RECLAIMING SPACE: HOW WOMEN ARE USING

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL COMICS TO RESIST MICROAGGRESSIONS

WITHIN THE COMIC BOOK FAN COMMUNITY

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A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

San Diego State University

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

in

Women's Studies

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by

Lorena Gonzalez

Summer 2015

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Copyright © 2015 by Lorena Gonzalez All Rights Reserved

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this thesis to all of those who supported me through this process. Additionally, I dedicate this thesis to Noelle Stevenson, Paige Hall, and Meghan Lovell for inspiring me and for sharing their experiences and art with the world.

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ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Reclaiming Space: How Women are Using Autobiogrpahical Comics to Resist Microaggressions Within the Comic Book Fan Community by Lorena Gonzalez Master of Arts in Women's Studies San Diego State University, 2015

This thesis is an examination of the spaces available to comic book fans, the sexist experiences women face in these spaces, and the use of autobiographical webcomics as a way to share these stories online. I examine these spaces and webcomics with an intersectional approach, focusing on gender specifically, but also class and size. The primary objective is to show how these webcomics are one method of storytelling being utilized to bring attention to and resist the gender microaggressions women face within the comic book fan community. My research is significant because it contributes to the scholarship on fan cultures built around comic books by focusing on the experiences of women. It also contributes to the literature on the history of feminist art by analyzing contemporary autobiographical webcomics. The use of the Internet also adds to the research about girl and women focused spaces, since these webcomics were published online due to the fact that many female comic book fans are denied a space in comic book stores and comic book conventions. Reclaiming Space is organized into five distinct chapters. Chapter one is an introductory chapter that provides an overview of my own reasons for conducting this research. It also outlines the purpose of my research and my main research questions: Why do women turn to the Internet versus other spaces available for comic book fans? How do women share their experiences with others and what are the benefits of doing so? Chapter two provides a history of the current literature relevant to this research. It will focus on the work done about fan cultures, the history of feminist art, and the importance of girl and women focused spaces. Chapter three provides an overview of comic book stores and comic book conventions, with a focus on the sexist treatment women face in these spaces. Chapter four is an examination of the webcomics created by Noelle Stevenson, Paige Hall, and Meghan Lovell and an examination of the gender microaggressions women experience as fans. My final chapter summarizes my findings and presents possible directions this research can be taken in the future.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ABSTRACT ...... v LIST OF FIGURES ...... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 Research Questions And Theoretical Foundations ...... 2 Identity And Self-Reflexivity ...... 6 Historical Background ...... 9 Chapter Organization ...... 10 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 12 Fan Culture...... 13 Sexist Treatment of Female Fans ...... 15 Feminist Artists and Their Art ...... 17 A Brief History of Women’s Autobiographical Comics ...... 21 Girl Focused and Women Focused Spaces ...... 23 Girl Focused And Woman Focused Spaces on the Internet ...... 26 Conclusion ...... 28 3 COMIC BOOK FAN SPACES ...... 29 Comic Book Stores ...... 30 Comic Book Conventions ...... 35 The Internet ...... 39 Sharing Stories Through Art ...... 42 4 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WEBCOMICS ...... 45 Background on Autobiographical Comics ...... 45 Noelle Stevenson ...... 48

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Paige Hall ...... 54 Meghan Lovell ...... 58 Community Reaction ...... 61 Conclusion ...... 62 5 CONCLUSION ...... 64 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 67 APPENDIX COLLECTION OF FIGURES ...... 72

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LIST OF FIGURES

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Figure 1. "Fake Geek," by AfterDaylightComic, posted September 1, 2014...... 73 Figure 2. "Fake Geek Girl," by Rangely García Colón, posted December 6, 2012...... 74 Figure 3. "Comic Book Store," by Noelle Stevenson, posted February 10, 2014 ...... 75 Figure 4. "Is This What Respect Feels Like?," by Paige Hall, posted May 1, 2013 ...... 76 Figure 5. "Am I Right Ladies," by Meghan Lovell, posted November 13, 2012 ...... 77

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my family for their unconditional love and support as this project comes to an end. I am eternally grateful for your faith in my abilities and for always encouraging me to push myself. I am grateful to my incredible thesis committee. I wish to thank Irena Lara for her support and mentorship these last few years. Thank you for the talks and calming encouragement through this process. I did not imagine I would be in this place when I first took a class with you as an undergrad. I wish to thank Anh Hua and Yetta Howard as additional readers of my thesis. Thank you for your critical judgment, suggestions, and flexibility. You have all guided me to push myself and this thesis would not be what it is without your encouragement. I want to acknowledge my graduate cohort. Thank you for your constant love and support these past two years. You have all brightened my life with your energy. Thank you for the laughs, rants, and constant check-in. You all helped me grow in a number of ways and I feel lucky that I was able to go on this exciting journey with all of you.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

For many people, comic books, like other forms of entertainment, can provide an escape from everyday life. Comic books are able to transport readers to new worlds and different times, bringing the extraordinary to our own ordinary world. Indeed, as documented by several scholars, like Roger Sabin and Trina Robbins, comic books have played a significant role within U.S. society since they were first mass marketed in the 1940s. While comic books have always played a role in popular culture since then, the release of Iron Man in 2008 and the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with other comic book movies, helped solidify their spot in mainstream popular culture. With the continued expansion of these films, as well as recent television shows, like Flash, the fan culture surrounding the original material has also been pushed to the forefront. For example, San Diego Comic-Con and other similar comic book conventions have become exclusive events that sell out within an hour, with people around the world attempting to purchase tickets to attend (Weisberg). It is safe to say that we have entered a time when popular culture is being dominated by comic books and their various franchises. With the eruption of this material into mainstream popular culture, the way fans interact with one another has also changed. It is no longer embarrassing to be a comic book fan at any age. Moreover, long-held assumptions that comic book fans are only men have also been changing. Women are becoming more vocal about being fans, but they are also becoming more vocal about what that entails. Historically, the comic book community has been seen as a male dominated space and male fans have internalized that idea. As a result, numerous women have often had negative interactions with sexist men who feel entitled within this fan culture. As I have observed, many have turned to the Internet to share stories about these interactions. The Internet is used as a space for female comic book fans to share such personal stories, provide advice on how to handle these situations, and even report

2 which comic book stores should be avoided to decrease the chances of experiencing negative interactions. As I argue in my thesis, the Internet has become a safe space available for women and some women use autobiographical webcomics as one way to share these stories with others.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS The theoretical foundation for my research is based on three areas of study. The first framework is intersectional feminism, which is considering the relationship among multiple dimensions of identity and related social systems of domination in analyzing women’s experiences of oppression and privilege. It is my first category of analysis because it will assist me in addressing how gender, class, size, geographical location, and other categories of identity impact the way female fans are treated (McCall 1772). Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading theorist in intersectionality, focuses on the intersections of race and gender in order to highlight the need to account for multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed (1245). More specifically, I will be engaging the concept of microaggressions in order to make a link between social location, including the multiple social groups that make up one’s real or perceived identity, and the systems of oppression. Microagression, as outlined by Derald Wing Sue in Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation (2010), can be expressed toward any marginalized group and refers to the everyday subtle and often automatic “put-downs” and insults directed at these marginalized groups (5). In addition, I engage fan culture theory to help me investigate the way social hierarchies are created and maintained in fan communities, looking specifically at the comic book fan community. Matt Hills, a leading theorist of fan cultures, argues that “fan culture [is] not simply … a community but also … a social hierarchy where fans share a common interest while also competing over fan knowledge, access to the object of fandom, and status” (Fan Cultures 46). However, despite the level of their involvement, many women still find themselves forced to the bottom of these self-regulated hierarchies. Since they are forced to this level, they also feel as though they lack a space within the community that is truly theirs. This leads to the third theoretical foundation that will assist me in my research, which is the significance of the Internet as a platform for feminist

3 knowledge, engagement, and communication. As a feminist platform, the Internet is able to create a space where women are able to share their experiences, reinforce their shared beliefs, and implement transformative actions (Vogt and Chen 371). This research builds upon previous work, but is a unique contribution to feminist scholarship because it concentrates on how women share these stories with others, while taking an intersectional approach. Though the emphasis of the stories revolve on how their gender impacts their experiences, including a discussion about a person’s geographical and class status is also relevant because it impacts where fans are able to interact with others. This research will bring attention to autobiographical webcomics that are created by women comic book fans, and how this is one method currently being used to share their experiences as female comic book fans. All of the webcomics are autobiographical, meant to represent the artist’s personal experiences in various spaces where comic book fans gather together. The use of autobiographical webcomics is also significant because it has helped shift the idea of women’s experiences as a given to a complex construction of gendered subjectivities. It has given women a voice when they were once silenced and has connected the personal with the political (Coslett, Lury, and Summerfield 2). The webcomics can also be classified as feminist art pieces. While I will go into more detail about the definition of feminist art that I use in this research in the following chapter, these webcomics are feminist due to the personal nature of the webcomics, their discussion of the sexism faced within this fan community, as well as its form and method of distribution. In addition to analyzing some of the images that are posted online, which allow the artists to visually present their experiences to others, I will also investigate where the images are posted. Many artists use their personal websites, which allow them to interact with others, regardless of where everyone is located, and have a conversation about the webcomics, especially since so many women are able to connect and relate to the stories presented in these webcomics. I chose to research the spaces available to comic book fans because, as a fan myself, I realized that everyone’s fan experiences were different. As a woman, I had very different experiences than my male friends and when I would share my experiences with them, they did not always understand where I was coming from. I also do not personally know a lot of women who read comics, and even then I felt as though I never had the kind of relationships where I felt comfortable bringing up these sexist experiences and would often be told that I

4 was reading too much into a situation. I found myself gravitating online where these conversations were taking place. In The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire (2004), Cynthia H. Enloe discusses the concept of feminist curiosity, which is a curiosity that provokes serious questioning about the working of masculinized and feminized meanings. She elaborates on how this curiosity can lead one to pay critical attention to the things that have previously been seen as “natural” without an explanation (220). Asking feminist questions, such as where power is and how it operates, inherently questions this power (57). Without realizing it, my own background in Women’s Studies created this feminist curiosity within myself, which led me to documenting my own curiosity about the way other female comic book fans were being treated and how they navigated this space. I wanted to understand why these conversations were only taking place on the Internet, especially at a time when comic books have taken over popular culture. I wanted to explore why women were still being denied a space within the comic book community and how the Internet has helped fill the void. The main questions that drove my research were: Why do women turn to the Internet versus other spaces available for comic book fans? How do women share their experiences with others and what are the benefits of doing so? In order to answer these questions, I will need to analyze the way women are treated in these spaces that are available to comic book fans, two of which are comic book stores and comic book conventions. This will be significant because the way women are treated and excluded from these spaces will assist me in answering my first question: Why do women turn to the Internet versus other spaces for comic book fans? It will be important to outline the treatment women face in these spaces in order to understand the need for a space that they are more likely to be able to call their own. The second question I will be answering is: How do women share their experiences with others and what are the benefits of doing so? In order to do this, I will concentrate on autobiographical webcomics created by female comic book fans that depict experiences they have had with other fans. I will analyze these webcomics in order to detail what interactions are being shared. I will also be looking at the posts by the creators, to see if they had a goal in publishing these webcomics online and what the reaction has been to their work. With the increased popularity and use of the Internet, a shift has taken place online where Internet-users are no longer restricted to material that is posted and controlled by

5 larger companies or organizations. The Internet is no longer a place only for people who can afford expensive computer equipment; it has become a place where the masses can come together and communicate. As of January 2014, The Pew Research Internet Project calculated that 87% of American adults use the Internet in some capacity. Women are just as likely as men to use the Internet, with 86% of adult women using the Internet versus 87% of men (“Internet User Demographics”). In addition to this information, The Pew Research Internet Project has also realized the importance social media plays within our society. According to their research, 74% of all Internet users use a form of social media. Furthermore, women are more likely than men to use a social medial platform, with 76% of women versus 72% of men using social media (“Social Media User Demographics”). With many of these websites, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, a user is able to sign up for free and they are now in control of the content, with many posting original content online themselves. The platforms are user friendly, with help links and tutorials, and some websites, like Tumblr, thrive on original material that is posted online by the user. For my own research purposes, I plan to examine how these platforms have provided a space for women to post their own original artwork, which chronicles their experiences as comic book fans. In this research, I will be focusing on images that have been created by female fans and posted on Tumblr by the artist. Due to their popularity, many images have been reposted on various websites. In addition, some images have been used in articles that detail the experiences of female comic book fans. For example, BuzzFeed posted Noelle Stevenson’s webcomic about her experiences in comic book stores (Broderick). In fact, this is how I was introduced to and became interested in this method of storytelling, especially since I was able to connect with her story. Noelle Stevenson is the first artist I analyze in my research. She is an emerging artist and illustrator based out of Los Angeles and is well known for her original webcomic NIMONA (2015). In addition, she has become well known for the autobiographical webcomic she created about her experience in comic book stores, which I include in this research. While not the first to take this approach in order to share her story, it is one of the most well-known examples available on the Internet.

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The second artist included in my study is Paige Hall. An illustrator from Columbus, Ohio, Hall analyzes her own treatment as a fat women “cosplayer,” a combination of the words costume and play, at comic book conventions (Hall). In addition to her analysis on how women are treated in this space, she brings intersectional attention to how different bodies face different levels of scrutiny and specifically the role of size-ism in affecting women’s experiences within the comic book fan world. She, like Stevenson, concentrates on one specific space whereas the last artist I analyze takes a more universal approach to this issue. The final artist I include in my research is Meghan Lovell. She is a college student based out of Bowling Green, Kentucky and although she is still young, her webcomic, which tackles the “Fake Geek Girl” controversy, has brought her public attention (Lovell; "Video Game Mania... (Spread the Love: 1)"). Unlike Stevenson and Hall, Lovell addresses an experience that can take place even outside the spaces available for comic book fans. Her webcomic, which is more universal in that sense, speaks to the burden women face in defending their status as comic book fans.

