Sociology of Superheroes

Sexual Orientation – K.Jackal

onewomanswork — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:09:22 +0000

Sexuality has always caused conflicts in our society and still does to this day. If you were gay you were not accepted. Today, a lot more people understand about gay couples and it is even legal to get married gay in a couple states. In comic books a long time ago, there was never any mention about a gay super hero. Today, there still are not many at all gay super heroes, but there is controversy over the issue in the books. They are getting close to it but haven’t made it over that hump yet. I feel it would be good to talk about gays more in comic books and have gay superheroes because it teaches the young readers and even may sway older reader’s opinions, that gay people are normal. Everyone is equal, and by having comic books spread the word that even superheroes can be gay, then maybe the world would change their views and accept it more.

Race and Ethnicity – B.Barbarini

onewomanswork — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:06:18 +0000

Race can often be defined as a socially constructed category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important. However, this definition can be tossed aside as myth because being labeled as Homo sapiens, there is not multiple categories for humans to be placed in. Together, we are one race. Now assuming we do conform to the popular definition of race, a person’s race is not always determined by the color of their skin. Take for instance, Marshall Mathers. The color of his skin is white, or as we might call it, Caucasian. This is what we would consider his “race” to be. Nevertheless, by his standards, he is black, and he believes that statement with every ounce of being he has. Why? His perspective. His perspective on his “race” takes this myth about the universal definition of race and turns it into his reality. What he is really defining is his ethnicity. He grew up in a culture of African American people where gangs and rapping is nothing but normal, and became who he is today. There are many other confusing concepts to learn and understand about prejudice, racism, and discrimination, but until we can all accept and understand the true meaning of race and ethnicity, most people will never understand the differences.

Disability – S.Anderson

onewomanswork — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:57:40 +0000

Superheroes draw many parallels with disabled people. Disabled people and superheroes are always looked at funny or are given different treatment than the normal population when they probably don’t want to be treated differently. In the movie the fantastic 4 when everyone finds out who the invisible woman is everyone runs after her like there is something different about her. Many people have problems with accepting people that are different than themselves. Many people may not directly voice their problems but there are always those looks that they get when they are in public.

Many time in a super hero story the super-villain are given the disability in which has a huge role in why they are the way in which they are. Many of the super-villains are psychopaths and sociopath which are both psychological disorders. Many times the super-villains grow up with resentment for normal people because of how they are treated. This is why they do what they do.

Powerpuff Girls – S.Baughman

onewomanswork — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:54:15 +0000

Our cultural representation can be viewed upon under many different things. People have their own way of perceiving cartoons and comic books, for example female roles. Such as in the cartoon “The Powerpuff Girls,” there are many different opinions about it. Some people think having young girls roles being violent on television may harm or provoke children to act this way. Also, this cartoon graphically shows blood splattering, teeth breaking, and limbs being torn. Children may watch this and think that its o.k. to punch someone in the face. However, you then have some people that think this shows teaches young girls that they can be independent and powerful without always having to rely on a boy to help them take on crime. It could also show that girls are capable of being cops and fighting bad guy and standing up for themselves. The ways people depict this certain cartoon just goes to show anyone, how many ways we may perceive something. Either way there still good points to both sides.

The Emissary

onewomanswork — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:06:41 +0000

Over the course of the two semesters that I have taught this course, I have been struck by the enormity of the subjects that comic books, and the fictional superheroes that inhabit them, tackle . Moreover, I have been impressed with the attempts to examine the “big questions” of our time — what it means to be human, freedom, civil rights, individual rights, racism, addiction, family, disability, civil liberties, to name a few. In spite of early (successful) attempts to censor the content of comic books, thereby limiting their scope to only what was acceptable to those who had power over the medium, they have often been little monthly messages about right and wrong on the major social issues confronting our society. In the modern era, we find comic books that delve into subject matter that is, nebulous at best, such as vigilantism. The storylines of The Dark Knight & Punisher more directly handle the double edged nature of the subject, but there are other similarly themed comics & superheroes that do this very same thing. For instance, the fact that Professor Xavier, of the X-Men, has ALWAYS been disabled is an interesting study in dualism. He is physically disabled, yet is one of the most powerful beings on the planet. Matt Murdock, Daredevil, has a visual impairment, yet sees better than those around him with physical sight. What does this say about disability in a society, such as ours, that is overtly focused on the perfect? In terms of gender, men are hyper-masculine and women are hyper-sexualized. They are all super beings, yet, even in this fictional world, the messages of gender, with which the audience is most familiar, are rarely challenged, and most often, reinforced.

