Rise Of Feminism's Effect On Depiction Of Female Superheroes

1589 Words4 Pages

Rise of Feminism’s Effect on Depiction of Female Superheroes in American Comics The Wonder Woman movie came out as a blockbuster last year and made the investors realize the lucrative market potential behind female superheroes. Marvel studio also planned to bring out its first female superhero led movie “Captain Marvel” in 2019. People have seen powerful, independent female superheroes fighting side by side with male superheroes on screen, not being protected or being posed as a sexual object, yet contributing to the team as a significant role. Also in the comic book, female superheroes starts to take in control of the market by having their solo comic series. This article will discuss how rise of feminism influence the portrayal of female …show more content…

The first wave feminism started at the mid 19th century and ended in the early 20th century. It mainly focused on fighting for their legal right, such as the right to vote and the right to own property (Dorey-Stein “A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism”). The first wave feminists argued that they could give the same contribution as much as men did and they deserved political powers. Unlike their desperate predecessors, the second wavers have gained equal legal rights, yet they still still faced discrimination in workplace, and suffered from social issues such as domestic violence and rape due to their “vulnerable female identity” (Dorey-Stein “A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism”). The phase started from 1960s and ended around 1980s. The controversies about the second wave feminism is that they often presented as “victims” and their ideas would be often seen as “anti-male, anti-sex and anti- femininity” (Snyder 179). The racially restricted representatives of the second wavers is another problem. Just like the first wave, the second wavers were always white, middle class women who were well educated (Snyder 180). Despite all the controversial comments about the second wave, it eventually established the basis of the third wave feminism. The third wave feminism is clearly influenced by other civil rights movement …show more content…

The idea of girl power is emphasized by the third wavers who believes in female empowerment to encourage girls to redefine, recreate what means to be girls and to “accomplish in a circumstance that they previously were denied” (Kabeer, 24). The creation of A-Force redefined the composition of superpower teams with all female members attending the Secret War, 2015. It challenged the authority of patriarchy and broke the troupes of the female characters that used to be simply divided into “good girls” (Carol Danvers) and “bad girls” (Harley Quinn). A-Force contains all different female character with distinct personalities, such as Lady Loki (Loki in female form), Dazzler, America Chavez andNico Minoru (Bennett, Wilson and Molina A-Force vol. 2 #1). The team leader She-Hulk was created in previous comics plot in the 80s, “addressing and criticizing the second feminism”. The constant conflict between She-Hulk and other younger team members reflects the “generational issues” between the second and third wave feminists, demonstrating different interpretations of girl power (Snyder 177). As more female characters challenged patriarchy in the world of comics, female comic artists also earned their own place in the industry. According to Curtis and Cardo, there is “a significant increase in the number of women writing and drawing

More about Rise Of Feminism's Effect On Depiction Of Female Superheroes

Open Document