It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's… a Girl?!: Analyzing Representations of Femininity on the CW's Supergirl by Dylan Frei
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It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s… a Girl?!: Analyzing Representations of Femininity on The CW’s Supergirl by Dylan Freitag A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication Carleton University, Ottawa Ontario ©2020 Dylan Freitag Abstract Although it takes more than diverse media representation to create positive social change, representation is still an important part of normalizing identities and pushing discussions of social issues. However, representations of certain minority groups, whether on the basis of racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender identities, are often largely absent in media, and flawed when they do exist. This is true of comic books and the various forms of media that have adapted superhero stories. For instance, superhero tales have long been dominated by depictions of superheroes who are heterosexual cisgender men. Because of this trend spanning from the 1930s into the 21st century, superhero stories have developed a reputation of being a boy’s club rife with sexism. Certainly, this issue persists to this day, but this thesis provides a snapshot of how women are fairing in superhero media in the mid-to-late 2010s. By focusing specifically on the case study of the CW’s Supergirl, I discuss how representations of superwomen have improved greatly compared to popular expectations and no longer entirely reflect a singular and problematic ideal of what being a woman means. In particular, my examination is centered around three of Supergirl’s main women: protagonist Kara Danvers/Supergirl, Kara’s sister and super spy Alex Danvers, and the heroic Nia Nal/Dreamer. By doing an in-depth analysis of how femininity is represented through these three women, I argue that the show presents complex and nuanced depictions of femininity that are a strong step forward for the genre. i Acknowledgements Before getting to all of the people who have helped produce this thesis in different ways, I think it is pertinent to make an acknowledgment about myself as its author. This thesis is focused primarily on women and femininity, including a transgender woman, and my subject position is that of a cisgender man. This is something I have tried to be conscious of in every aspect of my work, but I feel it is still important to acknowledge up front that I do not have the same lived experiences as any woman, cis or trans, and hope for this work to open up further discussion of superheroes and gender, including work by more women as well as trans and non-binary folks. In terms of who I would like to thank, first and foremost, this thesis would not have been possible (or anywhere near the same level of quality) without the important guidance of my supervisor Rena Bivens. From day one Rena has been instrumental in helping me really find what I wanted to accomplish with a project of this size and where to look for a lot of the foundational work on gender that provided much of theoretical backbone of my analysis. Thanks to courteous, thoughtful, and timely feedback, Rena also pushed my work to be the best it could be. With our many discussions and her written feedback, this project went about as smooth as a master’s thesis could, and I cannot imagine having done it with another supervisor. I think it is fair to say that had I not taken classes with her during my fourth year of undergrad, my grad school career would not have played out the way it has. Likewise, the support of committee member and second reader Benjamin Woo was invaluable. Early on, Ben provided helpful insight in how I could narrow down the methodological approach I wanted to take with my work as well as well as scaling the project appropriately. Throughout the process, Ben was also suggested numerous pieces of valuable literature on comic books and superheroes, as well as providing pointed suggestions on revisions once I had a full draft for him to read through. I would also be remiss to not thank Laura Horak, ii who provided valuable input on final revisions related toh areas of her own research, such as the history of lesbian representation and transgender studies. A number of other people helped in different ways, whether by allowing me to bounce ideas around and think through the various stages of work, or by simply being there for comfort and support during the long months of developing my ideas, doing the research, and trying to create a cohesive statement out of it. I would be remiss not to include my cohort of master’s students in the Communication and Media Studies program at Carleton University (Class of 2020). For the sake of brevity, I will not spend time detailing all fourteen of them here, but I am