Gender, Feminism, and Heroism in Joss Whedon and John ...

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chosen. That such exceptions do exist and are hardly rarities is important to understand, but this does not negate the general tendencies observed by psychologists. 32
Chapter 1: Emma Frost and Her Subversion of Gender Value Systems Characterized equally by a blonde bombshell body and an icy, heartless demeanor, Emma Frost of the Astonishing X-Men series is among the most peculiar female heroes. Riddled with ambiguity, Emma’s villainous past and harsh disposition frequently result in both the audience and her fictional teammates questioning her intentions, making her an exceptionally revisionary hero. Even more unusual, the narrative of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men ties Emma’s villainy to both subordination and masculinity while her heroism is associated with her role as a leader and her efforts to learn femininity. In a genre in which masculinity provides the very definition of the word “hero,” Emma can be accepted as a hero only by denying her masculinity. This premise works to reconstruct the positive-negative value binary of gender that is deeply rooted within patriarchy and has historically forced the feminine and the heroic into competition with each other in hero narratives. In order to explore this idea in depth, this chapter will begin with an explanation of the ways in which previous hero texts have constructed tensions between heroism and femininity. An analysis of these qualities in Emma will follow, beginning with her formal aspects of her physical construction and framing. The analysis will continue with an examination of Emma’s gender and hero roles within the narrative structure of the Astonishing X-Men series. By combining the formal and narrative elements, this chapter will demonstrate a reading of the text in which Emma takes on distinctly third wave feminist characteristics and works to deconstruct the patriarchal value system that favors masculinity over femininity. 33
Page 1 and 2: The Thesis Committee for Molly Loui
Page 3 and 4: Abstract Gender, Feminism, and Hero
Page 5 and 6: Introduction Every culture has hero
Page 7 and 8: X-Men comic book series written by
Page 9 and 10: how characters have changed to fit
Page 11 and 12: savior/victim relationship exist, a
Page 13 and 14: masculinity that will be discussed
Page 15 and 16: stronger and more skilled than they
Page 17 and 18: feminists as recipients of this sam
Page 19 and 20: generally smaller than male heroes,
Page 21 and 22: movement. Because comic book panels
Page 23 and 24: and relational aggression (sometime
Page 25 and 26: gender liberation and not on any on
Page 27 and 28: society. This patriarchy, they argu
Page 29 and 30: should take precedence over another
Page 31 and 32: gender, overt sexualization, and wo
Page 33 and 34: etween Kitty and Emma. The connecti
Page 35: Footnotes 1 Comic book history is t
Page 39 and 40: saved), the more heroic the man bec
Page 41 and 42: counterparts, but they then transit
Page 43 and 44: possible only as long as I wasn’t
Page 45 and 46: texts for value placed on gender to
Page 47 and 48: from the original X-men team] looke
Page 49 and 50: feminine sexuality as a form of emp
Page 51 and 52: lifestyle. This, however, is certai
Page 53 and 54: within the context of the narrative
Page 55 and 56: in medical professionals. Emma insi
Page 57 and 58: York City, and the X-Men, later joi
Page 59 and 60: action, as Colossus does. As the vo
Page 61 and 62: talking to Cassandra and had preven
Page 63 and 64: etween her belly button and knees.
Page 65 and 66: The groups eventually meet up again
Page 67 and 68: society, then constructing a charac
Page 69 and 70: Footnote 1 For those who are unfami
Page 71 and 72: messages exist in popular texts lik
Page 73 and 74: These conflicts are represented in
Page 75 and 76: were less humorous and more violent
Page 77 and 78: Kitty is visually constructed as Em
Page 79 and 80: The form-fitting uniform reveals de
Page 81 and 82: distinctly feminine and masculine,
Page 83 and 84: disapproval with each other is not
Page 85 and 86: elationship is portrayed as mutuall
Page 87 and 88:
the other, but on the battlefield,
Page 89 and 90:
eflects an amount of femininity on
Page 91 and 92:
ack to her former self when she rea
Page 93 and 94:
“play[ing] the weak kitten” (20
Page 95 and 96:
attle that can easily stand in for
Page 97 and 98:
Chapter 3: Danger’s Radical Femin
Page 99 and 100:
Radical feminist ideology is extrem
Page 101 and 102:
example, consciousness-raising can
Page 103 and 104:
X-Men, and Helene Shugart (2009) ha
Page 105 and 106:
previously curvy metal slabs. Furth
Page 107 and 108:
DANGER’S IRREDEEMABLE VILLAINY Th
Page 109 and 110:
successfully killing them, so Dange
Page 111 and 112:
evenge-fueled goals, rather than th
Page 113 and 114:
prevalently in what is in many ways
Page 115 and 116:
Conclusion Joss Whedon and John Cas
Page 117 and 118:
eing a hero. Ultimately, femininity
Page 119 and 120:
ejection of comic book women’s no
Page 121 and 122:
heroic cause, and, in Professor Xav
Page 123 and 124:
Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men have
Page 125 and 126:
a new feminist movement. Journalism
Page 127 and 128:
established dyads: Effects of compe
Page 129 and 130:
martians, and pregnant men. Teachin
Page 131 and 132:
dilemmas in young adults’ discurs
Page 133:
Whedon, J., & Cassaday, J. (2004-20
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