Something for the girls
Something for the girls |
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Page 16 of 17  Sheena, Queen of the Jungle This survey of American comics for girls and women would not be complete without making the important point that almost all the comics were produced by men. As in Britain, the gender balance within the industry was overwhelmingly skewed in their favour, though in America far more women were involved in 'behind the scenes' work such as colouring, lettering and editing. It is true that there was a brief period during the Second World War when more women became active as writers and artists, due to the drafting of the old workforce. Indeed, some publishers became especially dependent upon women, such as Fiction House. Paradoxically, this was a company known for titles starring scantily-clad sex objects; their jungle queen comics were often created by women using male pseudonyms. Nevertheless this aberration was short-lived, and afterwards women disappeared into the background again until the late 1960s, when things started to improve. This return was only a very gradual development, as we shall see. Controversy was never far away for the girls' comics. During the boom years between the 1940s and 1960s in Britain and America, society exhibited a heightened sense of protectiveness about female children - indeed females in general - and this led to their comics being scrutinized in, if anything, a more detailed manner than the boys' titles. In the early years, the few feminists who were inclined to speak out complained about the kind of role models that the comics offered -if female characters had aspirations, they were rarely to do with taking on traditional male roles or occupations. Right-wingers also picked up on any 'dubious' elements in the stories which might 'pervert' the idyllic juvenile world they evoked. Dr Wertham, for example, spent time attacking Wonder Woman for the lesbianism implicit in the idea of an island of Amazons.  Cover, Betty and Veronica (Archie Comics 1952) Art: Anon. A more innocent take on matters of love. |