Not Your Mom's Graphic Novels: Giving Girls a Choice Beyond Wonder Woman
TL;DR: Criteria for “vetting” the new female protagonist is provided, looking for positive female role models who will appeal to all audiences and earn a secure place in public and school library graphic novel collections.
Abstract: Libraries should not lack a comprehensive graphic novel collection, representing all readers in a healthy and respectful manner. As professionals, librarians have the skills and resources to discover new and interesting graphic novel titles. Certain standards are required to reinforce and defend our choices and best to serve our entire community. To assist librarians in critiquing and expanding their graphic novel collections, in this article the authors provide criteria for “vetting” the new female protagonist, looking for positive female role models who will appeal to all audiences and earn a secure place in public and school library graphic novel collections.
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01 Jan 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative content analysis revealed females were underrepresented in YALSA award-winning science comics in the total number of frames, however, healthy depictions of female characters were revealed in half of the sample with the presence of counter stereotypes, positive self-identity, personal development, and the relational approach to learning.
Abstract: According to the results from the 2015 NAEP science exam, female students in 12 grade scored an average of 5 points lower than males, indicating continual stagnation since 2009. Research indicates one of the ways schools can positively impact the self-confidence and interest in science for female learners is through equitable representation and healthy portrayals of women doing science (Kimmel, 1999). In addition, studies have indicated the positive role comics and graphic novels play in student learning, academic performance, and identity development in the academic sciences (Özdemir, 2010; Hosler & Boomer, 2011). With the increasing popularity of graphic literature in the classroom, this study critically examined the representation and portrayals of females in award-winning science comics and graphic novels. Framed in critical feminism and relational learning theory, the text and illustrations of YALSA award-winning comics/graphic novels were analyzed using a coding scheme created using the deductive and inductive approaches to qualitative content analysis. The findings of this qualitative content analysis revealed females were underrepresented in YALSA award-winning science comics in the total number of frames. However, healthy depictions of female characters were revealed in half of the sample with the presence of counter stereotypes, positive selfidentity, personal development, and the relational approach to learning. Overall, this study indicated there remains a need for increased representation of females in science comics.
9 citations
Cites background or methods from "Not Your Mom's Graphic Novels: Givi..."
...With the purpose of responding to the research questions for this study, I received permission from Jorgensen and Lechan (2013) to adapt their Criteria for selecting graphic novels with healthy female role models (Appendix B) for my initial coding scheme....
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...Lastly, Jorgensen and Lechan (2013) suggest artwork should include different styles, enhance the story’s plot, and never hypersexualize females....
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...From a critical perspective, Jorgensen and Lechan (2013) “establish[ed] criteria to develop graphic novel collections that provide healthy role models and lessen the bias against female protagonists” (p. 276)....
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...…the ideal introduction to one of the most significant events in history." https://us.macmillan.com/trinityagraphichistoryofthefirstatomicbomb/jonath anfettervorm/9780809093557/ Cover Art 127 Appendix B Criteria for Selecting Graphic Novels with Healthy Female Role Models (Jorgensen & Lechan, 2013)...
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...Through a feminist lens, Jorgensen and Lechan (2013) reviewed the history of comics and graphic novel publishing from the early 1930’s to the present decade and discovered numerous examples of gender bias....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of contemporary young adult memoirs, including both adult and younger authors, as well as crossover texts, and make an attempt at a preliminary classification of the form.
Abstract: Despite significant scholarly interest in the genre of memoir, the young adult memoir –
as a subset of both young adult writing and the memoir more generally – has attracted
far less attention. This introductory study understands the young adult memoir as a
form of both life writing and creative writing. As a frame to the discussion, it outlines
the history of scholarship and interest in young adult non-fiction, and then surveys a
number of examples of the contemporary young adult memoir in order to provide a
preliminary narrative profile of the form. This includes texts written for young adults
by both adult and younger authors, as well as crossover texts. In identifying some
common and more unusual subjects and narrative styles and forms, as well as
remarking on the voice utilised in these texts, this article posits that the young adult
memoir can be described as a distinct subset of both young adult and life writing texts
and is, therefore, worthy of further detailed investigation in terms of these categories,
providing a attempt at a preliminary classification of the form.
8 citations
TL;DR: Graphic novels must be considered as a potentially significant source of portrayals of smoking to adolescent and young adult readers of this form of literature.
Abstract: Introduction Smoking continues to extract an unacceptably high toll in Ireland in terms of both mortality and morbidity. Therefore, attention needs to focus on examining pro-smoking influences on teenagers and young adults, as most smokers start smoking before the age of 21 years. Given that this critical period is one of identity formation and assertion of adulthood, it is useful to look at media representation of smoking. One form of increasingly pervasive media that may require further examination is that of the portrayal of smoking in graphic novels. The broad appeal of graphic novels has been well noted, particularly to those aged under 35 years. Methods This research examined a random selection of ten graphic novels chosen from the main library in a provincial Irish City. The novels were examined on a panel-by-panel basis for images of smokers. Smokers were coded by gender. Results Analysis identified a total of 526 panels depicting smoking. Substantial variation was noted in the number of smoking images between novels, varying from 0 to 267. A dramatic difference in the number of male to female smokers was observed, the ratio being approximately 17:1. Conclusions Graphic novels must be considered as a potentially significant source of portrayals of smoking to adolescent and young adult readers of this form of literature.
5 citations
21 May 2019
TL;DR: In the late 1980s, Nocenti became the principle writer on the Marvel comic book, Daredevil, the second woman to be lead creator on the book and the first to write a significant run on an ongoing basis.
