Gender stereotypes we’re created in our society due to the way each gender is portrayed through their actions and everyday lives. Men are stereotyped as the strong figures, the ones who do most of the work and action in life, while women are seen as weak or delegate figures who take help from the male population, or is eye candy for the male population. In the graphic novel Spider-Gwen: Greater Power, Spider Gwen is a female version of the popular super hero Spider- Man. S
he encounters many obstacles similar to Spider-Man and also is trying to live her life like an everyday person. Spider-Gwen breaks the stereotype for normal women in society because she doesn’t let the normal stereotype of woman define her. Instead, Spider-Gwen is seen as strong and as powerful as Spider-Man, negating the stereotype that genders exist in a hierarchy. Her actions compared to Spider-Man can reveal that her actions are just as heroic even though she is a woman, and her look reveals that she doesn’t need to look a certain way to do what she need to do.
Spider-Man is a man who fights evil villains, like the Green Goblin, to keep his world a better place. He is known for avenging his Uncles death by getting rid of the Green Goblin in the movie and graphic novel, Spider-Man. In this society, women are told they cannot do the same actions as a man can do. This is also related in the comic book world.
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The men are usually the ones to do the hard labor and save the girl from the villain, while the woman is scared and usually hopeless, though this is not the case in Spider-Gwen. In this graphic novel, Peter Parker is turned into a lizard. Spider-Gwen ends up killing the lizard, not realizing the lizard was Peter inside the body of a lizard. Peter Parker is actually Spider-Man, Peter Parker being his birth name. Usually, Spider-Man is the one saving people especially a woman figure. However, he is the one who needs to be saved in this story. Though he dies, Spider-Gwen is determined to figure out why he turned into a lizard, how the other lizards came to be, and how to stop them so they don’t kill anybody else.
First off, Spider-Gwen initially breaks the stereotype of a woman by showing her courage. She isn’t afraid of anything, or anyone in her way of figuring out this mystery. Most women in this situation would be scared to move forward, but a little fear doesn’t stop her. For example, she is confronted by Captain America, who is also a woman, while trying to find answers. While they are together, the lizards attack both Spider-Gwen and Captain America.
She tells Spider-Gwen to “get behind her…” Spider-Gwen ignores Captain America despite the fact that the lizards are stronger and “above her weight class.” (2.8). She springs into action saying “No, I don’t work for you. I’m not one of your soldiers—-I’m here to help people.” (2.8). This concludes that even though her situation is hard, she will do anything to help the people of that world. Spider-Man is the same type of person. They both put themselves in critical situations just to find some answers.
In many stories, character often find themselves in situations out of their control. Spider- Gwen is looked at as a bad figure in this novel due to the accidental killing of Peter Parker. When Captain America confronts Spider-Gwen, she blames her for what has happened despite the fact she saved a lot of people, but couldn’t save Peter.
She accidently kills her best friend and is being blamed for his “murder” but, that doesn’t stop her from trying. She instantly reacts to the killing and is determined to figure out what exactly happened to Peter like a superhero would normally do. Exactly like when Spider-Man tries to figure out the reason behind his uncle’s death in his graphic novel. Most women today would have other people do the work for her, mainly running away from the problems involving her being blamed for his killing. Her determination shows again that she is going against the normal stereotype of women. Like Spider-Man, she is so determined to figure out these things that she is ricking her life just to do so.
Along with her actions, even her attire breaks the stereotype of women and is considered more equal to the stereotype of male appearances. Most women in graphic novels are seen to have an hour glass figure, big breasts and a pretty face. Their outfits are also more revealing of the skin, mainly on their face or body. Spider-Gwen instead looks a lot like Spider-Man, and more along the lines of a male stereotypical appearance of a superhero. They both have a full body suit on, and their face is completely covered. She does not have a big chest, and though her as a normal human has a pretty face, she covers it completely. This can show that you don’t need to look the part to play the part, or she doesn’t need to look a certain way to get her objective done.
To conclude, the way Spider-Gwen is a superhero, you can say she doesn’t follow the criteria of a normal woman or even a women superhero. Her actions reveal courage and bravery for going out of her way just to clear her name and find out what happened to Peter. She pushes herself to the limit by fighting things that are clearly out of her reach, and she puts herself into situations just to get her answers. Just like Spider-Man with his uncle.
Also, her determination for answers keeps her going, despite all the problems she is facing like being blamed for his murder, as well as Spider-Man who is determined to figure out what happened to his uncle even though he is being chased by the Green Goblin as well. Spider-Gwen breaks the stereotype of women in appearance as well due to her costume which is not revealing and closely related to Spider-Mans costume. Spider-Gwen breaks the stereotype of many women in today’s world, but is closely related to her male alter ego, Spider-Man. Her connections with Spider-Man as a hero shows that gender in the super hero world doesn’t matter. She is able to fight, think, and look the same way as Spider-Man, and in this case she does a better job than he ever could.
References
- Gender Stereotypes: An Exploration of Influential Factors and Implications for Symbolic Communication in Mixed-Sex Dyads – National Institutes of Health
- Gender Stereotyping in the English Language – National Institutes of Health
- Gender Stereotyping – Google Books
- The Impact of Gender Stereotypes, Pressure, and Bullying on Students’ Mental Health – Boston University
- Gender Stereotypes: An Additional Barrier towards Gender Equality in Research Funding? – National Institutes of Health
- Gender Role Stereotyping of Parents in Children’s Picture Books: The Invisible Father – National Institutes of Health