IDENTITY AND SELF-REFLEXIVITY My own identity as a comic book fan is still a relatively new one. I only began reading comic books as an adult, and would credit the release of the film Iron Man (2008) and the continued expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with my growing interest in the original source material. Over the years, I have familiarized myself with a variety of comics or artists that friends have recommended, but in comparison to many people, I am still relatively a new fan. As a result, I believe that my experience with other fans has been impacted by this fact. My social location as a cisgender, heterosexual, working middle-class Latina woman has shaped the interactions I have with others, and so it is not surprising that the same would happen in this new social sphere. For example, being a cisgender heterosexual woman would make it easier for me to access mainstream fan culture, but I would not have the same kind of access to a queer comic book fan culture, which would then impact my research. I am a first generation American citizen, but also identify as Latina. While I am Latina, I am able to pass as “white,” due to the light color of my skin and the fact that I speak English without an

7 accent. This is important to acknowledge because of past interactions where people are surprised to find out that I am Latina and I am able to notice subtle changes in how they act towards me and around me after their discovery. This is one example of a microinsult, which can be an unconscious change in behavior that nonetheless communicates a negative racial insult (Sue 5). My socio-economic status has allowed me to interact with fans in a variety of places, like comic book stores locally, as well as comic book conventions in San Diego (2005-2015) and Anaheim (2013-2015). In addition to the expensive tickets needed to attend these events, the cost of a hotel room, food, and transportation do not prevent me from attending as a result of my class status. Within the comic book community, I can be described as a fan and I feel that I am slowly becoming more involved within the fandom community. According to Mark Duffett, there is a difference between a casual fan and someone who belongs in a fandom. In Understanding Fandom, Duffett explains that there is a continuum, which is dependent on community participation, consumption of publicity material, and self-identification. Beyond that, there are also differences between minimal and extreme fans, but those labels are often self-regulated (44). I do read a number of different comic books, mostly in the superhero genre, and I often follow the Marvel movies as to which comic book storyline I should read next. I attend different comic book conventions, like San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon, which give me the opportunity to find new material, talk to other fans, and even talk to some comic book artists. Recently, I’ve also joined an online community where many of us are comic book fans, in addition to other things, and we often discuss different storylines, the way they are depicted on film or television, and where we want the characters to go. While I do have this community, I still hold back when it comes to sharing personal stories, especially since I am only one of two women in the group of fifteen. I am able to bring in my opinions and often find allies in my group when I make critiques about how female characters are represented, but I still have not reached the point where I can fully express myself about interactions I may have with others. I may have been a casual fan in the beginning, but now I can safely say that I have become a member of this community and identify as such. Even though I do read more mainstream comics, I still am new to the comic book world and have asked friends that grew up reading comics which ones they would

8 recommend. After telling them what I’ve read in the past, I’ve been told that I need to “expand my nerd consumption” in a condescending tone. Being new to the world, it is obviously impossible to read everything, and it is still impossible even if someone has been a lifetime fan, yet reactions like this have made me aware of whom I talk to about comic books. Rather than being helpful, I am shamed for not reading the “right” comic books or not reading enough in a four-year span. It also made me conscious of some of the ingrained attitudes in some fans, as a result of how the fan culture has been created and sustained. This is one of the reasons I turned to the Internet in the beginning, because I could either find the information on my own without having to deal with these attitudes or I could vet a person beforehand and then begin a conversation with someone with whom I feel comfortable. Interactions like this led me to question why my friends felt that it was acceptable to make comments like this. In their mind they may have believed they were making a joke or were trying to make suggestions about which comic books I should read next, but in reality this microaggression was based on the sexist stereotype about women and the comic books they read. In their minds, I needed to break this stereotype, but the comment was still based in this idea. These interactions led to my own feminist curiosity about other women who read comic books. I knew I was not the only one being treated like this, but I wanted to know more about how others were reacting to and resisting sexist experiences like these. I know that my own identity as an insider in this community, being a comic book fan, has an impact on how I analyze the spaces and autobiographical webcomics being included in my research. Feminist methodology has used the term reflexivity to denote the process whereby the researcher considers his or her role in the research process and the findings (Ekinsmyth 178). As a result of being an insider in the community being highlighted in my research, I feel as though I am able to read and analyze the webcomics differently than someone who has not been in this community. Living experiences similar to the ones included in my research will have an impact on my findings, but by maintaining the focus on the analysis of the webcomics, I am still able to remain partially objective since it is impossible to completely detach myself from the research.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The fan culture space surrounding comic books has often revolved around the idea that comic books were for men, by men, and about men. When you consider some of the most well-known comic book characters, characters like Batman, Superman, and Captain America jump out almost immediately. When we look at the people who consume these storylines, comic book fans have often had to face certain stereotypes that are usually perpetuated by the media. Many people might have the idea that comic book fans are men, usually socially awkward, especially around women, are only friends with other comic book fans, and spend most of their time either at home reading or at comic book stores with other fans. Examples of this can be seen with the main cast of the popular television show The Big Bang Theory: the four main male characters are socially awkward and spend most of their spare time in comic book stores or with other comic book fans. While this is the idea that dominant society has presented us, there are more people that defy this idea of the stereotypical fan. As I elaborate in my literature review, there is a long history of women creating comics themselves and challenging the way in which the mainstream comic book industry has treated women. Women like Trina Robbins and Hillary Chute are just two examples. Women have always been fans of various comic books, even if society has chosen to ignore their involvement. Because some women felt that the mainstream comic book industry lacked female characters or other storylines that they felt were important, they took it upon themselves to create what they felt was missing. Trina Robbins has documented the involvement of women in the comic book industry as well as with underground comix,1 in The Great Women Cartoonists (2001) and From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of ♀ Comics From Teens to Zines (1999). In the 1970s, many women began to create their own comic books that were a direct reaction to the mainstream and underground images that were being

1 The Underground Comix Movement of the 1960s and 1970s arose in defiance of the Comic Code Authority. This movement gave rise to the idea of comics as being a personal means of exploration and self-expression (Hatfield ix). Many underground comic books began to call themselves “comix” as a way to separate themselves from mainstream comics that were being published by companies like Marvel and DC. With its distribution network, the Underground Comix industry has never been as well organized as the mainstream comic book industry (Kaplan 138).

10 created by male artists (Golomb 23). Women have only continued and furthered their involvement. Indeed, women like Gail Simone and Sana Amanat have more recently attempted to change the current mainstream landscape by becoming writers and editors for some of the largest comic book publishers (Abad-Santos). Women have also used the Internet when they felt they were denied a space within this community. Many have used the various websites to connect with other fans, which allows them to bypass location and financial issues that may prevent them from finding other likeminded people. Others use their own personal websites or webpages as a way to share their own stories, since this is sometimes the only space available to them. Many have posted videos or have written their own story on some of these websites. However, this research will concentrate on the original images some fans create that chronicle these experiences. These images avoid some issues that can be brought up, like having the time or ability to sit down to watch a five-minute video or a language barrier when reading some of the personal stories. This research is meant to highlight one method that women have turned to, while also acknowledging the previous work done by other women.

CHAPTER ORGANIZATION This thesis is organized into five distinct chapters. In this introductory chapter I provided an overview and the significance of the research. I also outlined my own personal connection to the material. Chapter two provides a history of the current literature relevant to this research. It will focus on the work done about fan cultures, the experiences of women in these spaces, and the need for women to carve out a space for themselves. The third chapter will provide an overview of the spaces available to comic book fans, with an examination of how women receive sexist treatment in these spaces. In the fourth chapter, I introduce the images being analyzed and discuss how creating autobiographical webcomics is one method that some women choose in order to share their stories about their experiences as female comic book fans. The final chapter will be where I draw my final conclusions. I will look at the possible future of this work and the overall impact it may have. In this first chapter I have presented an introduction to my thesis project. I have outlined my own connection and interest in the research, a description of how fan cultures are created and maintained, and how women are attempting to change the current comic book

11 fan culture and have turned to the Internet as a way to do so. Additionally, I have shown how there is a history of women bringing attention to their experiences as female fans and the various ways they have done this. I have also presented the framework that will be used to contextualize this research. Combining an intersectional feminist framework with fan culture theory and the use of the Internet as a feminist platform will allow me to address the issues of space within a community and the factors that impact the experiences of women comic book fans. In the following chapter, I will present my literature review. This will present a history of the work done surrounding fan culture, the experiences of female fans, and the importance of girl and woman focused spaces.

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

The objective of this qualitative study is to investigate the experiences of female comic book fans and to argue that some women use autobiographical webcomics as a way to share their experiences related to sexist comic book culture with other women in the Internet. This method can be interpreted as a creative and empowering tool of feminist resistance to the male dominated comic book fandom. To conduct this study, a review of recent literature on the topics connected to my research is necessary. This review of literature concentrates on three themes: fan culture and the sexist treatment of female fans; feminist art, with a focus on the history of women’s autobiographic comics; and girl focused spaces, specifically on the Internet. Each subtopic is important for understanding my main thesis topic and the two research questions my thesis addresses: Why do women turn to the Internet versus other spaces available for comic book fans? How do women share their experiences with others and what are the benefits of doing so? Each of these subtopics also provides a broader conceptual framework that is necessary for my research. It provides a historical background to the development and continuation of the three fields by presenting how the fields have grown in their analytical approaches, by taking an intersectional approach to the topic over time. Presenting this framework allows me to show how my own research is connected to, yet distinct from, the literature that has already been written. In my own work, I concentrate on the experiences of female comic book fans within the larger comic book fan community. I also examine how the spaces available for all comic book fans impact the experiences of women and why many of them turn to the Internet as a way to create a space for themselves, where they feel more confident about voicing their views and experiences about a male-dominated comic book culture. I then turn to analyzing autobiographical webcomics created by female comic book fans as a way to share these

13 stories. The following research comes from different fields of study, however they all tie together in my own work.

FAN CULTURE Even though academic literature about fan cultures is relatively new, recently there has been an influx in information about this field. As part of this growth, the scope of fandoms being studied is also increasing. Rather than taking a broad approach to the subject, more academics have narrowed their focus into specific genres, films, television series, and comics/manga (Hills, Fan Cultures x). In addition, there has also been an inordinate amount of research written about the terms fan, fandoms, and fan cultures, with a number of different researchers creating strict definitions and even proposing a scale in which people can be placed depending on their level of interest and involvement in the fandom (Hills, Fan Cultures xi). Each new piece written in this burgeoning field has not only added information that has allowed the field to grow, but it has also complicated how fan cultures are seen by academics since there is still some disagreement about what fan culture specifically entails. One researcher that has influenced the work of fan culture theorists is Pierre Bourdieu. His work is noteworthy because he analyzes how fans behave and puts that behavior in the larger context of social hierarchies that are created within these fan cultures. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (1984) and The Logic of Practice (1990) both record social behaviors in this larger framework. While Bourdieu presents his findings from surveys that analyzed people’s tastes and preferences in Distinction, the work does revolve around the French bourgeoisie and the various social factors that determine a person’s decisions about matters of taste. In addition, he proposes an economic metaphor that many fan culture theorists have applied in their own research. Numerous fan cultural theorists have used this metaphor in their own work. Bourdieu’s model can be mapped out on a two-dimensional map, with the vertical axis recording the amount of capital possessed, economic and cultural, and the horizontal axis recording the type of capital, economic and cultural (Fiske 31). John Fiske, author of “The Cultural Economy of Fandom,” bases his argument on this model, which is that fan culture is a form of popular culture that echoes other institutions of official culture. Bourdieu’s model allows Fiske to map out a fan’s level of involvement and consumption of popular culture

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(33). Jeffrey A. Brown, another fan cultural theorist, applies Bourdieu’s model in his work in “Comic Book Fandom and Cultural Capital.” Brown argues that people disempowered by sex, ethnicity, and age would fall in the southern hemisphere of the graph and that members of fan communities are able to accumulate social status, since the rules for gaining prestige within the general culture are mimicked by popular culture (14-15). While these are just two examples of how Bourdieu’s model has been applied, many other theorists have relied on the base model with slight adjustments in order to take into account other identity factors and their impact on a person’s placement within this hierarchy. The metaphor presents four different levels within this social hierarchy, which are dependent on a fan’s level of consumption of the material and overall involvement in the fandom (Hills, Fan Cultures 47-48). While it does help provide a framework as to how a fan’s level of involvement can determine their place within the fandom, the model concentrates more on the economic factors that can either improve or worsen a fan’s status. It does not take into account other factors, like a person’s gender, sexual orientation, or race, and how these intersecting factors can also determine a fan’s place within fandoms. Matt Hills, another theorist who has pulled from the work of Bourdieu, has also written a considerable amount on the topic of fan cultures. Fan Cultures (2002) and How To Do Things With Cultural Theory (2005) are two of the most relevant books he has written on this subject. These take a broader approach to the topic, but he has also written books that take a more narrow approach and concentrate on specific fandoms, like those surrounding Blade Runner and Doctor Who, in Blade Runner (2011) and Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating Doctor Who in the Twenty-first Century (2010), respectively. Fan Cultures presents the academic work that has already been written about fan culture and builds upon that work. For example, in addition to presenting the social hierarchy metaphor introduced by Bourdieu, Hill also acknowledges how basic terms, like fandoms, have been contested both in the academic world as well as outside the academy (xi, 47). He also examines how hierarchies are created, the role of consumerism, and the emotional experiences of fans (27, 46, 90). How To Do Things With Cultural Theory builds on his earlier work but also provides guidelines about how to approach the works that have been written about this topic and how to apply them (3). His fourth chapter “Using Cultural Theory” presents some recommendations that are meant to assist anyone when applying cultural theory. For

15 example, he suggests “strategic-tactical readings can focus on indications of the theorist’s affiliations and group membership” (78). This is meant to help contextualize the current theory within cultural theory’s intertextual matrix (78). Another recommendation is “strategic-tactical readings can focus on the limits to a theoretical explanation” (85). In other words, consider what the theory is not considering or saying. Since a theory cannot be applied to every situation or example, consider the limitations of the theory and why it is not always applicable. While Hill’s work is vital, as a result of his significant contributions to this field, Mark Duffett has continued to build upon the research that already exists by bringing identity into the discussion. Duffett’s Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture, first released in 2013, is one of the more recent works published on this subject. Duffett not only provides a thorough introduction to the field of fan culture, he also considers how a person’s gender and sexual orientation can impact a person’s experience within various fandoms. Concentrating on gender specifically, he relies on Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It (2010) by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea in order to show how women can have a different experience within a fandom, especially when the fandom is often seen as being an “Old Boys Club” (197). Duffett also touches on how certain fan communities have become a space for gay fans, since it allows these fans to feel accepted and make connections with other gay fans. This however seems to be limited to specific fandoms, since not all shows or films are always so eager to include a gay character, such as Star Trek, which led fans to start a letter writing campaign demanding to have a gay man on the show (201).