There are two major points of discussion that I’d like to see here today. The first deals with the duality of comic books and superheroes in our society. Discuss this duality in terms of the sociological topics that we’ve addressed in class; religion, family, race/ethnicity, class, etc. What is it about comics and superheroes that lets us explore these topics in ways which we find acceptable.? Secondly, I’d like for you to address the importance of these characters as cultural icons. For instance, I find it interesting that Robert Downey, Jr. was chosen to play Tony Stark in the Iron Man film series. Is it coincidence that a talented actor, who spiraled out of control with drug addiction & then redeemed himself, came to play the superhero whose story mimicked his own? But beyond this example, what is it that superheroes mean to society?

Your own comments and thoughts may range much further than what I’ve posted here, and feel free to reference things that you’ve read outside of class, points made in class discussion, or any other observations that you think are relevant. Put ideas out for discussion and let’s see where it takes us.

Orientation – J.Wittfeldt

onewomanswork — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:45:54 +0000

Sexual Orientation is defined as a pattern of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction towards another being. It is estimated that 8.8 million gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, pansexual people in the United States. Unfortunately Hate crimes are on the rise towards these people. I have a lot of friends that are part of the LGBT community and have been thru situations with them where they have been threatened and physically assaulted. In comic books most super heroes are seen as straight. This is because until recently in comics and in the real world being gay or whatever else you may be was kept secret. As terrible as hate crimes are they do make for good plot lines especially in comic books. The first openly gay super hero that I could find any history of is Northstar, a member of the Canadian mutant superhero team Alpha Flight. Some secondary characters in comic books are gay but only to boost the story line. Our society views LGBT people as different and not equal to straight people. Thankfully there are people like me and the people I associate with that view all people as equals. The comic book world has a lot of catching up to do in my opinion. If I can only find one super hero and secondary characters that are gay then obviously not all comic books take the real world into consideration while writing their plot lines. I think by adding an openly gay superhero to the mix the comic book world would be taking a step towards the future. I understand that people fear change but some changes need to be made. True equality has to hit every aspect of our culture including comic books. By creating a comic book with a gay super hero the audience that would read it would be exposed to the LGBT causes and community without being overwhelmed. Gay people are just the same as every other person and should be shown as that in all types of media and entertainment including comic books. And by making a gay super hero the comic book world’s audience would expand further.

Gender – J.Grayson

onewomanswork — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:17:13 +0000

This image is a stereotype for all men because no one would ever think that a man would ever want to be a nurse. When thinking about being a nurse you really only think about women having this job. If any man would want to be a nurse the first immediate thought is that he is gay. Many people just assume when you say nurse you are talking about a nurse. This picture is trying to say that it is okay for a man to be a nurse and it is fighting against the stereotype that only woman should be nurses by portraying it as manly.

Gender – K.Jackal

onewomanswork — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:36:39 +0000

This picture is showing that girls all need to have this rockin body, are delicate and fragile, and can not handle strong liquor. All of that is totally stereotyped. Girls are not always delicate and fragile little women. In many of cases, women can be big, meaty, and tough as can be. Also, by making the drinking age lowered to 18 for women would only be because they are “only allowed” wine coolers and low alcoholic beer; therefore, they would not have an alcoholic problem, nor would they be getting super drunk. Men on the other hand, are being stereotyped into being these buff and tough guys. The drinkning age for men would need to be raised to 25 because their liquor would be a lot stronger, to show that men are strong. But in a lot of cases with men as well, men can be the complete opposite of what they are “supposed” to be. A lot of guys are the weak and fragile ones, but in general guys are portrayed as strong and tough, which is a lot of the time misleading. So basically, you can’t put a lable on what gender can handle what type of alcohol at what age because there is no classification system that can take all of that into consideration.

Gender – S.Anderson

onewomanswork — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:34:27 +0000

This is a gender specific advertisement because if the dancing woman in the commercial was a man it would probably be viewed as creepy and gay. simply by switching the gender of the dance the commercial would give off a completely different vibe. having the dancer an attractive woman it makes it interesting for women and men. men because all men are horny mammals and most women want to look like as the dance for it makes both men and women want to watch the advertisement. i think that swapping the gender the advertising would fail.

Gender – S.Manno

onewomanswork — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:31:13 +0000

This smokeless tobacco advertisement portrays multiple gender stereotypes. There are three well dressed businessmen with no women represented. The lack of women is explained by the fact that men typically hold positions of power in businesses, and these three men have a professional demeanor. Also smokeless tobacco is marketed almost entirely to men because many consider it a disgusting habit. I know many males who use smokeless tobacco themselves, but cringe at the thought of a woman doing the same thing. Traditional gender roles in this society confine women to be fragile, nurturing individuals who are less able to protect themselves than men. There is nothing fragile or nurturing about chewing tobacco.