 (ePDF) | ISBN 9781501316586
(ePUB) | ISBN 9781501316586 (ePub)
Subjects: LCSH: Comic books, strips, etc.–United States–History and
criticism. | Women heroes–Comic books, strips, etc. | Women heroes in
literature. | Women heroes in motion pictures. | BISAC: PERFORMING ARTS /
Film & Video / General. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies. | LITERARY
CRITICISM / Comics & Graphic Novels. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies.
Classification: LCC PN6725 .C585 2016 (print) | LCC PN6725 (ebook) | DDC
741.5/973–dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016007660
ISBN: HB: 978-1-5013-1656-2
PB: 978-1-5013-1657-9
ePDF: 978-1-5013-1659-3
ePUB: 978-1-5013-1658-6
Cover design: Alice Marwick
Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
List of Illustrations viii
Introduction: Representation Matters 1
1 “The Sexier the Outfit, the Fewer Questions Asked”: Wonder Woman 25
2 “When You Go Out At Night, You Won’t Be Alone”: Batgirl(s)
and Birds of Prey 57
3 “Somebody Has To Save Our Skins!” Padmé Amidala,
Leia Organa, and Jaina Solo in Star Wars 87
4 “No Such Things as Limits”: The X-Women 121
5 “Slayers. Every One of Us”: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 157
6 “Part of Something Bigger”: Captain Marvel(s) and Ms. Marvel(s) 183
Conclusion: Gender, Power, and Representation 215
Bibliography 223
Index 246
Acknowledgments
In some ways, I’ve been writing this book my whole life. I was writing it in elementary
school when I played Star Wars with Vaughn, Brian, and Eric. I was writing it in junior
high when Heath and I talked about Star Trek, and in high school when Matthew and
Don and I read The Dark Knight Returns and Stratton and I saw the Batman movie.
I continued it in college when I dressed as Princess Leia and Ellen dressed as Luke
Skywalker for Halloween, and in graduate school when Margaret and I watched Buffy
every week. Today, I’m surrounded by these characters and others on TV, on film,
and on physical and virtual bookshelves. I grew older, but my love for superhero
stories never changed. A lot of adults and kids apparently feel the same way, with their
passions fueling a multibillion dollar industry.
In terms of actual typing, I started writing about this topic a few years ago because
of my partner Steve’s friend, Bill Shea. If it weren’t for Bill I wouldn’t have met Kent
Worcester and started talking to another academic about superheroes and comics,
one who encouraged me to write about them. Kent and Matthew Costello edited a
symposium for PS: Political Science and Politics to which I contributed, and they were
both helpful and gracious in giving me feedback not only on that article but also on the
proposal for this book. Research for that article led me to a conference at which I met
three people who have been similarly helpful to my work and gracious with their time:
Chris Gavaler, Jeffrey Brown, and Trina Robbins. My paper from that conference went
into Heroines of Film and Television, and Norma Jones’ editing improved my chapter
as well as the book proposal. Claudia Bucciferro, editor of X-Men Films: A Cultural
Analysis, likewise gave me feedback on my chapter in that book that figures into the
analysis of X-Men in this one. Junot Díaz was also very encouraging about the overall
themes of the book, stressing the importance of authentic storytelling. I also benefited
greatly from the many comics creators and fans with whom I have spoken over the last
few years.
I am thankful to have been welcomed into a knowledgeable and kind geek
community by Melissa Megan, Maria Norris, Huw Perry, Bob Reyer, Steve Seigh,
Bobby Shortle, and Mara Wood from Talking Comics. On their podcasts and on the
Talking Comics website I had to dial back the jargon-laden way in which I was trained
to speak and write, and hopefully this book is more readable because of that. Special
thanks are due to “the doctors”: Maria, for inviting me to write for the London School
of Economics and Political Science Human Rights Blog; and Mara, for contributing her
Star Wars expertise to Chapter 3.
This book simply could not have happened without Talking Comics’ Bob Reyer. He
lent me at least a thousand comics from his own archives, giving me crucial access not
Acknowledgments vii
only to their stories but also to their letter columns, ads, and sales figures. He read the
manuscript more than once and was nothing but supportive for the entire journey.
My editors at Bloomsbury, Katie Gallof, Mary Al-Sayed, and Michelle Chen, all
eased the book-production process with their professionalism and kindness. Chris
Gavaler read the final manuscript with painstaking care, and his many insightful
suggestions as well as his overall support have strengthened it.
I am grateful to my longtime friends Khalen Gloeckner and Stratton Danes for their
feedback as well as their encouragement, and to Don LaVoie and Matthew Wilkening
for contributing their Bat-family expertise to the Barbara Gordon chapter.
My immediate family also gave me comments and suggestions on the manuscript
and were supportive throughout: Amelia, Theo, and Steve Goodman. Amelia also used
her gender studies expertise to compile the index. My mother, Anne Swinton, has read
everything I’ve written, many times each, and is unfailingly there for me. For countless
reasons beyond this, my mother is and always has been my favorite superhero.
My daughter Anna’s contribution lay less in reviewing the manuscript and more
in reading comics and watching TV shows and films with me (although I kept her
away from many 1990s–2010s comics, for reasons described within). She has stated
repeatedly that her favorite characters are the ones who look like her, and the ones
with whom she has certain traits in common. This is because, she says, she likes to see
herself in the story, in place of those characters. She likes to be the hero, as do we all.