SEXIST TREATMENT OF FEMALE FANS One specific area of study within the larger context of fan cultures is investigating the way female fans are treated by male fans. This is an area that has been addressed by both Hills and Duffett, especially in their critiques of Bourdieu’s model of how the hierarchies in fan cultures are created since his model is very dependent on class identity. However, while they have acknowledged that a person’s social location can play a role in determining their experiences within these fandoms, they themselves have not gone in depth with the issue of unequal treatment between fans. Researchers, such as Thomas and O’Shea, Hills, and

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Duffett, have provided an in depth analysis on how one’s sexual orientation and gender influence the ways they are treated in fandoms, especially how targeted or subordinate sexual orientation and gender group members are treated by dominant group members. For the purpose of this research, I am concentrating on the experiences of female fans and how being a woman rather than a man can lead to experiences laden with sexism and inequality. In order to understand why women have a different experience than men, it is important to understand the history of fan cultures surrounding comic books. Roger Sabin, author of Adult Comics: An Introduction (1993), analyzes the history of comics, from the end of the 19th century to the end of the early 1990s, and how larger world events played an impact on readership and the comics being created. For example, when discussing the underground comics movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Sabin brings in America’s involvement in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement and argues that these social and cultural movements helped make the underground comics movement possible (36). Sabin analyzes the cultural landscape and its impact on the comics that were being created at the time. In addition, he takes an international approach and explores comics from around the world, including the United States, Britain, and Japan. While Sabin provides this overview of a male-centered comic book history, he also acknowledges the role women have played within the industry, as well as various struggles they have faced. For example, while the mainstream press saw the visibility of female comic book creators as a sign of fundamental change in the industry during the 1980s, tokenism played a factor in their employment. At the same time more women were being hired, many of the comics tended towards the glorification of violence against women (233). On the surface, it appeared as though the industry was undergoing a shift in how women were viewed, but in reality, they were hired in order to promote an image of equality. Looking more specifically at the experiences of female fans, Matthew J. Pustz analyzes how comic book stores themselves create this dominant cultural idea that comics are for men. In Comic Book Culture: Fanboys and True Believers (2000), he investigates the cultures surrounding comic books. More specifically, Pustz investigates how comic book stores create an atmosphere that is unwelcoming to women. In addition to the various posters that objectify women and glorify violence, women do not always find comics that are geared toward them. While there are women who do read more mainstream comics, finding a comic

17 that is for women by women is difficult in these settings. Adding to that challenge, Pustz argues that the men themselves make women feel uncomfortable, since they are forced to deal with their stares of surprise at simply seeing a woman in the store (8). In combination with other works, Pustz’ analysis of the comic book world imparts the fact that women are not welcome in this industry, neither as creators or fans.

FEMINIST ARTISTS AND THEIR ART In this section, I briefly explore the history of feminist art and how the larger feminist movement influenced feminist artists and the work they created. In order to understand the cultural and political significance of the feminist images that I am analyzing in my research, it is important to first understand what feminist art is and what it is attempting to accomplish. While there are multiple and competing ideas about what feminist art is, I am pulling from specific art historians in order to provide a definition I will work with in my research. This definition will also link back to some of the concepts brought up by feminist curiosity, specifically related to the significance of reading the masculinized and feminized meanings within systems of inequality that women live within. Many scholars have shown how the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s influenced feminist art. Most of the theorists focus on the United States, but some do include information about feminist artists around the world. This international approach is meant to show how the feminist art movement, while concentrated in the United States, wanted to bring attention to international artists who were also largely ignored by the art world. In “Frontiers in Feminist Art History” for example, Jill Fields argues that the feminist art movement developed alongside the larger women’s rights movement because female artists faced discrimination in their careers and the art they created was often not accepted (2). This strengthens Michelle Moravec’s argument in “Towards a History of Feminism, Art, and Social Movements in the United States,” which claims that the larger woman’s movement and its push for empowerment had a direct influence on female artists who identified as feminist, both in the art they created as well as whose art was being displayed and where (23-24). The feminist art movement was a way to legitimize the art being created by women of all ethnicities and “races” around the world in a male dominated cultural sphere, with a focus on art created by women of color.

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In addition to bringing attention to art being created by women, feminist art is also unique due to the meanings placed in the images by the artists. Peg Brand outlines what makes feminist art different from other art forms in “Feminist Art Epistemologies: Understanding Feminist Art.” Most often than not, feminist art is created by women and is a way to express personal experiences and firsthand knowledge, which is meant to bring attention to the lives and experiences of women. Feminist art was often an explicit form of visually resisting the sexism experienced by women. Such art also has a deeper contextual meaning within the broader society. For Brand, as for many other historians, feminist art can also be considered political art because of the messages the art is attempting to convey. The art was challenging historically traditional depictions of women by male artists, such as stereotypical images of women as purely sexual, passive and dependent beings. In addition, feminist art was often identifiable by their female-centered subject matter and empathy for women’s lived experiences (167-168). Jill Fields also supports this argument when she argues feminist art is meant to depict the array of women’s experiences, which was often discouraged and disparaged by the larger male-centered art world. New art forms were being created to bring in these experiences and to critique the gendered restraints on women. Indeed, along with gender as a primary category of analysis, feminist activists, scholars, and artists engaged the female body to analyze structures of power, sexuality, and resistance (2, 4, 6). Some third wave feminists also hoped to reenergize the movement by bringing in an intersectional approach and include conversations about race and class, in addition to the work surrounding gender and sexual identity (8). For example, in addition to portraying women’s experience, artists “critique[d] a range of gendered restraints on women’s agency from trivialization to violence” (2). The feminist art movement also brought attention to the kind of art that was being recognized, appreciated, and valued by the art world. For the most part, the art that is renowned is the work of white male artists, which severely limits the art that is being seen. The Art Workers Coalition (AWC), an organization created during the beginning of the feminist art movement, attempted to move beyond this limited scope of whose art should be recognized. In “The Demands of the Art Workers Coalition to the Galleries,” finalized in June of 1969, the AWC demanded that art galleries stop ignoring the art created by women across races and ethnicities and men of color (Moravec 24). The AWC argued from an intersectional approach and condemned the art

19 world as “profiteers of the systematic exploitation of culture . . . guilty of manipulating and exploiting all artists; at the same time as they maintain an elitist art world that ignores black, Puerto Rican, and women artists” (24). According to Michelle Meagher, WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution was an exhibition with a similar goal and was meant to draw attention to the variety of work that had been produced between 1968 and 1980 under the banner of feminism. It included the art of 120 artists around the world, including Latin America and Asia, alongside those from Western Europe and the United States. The installation challenged the geographical boundaries that often limited whose art was being seen to primarily the work of white “first world” artists (300). The literature regarding the history and goals of feminist art directly ties in with the art that I will be analyzing in my own research. All of the images are based on experiences female comic book fans have gone through in male-dominated comic book fandom spaces and the art is meant to bring attention to the unjust issues women face. In addition, akin to earlier feminist artists who challenged the exclusivity and lack of access in the art world, these artists are using blogs and websites that are available to anyone with Internet access. This commitment to widely sharing their art can also be interpreted as feminist. The artists intentionally use the Internet as a way to ensure their art is seen and it removes the obstacles of who can see their art, like geographical or financial barriers. Michelle Meagher’s “Telling Stories About Feminist Art” is another source that analyzes the history of feminist art. This work considers the dominant narratives that surround and structure the feminist art field (297). It also provides a much necessary framework to examine the work and goals of the art that I will be analyzing. While it does provide a general approach to the subject matter, the specific examples that are outlined shows the history of feminist art. Since feminist art is a way for artists to share women’s experiences, it is often very autobiographical, where the artist is sharing experiences she has gone through herself. More specifically, as I study in my thesis, women have used webcomics as a way to share these experiences. While feminist art has attempted to legitimize the various styles women use in general, Kathryn Strong Hansen specifically outlines the attempt to legitimize comic book images. In “In Defense of Graphic Novels,” she argues that rather than completely dismissing this art form, due to fact that some comics can be seen as too graphic or too

20 violent, graphic novels are important and can help supplement discussions in an academic setting (58). Her work not only outlines the cultural importance of these graphic novels but she also provides examples of how graphic novels provides stories about the difficulties surrounding coming of age and the longing for a non-traditional life (58). Hansen shows how artists are able to draw up their experiences and how others are then able to relate to the material. The work by Liorah Golomb builds on the cultural significance of graphic novels but provides more specific details about the work done by women. “Beyond Persepolis: A Biographical Essay on Graphic Novels and Comics by Women” outlines this history of autobiographical and semi-autobiographical comics created by women about their personal experiences. It begins with work done in the 1970s and includes more contemporary examples like Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (21).2 For example, when looking at the artwork of the 1970s, she argues that the images were a direct reaction to the mainstream and underground images that were being created by male artists (23). The work outlined by Golomb helps contextualize the art I am analyzing. It provides the historical background on comics by feminist artists in which to contextualize my own research. The artists analyzed by Golomb include Trina Robbins, Hillary Chute, and Joyce Farmer. In the next section, I will focus on scholarship on one specific art form, autobiographical comics. Based on the work that has been presented, the definition of feminist art that I am working with pulls from the definitions already outlined. More specifically, feminist art is art that is created by women as a way to express personal events in order to bring attention to the experiences of women living within systems of inequality. Relating back to the concept of feminist curiosity, feminist art can include an invitation to engage with masculinized and feminized meanings constructed within political systems of power and is a form of visually resisting the sexism that women face. It also moves beyond the traditional art forms that are

2 Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (2004) is an autobiographical graphic novel created by Marjane Satrapi where she depicts her childhood growing up in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. Since its publication, it has garnered international attention, by both scholars as well as various awards committees. The graphic novel has been the focus of numerous academic articles, citing its cultural significance and its impact on the use of graphic novels as a form of storytelling. It was also adapted into an animated film and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2007.

21 often valued in high art, but instead can include any art form, like comics, and removes this hierarchy that separates high art and low art. Finally, feminist art is also defined by its challenging of geographical boundaries that limits whose art is seen in art galleries and moves beyond the idea that art can only be seen in this space.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF WOMEN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL COMICS When considering the history of women in comics, Trina Robbins has written several works about the role women have played in this industry. The Great Women Cartoonists, which was published in 2001, details the history of comics created by women. Beginning with artists in the late 1800s, Robbins organizes the book chronologically, which allows her to analyze the artists of the period in relation to specific eras of United States history. In addition, being an artist herself, Robbins places herself within her book and adds first hand knowledge about comics and the underground industry during the 1970s. Robbins’ work also touches on the information written about the feminist art movement, although her research is more focused on the work done by female comic artists. Like other female artists during the 1970s, this was a turning point for women’s comics because there was a shift in the art being created. These comics created art by and for women, who often felt marginalized by the Underground Comix movement. This relates back to the ideas presented by Peg Brand and Jill Fields about female artists in the art world. While The Great Women Cartoonists is a valuable resource, it does mainly focus on artists from the United States. Unlike other work about feminist art, there is little attention paid to artists from around the world. It is a great resource if one wants to know more about the history of female artists in the United States, but additional works would be necessary to provide a global history. Since my research focuses on art created by women for other women, it is important to look at the history surrounding this form of art. In From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of ♀ Comics From Teens to Zines (1999), Robbins explores the history of comics aimed specifically toward girls and women. Beginning in the 1940s and ending with comics from the 1990s, Robbins organizes her work like she did with The Great Women Cartoonists. As part of this history, Robbins once again outlines what it means to be a woman in the comic

22 book industry. She ends by mentioning how the average woman cartoonist does not make a lot of money. Their work is difficult to find for the average reader, as it is not mass-produced like mainstream comics and very few comic book stores even bother carrying it (Robbins, From Girls to Grrrlz 139-140). This inaccessibility then impacts women who want to read these comics, since few women even know they exist. In addition, underground comics are usually more expensive, making them that much more difficult to access (140). This source is integral because it demonstrates how comics aimed at women do exist, but that there are still institutional barriers limiting access to them. In a way, Hillary Chute, like Robbins, demonstrates how these artists are continuing the work done by the feminist art movement. In Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics (2010), Chute explores how female comic artists have been able to create autobiographical comics. She concentrates on five specific artists: Aline Kominsky- Crumb, Phoebe Gloeckner, Lynda Barry, Marjane Satrapi, and Alison Bechdel. While each artist has a unique style and story to tell, Chute examines how each artist has been able to change the way art and comics have been used to tell personal stories. In “Comics as Literature? Reading Graphic Narrative,” Chute argues that these artists “investigate childhood and the body-concerns typically relegated to the silence and invisibility of the private sphere” and that female artists often blur the distinction between “private” and “public” histories (459, 453). In Graphic Women, Chute carefully analyzes how each artist is able to do just that, using their comics as a way to share their stories with others. The artists Chute focuses on are reclaiming comics in order to make them autobiographical, sharing women’s stories with other women. Chute analyzes how these artists have taken a medium that has often catered to men; she argues that they challenged the traditional narrative concerning comics and what stories are being told. Like Trina Robbins, Joyce Farmer is a cartoonist herself and was involved in the underground comix movement. She helped create the feminist anthology comic series Tits & Clits Comix (1972), helped produce Abortion Eve (1973), an underground comic about abortion, and more recently released Special Exits: A Graphic Memoir (2010). Even though Farmer was a founding member of the underground comix movement, Special Exits is her first and only full-length work to date. Published in 2010, it is a semi-autobiographical account of her experience taking care of her aging parents. In it, she details the degeneration

23 of her parents in their final years and its impact on her, since she is their only caregiver (Golomb 23). Here, Farmer is detailing an extremely personal experience but through the use of graphic novels. Special Exits is a continuation of the work created by female artists who turn to comics and graphic novels in order to share their stories with others. The work outlined here is significant because it provides the historical background for the autobiographical webcomics I am analyzing in my own work. The next section, in combination with the previous information, present why posting these webcomics on the Internet is needed.

GIRL FOCUSED AND WOMEN FOCUSED SPACES Since the spaces available for female comic book fans lack a space that they can call their own, many turn to the Internet in order to create this space for themselves. In order to understand the significance of these spaces, it is important to consider the literature that has been written about the benefits of single-sex spaces. When looking at the literature regarding girl-focused spaces, which is often a single-sex environment where girls can develop critical consciousness about the world in which they live, most of the literature focuses on how being in single-sex environments–especially classrooms–influence girls (Denner, Meyer, and Bean; M. Sadker and Sadker). These studies show that girls are treated differently than their male counterparts in a coeducational classroom and discuss the benefits girls receive when they are in a single-sex classroom (Cayleff et al.; D. Sadker, Sadker, and Zittleman; M. Sadker and Sadker). Some studies go a step further and advocate for these environments to be more readily accessible (D. Sadker, Sadker, and Zittleman). One of the more significant works detailing what happens to girls when they are in a coeducational environment is the book Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls (1994) by Myra Sadker and David Sadker. They outline findings after two decades of research, in which they argue that girls do not receive an equal education to boys when they are in a coeducational classroom. Some of the issues outlined are the fact that girls are constantly learning the lesson of silence, beginning in elementary school and continuing through college (10). Girls are being told their voices do not matter at a young age and it only continues throughout their life. They also receive less attention within the classroom by the teachers themselves, with many believing that “boys need [help] more” (5). In addition,

24 sexual harassment is seen as being a way of life in American schools, which is tolerated under the assumption that “boys will be boys.” While school administrators will look the other way to this behavior, girls are constantly dealing with sexual comments, inappropriate touching and daily propositions (9). The findings outlined in Failing at Fairness are similar to findings in other studies. Jill Denner, Beth Meyers and Steve Bean are researchers who focus on the environment in which girls learn, have found parallel results. In “Young Women’s Leadership Alliance: Youth–Adult Partnerships In An All-Female After-School Program,” one argument made is that girls struggle with directly speaking their thoughts and feelings in some settings. They pull from a number of different studies that have looked at how an environment can have an impact on how girls behave. In one study, made up of mostly Caucasian middle-class girls, conducted by Lyn Mikel Brown and Carol Gilligan in 1992, they found that as girls enter adolescence, many will experience a loss of voice and will struggle to take their own experiences seriously. In another study, this time focused on late- adolescent urban girls who are presumably racially diverse, Niobe Way also found that girls are less likely to speak up when they are with other boys (Denner, Meyer, and Bean 88). Initial studies suggest that across races and classes, once girls enter adolescence they are more likely to quiet their voices and diminish their experiences when in coed spaces because institutions, like the educational system, consistently discourage girls from speaking up. More recent studies have found the same results regarding girls in coeducational spaces. In a follow-up book to Failing at Fairness, Still Failing at Fairness: How Gender Bias Cheats Girls and Boys in School and What We Can Do About It (2009), David Sadker, Mayra Sadker, and Karen Zittleman found that girls still faced the same challenges in coeducational classrooms. Girls are often told that they should not speak up and find their voices being silenced by the institution itself (253). In a 2011 study conducted about the implementation of the Young Women’s Studies Club geared toward having a girl-focused space in a coed high school, the authors of “Oral History and ‘Girls’ Voices: The Young Women’s Studies Club as a Site of Empowerment” present how the curriculums in formal education are based within a gender-biased context, which creates an additional obstacle that girls have to deal with in the classroom (Cayleff et al. 24).

