Research Catalog

Title

Ink-stained amazons and cinematic warriors : superwomen in modern mythology / Jennifer K. Stuller.

Author

Stuller, Jennifer K.

Publication

London ; New York : I.B. Tauris ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xii, 239 p.; 22 cm.

Summary

"Women have been led to believe that superheroes and heroism are not for them, and that they are little more than love interests, or sidekicks who stand by their supermen. This is a false proposition argues Jennifer K. Stuller, as she uncovers the true history of how superwomen are represented in popular culture. She reveals how, from Wonder Woman to Buffy Summers, Emma Peel to Sydney Brislow, Charlie's Angels to The Powerpuff Girls, the female hero in modern mythology has broken through the boys' club barrier of tradition for shining, if all too brief, moments. The book details the notable differences in how women and men are represented as heroic in modern myth. Love and compassion, spies and sexuality, daddy's girls, and the complicated roles of superwomen who are also mothers are all explored. The spotlight is also turned onto men and women who have created modern myths with a strong female presence and Stuller concludes by speculating on the future of gender representation in superheroic myth. A useful appendix offers resources for further information about feminist fangirl blogging, activism, and fiction, and the book features a glossary of modern mythic women."--P. [4] of cover.

Alternative Title

Superwomen in modern mythology

Subject

• Superhero films > History and criticism
• Superhero television programs > History and criticism
• Women heroes in motion pictures
• Women heroes on television
• Heroines in motion pictures
• Heroines on television
• Superheroes > Comic books, strips, etc. > History and criticism
• Women heroes > In literature

Genre/Form

• Comics (Graphic works)
• Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-224) and index.
• Includes filmography and web resources.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Standing on the shoulders of Amazons. The birth of modern mythology and the mother of female superheroes ; Modern myth, meet feminism ; Women of steel : the buff and the backlash ; Super grrrl power in the 1990s and the turn of the twenty-first century -- Journey of the female hero. Love will bring you to your gift : on redemption, collaboration, and compassion ; Who’s your daddy : on fathers and their superdaughters ; Always the mother, never the messiah : on mothers, daughters, and women mentoring women -- The mythmakers. Women making myth -- From (A)eon to (Z)oë : a select glossary of superwomen in modern mythology.

ISBN

• 9781845119652 (pbk.)
• 1845119657 (pbk.)

OCLC

• 432408241
• SCSB-11778148

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library