Recap for Friday (Black Cat)

Two things: don't forget to read Monstress, Vol.1 for Monday's class, and remember that the doors may be locked tomorrow. I'll be there early to prop them open for you, but if for any reason you find the door locked/closed, just wait and I'll make sure everyone can get in for class. 

On Friday, we discussed the history of gender in comics, and in particular, the role of women. Traditionally, comics, like literature, catered to a male audience, so women were usually depicted in supporting roles, though more often as "damsels in distress" or trophies to be won (or lost). Heroes were always male, and women supported their men from the sidelines, and were invariably weak and caused trouble for the heroes (ex: Lois Lane was always getting into trouble, and was constantly distracting him with her romantic overtures). 

Wonder Woman was one of the few exceptions to the rule, though she was often a damsel in distress herself, since most of the storylines involved her getting taken captive, tied up, and tortured until she broke free and saved the world (and herself). While it was a step forward to see her save herself, and her boyfriend, Steve Trevor, her comics still depict a woman as an object--even if that object is stronger than most men reading the comic! 

In the 60's and 70's, as comics began to reflect changing trends in society, many female superheroes got their own comics and/or joined the more established male teams. However, most of these women were known as "girl" (Supergirl, Batgirl, Invisible Girl), and only a small number had stories beyond the traditional damsel in distress of woman in bondage routine. A notable exception was The Wasp, one of the original founders of The Avengers, who often acted independently of the men--though even she was depicted as infatuated with Thor, and ultimately became the wife of Henry Pym (Ant Man, Giant Man).

A recent study by Amanda Shendruk analyzed over 30,000 comic book characters to see whether gender was really a factor in comics (hint: it is). Here's a link to the entire article: https://pudding.cool/2017/07/comics/. Basically, she determined that "Only 26.7 percent of all DC and Marvel characters are female, and only 12 percent of mainstream superhero comics have female protagonists...The data suggest that less-physical powers — such as empathy, intellect, and telepathy — tend to be more represented among female characters...Pheromone control — the ability to generate and control pheromones that affect emotional and physical states, such as sleep, fear, and pleasure — occurs five times as often in a female character. Sonic scream appears in twice as many female characters as male; and prehensile hair — the ability to control one’s own hair — appears in female characters seven times more often." 

So where does this leave us today? Black Cat offer a female protagonist who does not have a love interest, has her own powers (is bad luck gendered??), and solves problems with the help of men, but without relying on them, either. True, she still wears a very sexualized outfit, but she also takes it off and appears in a relatively 'normal' fashion. She makes light of her sexual origins (since Black Cat was created to be a romantic foil for Spiderman), and yet, the comic seems to be trying to re-create her in a more modern image. It's a fun comic, maybe not a resounding blow for modern feminism, but it does show that women can be superheroes without relying on sex as a superpower.