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All of the studies that detail the importance of having girl spaces available argue that there are specific issues girls must negotiate that do not exist in a single-sex environment. For example, sexual harassment and the mentality of “boys will be boys” are not present (M. Sadker and Sadker 9). These issues create additional burdens that girls have to adjust to, but the research also shows that the experiences can have life-long ramifications, like the silencing of girls’ voices. In addition to outlining these barriers, the literature available has also investigated the benefits of these girl-focused spaces. In relation to my own research, in the next chapter I present an analysis of the spaces available for female comic books fans, the problems that exist in these co-ed spaces, and why these issues lead many women to create spaces where they are in control over who is able to participate in them. One key advantage that many researchers point to is the fact that the atmosphere is completely different when in a single-sex environment over a coeducational environment. In Still Failing at Fairness, D. Sadker, Sadker, and Zittleman conducted interviews with various individuals that work in a single-sex environment and many agreed that environments like this are rare but beneficial. Robert Johnson, an English teacher at an all girls’ school, said that an all-female education provides an opportunity for girls “to learn and to be themselves” and Jadwiga Sebrechts, a former executive director of the Women’s College Coalition said, “single-sex schools are a unique place where women are valued and supported” (253-254). The difference in environment is believed to lead to a number of other benefits. A significant benefit is that girls are able to develop specific characteristics that are often stunted in a coeducational environment. Many agree that these spaces encourage girls to be more authentic and to develop their self-confidence. Jill Denner, Beth Meyer, and Steve Bean argue that girls now feel safe enough to speak up about their thoughts and feelings, challenge the views of others, and to have their concerns and ideas taken seriously (94-95). By having a space where girls feel safe, or comfortable and encouraged, girls are able to feel more authentic and open when talking with others and will not feel a need to censor their thoughts. While Denner, Meyer, and Bean briefly includes two studies that address racial and class differences, it is important to wonder how these differences impact how girls would feel in these spaces. In the study of the Young Women’s Leadership Alliance, the researchers found a key benefit for girls, which was an increased confidence in speaking their minds (97). This is seen over and over in other studies as well. In “Girls Study Girls Inc.: Engaging

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Girls in Evaluation Through Participatory Action Research,” a key finding is the fact that girl-centered programs enhance a girl’s confidence level (Chen, Weiss, and Nicholson 234). This is also seen in D. Sadker, Sadker and Zittleman’s results when talking to alumnae from single-sex schools, where many state that their school helped them develop self-confidence, assertiveness, and a strong sense of identity (253-254). Overall, many argue that single-sex environments create opportunities for personal growth that are often denied to girls in a coeducational environment.

GIRL FOCUSED AND WOMAN FOCUSED SPACES ON THE INTERNET While the bulk of the literature regarding girl-focused spaces revolves around the classroom, more recent research analyzes the spaces available for girls on the Internet. It is crucial to see how these spaces play out on the Internet since my own work is concentrating on spaces available online. Girl Wide Web 2.0: Revisiting Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity (2010) edited by Sharon R. Mazzarella is a compilation of essays that analyzes how different girls have used the Internet and how their identity plays out online. It is a follow up to her 2005 edition, titled Girl Wide Web: Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity. Each takes a transnational approach to how girls use the Internet, either as creators or consumers. While the articles do not always focus on girl-focused spaces on the Internet, it does provide information about how their identity influences their experiences online. One specific article that details women’s spaces on the Internet is “Girls Get Digital: A Critical View of Cyberfeminism” by Vera Hinsey. She outlines the various forms of “online feminism” and how many women use the Internet to create feminist communities. One specific argument is that women who blog are able to speak for themselves without any interruptions (26). She also pulls from other works that go more in depth regarding issues that arise online, such as disembodiment, community building, and issues of imagined vs. real space. Rhiannon Bury, author of Cyberspaces of Their Own: Female Fandoms Online (2005), presents her findings of an ethnographic study of two female Internet communities. Each community revolves around a different television series and Cyberspaces of Their Own

27 considers how a person’s identity plays out within these communities. In her overview about the research that has been conducted surrounding identity and the Internet, she argues that bodies and body-based identities matter in cyber space (4). She also acknowledges the lack of scholarship, including in her own work, surrounding race and ethnicity and how the focus has been on gender and white online communities (207). This work combines theory surrounding fan culture as well as Internet studies in order to show how the two intersect with each other when we consider online fan culture. While Bury suggests that certain issues surrounding a person’s identity are not completely erased, others feel that it is possible to change or create a new identity to avoid these issues that do arise in face-to-face interactions. Life on the Screen (1995) by Sherry Turkle analyzes how using computers and the Internet has had an impact on people’s identity and interactions with others. In the third section of the book, called “On The Internet,” Turkle considers how identity can play out on the Internet. She acknowledges that people will reconstruct their identity when online (176). Concentrating on gender identity specifically, she brings up her experience of creating an online persona as a virtual man because she thought she would feel less out of place when playing a multi-user game (210). While she concentrates on the gaming community, she acknowledges the various levels of comfort for people within this community and how gender plays a significant role in determining this. “Empirical Analysis of Online Anonymity and User Behaviors: the Impact of Real Name Policy” by Daegon Cho, Soodong Kim, and Alessandro Acquisti also consider how identity is used online. They conducted a study where people used pseudonyms versus their real names and how this can impact a person’s level of participation. One main argument is that online, everyone online can be on an equal footing, regardless of his or her background (3041). This article, along with the work by Turkle, demonstrate that a person’s involvement and comfort level can vary and is dependent on how much personal information people put online about themselves and how the websites people are involved in are also important to consider. In addition, Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays (2006) is a collection of essays dealing with this issue specifically. Editors Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse purposely collected essays that are at the intersection of fannish community, which the authors sometimes use in placement of fan community, and academic discourse on fan culture (1). They concentrated on works that look at fan involvement on the

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Internet, more specifically at the fan fiction3 that is created by women. In addition to providing a history to fan fiction, some of the essays investigate how these communities, which are mostly made up of women, are created and maintained online. These essays are more specific since they are looking at one specific form of fan involvement and it is an area in which not all fans chose to participate. This relates back to understanding comic book fans and artists because the work I am analyzing is just one way in which fans share their experiences with others. In addition, the work is shared on personal websites where creators construct and maintain a community where women feel safe communicating about their experiences.

CONCLUSION In this chapter I presented a brief overview of several topics that relate back to my own research. First, I offered an introduction to the history of research surrounding fan culture, specifically relating to the sexist treatment of female fans. I then presented how the feminist movement of the 1970s in the United States influenced the art world through the creation of the feminist art movement as well as its impact on women in the comic book industry. Finally, I provided an introduction to the literature about girl-focused spaces, especially on the Internet. In my next chapter, I will provide an investigation of the current spaces available for female comic book fans and discuss why many have turned to the Internet as another space. I will follow that up by analyzing one specific method that some women have utilized as a way to share their experiences with other women who are also comic book fans, through the creation and dispersal of autobiographical webcomics online.

3 Fan fiction is fiction about characters from original works of fiction that is created by fans instead of the creator. Fan fiction provides an opportunity for a fan to enter, interpret and expand on the original universe they are a fan of, whether it is a book, television show, movie, or another form of popular culture entertainment (Hellekson and Busse 6). There are various genres and subgenres and the authors of fan fiction may decide to keep the characters in the same universe they originate from, or the characters may be placed in a different setting, including an alternate universe (10-11).

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CHAPTER 3

COMIC BOOK FAN SPACES

In the previous chapter, I presented research related to various issues I am analyzing in my thesis on the experiences of female comic book fans and their use of autobiographical webcomics as a method to share their stories online. Starting with a broad approach to the themes and then narrowing my focus, the three areas I reviewed were: fan culture, feminist art and autobiographical comics, and girl-focused spaces. Each topic is necessary to my own research, since I am analyzing the spaces available for female comic book fans and how the Internet allows women to share webcomics they have created about their own experiences as fans. In this chapter, I concentrate on analyzing the spaces available for female fans and argue that the Internet provides a much-needed space for female fans. I also introduce some of the autobiographical webcomics that I will be analyzing in my next chapter and argue that these images and the conversations surrounding the images can only take place on the Internet. When we consider the spaces available for comic book fans, both male and female, there are two spaces that stand out. The first is comic book stores, where in addition to being able to purchase comic books and other comic book memorabilia, fans are able to interact at organized events or simply as they peruse throughout the store. The second space available is comic book conventions. Although they vary in size and popularity, many of these conventions have become so large that they have become international events with attendees coming from around the world. While some, like San Diego Comic-Con that is organized by Comic-Con International, have recently become known more for their Hollywood presence, comic books still remain at the heart of these conventions. These two spaces–comic book stores and conventions–visually stand out and are the most recognizable, even to those who would not consider themselves comic book fans. These two spaces are also physical spaces where people are able to interact with each other in person.

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Lately, as a result of access and convenience, the Internet has emerged as a third space available for fans. While the Internet is able to provide many of the same benefits found in the two physical spaces, it is also able to avoid some of the more negative aspects. There are both positives and negatives associated with each fan space, but when we concentrate on the experiences of female fans specifically, we see that compared to their male counterparts, they are forced to deal with more negative experiences in the physical spaces. These negative experiences can be classified as gender microaggressions, and most often can be categorized as microinsults and microinvalidations. Assumptions of inferiority, traditional gender role assumptions, invisibility, and sexist jokes are some examples of these gender microaggressions that female fans are forced to experience (Sue 169). The Internet provides a necessary, and often missing, space where female comic book fans are able to come together. In order to understand why the Internet is able to provide a more comfortable space for female fans, it is important to analyze the atmosphere and accessibility of the other two spaces. The first space that will be investigated will be comic book stores.

COMIC BOOK STORES When people think about comic books, one of the first places that many will associate with them is a comic book store. In addition to being a place where people are able to go to and buy comic books, these stores are often filled with other memorabilia. While the comic book fan culture items vary from store to store, they include signed issues of comic books, older and rare comic books, action figures and other toys, clothing, costumes, and gaming equipment. In addition to the many items available for purchase, some stores organize events for their customers. These events can include autograph sessions with comic book artists and writers, game nights, creative workshops that are available for those who create their own comic books or are interested in the process, as well as comic book reading clubs, where fans meet to talk in depth about one specific comic book at each meeting. Comic book stores are not just a place where fans are able to buy the newest issue in the series they are reading, they are also a place where owners attempt to create and maintain a community that is available just for comic book fans. In addition to the work that is done by many owners, there are also a number of reasons many people may prefer going to a comic book store over buying their comics online

31 or as a digital file. As I mentioned earlier, the stores themselves become a community where like-minded people are able to interact with each other. Some may be more comfortable interacting with others in person. If a person has been going to the same comic book store for a number of years, for example, they have likely already been integrated into that community through their interactions with other customers as well as the employees that work there. Relationships are created and cultivated each time a person returns to the store through these interactions, regardless of how big or small they are. If a person has created a pattern of going to the comic book store for specific comics over a long enough period of time, their interactions with others can become more personal, especially in stores where owners do want to create that sense of community within the store. In addition to all of these personal benefits, some people may simply be more comfortable interacting with others in person. In The Psychology of Personnel Selection (2010) Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Adrian Furnham analyze how personality traits can impact the ways a person interacts with others but also how these interactions are dependent on the situation and the people involved. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham argue that some people are more at ease when dealing with friends in situations they are familiar with (130). While each person is different, there are some that may prefer going to a comic book store because there is also a sense of familiarity involved, which allows them to be more comfortable in this setting. While there are a number of benefits associated with frequenting comic book stores, not everyone is able to access them even if they wanted to. When considering the positive aspects associated with comic book stores, it is equally important to consider the limitations. For many, the biggest limitation is the issue of access. Depending on where a person lives, it can be extremely difficult to even be able to go to a comic book store, especially if there is not one nearby. In a 2013 article issued by Publishers Weekly, Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., the largest distributor of comic books, announced that they service 2,638 different stores and branches, although the story does not specify if this is just in the United States or worldwide (MacDonald). Even though there are still a couple of thousand comic book stores open, that does not guarantee that every comic book fan lives close enough to one they are able to visit regularly. Moreover, even if there is a relatively close store, a person may lack the means in order to go. They may not have a car, money for transportation, or someone that

32 is willing to give them a ride. A person that is unable to go to a comic book store will also be excluded from the various events that take place as well as from joining the community that exists in the comic book store. In addition to these issues of access and who is able to visit a comic book store, a person may also limit their visits because of finances. At the end of the day, while a community may exist in the store, the store is still a business. A person may feel obligated to purchase an item when they visit a comic book store. If they are constantly visiting the store for the various events or to talk with other people that visit the store and are not purchasing an item, they may begin to feel or be made to feel uncomfortable and thus decrease visits or cease visiting all together. Another issue that may arise is the fact that not every store carries every comic book series created. Since it is a business, they are more likely to carry comics that are popular and that they know will sell in their stores. For the most part, a comic book store will only carry mass-produced mainstream comics, with very few carrying underground or alternative comic books (Robbins, From Girls to Grrrlz 139-140). A person may go to a comic book store looking for a specific series or a comic created by a specific writer or artist, but if they realize that the store does not carry the comics they are interested in, there is less of an incentive to return to that store. While these are some of the limitations that every comic book fan may have to face, there are certain limitations that are specific to women. Their experiences are unique to them because of their gender, and since the comic book fandom is very male dominated (Duffett; Hills; Pustz). My own feminist curiosity recognizes the crucial need to analyze how gender plays a role in these experiences and how the power dynamics play out. While comic book storeowners may want to create a sense of community within the store, these communities are not always inclusive of women, the LGBTQ community, or people of color, not to mention people who are part of more than one of these communities. In Comic Book Culture: Fanboys and True Believers (2000), Matthew J. Pustz outlines how comic book stores actually create an atmosphere that is unwelcoming to women. Many stores hang posters that sexually objectify women and glorify violence against women, for example. Moreover, women have a hard time finding comics that are geared specifically towards women, and some men will make women uncomfortable by forcing them to deal with their stares of surprise (8). These are all issues that many women and presumably transgender women’s

