Issues of Representation

The Representation of Women in Comic Books, Post WWII Through the Radical 60’s.

This article focuses on the time period 1940s to the 1960s regarding the evolution of famous female comic book characters. The author uses the examples of

1) Wonder Woman – Diana Prince
2) Catwoman – Selina Kyle
3) The Invisible Girl/Woman – Sue Storm
4) The Wasp – Jan Van Dyne
5) Batgirl – Barbara Gordon.

She mentions that comic books serve not only as an entertainment but as a reflection of American culture. This is because comic book characters are depicted in visual and contextual extremes that serve as representations of common stereotypes. This in turn reflects the contemporary American social structure.

The stereotypical roles are of wife, mother or secretary and she uses the social role theory to differentiate ascribed roles (given by others) and aquired roles (earned by oneself). She also mentions that in the past before the late 1960s, female characters "were usually given very few roles with limited upward mobility" but this has changed after 1960s due to civil rights movement, second wave feminism and the sexual revolution. Man on the other hand, held roles that are diverse and typically held "roles are diverse and typically prestigious."

The author also implied that creators usually take cues from their social environment about the roles considered socially acceptable for women.

Question: What are the possible reasons behind why creators take cues from their social environment to create their characters?

Strange/puzzling/interesting phenomena: I found it interesting that characters like Wonder Women gained empowerment but later was reverted back to traditional roles. I find this phenomena similar to the concept of evolution to an extent that it reverts back to devolution. Yet, does this mean that it is bad for society? In my opinion, not necessarily so. This is very similar to the arguments for technology (Utopian Vs Dystopian, Progress Vs Regress...etc).