Friday, March 30, 2007

Amy Reads the Week (of March 30th, 2007)

Super Spectacular Women’s History Month Edition #5!

Often in our pop cultures, Gentle Reader, there is a dichotomous presentation of Woman offered; Madonna or Magdalene, Pure or Sexy, Good Girl or Bad Girl, Woman is often one or the other, but rarely, if ever, both. The Good Girl is so very, very good, and the Bad Girl? Well, she’s usually better. Both have sex appeal in their own right, both are desirous to those-who-like-women, and both can tread, just a toe or two, on The Other Side.

Because we so very love when our Good Girls go A Little Bad, or our Bad Girls have that ever-flaunted Heart o’Gold, or when we see a Bad Girl vulnerable and a Good Girl sexy. It seems—just seems, Gentle Reader!—that we like our dichotomies because they offer the chance to be something other than a stereotype.

This is, of course, the moment when the non-stereotype *becomes* the stereotype. That is to say, when Sandy in Grease puts on the leather pants, she’s not *really* a Good Girl Gone Bad, but rather, the Good Girl proving that she can, if Danny so desires, be A Little Bad. Or when Faith cries in Angel’s arms, telling him that she is Nothing At All, it’s not *really* a Bad Girl Gone Good, but rather, the Bad Girl proving that she does, deep down inside, want to be loved. The Good Girl’s Sexiness, and the Bad Girl’s Vulnerability, then, become part of the very definitions of these two types, and therefore are wrapped up in the very stereotype laid out for them in the first place.

Part of our desire for these stereotypes is, of course, our desire to fix things or sully them, our desire to Reform the Rake or Uncross Crossed Legs, our desire to be The One who will change things, for a little Good, or a little Bad. But most importantly, these two stereotypes of female characters, more often than not, demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of women’s power over their own bodies. That is to say, part of the Madonna/Magdalene stereotype is the firm desire to see women either as virginal or fallen, but rarely in charge of their own sexuality.

Our popular culture representations of women’s sexuality are troubling, at least, and Quite Frightening, at worst. Gallons of ink, both literal and cyber, have been spilled over the (Sexy) Woman Question in various media, and We, None of Us, can come to a consensus. Sexy, demeaning, outlandish, uncomfortable, ridiculous, beautiful, all of these words and more have been used to describe the costumes of various comic book characters, of television stars, of video game characters.

Wonder Woman, for example, wears spankies and a bustier, but I certainly would never call her outfit outlandish. She is, of course, very firmly in the Good Girl Camp, as she does, after all, come from an Entire Island Of Women (and no men). Catwoman, on the other hand, covers her entire body, from neck to toes, and still, there is no denying the skintight fantasy of her (literal) Catsuit. Then, of course, Catwoman is very firmly in the Bad Girl Camp, an ex-prostitute, no less, who has no qualms about her own sexuality. At all. Buffy often Slayed Vampires in heels, leather pants, and tank tops, but since she was a Good Girl, those outfits seemed fine, while Faith, the Bad Girl of All Bad Girl Slayers, Slayed in the same, and made it seem overtly sexual.

I work on fashion, Gentle Reader, in my Academic Life, and while the fashion I study is of the decidedly Bustled and Crinolined variety, I do occasionally foray into twentieth-century discussions. I pay particular attention to discussions of clothing—or lack thereof—in the Comic Book Universe, because more often than not, the discussion boils down to a Dichotomy of Its Own: “it’s just a comic book” versus “it’s never ‘just a comic book.’”

As a concluding thought in my month-long Women’s History Month Edition of this column, I’d like to point out this very thought that has haunted me for Some Time Now and is, in fact, the very reason I began this blog in the first place: the idea that Things Don’t Matter if those Things occur in popular culture. It just isn’t so, Friends, and here’s why.

Popular Culture reflects the desires, and fears, of the society in which it exists.

It’s why Wonder Woman and Superman fight off Nazis in the 1940s, why we saw so many movies about the dangers of genetic testing a few years back, why since 9/11 America has had a wealth of film and television about superheroes. It’s why teenagers are punished in horror movies for having sex, why spy movies became so popular during the height of the Cold War, why the Geek gets the Girl, always. Even farther and even faster, it’s why Stepmothers are the Bad Guys in fairy tales, why Cinderella becomes a Princess, why Children should never wander into Dark Woods alone.

It’s why the Good Girl, if she Stays Good, will get the Guy, why the Bad Girl can be reformed, and usually through Death.