thankful for all of them – as well as several of the people from master’s cohorts the years above and below me, and several PhD students. I am proud to call of you friends. Of those in the department, I do want to give special mention to Madeleine Le Jeune, Tommy Wall, Anna Hum, Erika Christiansen, and Khadija Malik, who, in various capacities, listened to me talk for hours about Supergirl, this project, and life generally. Outside of the department, my close friend and fellow Carleton Raven Yuri FitzPatrick also provided some important insight and commentary on my work at different points, helped me focus and articulate my thoughts, and even provided some feedback on written elements of this work. Moving on for the sake of brevity, I would like to specifically acknowledge specifically my sister, Gina, as well as she was instrumental in providing support and advice throughout my entire university career, including applying to this graduate program. In fact, given that I stayed at her apartment the weekend I met Supergirl cast member Nicole Maines (detailed briefly in my introduction), one might argue that this thesis direction may not have happened without her – thanks, Gina. And of course, Nicole Maines herself has been something of a personal hero for the last couple of years, and served as direct inspiration for this project, so in some ways, it is dedicated iii to her. With that, other than thanking my parents (as cliché as it is, but they literally provided me with a place to live and innumerable meals, as well as love and support) and all of the professors I have studied under and worked with, and the accommodating and friendly faces working in our department, I think that covers it. iv Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………i Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………ii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………..iv Chapter One: Introduction……………………………………………………………………...1 1.1 Stories That Matter: Project Inspirations……………………………………………................................1 1.2 “Why? Because I’m a Girl?”: Supergirl and this Project………………………………………………...2 1.3 Why Study Superhero Media?....................................................................................................................3 1.4 Gender: Enforced Norms……………………………………………………………................................6 1.5 Representation: Important, to a Point…………………………………………………………………….9 1.6 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………….12 1.7 Road Map………………………………………………………………………………………………..17 Chapter Two: Kara Danvers…………………………………………………………………..18 2.1 Gender Framework……………………………………………………………………………………...18 2.2 Visual Representations: Cinematography and Kara’s Outfits…………………………………………..21 2.3 Romantic and Sexual Agency…………………………………………………………………………...32 2.4 Supergirl, Not Superwoman: Naming a Heroine………………………………………………………..42 2.5 Friends, Family, and Team-Ups: Kara’s Supporting Cast………………………………………………44 2.6 Conclusion: Kara as a Nuanced Hero…………………………………………………………………...53 Chapter Three: Alex Danvers………………………………………………………………….54 3.1 Visual Representations of Alex’s Femininity…………………………………………………………...54 3.2 Sexuality and Alex Danvers: Coming Out Later in Life………………………………………………..61 3.3 Protective Nurturer and Leader: Agent, Sister, and Hopeful Mother…………………………………...72 3.4 Conclusion: A Lesbian Superwoman…………………………………………………………………...80 Chapter Four: Nia Nal………………………………………………………………………….82 4.1 Visual Representations of Nia’s Femininity…………………………………………………………….82 4.2 Romance and Sexuality: Nia’s Relationship with Brainy………………………………………………84 4.3 Coming Out: Traversing Nia’s Gender Identity………………………………………………………...87 4.4 Dreamer, Not Dream Girl: Naming a Superwoman…………………………………………………….93 4.5 Sidekick and Cub Reporter: Nia’s Role as a Mentee…………………………………………………...96 4.6 Conclusion: Television’s First Transgender Superhero………………………………………………..105 Chapter Five: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..107 v 5.1 Femininity and Superheroes: Limitations and Future Research……………………………………….108 5.2 A Snapshot of Superheroes and Gender: Answering My Research Questions………………………..109 5.3 What Supergirl Does with Representation…………………………………………………………….115 References……………………………………………………………………………………...118 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………..127 Appendix 1: Sample Notetaking Table…………………………………………………………………….127 Appendix 2: Images………………………………………………………………………………………..128 Image 1: Supergirl’s “cheerleading” outfit………………………………………………………128 Image 2: Melissa Benoist in costume as Supergirl………………………………………………129 Image 3: Alex Danvers’ DEO Uniform………………………………………………………….130 Image 4: Nura Nal/Dream Girl’s costume……………………………………………………….131 Image 5: Nicole Maines in costume as Dreamer…………………………………………………132 vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Stories That Matter: Project Inspirations This thesis started with a very simple