Postfeminism in Female Team Superhero Comic Books by Showing the Opposite of The
POSTFEMINISM IN FEMALE TEAM SUPERHERO COMIC BOOKS by Elliott Alexander Sawyer A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Communication The University of Utah August 2014 Copyright © Elliott Alexander Sawyer 2014 All Rights Reserved The University of Utah Graduate School STATEMENT OF THESIS APPROVAL The following faculty members served as the supervisory committee chair and members for the thesis of________Elliott Alexander Sawyer__________. Dates at right indicate the members’ approval of the thesis. __________Robin E. Jensen_________________, Chair ____5/5/2014____ Date Approved _________Sarah Projansky__________________, Member ____5/5/2014____ Date Approved _________Marouf Hasian, Jr.________________, Member ____5/5/2014____ Date Approved The thesis has also been approved by_____Kent A. Ono_______________________ Chair of the Department/School/College of_____Communication _______ and by David B. Kieda, Dean of The Graduate School. ABSTRACT Comic books are beginning to be recognized for their impact on society because they inform, channel, and critique cultural norms. This thesis investigates how comic books interact and forward postfeminism. Specifically, this thesis explores the ways postfeminism interjects itself into female superhero team comic books. These comics, with their rosters of only women, provide unique perspectives on how women are represented in comic books. Additionally, the comics give insight into how women bond with one another in a popular culture text. The comics critiqued herein focus on transferring postfeminist ideals in a team format to readers, where the possibilities for representing powerful connections between women are lost. Postfeminist characteristics of consumption, sexual freedom, and sexual objectification are forwarded in the comic books, while also promoting aspects of racism.
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