33 community4 have to deal with when they enter a new comic book store. In fact, the social idea that women never enter comic book stores is so well known that scenes depicting such an extra-ordinary event have been played out on mainstream shows, like The Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory is a popular show that airs weekly on CBS and it follows the lives of four socially awkward scientists who are also comic book fans. The Big Bang Theory is one of the most popular television shows on air right now, with it being considered television’s number one show as well as the highest rated sitcom since Friends went off the air in 2004 (Raymond). While they may be comfortable interacting with people who are like them, the series shows that these four main characters, Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj, lack that same level of comfort when dealing with anyone else. Throughout the series, it is established that the group visits their local comic book store each week and the interactions that take place here play on the stereotypes that many have about comic book fans. All of the customers are men, most of them socially awkward, some still live with their parents, and none of them know how to interact with women, especially since the idea exists that women never enter a comic book store. Since The Big Bang Theory began airing in 2007, a few episodes have dealt with how women are treated when they enter a comic book store. But rather than present their actual experiences, the creators have taken a more comedic approach, though they do touch on how women are not accepted in these stores. In “The Hofstadter Isotope,” which first aired April 2009, Penny, who is the attractive neighbor that lives across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon, goes with the group to their local comic book store. The second she enters the store, all of the other customers, all of whom are young, white men, drop what they are doing and openly stare at Penny. She just stands at the door and says, “everybody is staring at me,” and Leonard responds by telling her, “Don’t worry. They're more scared of you than you are of

4 With my review of the research surrounding fan cultures and the comic book community, there has not been a distinction in the difference in treatment of cisgender and transgender women. In addition, as a result of the comics that have been included in my own research, the focus has been on the experiences of cisgender women. In any case, it would be important to research how the experiences of transgender women are similar or different than those of cisgender women and is a possible avenue for future researchers.

34 them” (“The Hofstadter Isotope”). Rather than acknowledge the fact that everyone in the comic book store is making Penny uncomfortable, Leonard’s line, along with the audience laughter in the background, is meant to play this off as a situation that the other men in the comic book store do not know how to interact when a woman walks in, regardless of their effect on the woman. The lack of consideration for women’s feelings is seen again in another episode of the series, and here it is suggested that the women should welcome these unwarranted glances. The message in these microaggressions suggests that women’s ideas and feelings are less worthy than their male counterparts (Sue 12). In “The Bakersfield Expedition,” which aired January 2013, Penny goes to the same comic book store with two of her friends, who are both young white women. When they enter the store, Bernadette has a similar reaction that Penny had earlier in the series, questioning why all of the men are staring at them, when all they have done is simply enter the comic book store. Amy, the third friend, tells Bernadette not to question it and to “soak it in” (“The Bakersfield Expedition”). Again, the joke is that these men are unable to socially interact with women, and rather than call out their behavior, women should be flattered by this attention. While this is the image that many people have, and is perpetuated by sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory, the reality women face when they enter a comic book store is very different than this scripted comedic encounter. While there is research that acknowledges the fact that women have very different experiences than men within the comic book world, for example in Comic Book Culture: Fanboys and True Believers (2000) by Matthew J. Pustz, there are contemporary websites that are dedicated to presenting this information to men and women online. Many women have faced similar experiences like those presented on The Big Bang Theory, but most of them find the stares off-putting and do not feel welcomed or comfortable in the stores. This issue is so significant that a Tumblr page, which is a webpage that people are able to create and maintain for free online, has been created to bring attention to this issue. Safe Spaces for Comics Fans is similar to a review page, where women are able to leave reviews for a comic book store that they have gone to and whether or not they would recommend this store to another woman. If the store is recommended, it is considered to be a safe space, and if it is not recommended, it is considered an unsafe space. In one review of Deep Comics & Games, which is located in Huntsville, Alabama, the female reviewer said that when she went to the

35 store with her father the staff was very helpful and even offered to place an order for her. However, when she went back alone, “it was like walking into a completely different store” and it got to the point where she would ask her male cousin to go with her in order to “shop without feeling unwanted.” Overall, the store had a “very sexist atmosphere, and unless you have a man in tow, you’re not worth their time” (Duskborn). Although I am only citing one personal experience, it represents similar experiences faced by many other women. This can be seen in the fact that over a dozen comic book stores have been deemed unsafe, and require a personal account in order for a store to receive this status (“Masterlist of Recommendations”). Interactions similar to this discourage women from returning to their local comic book store. As a result, they are also then separated from the possible community they could join. They are unable to interact with other comic books fans that live in the area and they are forced to find another space where this interaction can take place.

COMIC BOOK CONVENTIONS A second space where fans are able to interact with each other in person is at comic book conventions. These vary in size and popularity, but depending on the location and a fan’s level of involvement with comic books, attending a convention can be an exciting experience for a number of reasons. Most comic book conventions will last one weekend, but that weekend can be filled with a number of events and opportunities to interact with other fans. Most conventions will have panels with creators, artists, and writers who work on various comic books, with the larger conventions attracting more popular names. There may also be panels on how to enter the comic book world, some which provide suggestions on how to create comic books and others with information on how to publish comics you have created. Lately some conventions have also begun to look at social issues within comic books themselves, as well as issues within the comic book world, like sexist and racist attitudes that many people hold. Unfortunately, these issues are not unique to this environment and are part of a larger systemic problem, like the constant hyper-sexualization of the female body, specifically the body that fits the normative ideal, which can be seen in comic books by how female characters are represented. In addition, conventions are an excellent opportunity to interact with other fans. While there are a number of benefits that can exist within this space,

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I will also be presenting an analysis on the limitations that exist, especially for the women that attend these conventions. In a way, some of the benefits that can be found in a comic book convention are similar to those that can be found in a comic book store. If the convention is a local one, a person going may already know some of the other attendees. In addition, conversations often start up while in line or when browsing for comic books and friendships can be created there. Personally, I have started a number of friendships with people that I have met while attending San Diego Comic-Con. I have some friendships that have lasted six years, while others are still less than a year old. Some people live in San Diego and I would have never met them because we live in different areas of the county while others live in Massachusetts, Florida, and even in the Netherlands. These friendships would have never been created if we had not met at Comic-Con. Many conventions also provide opportunities for fans to interact with some of their favorite creators, artists, and writers. There are panels about the creative process or that focus on specific comic books for example. In addition, there are signing sessions, which allow fans to talk with them, even if it is a quick conversation. These are opportunities that may not arise in a small comic book store, so many fans feel that the money and time needed in order to attend a comic book convention is worth it for them. However, unlike comic book stores, there are strict financial barriers that can prevent many people from attending. One of the biggest barriers to comic book conventions is the cost associated with attending. To begin with, there is the cost of simply attending the convention. The price of a ticket can vary across conventions and prices are dependent on the size and popularity of the convention. For example, one of the largest conventions is San Diego Comic-Con. For the 2015 convention, there are single day passes that start at $35 and go up to $50. If someone wants to attend all four days, they will need to spend $185, but if they want to attend Preview Night as well, which has a limited number of tickets, a person will spend $220 on just a badge (“Purchase Badges”). There is also the issue of getting to the convention. If a person has access to a car, there are a number of parking lots around the convention center, but they can be expensive. Lots will range in price from $15 up to $40 for each day. There is also the issue of the convenience fee, which is usually $4.95 per day (“San Diego Comic-Con 2015 Parking Related Information”). If a person parks in the cheapest lot for four days, they are

37 looking at spending $80 on parking, which is on top of the $185 they just spent for their ticket, for a total of $265. If a person brings food and water each day, in order to avoid buying food there, and does not buy anything while attending the convention, like comic books or other memorabilia, they are able to keep the cost to attend San Diego Comic-Con to under $300. However, this is a low estimate and does not consider other possible costs. If a person is coming from out of town, even from a city relatively close like Los Angeles, there is a good chance that they will have to get a hotel room, unless they are able to stay with a friend or family for free. In the recent hotel lottery, attendees were able to select a possible hotel room from hotels located throughout San Diego. Prices began at $166 a night and went up to $384 a night (“Comic-Con International 2015 Hotel List”). If a person lives further away, it may be necessary to fly to San Diego, increasing the amount of money they will have to spend. Factoring in food for each day, a person can easily spend over $1000 just to attend the convention. This does not include any purchases made inside, and since San Diego Comic-Con is one of the most popular comic book conventions in the world, some items are made exclusive, which means this may be a fan’s only opportunity to buy something. For the average person, even $300 may be too difficult to set aside just for a comic book convention, which will prevent them from attending. Some conventions are significantly cheaper and with the growing popularity of comic book conventions, there are more options available. For example, WonderCon, held in Anaheim, California, is another comic book convention that is organized by the same organization that is in charge of San Diego Comic-Con. For the 2015 convention, prices for a single day varied from $16 to $27, with the option to buy a three-day badge for $55 (“Badge Sale”). While there are other costs to consider as well, this is a cheaper alternative, though it does not have the same high caliber panels that can be found at San Diego Comic-Con. In addition to this issue of access and who is able to attend, there is also the issue of the atmosphere created at these comic book conventions. The atmosphere in a comic book convention is very similar to the atmosphere found in many comic book stores, especially in the sense that the majority male attendees are not always welcoming of women. Indeed, one issue that many women face is sexual harassment. This is especially true for women who “cosplay” that is, wear a costume and accessories in

38 order to represent a specific comic book character. This harassment includes men groping, stalking, and taking unwanted photographs and is so common that it has lead to the creation of the term “creeping at a con” (Bever). As documented in The Washington Post, one woman shared her story and said that when she was cosplaying during a convention, people would constantly come up to her throughout the day asking for a photo. While she was happy to comply, there were times when men would grab her breast while taking the photo. When she would get angry and complain about the fact that these men took it upon themselves to grab her breast without her consent, she would be called a “bitch and other things.” When she tried to complain to security or other staff members, the offender was no longer nearby or her complaints would be dismissed. In addition to being groped, she would receive sexual comments from attendees and exhibitors, so much so that she no longer felt safe dressing up in anything that could draw attention to her self (Bever). This is not a unique situation experienced only by cosplayers. The same woman said that she still received rude comments even when she was not cosplaying. For her, it was so bad that she has little desire to return to a comic book convention until the atmosphere that allows these sexist comments and harassing behaviors to exist changes. Mariah Huehner, author of the “True Blood” and “Emily and the Strangers” comics, told the L.A. Times about the sexual harassment she experienced at a Comic-Con party a few years back. While at the party “one of the guys suddenly had his hand on my butt” and for her, “it’s a shocking reminder that you’re seen differently” (Bever). Potential sexual harassment is something that all women are forced to deal with if they are attending a comic book convention and for many, it is just a reminder that they are not welcomed as full human beings deserving of respect in this space. While most of the public attention in the news and on websites has been on the negative experiences of women who cosplay, they are not the only ones facing sexual harassment in this space. In fact, because so many women have been sharing their stories with other women online as well as through various news articles which reach the general public, a number of different comic book conventions around the country have begun to acknowledge the existence of this issue and have created policies in order to hold the people accused of sexually harassing women accountable. In 2014, some of the larger comic book conventions began to post signs around the convention halls in order to remind attendees that sexual harassment is not allowed during

39 the convention. While these signs do bring attention to the issue and are offering a level of help for the women that face this issue, most concentrate on the harassment that cosplayers experience. New York City Comic Con and Emerald City Comic Con have similar signs that state costumes/cosplay does not equal consent. Only San Diego Comic-Con states that all forms of sexual harassment, experienced by cosplayers as well as those who are not cosplaying, will not be tolerated and that Comic-Con holds the right to revoke a person’s badge if they are not in compliance with the policy (Bever). While this is a step in the right direction, many of these signs are still relatively new, with most only appearing within the last year. Steeped in the broader sexist culture in which we live, such misbehavior is largely deemed normal or acceptable and it has led women to reconsider if they even want to attend a comic book convention, especially when there is a high chance of them facing a form of sexual harassment. Like comic book stores, many women do not feel welcomed in this space. This can be because of how they are ignored or disrespectfully talked to, the sexist language that is used against them, or because of the risk of sexual harassment. These microaggressions impact these women because they are denied an opportunity to fully participate in the activities that take place in this space, which includes interacting with other fans. Since these are issues that put off many women from partaking in these spaces, they have had to find alternative spaces. For some women, this has meant going to the Internet, where they are able to create and maintain a space just for themselves.

THE INTERNET While comic book stores and comic book conventions have certain material barriers that prevent the average fan from partaking in these spaces, there are also other barriers that discourage women from participating. These concerns, such as the harassment and disrespect women face since they are in a very male dominated space, then force them to find other spaces where they will not have to deal with these problems. One specific space that many women have turned to is the Internet. The Internet is open to everyone who can access it and women are able to create their own spaces through the creation of websites or blog pages that they are able to regulate themselves. For many, the Internet is an additional space they can go to or it is the only space in which they feel safe and comfortable participating.