All of these desires and fears are represented through familiar storylines, yes, and also, through familiar images, and symbols, and tropes. White for purity, water for birth and rebirth, fire for cleansing, yellow for disease. If there is a killer on the loose, and you say “I’m going to go check the basement,” you know, With Great Certainty, that you will not come back alive. If there are zombies, gardening tools are Your Best Friends, and if there are vampires, images and ideas of Catholicism will save you, whether you’re Catholic or not. It’s why curly hair represents both ethnicity and danger in women, and why certain white shirts on men signal violence against women.

It’s why Wonder Woman’s lasso is golden, Catwoman’s whip is black, and Willow’s hair turns white at the end of Buffy. It’s why Faith of “Young Goodman Brown” fame wears pink ribbons. It’s why Queen Victoria only appeared in public in black, after Albert’s death. Symbols, representations, cultural tropes and motifs that are understood, digested, and *read* by All of Us.

150 years ago, Gentle Reader, Charles Dickens was just about the most popular author In The World. His books were read (and sometimes written) in installments, and he sold thousands upon thousands of copies. Everyone knew the characters, the stories, and the ideas, whether they read the books or not. That is what it means to be an author of popular culture. Today, his books are considered High Literature, and are studied in schools and universities worldwide. This Humble Author herself studies Mr. Dickens, and has yet to hear anyone tell her to stop reading, writing, and teaching his work because “it’s just a popular book.”

Let us enjoy our popular cultures, and let us take them seriously. Let us not dismiss other’s concerns over sexism, or exclusion, because we don’t care about those specific concerns. Let us remember that we, All Of Us, have concerns and joys and fears and hopes in our Popular Cultures, and desiring change for the skimpy fashions of our superheroines, or development of female characters beyond the Good Girl/Bad Girl dichotomy are concerns that are just as important as those over the revival of a character long since dead, or an unpopular retcon.

Because we love them enough to care, to discuss, to blog, to buy, to read, to rejoice, to rebuke, they’re never, ever, *ever* Just Comic Books.

I considered writing a list as a celebration of Complexity, and of Popular Culture, and as a Last Hurrah of Women’s History Month. One consideration was for a Good Girl/Bad Girl list, and another was for 31, yes, 31 Complex Female Characters of Popular Culture. But instead, I want to hear from you, Gentle Reader. Give me your lists, or your recommendations, of women in popular culture. Who am I not following, but should be? What writer am I not reading, To My Detriment? As always, I am on the lookout for A Few (More) Good Books/Films/Shows!

Above all else, enjoy the rest of Women’s History Month, this celebration of Women Remembered and Forgotten, of Heroes who Fought the Good Fight. Let's remember those who fought for our voice, even though they themselves were allowed No Voice Of Their Own. Let us remember those women, Fictional and Historical, who Defied Stereotypes, both Good and Bad, to make the world A Better Place.

For the Good Girls, and the Bad Ones, for the Good Girls Gone Bad, and Bad Girls Gone Good, and those who are Just Okay and Somewhat Middling and Quite In Charge of Their Bodies and Selves and Lives, and Those We Love To Hate and Those We Hate To Love, and just Those That We Can't Help But Love because they Defy Stereotypes and Refuse to be Pigeonholed into One-Dimensionality.

For those women, and the thousands more, We Salute You.

10 comments:

Fanboy said...

It's Women's History Month? At least I recognize this fact with one hour and 46 min. to go (my time) so I'm not a total Shrub. See, I told you I've been busy.

klio said...

One of the frustratingly hard things to do in my webcomic is to make sure all the stereotypes of popular culture that I've absorbed over the years do not leak into my own depiction of women. I'm a little chagrined that I have to approach my own writing with a paranoia that I might do something I didn't intend. I hope I've had enough examples of strong characters not just in real life but in my reading life to help me break away from the standard "types"--if not examples of strong females, then strong male characters (usually those created by woman comic creators, since I read so much work by women or women-and-men teams) so well crafted that I can think to myself, Hmm, I like so-and-so; what if my [female] character had some of those qualities...?

At least I know I'll never accidentally depict a woman fighting crime in high heels and a thong. If ever I do, there'll have to be a heckuva good reason for it....

Matthew E said...

Some notable and/or favourite girls/women in pop culture:

Babs Bunny, from the cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures. Sure, Buster Bunny shared top billing with her, and was supposed to be Bugs Bunny for a new generation, but Babs was always more interesting. Why? Because, unlike Buster, she was funny.

Eilonwy, daughter of Angharad, from Lloyd Alexander's 'Prydain Chronicles' series. Indomitable, and has a gift for simile rivalled, in fiction or reality, only by my wife.

Kade Carrion, the Queen of Air and Darkness, from Martha Wells's novel The Element of Fire. Kade has to juggle faerie and human politics, personal and familial allegiances, and the boundary between good and evil, all at the same time, in the middle of a war. Good thing she's willing to get her hands dirty.

