In the dystopian comic Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick, a story is told of a girl struggling to fight the unfair expectations that society is forcing upon her. The 22-year-old Penelope Leona Rolle is seen being verbally abused on multiple accounts for lacking an appearance that would be considered adequate in the eyes of her leaders. These leaders, referred to as the “fathers” are appalled by her and want more than anything to “make her happy.” By using a few panels, one may pinpoint the main point of this piece and have a better understanding of the patriarchial society that our people are so openly accepting, and just how very strong main stream media influences our youth especially when it comes to how we feel we have to ourselves to others.

There are multiple details to note when first observing the bakery panels. The logo depicting the two elephants with the words “Born Big,” is without a doubt done on purpose. DeConnick without a doubt placed this in her comic to reinforce that she was “state-sponsored” and that she is seen as an imperfect individual due to the standards society has roughly placed on her.The fact that Penelope is of African-American descent is another example of the author calling out our society. The two men start talking about “getting with ‘skins’” most likely in reference to someone of color just as our protagonist is. The purpose of having Ms. Rolle be black is just another way for DeConnick to further widen the gap between Penelope and the rest of her dystopia as she one of only two African Americans find throughout the entire story. Furthermore, off to the side of this scene, the community television is playing and their reporting priorities seems to be a tad off kilter. The reporters are talking about weird, disturbing ways to lose weight while putting the age-long terrorist hunt is put on the back burner. This is once again more evidence of this society having its priorities amuck. Another instance of this society being way too concerned about what others think of themselves is the young girls ordering one gluten-free, fat-free, sugar-free, and most likely taste-free muffin for the three of them to split between themselves. One of the girls is even seen bragging to her friend about how well her bowels are working. They are so worried about making their “fathers” proud that they are sacrificing their own well-being. 

In this strange, seemingly-futuristic world, the men seem to have all the power and the scene with the “fathers” examining their new case, Penelope, is the greatest example of such. When they see Penelope for the first time they are appalled. They claim to be just trying to help her “be happy” despite her having no discourse for how she looks. Ironically enough, these men telling her she needs to look more attractive are in fact not holding themselves to the same standards. This society is trying to take complete control over the women. In the finally scene the fathers hook up Penelope to a machine to read her mind and see what the ideal version of herself is and they are stunned to find that in the mirror’s reflection she is looking back at herself and how she already looks. She is then declared a lost cause for not fitting their “ideal” appearance.

This comic is a satire and quite obviously poking fun at the way our world seemingly operates today. Too many people are terrified of what others think about them, but they are not worried enough about themselves and making sure that they are happy. Instead of worrying for our own well-being, we are far too concerned with what others think about us, and if we are good to enough. Penelope Rolle is the perfect example of not needing other’s approval to be happy. She wants to be nothing but herself and the way she looks is not something that she will be losing a lot of sleep over.