Cocca, Carolyn. Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. Bloomsbury Collections. Web.

8 Apr.
2024. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781501316609>.

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 Superwomen
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by Carolyn Cocca
DOI: 10.5040/9781501316609
ISBN: 978-1-5013-1656-2(hardback), 978-1-5013-1657-9(paperback),
978-1-5013-1659-3(epdf), 978-1-5013-1658-6(epub),
978-1-5013-1660-9(xml)
Date of 2016
Publication:
Published Online: 2016-09-30
Place of New York
Publication:
Printer/Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Edition: First edition
Identifier: b-9781501316609

BOOK SUMMARY / ABSTRACT

Over the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied. Today,
a time when many of these characters are billion-dollar global commodities, there are more female superheroes, more
queer superheroes, more superheroes of color, and more disabled superheroes--but not many more.
Superwomen investigates how and why female superhero characters have become more numerous but are still not-at-
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all close to parity with their male counterparts; how and why they have become a flashpoint for struggles over gender,
sexuality, race, and disability; what has changed over time and why in terms of how these characters have been written,
drawn, marketed, purchased, read, and reacted to; and how and why representations of superheroes matter, particularly
to historically underrepresented and stereotyped groups.
Specifically, the book explores the production, representations, and receptions of prominent transmedia female
superheroes from their creation to the present: Wonder Woman; Batgirl and Oracle; Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel;
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Star Wars’ Padmé Amidala, Leia Organa, Jaina Solo, and Rey; and X-Men’s Jean Grey, Storm,
Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and Mystique. It analyzes their changing portrayals in comics, novels, television shows, and films,
as well as how cultural narratives of gender have been negotiated through female superheroes by creators, consumers,
and parent companies over the last several decades.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Front matter
Title Pages i–iv
Contents v
Acknowledgments vi–vii
List of Illustrations viii–x
Introduction: Representation Matters 1–24
“The Sexier the Outfit, the Fewer Questions Asked”: Wonder WomanGail Simone (w) and Aaron Lopresti (p), Wonder
Woman [hereafter, WW] Vol. 3 #34 (2009). Portions of this chapter appeared in Cocca 2013, 2014b. Reprinted with
permission. 25–56
“When You Go Out At Night, You Won’t Be Alone”: Batgirl(s) and Birds of PreyBrian Q. Miller (w), Lee Garbett (p),
and Trevor Scott (p) 2009, Batgirl Vol. 3 #3. Portions of this chapter appeared in Cocca 2014d. 57–86
“Somebody Has To Save Our Skins!”: Padmé Amidala, Leia Organa, and Jaina Solo in Star WarsPrincess Leia Organa
in Star Wars: A New Hope, written and directed by George Lucas, 1977. 87–120
X-Women“My name is Ororo Munroe. My name is Ororo Iqadi T’Challa. I am a woman, a mutant, a thief, an X-Man,
a lover, a wife, a queen. I am all these things. I am Storm, and for me, there are no such things as limits” (Christopher
 Yost (w) and Diogenes Neves (p) 2009, X-Men: Worlds Apart #4). Portions of this chapter appeared in Cocca 2016.
Reprinted with permission. 121–156
“Slayers. Every One of Us”: Buffy the Vampire SlayerBuffy says this to a host of “potential” slayers, about girls all
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over the world (Joss Whedon 2003, “Chosen,” [S07E22]). Portions of this chapter appeared in Cocca 2003, 2014b.
Reprinted with permission. 157–182
“Part of Something Bigger”: Captain Marvel(s) and Ms. Marvel(s)This phrase repeats at least three times in Captain
Marvel and Ms. Marvel stories. It is in editor Steve Wacker’s letter in the back of Captain Marvel #1. It is stated by
Spider-Woman Jessica Drew to Captain Marvel in Avengers Enemy Within #1. And it is thought by Ms. Marvel Kamala
Khan in Ms. Marvel #2. 183–214
Conclusion: Gender, Power, and Representation 215–222
Back matter
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