Mulan, from the movie of the same name. She's the heroine of a Disney cartoon, and she's allowed to win the fight against the villain all by herself.

Twice.

Eliza, from Neal Stephenson's mammoth 'Baroque Cycle' trilogy. Starts off as a slave girl in the Sultan's harem, but her ambitions carry her much higher than that. She survives a lot (betrayal, smallpox, having her children stolen), but also achieves a lot, financially, personally and idealistically. And she's one half of one of the dashedest love stories in fiction.

Jane, from Michael Swanwick's novel The Iron Dragon's Daughter. Jane puts herself through seven kinds of hell and degradation, because she's keeping her eyes on the prize: it's the only way for her to get out of this bizarre world she's in. But is it real or not?

Nancy Blackett, captain of the Amazon, from Arthur Ransome's 'Swallows and Amazons' series. I mentioned her once before; she's awesome.

Lyra Belacqua, from Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' series.

Della Street, from Erle Stanley Gardner's 'Perry Mason' mysteries.

Granny Weatherwax, from several of Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' novels and short stories. I've mentioned her before, too.

Irene Adler, from Carole Nelson Douglas's Sherlock Holmes pastiches.

Flora Poste, from Stella Gibbons' novel Cold Comfort Farm. I like Flora because she's one of these characters who (like Granny Weatherwax, but in a completely different way) never gives anybody an inch.

Erin Grant, from Carl Hiaasen's novel Strip Tease. Avoid the movie; the book is funny and coherent; the movie is just all over the place.

Mara, Lady of the Acoma, from a trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. I've mentioned her before too.

Slappy Squirrel, from the cartoon Animaniacs. Octogenarian veteran of the old-time cartoon scene, and under no circumstances to be trifled with.

Escalla, Brightflower Maid, from Paul Kidd's trilogy of Greyhawk novels for TSR. Sure, Dungeons-and-Dragons-based fiction is disposable trash without any particular attempts at literary merit, but Kidd manages to elevate his material above the rest of it, with a swashbuckling attitude, strong characterization, creativity and some slapstick humour. And Escalla, the intrepid and provocative faerie sorceress, is his crowning achievement.

Amy Reads said...

Hi Mr. Fanboy,
It's Women's History Month? At least I recognize this fact with one hour and 46 min. to go (my time) so I'm not a total Shrub. See, I told you I've been busy.

Good of you to notice, even at this late hour! On behalf of women, or at least, on behalf of me, I forgive you ;)
Ciao,
Amy

Amy Reads said...

Hi Klio,
One of the frustratingly hard things to do in my webcomic is to make sure all the stereotypes of popular culture that I've absorbed over the years do not leak into my own depiction of women. I'm a little chagrined that I have to approach my own writing with a paranoia that I might do something I didn't intend. I hope I've had enough examples of strong characters not just in real life but in my reading life to help me break away from the standard "types"--if not examples of strong females, then strong male characters (usually those created by woman comic creators, since I read so much work by women or women-and-men teams) so well crafted that I can think to myself, Hmm, I like so-and-so; what if my [female] character had some of those qualities...?

What is your webcomic? Please send an address! I'd love to read it.
It's true that sometimes it's frustrating to be so self-conscious, particularly during the already-self-conscious act of writing. And honestly, sometimes certain tropes and types are *useful* in writing, especially in those moments when we break them down.

At least I know I'll never accidentally depict a woman fighting crime in high heels and a thong. If ever I do, there'll have to be a heckuva good reason for it....

Heh. I think the heckuva good reason would be quite fun indeed! There are some great uses and breakdowns of cheesecake *and* beefcake in pop culture. One of my favorite movies, for example, Galaxy Quest, has those great moments when the Commander keeps getting shirtless. Definitely using a stereotype to break one down!
Ciao,
Amy

Amy Reads said...

Hi Matthew,
I confess, I put in the plea for lists rather than a list itself with exactly you in mind.
:)

Some notable and/or favourite girls/women in pop culture:
Babs Bunny, from the cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures. Sure, Buster Bunny shared top billing with her, and was supposed to be Bugs Bunny for a new generation, but Babs was always more interesting. Why? Because, unlike Buster, she was funny.


I adore Babs! And you're right; she was definitely funnier than Buster. I would also add Dot from the Animaniacs here, too!

Eilonwy, daughter of Angharad, from Lloyd Alexander's 'Prydain Chronicles' series. Indomitable, and has a gift for simile rivalled, in fiction or reality, only by my wife.

I love that Mrs. E has a gift for simile! What a fantastic gift to have. It's been years (and we're talking maybe 20+ here) since I've read The Black Cauldron, and I confess I don't remember her.