Abstract: In the late 1980s, Ann Nocenti became the principle writer on the Marvel comic book, Daredevil, the second woman to be lead creator on the book and the first to write a significant run on an ongoing basis. Nocenti integrated themes relating to social justice, violence and the treatment of children into the narrative. She also shone the spotlight on the supporting female cast members in a way that was original and refreshing. In this article, Nocenti’s challenging of feminine archetypes, such as the housewife, the temptress and the Barbie Doll, reflects ideas of mutable identities, promoted by second-wave feminism. Examining her writing of Karen Page, Typhoid Mary, Brandy Ash and Number Nine, this article argues that, despite the comic centring around a male superhero and with a predominantly male readership, Nocenti succeeds in introducing a more nuanced picture of women and pre-empting some of the changes in the promotion of female characters now apparent in the industry.
5 citations
01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, an examination of two science fiction comic series, Saga and Paper Girls, reveals approaches to engaging sensations of tension and discomfort, and it is possible to sift through the provocations of affect suggested by interaction with the material comic itself.
Abstract: Science fiction is untethered by assumptions of how people, things, and environments should act. The perceptions and portrayals of childhood in two science fiction comic series, Saga and Paper Girls , provide engagements with affective encounters. Attention to these encounters and the disruptive portrayals of childhood encourages the exploration of the pedagogic potential of sensation. Comics, as a genre, and childhood in each series inhabit ambiguity: comics blur the boundaries of popular culture objects and “properly” educative materials, while the younger characters in Saga and Paper Girls are not quite adult or child, nor innocent or monster. An examination of Chapters 1 through 48 of Saga and Issues 1 through 18 of Paper Girls reveals approaches to engaging sensations of tension and discomfort. Using affect and new materialism as guiding frameworks for this examination of two comic series, it is possible to sift through the provocations of affect suggested by interaction with the material comic itself and the meanings this exploration holds for reconsidering educational habits.
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01 Jan 2001TL;DR: The comic book industry has been a major source of income for comic book artists since the early 1930s as mentioned in this paper, and has seen a resurgence in the last decade of the 20th century.
Abstract: Contents: Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Superheroes for the Common Man: The Birth of the Comic Book Industry, 1933-1941 Chapter 2: Race, Politics, and Propaganda: Comic Books Go to War, 1939-1945 Chapter 3: Confronting Success: Comic Books and Postwar America, 1945-1956 Chapter 4: Youth Crisis: Comic Books and Controversy, 1947-1950 Chapter 5: Reds, Romance, and Renegades: Comic Books and the Culture of the Cold War, 1947-1954 Chapter 6: Turning Point: Comic Books in Crisis, 1954-1955 Chapter 7: Great Power and Great Responsibility: Superheroes in a Superpower, 1956-1967 Chapter 8: Questioning Authority: Comic Books and Cultural Change, 1968-1979 Chapter 9: Direct to the Fans: The Comic Book Industry since 1980 Epilogue: The Death of Superman or, Must There Be a Comic Book Industry? Spider-Man at Ground Zero: A 9-11 Postscript
214 citations
Book•
22 Sep 2009
TL;DR: In this article, Collins describes how women got from there to here, in politics, fashion, economics, sex, families and work, through a comprehensive mix of oral history and Gail Collins's keen research.
Abstract: WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED begins in 1960 when American women actually had to get their husband's permission to apply for a credit card. In the years since, American women have witnessed exciting changes, expectations about what their lives could be smashed in just a generation. The story ends in the 21st century, with a woman winning a Presidential primary. This book tells us how women got from there to here, in politics, fashion, economics, sex, families and work. A comprehensive mix of oral history and Gail Collins's keen research, WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED is the definitive book on five crucial decades of progress, told with the down-to-earth, amusing and agenda-free tone for which this beloved New York Times columnist is known. Collins spoke with the women who lived these transformative years, including an advertising executive in the 60s who was not allowed to attend board meetings that took place in the all-male dining room and an airline stewardess who was required to bend over to light her passengers' cigars on a men-only 'Executive Flight'. Picking up where her highly-lauded book America's Women left off, WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED is the dynamic story of cataclysmic change, a story Gail Collins seems to have been born to tel
104 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed study of comic book art includes work from both the mainstream and the counterculture, both veteran and newcomer, both traditional and iconoclastic, their cartoon art continues to uphold the aesthetic that Harvey finds to be the basis of cartooning.
Abstract: In this definitive study of one of popular culture's favorite genres Robert C. Harvey, a cartoonist and comics critic, traces the evolution of the comic book as a potent form of narrative art. He takes it from its beginnings in the 1930s through the most contemporary of productions in the mid-1990s. In defining comic book aesthetics Harvey establishes both a critical perspective and a vocabulary for evaluating the art. Because he is an able practitioner himself, his insights are especially valuable. As he demonstrates how words and pictures function together to tell stories in ways unique to the medium, he explains the processes of narrative breakdown, page layout, and panel composition, and shows how these aspects of the art form can be manipulated for dramatic effects. Enhanced by many illustrations, this detailed examination of comic book art includes work from both the mainstream and the counterculture, both veteran and newcomer. Whether traditional or iconoclastic, their cartoon art continues to uphold the aesthetic that Harvey finds to be the basis of cartooning.
97 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: Boys aren''t the only ones to read comics, girls do too as mentioned in this paper, from Betty and Veronica to Slutburger and Art Babe, Girls to Grrrlz explores the amazing but true history of girl comics.
Abstract: Boys aren''t the only ones to read comics, girls do too. From Betty and Veronica to Slutburger and Art Babe, Girls to Grrrlz explores the amazing but true history of girl comics.'
53 citations
Book•
01 Sep 2004
21 citations