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Batwomen diaries
By Adam Goldstein
goldstea@mscd.edu

Illustration by Joe Nguyen • nguyejos@mscd.edu

Holy inequality, Batman!

According to Cosmo Felton, Batman’s oldest foe is not the Joker or the Penguin, but sexism, both overt and subtle.

On Oct. 9 the Metro honor student delivered a lecture titled No Place For a Girl: Women in Batman Comics from 1940 to Present.

The lecture drew from Felton’s senior honors thesis, which tracks the depiction of females in Batman comic books and relates it to social trends.

From portrayals of characters such as Catwoman and Batgirl during the ‘40s and ‘50s, to modern incarnations of the same characters, Felton traced the treatment of female characters in the comics and tied these trends to their cultural context.

Fulton, a senior and a member of the Phi Alpha Theta honor society, presentd excerpts from his thesis even as he highlighted Metro’s academic resources.

Fulton’s presentation pointed to a trend toward empowerment in the comics’ depiction of women, although familiar feminine stereotypes remain.

In a four-page layout from 2004’s All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder series, for example, reporter Vicki Vale is shown lounging in her apartment dressed in skimpy lingerie.

Despite such trends, Fulton sees these types of depictions changing as editors, authors and publishers seek to widen their audiences.

“They are really trying to cater to women,” he said. “One of the ways to do that is to introduce strong characters they can really empathize with … [This] keeps it toward more equal status of strong women and men.”

When Catwoman, Batwoman and Batgirl first appeared in the 1940s, they were simply secondary. Obsessed with wooing the caped crusader and his sidekick, these characters served as vapid and giggly background characters. Fulton quoted the DC Comics Editorial Policy Code of the 1940s, which mandated that female characters should be “secondary in importance, and should be drawn realistically, without exaggeration of feminine physical qualities.”

As social mores transformed and societal standards changed, the artwork of Batman followed suit. Concurrent with the burgeoning social movements of the ‘60s, female characters began to find more freedom and independence. The trend continued throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, as familiar characters gained more authority and strength in new incarnations.

The event was sponsored by Metro’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, an international historical honor society that presents lectures by international historians, Metro faculty and students.

“I try very hard to get my students involved,” said Laura McCall, Metro’s faculty sponsor of the honor society. “[It shows] the caliber of the Metropolitan State College student. They are really first-rate.”

For students bound for a master’s degree, the lectures provide apt preparation for graduate school.

“This is really good practice for thesis defense, because you have a chance to talk about your idea and streamline it,” said Jennifer Goodland, Metro president of Phi Alpha Theta. “When people ask questions, you’re already anticipating the sorts of challenges you might find.”