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To begin with, the Internet avoids some of the physical barriers that can prevent a number of people from visiting a comic book store or attending a comic book convention. As mentioned earlier, there are financial barriers as well as physical barriers, like a person’s geographic location, that could prevent someone from participating in these spaces. A person’s socioeconomic status can determine how many or how often a person visits a store or convention. On the Internet, these issues can be erased for the most part. While there are some people that are still denied regular Internet access because they are unable to either afford a computer or pay for an Internet service, an overwhelming majority of American adults are still able to use the Internet in some capacity. As of January 2014, The Pew Research Internet Project calculated that 87% of American adults use the Internet in some capacity (“Internet User Demographics”). This means that if a comic book fan wants to talk with others about a new storyline, upcoming projects, or just to talk in general, they are able to do so even if they do not know another comic book fan in person. In addition, with the growing popularity of comic books and their various adaptations, there are more websites and blogs dedicated to sharing this information and communicating with other fans. Using the Internet can make it easier for someone to interact with other fans and share their experiences, since geographical barriers no longer limit people, but it is also easier to create and maintain a safe space for others. While most everyone is able to access a website, many focus on sharing women’s stories. The Internet has become a feminist platform, where women are able to create a space for themselves and they are able to share their experiences and implement transformative action (Vogt and Chen 371). In the personal account from the woman who cosplayed while attending a convention, she stated that she no longer felt safe dressing up in anything that would draw attention to herself and she had little desire to go to another comic book convention, at least until the atmosphere that led to her feeling this way changed (Bever). Not only is she being denied her ability to cosplay, she is also being denied the ability to be present in this space, since she no longer feels safe and has no desire to return. By turning to the Internet, users have more control over how they are treated and are able to create and maintain a safe space for themselves. In addition to having the ability to create this space, they are also able to create a girl focused and woman focused space. The benefits of having these girl focused and women focused spaces have been well documented. When girls and women are able to have a space for themselves, without having

41 a male presence around, it can become easier to speak in a more honest and open manner. For example, Denner, Meyer, and Bean argue that girls feel safer to speak up about their thoughts and feelings and are more likely to have their concerns and ideas taken seriously (94-95). While the focus was on single-sex schools, Jadwiga Sebrechts, former executive director of the Women’s College Coalition, believed that these school environments are a place where women are valued and supported (D. Sadker, Sadker, and Zittleman 254). This support and solidarity is able to exist on the Internet because it becomes a platform where women are able to create websites that are dedicated to their experiences. Women are also able to create their own personal websites and webpages, where they have full control over how their story is presented to the public. An additional benefit to using the Internet is the control users have over the information that is posted online. People have control over what they want to say and how, as well as control over their identity. For many women, the physical spaces that are available to comic book fans are not always safe spaces because they are women in a male dominated fandom. While Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It (2010) does not concentrate on the experiences of female comic book fans, the fan culture surrounding Doctor Who is very similar to that surrounding comic books because both are seen as being a “boys club” (Thomas and O’Shea 197). As a result, women who enter this space have a very different experience than their male counterparts because of their gender. By using the Internet, these issues that are the result of a person’s identity can be avoided if the user chooses to limit the personal information that is available online. When a person has control over what others know about their identity, it can have an impact on the treatment that person receives. Since there is a certain level of anonymity online, some believe that the Internet can be used as a way to level the playing field. Daegon Cho, Soodong Kim, and Alessandro Acquisti, authors of “Empirical Analysis of Online Anonymity and User Behaviors: the Impact of Real Name Policy,” argue that participants in online discussions are seen under equal conditions, regardless of their background and that “minorities in society can have an equal opportunity to express their thoughts” (3041). As a result of this control over a person’s identity, they are able to navigate online spaces without having to worry about the kind of treatment they will receive as a result of their identity. It can become that safe space that many women lack within the comic book community, where

42 they are able to communicate with other fans as well as share their experiences about what it means to be a woman in this community. While some may turn to the Internet because of this anonymity that is available to them, my research concentrates on how women are able to connect with each other as a result of their gender identity. Since many women are targeted in these spaces that are available to most comic book fans, some women have turned to the Internet in order to share their stories about what it means to be a woman who is a comic book fan and to connect with other women who have faced similar experiences.

SHARING STORIES THROUGH ART There are a number of different websites that many women have turned to as spaces to share their stories about their experiences as female comic book fans and have used various mediums to do so. One example that was previously mentioned was the website HaterFreeWednesdays, which is a Tumblr page created for the purpose of having anyone who feels marginalized in the comic book community, be it because they are women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community or anyone at the intersection of all of these identities, share their experiences in comic book stores around the country, as well as Canada, England, The Netherlands, and five additional countries (“Masterlist of Recommendations”). Users are also able to share personal narratives on GeeksForCONsent, where women are invited to share stories about sexual harassment while attending comic book conventions around the world. Users are also able to comment on stories posted, with many comments showing support for those willing to share their personal stories. Many videos are also posted online, either on personal websites or on personal YouTube accounts. One specific example of this is the user LittleMissTotoro, who posted a video on March 5, 2015 sharing her experience at a comic con, where she was told by the cashier that he would ring up her purchase if she could name what the item was (LittleMissTotoro). While this is just one specific example, there are numerous videos available where female comic book fans share similar experiences. While these videos and the websites that share personal narratives are just two specific ways women can share their stories, my research concentrates on how women use art in order to share their experiences.

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As I stated, there are a number of different ways female comic book fans have used the Internet in order to share their experiences with others. Given the role that feminist art making has played in identifying and voicing sexism, as I discussed in my review of feminist art in Chapter 2, I have decided to concentrate on the webcomic art that is created by women that highlight specific experiences they have had. As I noted in my overview of this literature, feminist art developed alongside the larger women’s rights movement due to the discrimination many women artists faced in the male dominated art world that did not accept their work (Fields 2). This art can be very political, due to the messages that are being conveyed and is a way to bring attention to the oppressive experiences women face, which is a way of resisting the sexism they encounter in their lives (Brand 167-168). In my analysis in the next chapter, I will be concentrating on three autobiographical webcomics that attempt to accomplish some of these goals. Each artist addresses the sexism they have faced as a result of being a female comic book fan. Bringing attention to these interactions is a way of saying that they are tired of this treatment and that it needs to change. The reason I have decided to concentrate on these autobiographical webcomics over another form of storytelling is because of their relatively easy access. Of the three webcomics that I selected to analyze, only two can be considered text heavy. Even if someone is unable to read and comprehend the whole webcomic, there are visual clues given though the images that accompany the text that are able to convey the same message. While there are a number of benefits to having people share their personal narratives out loud, the images included in the webcomics can help avoid any language barriers that may exist, which allows people to follow along in order to understand what is being presented. In addition, these webcomics are relatively easy and quick to comprehend. People are not forced to sit down and either read a story or watch a video for ten minutes at a time in order to see what is being shared by the artist. The webcomics are short, easy to follow, and quick to the point. As with the other mediums, these autobiographical webcomics are just one form of storytelling and it is not an avenue that every female comic book fan will chose to use in order to share their experiences. However, these webcomics are still vital to understanding how women chose to share their stories. The popularity of these webcomics can be seen through the fact that they have been shared on various websites and have lead to numerous conversations about the

44 stories shared. This is why I have decided to concentrate on this specific form of storytelling versus another method that woman may use. I conclude by briefly outlining some of the major points that were made throughout the chapter. To begin with, I summarized the spaces that are available for all comic book fans, specifically comic book stores and comic book conventions, as well as discussed some of the benefits and limitations of these spaces. In addition, I went into detail about some of the microaggressions issues that women face when they enter and attempt to participate in these spaces, like being treated as invisible or the assumption of being inferior. As a result, many women feel unwelcomed at comic book stores and conventions, which has led many of them to turn to the Internet as a third space available to them as comic book fans. I provided some specific ways women use the Internet to share their stories as well as provide a brief introduction to the autobiographical webcomics that I will be analyzing in my own research. In my next chapter, I will present a more in depth introduction to the webcomics that I am examining. I will also provide my analysis of the themes present in the webcomics and how these are challenging certain misconceptions held about female comic book fans.

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CHAPTER 4

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WEBCOMICS

The previous chapter analyzed the various spaces available for comic book fans and how women generally have vastly different experiences than men in these spaces. There are two physical spaces where fans are able to interact with each other, comic book stores and comic book conventions. In addition to the geographical and financial barriers that can prevent both men and women from participating in these spaces, women face an additional barrier due to their gender. The atmosphere in these spaces is often unwelcoming to women, due to the attitudes of some men in the space, images that sexualize women, and the lack of content aimed at women. As a result, many women have turned to the Internet in order to create a space where they are able to interact with other female comic book fans and to share their stories about their experiences in comic book stores and comic book conventions. This chapter concentrates on one specific method women utilize in order to share their stories, which is through the creation and distribution of feminist autobiographical webcomics. I outline how I found these webcomics and the requirements I had when deciding which webcomics I would include in my analysis. I also briefly introduce the artists and creators, and finally provide an in depth analysis of the webcomics themselves. Each webcomic has a different focus and discusses different experiences, but they are tied together by the fact that each discusses how men often challenge women to prove they are “true” comic book fans and have the knowledge to back it up. As I show, sharing such webcomics online can be a feminist space to resist such sexism in the comic book fan world by bringing attention to these experiences and issues.

BACKGROUND ON AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL COMICS For my analysis, I concentrate on three specific autobiographical webcomics created by female comic book fans. The three artists I focus on are Noelle Stevenson, Meghan

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Lovell, and Paige Hall. Each artist originally posted her webcomic on her personal Tumblr page. Hall has since taken down the post with the webcomic but it is still being circulated on various websites. These webcomics were created and shared in order for these artists to reveal their personal experiences as well as to start a conversation with other female comic book fans. Each webcomic was found online through various searches, but my own interest in this work began when I came across Stevenson’s webcomic when it was first released in 2014. When it came to selecting which specific webcomics I would be analyzing, I set out specific requirements that the webcomics needed to meet. While I came across a number of different webcomics that presented similar stories, there were a number of reasons I selected these three specific autobiographical webcomics. The first requirement that needed to be met involved the creator of the webcomic. The authorship of each webcomic had to be proven, meaning that I needed to be able to go back and ensure that the person taking credit created the webcomic. I originally found the webcomics on other websites, but after going through the links crediting the artist, the ownership of the webcomics could be proven. However, this meant that some webcomics could not be included. For example, the Tumblr page for After Daylight, a webcomic, posted a webcomic addressing the concept of being a fake geek, with a white man holding a comic book and a black woman eventually turning the man around to show that he was a cardboard cut out with the message that all fans should be treated equally (see Figure 1, p. 73; AfterDaylightComic 2014). After attempting to contact the organizer of the page to find out who actually created the webcomic and not hearing a response, I decided to not include it in my research because the ownership of the webcomic could not be traced back to a creator. This leads to my second requirement for selecting which webcomics I would analyze. Since my research concentrates on the experiences of female comic book fans, the creator had to identify as a woman. It did not matter if they were cisgender or transgender, but having a gender identity as a woman was crucial for this research. While some men did create some images that discussed the issues that female comic book fans face, it is arguable whether they are truly able to capture those experiences without living them. The third requirement was that the story in the webcomic had to be an autobiographical story about an experience that was the result of them being a female comic book fan. I am focusing on how women use webcomics as a way to share their stories, so

47 these webcomics had to reflect that. Some webcomics represented interactions that the artist had seen happen, but had not experienced directly, while others covered being a fan of the comic book characters but as a result of movies or television shows and not the comics themselves. One example of this was by Rangely García Colón, an illustrator and graphic designer from Puerto Rico. Her webcomic, which is similar to the one I chose to analyze by Meghan Lovell, is about a woman being asked if she reads Batman and how she is called a fake geek girl because she just likes the character and not the comics (see Figure 2, p. 74; García Colón 2012). Although this webcomic addresses the scrutiny women fans face, I did not include it as part of my analysis because García Colón considers herself a fan of comic book characters and not the comic books themselves. Once I narrowed down the webcomics based on these requirements, I selected these three webcomics because each touched on different themes, in order to cover a range of negative and sexist experiences and spaces where these experiences take place. While all three address the idea of what it means to be a “true” fan, each webcomic brings in other issues, like the atmosphere that exists in comic book stores, the interrogation that women face to prove they read comic books, and the harassment women face when attending comic book conventions. Even though there is a range of topics covered in my selections, it is also important to acknowledge the limitations as a result of the webcomics that are being included. In my previous chapter I argued that one of the benefits to using the Internet, as a space for female comic book fans to interact with each other, is that it eliminates geographical barriers that normally exist. While I would have appreciated taking a similar international approach to my study, the three artists included in my research are all from the United States. In addition, there is a lack of analysis in regards to the role that race and racism may play in the experiences of these comic book artists and as depicted in their webcomics, since each artist can be socially read as white, which comes with its own privileges that might have mediated their interactions in the comic book fan community. The same can be said about their sexual identity and being read as or passing as heterosexual. The two earlier webcomics that were mentioned, posted by AfterDaylightComic and Rangely García Colón, do more directly bring race and/or ethnicity into the conversation, with a black woman appearing in the webcomic by AfterDaylightComic and García Colón’s own

48 background as Puerto Rican possibly being addressed in her webcomic. While the requirements for my own research limited the inclusion of these webcomics, they are still important to analyze in relation to this larger framework of fan culture and could be studied in future works. While these limitations do exist, the webcomics themselves are also important since they are feminist art pieces. As I outlined earlier in the definition I am using for feminist art, these webcomics meet this criteria and it is apparent in my in depth analysis that follows. Each webcomic is created by a woman and expresses personal events in order to bring attention to these experiences. The interactions depicted in the webcomics, which are all examples of various forms of gender microaggressions these women have had to face, can be read as a way of resisting the sexism they have faced within this fan community. This is the second reason they can be considered feminist art pieces, because they are challenging the sexism within this space. In addition, because these are webcomics, it is also challenging the idea of what kind of art should and can be valued. Webcomics, but even comics as a whole, have not always been seen as legitimate art forms, but these artists use webcomics specifically as a way to express their stories. Finally, the use of the Internet also challenges the idea of where art can be seen, since the idea has been that art with value can only be found in art galleries. However, these artists have posted their webcomics online, removing the geographical and financial barriers that would limit a person’s access to the art, and makes it ready available to anyone who is interested in accessing the art. For these reasons, the webcomics can be deemed feminist art pieces. In my analysis of the webcomics themselves, the specific examples of the gender microaggressions and the way they are resisting those experiences will be shown.

NOELLE STEVENSON The first autobiographical webcomic I am analyzing is the first webcomic I came across about this issue and was created by Noelle Stevenson. She is a comic artist and freelance illustrator currently based out of Los Angeles, California. In addition to being a comic book fan, she works in the industry and has been awarded the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Webcomic in 2012 and has her own webcomic, NIMONA, which was being published online but was picked up by HarperCollins (“About Me”). Of the three webcomics

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I am analyzing, this webcomic is one of the most popular, based on the number of likes and comments left on the original post. The location of this webcomic takes place within a comic book store, which is one of the main locations available to comic book fans, both men and women, so this webcomic is able to speak to a large audience (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). Stevenson compiles a number of different experiences in order to show how her attitude has changed over time towards comic book stores and brings in specific examples in order to explain her reasoning for this shift in her outlook. She discusses how men police women who are comic book fans and the ideas that exist about women who read comic books. These men will mock women when they transgress the assumptions held about women and the comic books they read versus the ones men assume they read and the overall atmosphere that is present within these stores. The assumptions and behaviors of these men can all be categorized as gender microaggressions, due to the sexism that lies at the core of these interactions. By representing a multiplicity of experiences, she is also able to show the extent of how women are treated in this space and how it is not an isolated incident but rather a continuous problem. She also follows up these incidents by explaining the effects and outcomes of these experiences. Stevenson begins her webcomic by introducing her history with comic book stores. She explains that the first time she entered a store was because she had been published in a comic book and as her involvement in the industry continued, she began to become more involved with reading comics, some of which were published by friends and others that were aimed at women (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). In addition to providing this background, the image that accompanies the text is also very significant. Stevenson’s webcomic self is proudly holding a copy of Fionna and Cake #1, with the cover held at chest level, as a way to show off the comic she is reading. Her facial expression is also important to note. She is smiling and there are lines coming off her face, as a way to allude to her having a bright smile. The image, in conjunction with the background she has provided about how she began going to comic book stores, represents her feelings before entering a comic book store. She has not had any positive or negative experiences yet, so this is important to note because the rest of the webcomic details specific experiences, which then lead to the final image, which is the result of these various experiences.