This book is for Anna. I hope that there are many creators out there who will
produce fantastic works for her and others to read and watch, with diverse and nuanced
characters who show all of us that anybody can be a hero. We need to support those
creators as well as to push others to consider the breadth of their potential readership
and how much representation matters. We need to support equity in hiring and
promotion practices that diversify the ranks of the companies producing superhero-
related media and merchandise, and also to support creators who work outside of a
corporate structure.
If you don’t see yourself in someone else’s stories, write your own and put them out
in the world. That would benefit not just you, but all of us.
List of Illustrations
Figure 1.1. In a brief animated appearance, a 1940s-esque Wonder Woman engaged
in some of her most iconic activities. Here, as she often did in the comics, she carries
Steve Trevor and subverts “traditional” gender roles (Batman: The Brave and the Bold,
“Curse of the Star Sapphire,” S03E04, 2011).
Figure 1.2. Lynda Carter, as Wonder Woman, in the more revealing costume of the
TV show’s second season, pushing with her superstrength against rapidly closing walls
(“The Man Who Made Volcanoes,” S02E09, 1977).
Figure 1.3. Wonder Woman in the Justice League animated series, which highlighted
her superstrength (“The Savage Time, Part Two,” S01E25, 2002).
Figure 1.4. Wonder Woman, the “battle-scarred” and “intimidating warrior,” played by
Gal Gadot in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
Figure 2.1. Yvonne Craig as the petite, balletic, purple-clad Batgirl on Batman’s third
season (“Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin,” S03E01, 1967).
Figure 2.2. The short-lived Birds of Prey TV show, starring (left to right) Ashley Scott as
Helena/Huntress, Rachel Skarsten as Dinah (here, the daughter of the Black Canary),
and Dina Meyer as Barbara/Oracle (“Pilot,” S01E01, 2002).
Figure 2.3. The younger and slighter Barbara as Batgirl in The New Batman Adventures
(“Old Wounds,” S01E18, 1998).
Figure 2.4. Oracle’s sole appearance in animated form: 2007’s The Batman (“Artifacts,”
S04E07).
Figure 3.1. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is a rebel leader positioned between the two
main male characters, Han (Harrison Ford) and Luke (Mark Hamill). (Star Wars: A
New Hope, 1977).
Figure 3.2. The sole woman in a sea of white men, Leia (Carrie Fisher) explains the
plan they are to follow (The Empire Strikes Back, 1980).
Figure 3.3. Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), mother of Princess Leia, in her
elaborate royal garb and white makeup (The Phantom Menace, 1999).
Figure 3.4. Senator Padmé Amidala in the Clone Wars series, in which she engaged in
action, diplomacy, and romance (“Destroy Malevolence,” S01E04, 2008).
Figure 3.5. Jabba the Hutt forces Leia (Carrie Fisher) to wear a metal bikini and puts
a chain around her neck. She later strangles him with that same chain (Return of the
Jedi, 1983).
List of Illustrations ix
Figure 3.6. Padmé (Natalie Portman) wears a “sultry” outfit while protesting Anakin
(Hayden Christensen)’s affections in Attack of the Clones (2002).
Figure 3.7. The broken-hearted Padmé (Natalie Portman) tells Obi-Wan (Ewan
MacGregor) that there is still “good” in Anakin even after he has murdered many and
strangled her. She dies after birthing Luke and Leia (Revenge of the Sith, 2005).
Figure 3.8. Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) embrace, sharing their grief in
The Force Awakens (2015).
Figure 4.1. Rogue, realizing the villainous Mystique is her adoptive mother, allows
her to escape without punishment (X-Men: The Animated Series, “Days of Future Past,
Part 2,” S01E12, 1993).
Figure 4.2. Together (clockwise from left), Professor Xavier, Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine,
Rogue, Beast, and Gambit give some of their “life force” to Jean Grey, center, in her old
Marvel Girl uniform (X-Men: The Animated Series,“The Dark Phoenix Saga, Part 4,”
S03E17, 1995).
Figure 4.3. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)’s adaptation of the Dark Phoenix Saga
foregrounds Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and stereotypes Jean (Famke Janssen).
By contrast, the animated series’ “Dark Phoenix Saga” in Figure 4.2 emphasizes the
X-Men family and Jean’s heroism.
Figure 4.4. No longer the protagonist or hero of the story as in the comics’ version
of “Days of Future Past,” Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) holds her hands around Wolverine
(Hugh Jackman)’s head in the film version of Days of Future Past (2014).
Figure 4.5. Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, nude, in X-Men (2000). Compare to Figure
4.1, in which the animated Mystique wears the same long white dress as she does
across years of comics.
Figure 5.1. The “core four” of Buffy’s chosen family (left to right): Giles (Anthony
Stewart Head), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and Buffy
(Sarah Michelle Gellar). (“The Harvest,” S01E02, 1997).
Figure 5.2. The star-crossed Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and
Angel the vampire (David Boreanaz), just before they consummate their relationship
and he loses his soul (“Surprise,” S02E13, 1998).
Figure 5.3. With Willow on the far left (Alyson Hannigan), Spike behind her (James
Marsters), and Faith to the right in her usual tank top (Eliza Dushku), Buffy addresses
her extended chosen family of new slayers (“Chosen,” S07E22, 2003).
Figure 6.1. Carol as Ms. Marvel, wearing her lightning-bolt bathing-suit-esque costume,
in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode that dramatized Rogue’s absorption of her
powers (“A Rogue’s Tale,” S02E09, 1994).
Figure 6.2. Ms. Marvel wears the lightning-bolt costume in Super Hero Squad, but with
her legs completely covered. Usually the lone female and usually shrill and humorless,