Bitch Planet

Everything about the comic Bitch Planet written by Kelly Sue Deconnick is satirist and interesting. I found it a bit harder to read compared to our other novels simply because I am not familiar reading comic books. However, the presentation of the themes and ideals in Bitch Planet are obvious, and can be easily identified. They also relate to the discussions we have had about feminism, motherhood, gender roles and female identity throughout the semester. One such characteristic that reflects this are the fembot holograms. Throughout the comic, we see these hyper sexualized, white, barely clothed holograms highlighted in pink in many of the comic panels. They are used to help reinforce gender stereotypes on the imprisoned women. One particular women is always outlined in pink, and she acts as the prison guard and enforcer in the prison. Though these “women” are all holograms, they are present in the world we see today. The “idealized” women of society that we are supposed to be like. These women are more than often displayed on advertisements, commercials, and are the women we see on social media. Bitch Planet uses these enforcer fembots to comment on how there are forces in society that attempt to show us what our female identity should look like and represent. I think that is an important thing to take away from this comic, aside from the witty role that Penny plays. Penny acts as a buffer and form of resistance seen in society. She is imprisoned for many reasons, the main one being her obesity. However, when they attempt to see what Penny really sees herself as and wants to see herself as they are baffled that she sees herself for how they do. Obese and all. As a matter of fact, she loves everything about herself. Penny’s love for herself however reflects a sort of resistance against the ideal. This resistance can be found in the modern feminist movement and modern depictions of female identity and motherhood that will continue to evolve.