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The first incident can be seen in the second and third panel of the webcomic. Here she is at the cash register ready to pay and the employee asks her if she wants My Little Pony as well (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). While the reader does not see the comic she is attempting to buy, the reaction by the employee is what is being highlighted in this interaction. My Little Pony is a comic series based on a children’s toy, and in comparison to other comic books, this is a comic that is stereotypically seen as a comic book for women due to its colorful style and immature storyline. The employee is suggesting that Stevenson should be reading comic books like this since she is a woman and that this would be more in line with her interests. Being infantilized is one example of a microagression, which more specifically can be seen as a microinsult since the employee is conveying a stereotype about women who read comic books. The employee is being subtle in how he expresses his sexist stereotype, but that does not take away from the insulting message that is still being conveyed (Sue 31). This employee is representative of this sexist mentality. His facial expression also speaks to this idea: he appears angry when he is asking Stevenson if she wants My Little Pony. In fact, his expression suggests that he is not actually asking, he is judgmentally asserting that she would want this childish comic book. He is visibly rejecting the fact that she is transgressing the idea held about what comic books women read or should read, which then leads to her own discomfort. In the following panel, there is a thought bubble where Stevenson is questioning the situation and is having difficultly understanding what he is asking her. When microaggressions like this take place, the people who are being targeted are forced to face the affects. The fact that she is unable to even form a complete sentence signifies that she was not expecting this sort of question and does not know what to do, aside from just saying “no, thank you” and demonstrates how she still feels compelled to be gender correct and polite to this male employee during this gender microaggression (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). This encounter with the male store employee relies on the assumptions that are held about women and the forms of entertainment they are “allowed” to be fans of. The second experience outlined in the webcomic builds on the first and shows how male employees will openly mock women for their reading choices. The fourth and fifth panels of Stevenson’s webcomic detail her experience when asking two male employees if a specific comic is currently available (see Figure 3, p. 75;

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Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). After being told they are sold out, the two begin to make fun of Stevenson and say she is only interested in the comic book because the character is sexy. This is another example of the mistreatment women face when they belong to fan communities that are often male dominated. Here, Stevenson’s motives for being interested in the comic are criticized under the assumption that she could only be interested in Lobo because of how the male character is drawn in a stereotypically masculine attractive manner. In “Negotiating the Symbols of Gendered Sports Fandom,” Michael Ian Borer investigates the very male dominated sports community that works on similar assumptions that only men are “true” fans and how men treat female sports fans. As he shows, many women will be accused of only being a fan of the trivial aspects of the game, like the players’ physical and sexual attractiveness (2). While this webcomic deals specifically with comic book stores and the women that are fans, they still face the same assumptions because of the hierarchies within these communities where men believe that only men are true comic book fans and feel entitled to find out the ulterior motive a woman would have for being a comic book fan. This is similar to the previous panel discussed, since both are about specific interactions with male employees and their reactions. In additions to these examples, Stevenson tackles the overall atmosphere that is present within these stores, which is a significant problem for a number of women and a major reason many do not return. As suggested by some of the comments written in response to the webcomic, many have decided to not return to a comic book store, unless a male companion accompanies them, due to feeling uncomfortable and unwanted and not wanting sexist employees to be the reason they no longer enjoy reading comic books. In the sixth panel of the webcomic, Stevenson discusses how the atmosphere affects women, which then impacts their own views on this space (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). The top of the panel has Stevenson attempting to get the attention of the two store employees. Despite attempting to ask for assistance, they act as if she is not there and continue their conversation. This is similar to the personal account posted on Safe Space for Comics Fans, where a woman reviews that the comic book store she visited made her feel unwanted when she was not accompanied by her father or male cousins (Duskborn). This attitude suggests that unless a woman is with a male companion, she does not legitimately exist within this space and needs that male presence in order to validate her own presence in the store. While the employees are attempting to deny her presence within

52 the store, the items present in the stores also speak volumes about how women are viewed by the comic book community. The following image right under the previously discussed panel addresses how this atmosphere is created and suggests that it is not just the people in the comic book stores who make women feel unwelcome; the posters and comics themselves also make women uncomfortable in this space. There are three posters on the wall with sexualized images of women. The middle one concentrates on a woman’s butt and the third depicts a pair of breasts. When you read the three together it says, “this is what we think of you” (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). In Comic Book Culture: Fanboys and True Believers (Studies in Popular Culture (2000), Matthew J. Pustz discusses how the posters and images in comic book stores lead women to feeling unwanted in this space (8). These images, which can be considered a microassault (another form of a microagression) due to their sexualized nature in which women are being sexualized and objectified, are creating a loud and clear message about what the dominant comic book community thinks of women (Sue 169). These images, in addition to the attitudes that are held and expressed by the male members of the community, lead many women to feel as if they do not belong and are not wanted in this space. In Stevenson’s webcomic, she uses these three experiences in order to explain her own feelings and change in attitude towards comic book stores, which she details in the final two panels. As a result of the actions of these employees, it can make it difficult for someone who is new to comic books to learn where to start and to get recommendations. In the seventh panel, Stevenson says that she is “intimidated by the staff and [doesn’t] want to ask” (“Comic Book Store”). The actions shown in the previous panels show how this behavior has a negative impact on women, which could prevent them from continuing to read or finding new comic book series. Such microaggressions can also prevent women from wanting to return to this space ever again, because they feel that they do not belong as are essentially pushed out of the community as a way to reinstate male hegemony over the space, which can be seen in the final panel of the webcomic. Here, Stevenson appears very differently than in the first panel of the webcomic. Her body language suggests that she is uncomfortable by folding her hand across her chest, as if she is trying the take up less space. Her face also has a straightforward expression, which could be read as frustrated or even angry, especially since

53 she says “I don’t go to comic shops anymore. I’m tired of all this” (see Figure 3, p. 75; Stevenson, “Comic Book Store” 2014). Considering what she has to say and how she looks, it appears as if she is defeated. In comparison to the first panel, it is apparent that these various interactions in comic book stores have completely changed her mind about entering this space and she will not go there anymore. While each panel discusses a specific interaction, the message of the whole webcomic is that men in this community will behave like gatekeepers. While the term gatekeeper was first used in order to describe the process by which some news items would make it to the public while others would not, men within this community have taken it upon themselves to become gatekeepers in order to determine who is allowed to be in this space and who is not allowed (Deluliis 240). They do this by critiquing the comics women read, patronizingly suggesting that they read comics that would be seen as more traditionally feminine, ignoring their presence in these spaces, and by creating a hostile atmosphere that tells women just how this community feels about them. These are all methods used in order to discourage women from being fans and from becoming involved within this community. Even though this is an autobiographical webcomic and there are limitations in regards to who is being represented, which was outlined earlier in this chapter, it is important to provide an intersectional analysis of this webcomic in order to have a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of privilege and oppression on women’s experiences. As previously mentioned, Stevenson is a young woman and can be read as white, regardless of how she actually identifies. When she posted the webcomic to her personal page, she also posted a short sentence acknowledging her own privilege by saying, “Oh, I know I have it better than a lot of would-be comics buyers, and that’s what worries me. I’ve had it with the self-appointed gatekeepers in comics” (Stevenson, “Comic Book Store”). Gender is not the only identity that plays a factor in how fans are treated. A person’s race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation, for example, all intersect with each other to determine a fan’s place within these hierarchies that are created in fan communities (Brown 14-15). Stevenson knows that while her gender impacts her treatment within this community, she does not have it as bad because of how additional aspects of her identity are read by others as being part of dominant groups. For example, she can be read as gender conforming and heterosexual while her class status is more apparent, due to her ability to purchase comic books while in the store. The

54 experiences of those whose bodies are not read in such ways, as fitting in within at least some dominant social groups, would arguably be worse. While she does not address this in her webcomic or in follow up comments, I feel as though the fact that the webcomic was drawn in black and white can make it easier for others to identify with these experiences and feelings because while it is representative of her own experiences, it is still drawn in a way that allows people to connect with the webcomic. Stevenson’s webcomic is meant to explain her own feelings about comic books and the various interactions that led to her viewpoints, and it is unique in that sense, because the location is very specific. The next webcomic, created by Paige Hall, is similar to Stevenson’s in the sense that the interactions take place in a specific setting. Like comic book stores, comic book conventions are another setting where many comic book fans gather. Hall’s webcomic depicts her experience as a fat woman who decides to cosplay and how other convention attendees receive her.

PAIGE HALL Like the autobiographical webcomic created by Noelle Stevenson, Paige Hall’s own autobiographical webcomic takes place in a specific location, comic book conventions. Hall is an illustrator based out of Columbus, Ohio and the webcomic she created in 2013 was for a college course she was taking (Jupiter). Hall’s webcomic was originally posted to her personal Tumblr page, but has since been taken down. Unlike the other webcomics included in my research, Hall includes a discussion about fat bodies and the shaming of women’s bodies, both fat and thin. While Hall’s experience is one that cosplayers will be able to relate to the most, it does speak to the overall atmosphere present in comic book conventions, with which all women are forced to contend. While the main focus of Hall’s autobiographical webcomic is the atmosphere, she begins the webcomic by discussing her own feelings before cosplaying as Wonder Woman at a convention. In the first three panels, Hall says that while she loves geeky stuff, she does not love to love it “because that stuff and the men that love it, love to make us women not love ourselves” (see Figure 4, p. 76; Hall 2013). Through her webcomic, she is insightfully naming the complex relationship women comic book fans have to the material “stuff” of comic books and their characters. Hall is raising awareness that in a hegemonic male comic

55 book world, these things are not always created in ways that make women feel good about themselves, thus her webcomic can be interpreted as feminist resistance. The problem lies in the items themselves, which goes back to the creators, as well as the men that are in this community. When evaluating the comic books themselves, mainstream comic books have been known for their sexist depiction of women. In the early 1990s, Marvel and Image, two of the larger comic book publishers in the United States, published a series of annual swimsuit issues, similar to the ones Sports Illustrated publishes each year. These special issues included paintings and drawings of popular female comic book characters in revealing swimsuits (Lavin 97). Even when the comic book industry attempts to move away from these sexualized depictions, the companies still end up sexualizing women’s bodies in one way or another. When Araña, the first primary Latina heroine present in a comic book was introduced in 2004, there was excitement due to the inclusion of a Latina character, but her body was still sexualized in a racialized manner. The way her curvaceous body was drawn emphasized her breasts, narrow waist, and butt, body parts that dominant society particularly sexualizes about the Latino community (McGrath 270-274). In Hall’s webcomic, she highlights the body of Wonder Woman, since this is the character she decides to dress up as. Hall continues her webcomic by voicing her apprehension about dressing up as Wonder Woman and questions how it is even possible to look like her. In the fifth panel of the webcomic, she is standing in front of her Wonder Woman poster, comparing her body to the one on the poster and asks “is it even possible to look like that?” (see Figure 4, p. 76; Hall 2013). Hall, as a fat woman, does not look anything like the poster, where Wonder Woman is representative of a normative “beautiful” body: thin, with big breasts and a large butt. Female comic book characters are not just sexualized, but there is also a lack of representation of body types, since the majority are also thin. Comic books are not the only media source perpetuating this image, but Hall is addressing what happens to fans when their body does not look like the images they are always seeing. While she is a fan of Wonder Woman, seeing the same body type over and over makes her feel as though she is unable to dress up like her, since she does not look like her. She resists the power of this gender microaggression to potentially push her out of the comic book fan community and decides that cosplaying is just another way to demonstrate to others that she is a fan of Wonder

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Woman. Hall’s webcomic then illustrates what happens to women, especially fat women, who decide to cosplay in our sexist and size-ist culture. In the eighth panel of her webcomic, Hall expresses what happens to women who do not have a normative body and decide to cosplay at a comic book convention. Hall says that she was wrong, when she believed she could meet other fans by dressing up, but instead is shamed for her body. Comments like “put some clothes on,” “fatass,” and “whale” are yelled at her, while she stands in the middle of the floor with her arms crossed, as if to hide away from what is happening, while her head looks down in embarrassment and sadness (see Figure 4, p. 76; Hall 2013). The fact that these gendered comments are being openly yelled out at her suggests that this behavior and language has been normalized and accepted in society, particularly when directed at women. This is another way men make women uncomfortable in these spaces and is similar to the experiences Noelle Stevenson depicted in her own webcomic. Hall is bringing attention to how her own fat body is treated in this space, but acknowledges that even if she were thin, she would still face similar criticism because she is a woman. She follows up this image with an image of a thin woman, more in line with the body presented in the Wonder Woman poster, and the comments that are thrown at her by the other convention attendees. The woman is told that she is a “whore” and “slut” and one attendee asks, “did you even read the comics?” (see Figure 4, p. 76; Hall 2013). Even when a body looks similar to the ones presented in the original source material, the comic books themselves, women are still shamed for how they appear, when in reality they are dressing like this as a way to show others that they are a fan of a specific character. The criticism should be in how the characters are represented, but instead women that decide to cosplay are on the receiving end of these negative comments. This panel also demonstrates how in a sexist culture women will always be criticized, regardless of how they appear. If a woman is too fat, then she will be criticized and told she needs to put more clothes on, and if a woman is too thin, then she will be accused of being too sexual and to also put on more clothes. Hall also highlights how women are constantly being accused of not being fans and that there is an ulterior motive for everything women do within this fan community. One of the comments that the thin woman is forced to deal with is the belief that she does not read the comics (see Figure 4, p. 76; Hall 2013). The assumption is that if women do read comic

57 books, it is not because they are fans, but there is another underlying reason, putting women’s trustworthiness into question. Here, the woman is being accused of only wearing this Wonder Woman costumer in order to show off her body and not because she actually reads the comic books. While Hall concentrates on the environment in comic book conventions, she does consider how this atmosphere is created and maintained at the end of her webcomic. When reflecting on how these attitudes are perpetuated, Hall brings in the creators and the industry itself into the conversation. In the fourteenth panel of her webcomic, Hall portrays a comic book executive, and concentrates on the mainstream comic book industry by having the DC logo behind him with the caption “we respect women” under him (see Figure 4, p. 76; Hall 2013). She is stressing the fact that while industry officials say they care about women, the comics they release say otherwise. In 2012 for example, Tony Harris, a comic book artist known for his work on Iron Man and Ex Machina, posted a Facebook comment criticizing women who cosplay. In his tirade, he said that women who read comic books and cosplay are the exception to the rule, women that cosplay are on “con-hot,” meaning they only appear attractive when they cosplay but are not attractive on a daily basis, and cosplay just for the attention because they lack any self-confidence (Hern). When comments like these are coming from popular artists, it is not surprising that women feel unwanted in this community, especially since these attitudes are also reflected in the comics and other memorabilia connected with the comic books. When these mindsets exist, it impacts the way people interact with each other, which can be seen in how Hall and other women are then treated when they attend comic book conventions. Again, like the webcomic by Noelle Stevenson, this experience is unique in the sense that only cosplayers can truly connect with the story that is being shared. However, women are not just criticized in the spaces where fans gather together. Some fans may openly display their interest in comic books on an everyday basis and one way in which this is done is by wearing a shirt with a logo or character. By presenting this information to the public, it also opens up women to being questioned in public. The next webcomic, created by Meghan Lovell, presents one example of how this can occur and how women are forced to meet different standards than men.

