
In today’s modern society, the emphasis placed on beauty is stronger than ever.  Popular advertisements use beautiful women who have long legs with great hair with perfect bodies. More emphasis and value is placed on the looks and the silence of a woman than morals, personality, and goodness of heart; the things that actually matter about a person. Because of this emphasis on body image and being “good”, many women suffer from stress disorders, anxiety, anorexia, bulimia, depression, and body dysmorphia. These tolls on the mental health of a woman are bringing down the structure and principle of a strong woman in today’s global society that’s says her value is in her figure and her silence. In Bitch Planet, Penelope goes through the same things. She is happy with herself, her skin, her hair, and her body, but the fathers are not. They force these social norms onto her to try and make her more like the white models with slim bodies and straight hair. What they don’t take into consideration is how she feels about herself. Penelope might not fit the mold that they want her to with her look but she is still a person of value. She is the neighborhood baker who runs a successful bakery despite not being “normal” and that is something little girls can learn from. 

From a young age Penelope knew she was different. Not only did she have darker skin but she had thick, curly hair, and she was tall with a larger waist line. Her “Fathers” function as society in this comic. They say “Your Fathers love you it pains us to see you like this” (DeConnick 178) and “all we want is you to be happy” (DeConnick 184). Society claims they do not want to hurt anyone and it’s “for the best” but continues to portray the right way to live and look as one singular, barely reachable, standard. Anyone not fitting the mold is automatically deemed unhappy and insufficient. The Fathers in Bitch Planet are completely shocked when they find that Penelope is happy with herself. To them it is impossible to look the way that she does and be happy. 

Not only do the fathers try and force Penelope to look a certain way but so do the other people around her, even the authoritative women around her. Mother Siebertling, who I would assume is the principal of Penelope’s school, doesn’t provide a safe haven for Penelope like a school official should. Instead of reprimanding the boy who was disrespecting Penelope’s grandmother, she chastises Penelope for being loyal to her grandmother and standing up for her. She says “loyalty is the act of a fool” (DeConnick 187). After this, she even goes so far as to brush Penelope’s thick curly hair back into a pony tail and begin to straighten out her curls. Mother Siebertling wants Penelope to conform to society just like the fathers so the idea of normal extends past “The Fathers” and for a black woman like Penelope this means there is no one who will stand in her corner. 

One other point Bitch Planet points out is that a woman does not have to be gentle. Girls are taught that they are made of “sugar, spice, and everything nice” and that as a female they should refrain from vulgar language, being open about their sexuality, and stand by as her man speaks an opinion for her. DeConnick used Penelope to make it very clear that a woman does not need a man to speak her mind and defy public expectations. Penelope is bold, aggressive, and rebellious. Everything a woman should be, especially in this day and age considering there are political leaders who are doing everything in their power to take away a woman’s rights. The father’s in Bitch Planet even validate Penelope’s mothers fate due to her being dangerous (DeConnick 184). 

As an adult, Penelope has her own bakery where she is successful at baking just like her grandmother taught her. A customer interrupts to remind her to that she needs to make sure she has “The Feed”, which is a news show, up by 7AM or he will tell her “old man” on her. This customer is obviously demonstrating gender roles in society where a woman’s husband is to keep her in check. This is not the type of woman Penelope is. She makes her own rules and does not need a man to do this for her so she is offended by it. She has a slight attitude evident in her facial expression as well as beating of the pie dough but, she still does as asked to satisfy her customer. 

The same man is talking down on black women and calls people of color “skins”. He sexualizes them saying having sex with a woman of color, or a “wild” was good, which is a real life problem. Often women of color are sexualized for having thicker lips, or wider hips and seen only useful for sexual pleasures. Even more detrimental to the self-esteem of a woman of color, these same features she possesses that are attractive to men are degraded on her dark skin. But, when a woman of a lighter complexion has these features, she is praised as beautiful and exotic. Penelope overhears him and beats him with the rolling pin. After this, the police are called on her. From here it can be inferred that this is the situation that landed Penelope in prison before the fathers. 

 Bringing us back to the present, Penelope is in prison in her orange jump suit in front of “The Fathers”. She is wired up and ready to show the police, and her fathers, her ideal self. A surprise to them, it is the same version of Penelope that she is right now. She has proven to them what her, her mother, and her grandmother, have preached to be true all this time. It is possible to be happy in your own skin even if you are not perfect and the expected image of a woman. Penelope can teach women of all colors this lesson. She is a black woman who is without a family but has managed to make a way for herself only to be shut down and oppressed because she is not who she is expected to be. DeConnick did an amazing job getting this lesson across. 

As a young black woman I can relate to a lot of the things Penelope had to face. Being told I was pretty for a “black girl” or that my hair looked better straight were all things that impacted my self-esteem growing up. Even my body type was always an insecurity. Penelope was a big girl and so am I. I was not the delicate small girl I thought I was supposed to be. I was an athlete with strong shoulders, big legs, and bigger arms. The ads on TV didn’t look like me so I never felt feminine. I wasn’t super slim with the trademark thigh gap and small hips and thighs. Penelope’s experience with sexualization is also something that I can relate too.  Many times have I had my white male friends express their want for me and my body because I had thick legs with thicker lips and big curly hair. Of course they would never express these thoughts in public because it was taboo for him to express any interest in me. I was only good enough to be a partner never a girlfriend. I wish I would have read a comic similar to Bitch Planet growing up. Penelope truly is what a strong woman should be. Confident in her skin, independent, and willing to stand her ground to protect her own integrity. Young girls all over should have the opportunity to read this comic especially because they face these issues every day in our modern society.