Kade Carrion, the Queen of Air and Darkness, from Martha Wells's novel The Element of Fire. Kade has to juggle faerie and human politics, personal and familial allegiances, and the boundary between good and evil, all at the same time, in the middle of a war. Good thing she's willing to get her hands dirty.

On the list, sir! Thanks!

Mulan, from the movie of the same name. She's the heroine of a Disney cartoon, and she's allowed to win the fight against the villain all by herself.
Twice.


I haven't seen Mulan II! Good, I take it? I very much enjoyed the first one, particularly in the suggestion of romantic interest rather than actual romantic interest!

Eliza, from Neal Stephenson's mammoth 'Baroque Cycle' trilogy. Starts off as a slave girl in the Sultan's harem, but her ambitions carry her much higher than that. She survives a lot (betrayal, smallpox, having her children stolen), but also achieves a lot, financially, personally and idealistically. And she's one half of one of the dashedest love stories in fiction.

I am a *huge* fan of Stephenson, but Cryptonomicon has daunted even me, the Victorianist, used to reading 1000+ page novels. It's in the stack, though. Promise!

Jane, from Michael Swanwick's novel The Iron Dragon's Daughter. Jane puts herself through seven kinds of hell and degradation, because she's keeping her eyes on the prize: it's the only way for her to get out of this bizarre world she's in. But is it real or not?
Nancy Blackett, captain of the Amazon, from Arthur Ransome's 'Swallows and Amazons' series. I mentioned her once before; she's awesome.


You sell things very well, Matthew! Both of these are the (ever-growing) to read list.

Lyra Belacqua, from Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' series.

I *adore* Lyra! Huzzah!

Della Street, from Erle Stanley Gardner's 'Perry Mason' mysteries.
Granny Weatherwax, from several of Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' novels and short stories. I've mentioned her before, too.
Irene Adler, from Carole Nelson Douglas's Sherlock Holmes pastiches.
Flora Poste, from Stella Gibbons' novel Cold Comfort Farm. I like Flora because she's one of these characters who (like Granny Weatherwax, but in a completely different way) never gives anybody an inch.
Erin Grant, from Carl Hiaasen's novel Strip Tease. Avoid the movie; the book is funny and coherent; the movie is just all over the place.
Mara, Lady of the Acoma, from a trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. I've mentioned her before too.


All of these on the list as well. Thanks!

Slappy Squirrel, from the cartoon Animaniacs. Octogenarian veteran of the old-time cartoon scene, and under no circumstances to be trifled with.

Definitely one of my favorite characters :)

Escalla, Brightflower Maid, from Paul Kidd's trilogy of Greyhawk novels for TSR. Sure, Dungeons-and-Dragons-based fiction is disposable trash without any particular attempts at literary merit, but Kidd manages to elevate his material above the rest of it, with a swashbuckling attitude, strong characterization, creativity and some slapstick humour. And Escalla, the intrepid and provocative faerie sorceress, is his crowning achievement.

See above re: list :)
And one for you: have you read Kage Baker's Company series?
Ciao,
Amy

Matthew E said...

I read one of Kage Baker's books (quite a while ago) and it didn't knock me out; I haven't been tempted to try more.

I haven't seen Mulan II; I meant that she got to win two big fights in the first movie. Once in the snowy valley and once on the roof against the barbarian leader.

Amy Reads said...

Hi Matthew,
I read one of Kage Baker's books (quite a while ago) and it didn't knock me out; I haven't been tempted to try more.

Which book was it? Mr. Reads couldn't get into the first book, either (Garden of Iden), but once you get to the next two, Sky Coyote and Mendoza in Hollywood, everything is so very worth it. This is the Company series, of course. Great fun, great reading.

I haven't seen Mulan II; I meant that she got to win two big fights in the first movie. Once in the snowy valley and once on the roof against the barbarian leader.

Ah! Gotcha :) I personally love how they manage to defeat the bad guys by both 1) using fashion and 2) subverting gender. Quite the great viewing, actually!

And yay Disney, they're now encouraging gay couples to have Disney weddings.
Ciao,
Amy

Matthew E said...

I think it was probably the first one, but I don't remember it well enough to be sure.

Maybe I'll give 'em another shot sometime, if the first book is atypical.

Amy Reads said...

Hi Matthew,
I think it was probably the first one, but I don't remember it well enough to be sure.
Maybe I'll give 'em another shot sometime, if the first book is atypical.


I think the first book is good; I just think the rest are much, much better. I think that you, in particular, might enjoy Mendoza in Hollywood, but it's one of those series that if you don't read the first, you probably won't understand the rest of the books.
Let me know what you think!
Ciao,
Amy