SJ4110 Feminism in Comics--Assignment 1

[Erika]

Discuss the role of women in the comics industry. Consider the differences between large publishers, small/indie publishers, and self publishers/webcomics. What challenges do female creators face, and how has the industry changed over time in regards to women reading and creating comics.

This is a short answer assignment.

[rypperd0c]

This is an interesting topic. Not being deeply involved in comics in any way, I have little to offer to the conversation. I will say that now is an exciting time for being any kind of story teller, thanks to the power of the internet. Because with the modern medium it gives us anybody with a story to tell has the chance to find and audience. I will, at this time, refer you to the webcomic "The Devil's Panties" thedevilspanties.com (it's not satanic porn) A webcomic by a female artist/creator, whee she gets to express herself, and her feelings about life, and does this with a mostly female cast of characters. Other examples of this opportunity include Waspi Square and Girls with slingshots.

For the more traditional comic production, I cannot imagine any of these women being able to secure a publisher. The "comic industry" has a proven formula for making money, and being focusing on most issues of women really have little place in their equation, except as a plot filler. While women are reading more comics than in the past, and the publishers would love to get their money, this is only resulting in small changes in the product coming out.

For example..... ""Oh my god, a woman is going to be Thor?!?""

this is not going to be a movement forward for equal rights or recognition.

[Kashiro]

Like the rest of the western world, the rights of women have come leaps and bounds since the inception of modern comics. Women in comics have gone from the damsel in distress/plot device (i.e. original Sue Richards) to characters that can more than hold their own (i.e. modern Sue Richards). This is also reflected in the role of women in the creation of comics, in that they've come a long way, but there's still a long way to go, and some places don't even seem to be trying. The bigger publishers are less likely to employ/support women in their teams/companies, as they are a male-dominated field and as a rule male dominated fields believe that the reason there's less females in the field is because
"women don't like it" or something of that ilk, compared to maybe wondering if whether it's to do with the attitude of the industry. Small and/or indie publishers have this problem less, as the less history/hierarchy there is, the better reception to women in comics there is. Which brings me to self-publishers/webcomics. This is place where the numbers don't matter, because if you disagree with what they're saying, you can literally make a comic and contest their claims directly. And it's rather hard to try and bar entry into the world of web-comics as all you need is patience, perseverance, a website, drawing/writing capabilities optional (see: Sonichu). Of course, good writing and good artwork do make good web comics, but it is possible to do without either and be successful and still good (see: Cyanide and Happiness). Now, female creators have to contend with decades upon decades of stereotypes and male inclusivity to reach out to a market. And the comics have changed (or are at least trying to) to acknowledge the female readers. This is most obviously shown in the objectification of women in earlier comics, and attempts to include female empowerment in comics (To see examples where the empowerment was completely misguided/a total failure, see Starfire in the New 52). Still, comics have a long way to go in dispelling the 'boy's club' mentality that is ingrained in major comic culture (see: the concept of 'fake geek girls'), but we're getting there.




I hope.

[Twitch]

Remember ye old Victorian days when women published under a male pen-name? Well, sometimes I think we've never shaken that mentality. When people think of famous female author's, names like Dorthy Sayers, Harriet Stowe, and Jane Austin come to mind. Thanks to education force-feeding us the 'classics,' women writers equal boring to a young kid.

In large publishing houses, marketability plays as big a role as the story itself. People judge books by the covers and part of that is the author's name. Somehow people assume personality/ethnicity based on name. Try this one, Jezebel. Would you buy a shojo highschool story from someone with the name of Israel's most notorious queen? There is a long history of names being tailored to fit the genre image of the story. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien sounds grander than Lord of the Rings by Ronald 'Tollers' Tolkien (Tollers was an actual nickname of he had.) Will an unknown name like Daisy McQueen sell many Batman comics? Until people stop thinking 'guys are better at comics,' the large publishing houses will always have a glass ceiling for women and people with the wrong type of name.

To my mind, small and self publishers prove that women perfectly capable of making good stories that sell. The large publish houses will pick up more female talent when it's clear there's money to be made. Another factor that will increase the number of mainstream women comic creators is audience demographics. As a greater variety of people read comics, the expectations for the genre image will change.

In conclusion, I think that the glass ceiling will for women in comic isn't static. It all boils down to the cultural prejudices. As those prejudices change, the ceiling will come and go. Will it ever be gone for good? Probably not, humans of both sexes are stupid that way.