Starting from a young age, approximately twelve or thirteen when puberty begins, girls begin to grow and develop into young women. This comes with physical changes like breasts, hips, and weight loss or weight gain. Some girls go through this change sooner than others. Those that develop a little later are the “late bloomers”. From this point on, these girls will compare themselves to each other. They will question why one girls has bigger breasts or a smaller waist than them, thinking that something is wrong with their bodies. These girls will consider themselves not as beautiful as their peers not knowing, the peers they think are perfect are struggling themselves. Unfortunately, the statistics say that sixteen percent of normal or underweight girls between eight and eleven are trying to lose weight (Skylar). 

At this age body image is so important, especially when it comes to impressing boys, that girls fail to realize it is what is on the inside that really matters. Society tells these young girls that they need to look a certain way, dress a certain way, and act a certain way. I know all of this to be fact because I went through it myself just like millions of other young pubescent girls. These representations and depictions of perfection are everywhere in adds on television, billboards, movies, fashion run ways, magazines, and even the popular music cover art and lyrics. What young girls have failed to realize is even the models don’t really look like the models. This damages a young girl’s self-esteem and body confidence which can lead to more severe issues.  

Females who have lower self-esteem and confidence about their bodies are at a higher risk for suffering from an eating disorder or depression. These are considered mental illnesses and typically one disorder is linked to multiple others within the same patient. A staggering thirty million people across the United States suffer from an eating disorder. Even more shocking, every sixty-two minutes one person dies after suffering through the negative physical effects an eating disorder can have on the body. (ANAD) Eating disorders don’t just affect young women. Thirteen percent of women over the age of fifty also suffer from eating disorders. This is proof that age is not an indicator of confidence. It’s all about personal perception and self-love. 

In real life many young women find themselves in the position the fathers would expect to be true. Unhappy because of their appearance. It is proven that high levels of stress are associated with negative mental and physical health especially among female college students (Arigo). There is also a well-documented prevalence of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among college women (Arigo). According to the research done by the University of Scranton and Western Kentucky University, “SCO predicted increased depressive symptoms and decreased health-related quality of life” (Arigo). One study found that eighty percent of American Women were not satisfied with their own appearance. Continuously being negative towards themselves based on appearance only adds to the cycle of low self-esteem. From this point these same women who have a negative body image of themselves are also, ironically, less likely to take care of their bodies. The cycle then continues. An unhealthy body will lead to an unhealthy mind triggering other mental illnesses.  

Rather than professionals are not questioning a woman’s oppression they put forward a definition of a healthy, quiet, powerless, “good woman” Prior). This is nothing new though. For centuries women have been punished for wanting to operate as individuals outside of their oppressive roles as quiet women, especially in expressing their sexuality. To Victorian psychiatrists, expression of sexuality was punished by cliterodectomy at the most extreme end of the spectrum or elimination of meat from the diet (Prior). The goal of this was to put the woman back into her peaceful, passive, docile, patient lane. Marriage is even known to put so much a stress on a woman it causes mental disorders. It is protective for a man but detrimental for a woman (Prior). This is because a woman goes through more emotional trauma, especially in an abusive relationship, than a man as well as the pressures of child bearing. These factors of maintaining a happy home for husband and children, as well as being the image of a “good woman” has caused women to suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety (Prior). A man will not experience these same detrimental effects because he is the dominant force inside of a home. He is said to be the backbone because of his need to provide but of course so is a woman. A woman is the homemaker, the mother who will raise the next generation and in today’s working world, a career woman. That is a lot of responsibility on one person who is expected to maintain these roles and excel in them as well. 

It is not as common as it should be that little girls around the world get to see role models of a woman in their lives that look like them and has it all. The family, the career, the confidence, and still able to find time for herself and be happy. Fortunately, I was one of the little girls who did. My mother is, and always will be, the back bone of my family. Not only has she done an excellent job raising three children but she has been able to maintain her marriage to my father without sacrificing rank in her career. She always instilled in my siblings and I that we were worth as much as anyone else. No one was better than us and we were not better than anyone else. The playing field was level and opportunity and hard work made the difference. She was adamant in her efforts to make sure we knew we were beautiful because she knew the pressures of the world could rain down heavy on a child. Although I did suffer from some body confidence issues, I never pushed myself to the limit of starving or throwing up. I knew there was more to me than my physical appearance. As a young woman who is more aware of the world and the pressure placed on me, I know that lack of self-acceptance can lead to depression and other mental illnesses and as a student, the risk of me experiencing this in my career is even higher. Like Penelope in Bitch Planet, it is important to never let anyone try and deter you or change you into someone or something that you are not whether it be your appearance or in your personality. Find happiness in yourself and prove to others it is possible to be different and happy.  

Society says there is a set standard for a woman to look and act but fails to recognize the physical, emotional, and mental repercussions of such an unreachable, old fashioned standard. Bitch Planet depicts the idea that despite societies harsh tactics to compel one to be the standard, it is possible to be happy if you are not the mold. Penelope is a great example, especially considering she is a black woman going through this. Not only was she not the right size, she didn’t have the straight hair naturally or the pale skin but, she was also not meek or docile. Mental health and body image are very important in the lives of women today and instead of focusing so much on perfecting the body and being “wife material”, society should push for better education on mental stability, healthy eating habits, and self-appreciation. 
