DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences 7-2014 Avenging women: an analysis of postfeminist female representation in the cinematic Marvel’s Avengers series Mary Louise DeMarchi DePaul University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd Recommended Citation DeMarchi, Mary Louise, "Avenging women: an analysis of postfeminist female representation in the cinematic Marvel’s Avengers series" (2014). College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 167. https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/167 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. AVENGING WOMEN An Analysis of Postfeminist Female Representation in the Cinematic Marvel’s Avengers Series A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts June 2014 By Mary DeMarchi Department of Interdisciplinary Studies College of Liberal Arts and Sciences DePaul University Chicago, Illinois Avenging Women P a g e | 1 ABSTRACT The cinematic Marvel Avengers series centers on larger than life male figures and leaves little space for fully developed female characters, relying instead on female tropes, stereotypes, and patriarchal constructions that present uncritical and monolithic representations of women. This thesis examines female characters in the Marvel Avengers series and uses them to exemplify and probe the woeful lack of meaningful representation of women in film.