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MEGHAN LOVELL Meghan Lovell created the third autobiographical webcomic that is included in my study. A college student based out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, she is a web comic artist known for her work that has begun to gain recognition despite her young age. Her webcomic, which was posted in November 2012, that is being included in my research is also well known, not to the same degree as the one created by Noelle Stevenson, but it has gained attention for taking on the “Fake Geek Girl” controversy, where women are often accused of only being fans or pretending to be a fan in order to gain the attention of a man or to fit in with this community (Lovell; “Video Game Mania… (Spread the Love: 1)”). Whereas Stevenson and Hall analyze experiences within specific spaces for comic book fans, comic book stores and comic book conventions respectfully, Lovell’s own webcomic takes on an experience that can take place at any point, regardless of where a person is. The location of where this interaction is important to take note of because it shows how experiences like this take place outside of the spaces available for comic book fans. The webcomic begins with an interaction between two men and then we see that the blond man from the first panel confronts Lovell’s character in the second panel (see Figure 5, p. 77; Lovell 2012). There are no clues as to where this confrontation is taking place or when, which allows readers to connect with it. The interaction is not limited by its location and it also speaks to the fact that women always have to be on guard because this exchange could happen anywhere and that women must always be on alert and ready to defend their status as a comic book fan and that fact that they need to prove this at all. This is one of the main reasons this specific webcomic was included in my own research, because I wanted to bring in an example that discusses an experience that takes place outside of the spaces available for fans and that are not accessible to everyone. This interaction can take place regardless of a person’s geographical or financial barriers, which shows how this fan community can exist anywhere. The location of Lovell’s webcomic is also significant because it brings in a discussion of class, although it is not obvious. When discussing the spaces available for comic book fans, specifically comic book stores and comic book convention, it was noted that there are financial barriers that may limit or prevent a person from interacting in these spaces. Lovell’s webcomic on the other hand eliminates these class barriers and presents an interaction that

59 can take place regardless of a person’s economic status, as well as geographical location. While this is not a focal point of the webcomic, it is still important to address because it add another layer to the intersectional analysis being done. It brings class into the discussion, most likely unintentional, but it does establish that these interactions move between socioeconomic statuses. In the first panel of the webcomic, there are two men that appear as if they have just come across each other. The first man, the blond wearing the black shirt, looks across and tells the other man that he is wearing a cool Green Lantern shirt and gives him a thumbs up (see Figure 5, p. 77; Lovell 2012). It is a quick exchange between these two men, but overall it is a positive one. The two men are smiling and in a way have bonded over the fact that both are fans of Green Lantern. While this takes place very quickly, it sets up the stage for the next panel and very aptly outlines the different expectations there are for women versus men. The second panel involves the same blond man from the first panel and involves Lovell, who is wearing the same Green Lantern shirt as the second man in the first panel (see Figure 5, p. 77; Lovell 2012). Despite the fact that they are wearing the same shirt, the interaction between her and the blond man is drastically different. This interaction is another example of the types of microaggressions that women encounter, where women face blatant unequal treatment (Sue 11). To begin with, the man takes it upon himself to interrogate Lovell over the Green Lantern and to make sure she knows enough about the characters. He starts by asking her if she is even able to name any Green Lanterns. When she begins to answer, he cuts her off and accuses her of checking Wikipedia in order to provide an answer. As she begins to explain that she actually reads the comic books, he interrupts her and begins to list off different questions and demands that she needs to comply with in order to prove that she does in fact read the comics. In comparison to the first panel, Lovell’s interaction with the other fan is representative of the inequitable scrutiny female comic book fans face. The blond man automatically assumes that the man wearing the Green Lantern shirt actually reads the comic books, when in fact he could just be a fan of the character as a result of the movies or the animated series. On top of that, he takes it at face value and just accepts the idea that this man is a fan, regardless of his level of interaction with the comic books. In contrast, the blond man immediately questions Lovell. In a demanding manner, he forces her to prove her

60 level of knowledge of Green Lantern. He establishes an unequal and unfair set of criteria in which, in a way, she has to know everything about Green lantern in order to prove that she is a fan. In Fan Cultures (2002) by Matt Hill, he discusses how there are hierarchies within fan communities and the factors that can determine your placement within this hierarchy. Pulling from John Fiske’s work on fan cultural capital, which is the knowledge that fan has about the object of their fandom, Hill argues that this is one of the factors that influences a person’s location in these hierarchies, among many other factors (57). Building from Fiske’s theory, it is apparent that the man is not only questioning how much Lovell knows about Green Lantern, but is indirectly questioning her own location within this comic book fan hierarchy. By asking her these questions, he is first suggesting that women know less about comic books then men, since he did not even ask any question in the first panel and that women are unevenly burdened with having to prove their own level of knowledge regarding the comic book. She, along with other women, have to go above and beyond to ever be considered a “true” fan. Along with the webcomic, Lovell posted a quick comment when she originally posted it on her website. She wrote, “AM I RIGHT LADIES” in all capital letters and with no punctuation. The fact that her comment is in all capital letters suggests a strong emotion and the lack of a question mark shows that this is a statement, rather than a question that is being posed. Lovell is not asking her followers if this is something that happens, she is making a direct statement. By addressing her followers, she is acknowledging that this is something that other women go through. Lovell knows she is not the only one who has faced this line of questioning by male fans and typing the statement using only capital letters expresses the high level of frustration and anger collectively experienced by female comic book fans because it is such a common occurrence. In fact, when you look at the facial expression on Lovell’s face in the webcomic, it supports the feelings being presented in her comment. While her character is being quizzed, it is important to consider how she appears as well. Her facial expression suggests that she is confused, which is alluded to by her raised eyebrows, by what is happening in this moment and the fact that she is being asked to answer these questions (see Figure 5, p. 77; Lovell 2012). Her face is also turning red, especially in comparison to the man in the panel. While his cheeks look pink, hers appear darker, like

61 when someone is embarrassed or angry. In this case, it seems to be the latter when you consider her facial expression. She is showing her anger, which is an emotion that women are not expected to openly express to others, and thus challenging this gender-based idea of how women should behave. Lovell is not just raising awareness to one of the issues that many female comic book fans face, but is also challenging gender norms by adding this element into her webcomic. Lovell, Stevenson, and Hall all bring various elements into their webcomics. They bring attention to the environment that exists in comic book stores and comic book conventions and the effects it has on female comic book fans. They also highlight how women are constantly being questioned about their fan status, and the ways men expect them to prove they are a fan by knowing everything about a storyline in order to be seen as a “true” fan, whereas men do not face this level of scrutiny. The benefit of these autobiographical webcomics is that these women comic book fans are able to share their experiences and find a sense of solidarity with other women.

COMMUNITY REACTION While each of these webcomics are important in their own right because it allows these artists to share their stories with others, they are also important because of the conversations that are started as a result. As I have stated earlier, many women feel unwanted in the physical spaces available for fans, and the webcomics by Stevenson and Hall help explain why so many women feel this way. As a result, the Internet has been used as a space where fans, which are not welcomed in other spaces, are able to gather together and interact with each other. The creation and distribution of these autobiographical webcomics is just one way in which some fans have decided to do so. Each webcomic was published on the artists’ personal Tumblr page, but due to their popularity and the fact that so many other people connected with the stories, they were also posted on other websites as well. Just concentrating on the reactions on the personal pages themselves, the comments posted show how so many women have faced similar experiences and have used these webcomics as a way to connect with others. Numerous researchers have outlined the benefits of sharing these experiences. One study conducted by James W. Pennebaker found that writing about emotional or traumatic experiences had a number of

62 benefits for that person. Some positive outcomes are long-term improvements in mood and a significant reduction in distress (162). Telling Stories to Change the World: Global Voices on the Power of Narrative to Build Community and Make Social Justice Claims (2008) edited by Rickie Solinger, Madeline Fox, and Kayhan Irani also outline some of these benefits. In their introduction, they discuss the various ways in which activists, artists, and community members use the power of stories in order to “generate hope and engagement, personal dignity and active citizenship, the pride of identity, and the humility of human connectedness” (1). Sharing stories with others can become very therapeutic, both for the storyteller and the listener. Reading some of the comments that have been left on the page where the webcomics were posted, it becomes apparent that this process is also therapeutic for the women reading the webcomics. Some have shared their own experiences, their frustration at seeing how common and often these interactions take place, and their hope that these webcomics will bring attention and awareness to the issue, with the faith that change will take place. While similar conversations may take place between women in comic book stores or conventions, using the Internet opens the discussion to everyone, regardless of where they are located or whether or not they are able to afford a ticket to attend a convention. These webcomics, and the fact that they have been posted online, allow people to connect over shared experiences and they help create a platform for these empowering conversations, especially when that has not always been available.

CONCLUSION In this chapter, I provided three examples of autobiographical webcomics that have been created and posted online by female comic book fans. I explained the requirements these webcomics had to meet in order to be included in my research, as well as why others were not included and the limitations that were created as a result. I analyzed the three webcomics and summarized how their experiences speak to the larger issues that women face within this fan community. I also presented a brief overview of how these webcomics benefit both the artists themselves and the people that follow their Tumblr pages, by creating a platform where these experiences can be shared and talked about with others.

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In my final chapter, I will provide a synopsis of my main research questions and how the work I completed answered those questions. I will also make suggestions for future research and how this work can continue and grow in its approach.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

I began this research to present how female comic book fans are able to share their stories with others as well as why many turn to the Internet as a space where these stories can be disclosed. When I began, I posed two questions: Why do women turn to the Internet versus other spaces available for comic book fans? How do women share their experiences with others and what are the benefits of doing so? In order to answer these questions, I investigated the spaces that are currently available to comic book fans and analyzed three autobiographical webcomics created by female comic book fans in order to understand their feelings about these spaces and the ways many women are able to connect with these stories. I found that the spaces available for all comic book fans made women feel unwanted, leading many to turn to the Internet as an alternative space where they were able to share their experiences, with some choosing to use autobiographical webcomics as one method to do so. This research is significant in that it contributes to the scholarship on fan cultures built around comic books by focusing on the experiences of women. This thesis also contributes to the literature on the history of feminist art by analyzing several contemporary autobiographical webcomics by female comic book fans. The webcomics created by Noelle Stevenson, Paige Hall, and Meghan Lovell can be classified as feminist art pieces for a number of different reasons. To begin with, each webcomic is a piece that is created by a woman in order to express personal events and bring attention to these experiences. These webcomics also bring attention to various gender microaggressions, which is a way of visually resisting the sexism they face within this fan community. It also moves beyond the traditional art forms that are often valued, by using comic images, which have often been seen as a form of low art and have not always been recognized as a legitimate art form. Finally, the use of the Internet as a way to share these webcomics is significant because it moves past the traditional spaces art is seen in an instead they are found online where anyone

65 can access these art images, regardless of class and geographical barriers. Since the webcomics meet this criteria that was outlined earlier, they can be defined as feminist art pieces. The limitations of this study lie in the focus on the autobiographical webcomics that were found on the Internet and their artists. The comic book artists whose autobiographical webcomics I analyzed are presumably all young white women with a class status high enough that they are able to engage in the material culture of comic books or are socially read as such. Since authorship could not always be proven, as a result of the anonymity that exists online, some webcomics bringing race, ethnicity, and/or nation more directly into the conversation were not included. In addition, this meant the focus of the research was not international, with all three artists coming from the United States, though they did come from different states. Moreover, although I was taking an intersectional feminist approach to my research, I did not find webcomics within my requirements that directly addressed LGBTQ identity, ability, age, or other vectors of identity related to systems of inequality other than size, alongside gender. I chose to focus on autobiographical webcomics for my analysis although there are other methods (such as video) that women have used in order to share their stories, some of which include race in their discussion. However, this thesis is a reflection of one specific method that has been utilized by some women and the necessary stories that have been shared. In terms of further areas of study, my findings can be built on by including a discussion regarding the use of webcomics as an art form. Since the use of comics, specifically webcomics, challenges the idea of what kind of art is valuable, engaging with the form could more strongly argue for the contributions that these webcomics make to the work already done on feminist art. In addition, other methods of storytelling can also be included in the analysis as a way to have a larger study that investigates how women are using the Internet as a space to share their stories about being female comic book fans. Also, conducting interviews with these artists would provide supplementary information that was not present in the webcomics, like other experiences, what led them to creating these webcomics, and how they feel about the public reaction to their webcomics. I was not able to include this information, despite reaching out to the artists, due to their lack of availability and time to set aside for an interview. In addition, I did not explore how the transgender

66 women’s community uses the Internet in order to share their stories, since the cisgender women artists included in my study did not identify as such. In conclusion, in conducting this research I aimed to document and analyze one specific way women have turned to the Internet in order to create a space that is often denied to them within the male dominated comic book community. These webcomics were one way I was able to find a community online where I could connect with other women and share my own feelings and experiences as a comic book fan. This work was important because while there is research regarding how identity, specifically a person’s gender identity, can impact their involvement within a fan community, my approach included actual women’s voices. Personally, the writing of this thesis has been a self-reflective process where I have been able to look back on my own experiences and better understand how my own identity has influenced both how I have been treated as well as how I interpret these interactions. I am able to better recognize microaggressions when I am asked to explain why I am buying a specific comic book or when someone tells me I am only a fan of Captain America because Chris Evans plays him in the films. I never anticipated my feminist curiosity to lead me on a research project of this scale, but reflecting back on the process and my findings, my own feelings about these experiences have been validated. I have been able to find women going through similar experiences and see how these stories are having a profound impact. My hope is that this is just the beginning of this exploration and that more voices are included in further research.

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APPENDIX

COLLECTION OF FIGURES

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Figure 1. "Fake Geek," by AfterDaylightComic, posted September 1, 2014.

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Figure 2. "Fake Geek Girl," by Rangely García Colón, posted December 6, 2012.

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Figure 3. "Comic Book Store," by Noelle Stevenson, posted February 10, 2014

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Figure 4. "Is This What Respect Feels Like?," by Paige Hall, posted May 1, 2013

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Figure 5. "Am I Right Ladies," by Meghan Lovell, posted November 13, 2012