In the year 2014, the imprisonment rate, whether in jails or prisons, for African American women (109 per 100,000) was more than twice the rate of imprisonment for white women (53 per 100,000). Most would view this as mere coincidence that black women just happen to be more compelled commit to crimes. This is indisputably true: African American females are most certainly more compelled to commit crimes. It is, however, in no way a coincidence. By looking at Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick in terms of cultural context we can see that the comic addresses how African American women are viewed in the eyes of the justice system. We will also discuss why these women are compelled to commit more crime. This is important because African American women are over two times as likely to be incarcerated as Caucasian women are, as well as any other race.

The comic Bitch Planet features an African American young woman being judged by government officials known as “the Fathers”. As the overseeing men read off her offenses, they list things like insubordination, assault, and even wanton obesity. Penelope, the young female, is being judged by men who claim to care for her, want to help her, and yet continue to incarcerate her. “What have you done to yourself?” (DeConnick 177) one of the Fathers asks, appalled by Penelope’s appearance and record. This question is important because in the next scene, a flashback, the audience is shown Penelope and her grandmother baking together. As the two women bake and laugh together, figures which appear to be officers are marching towards the house to take Penelope away. The scene can also lead to the point of how the majority of African American children are born into unsuitable homes, are taken by the state, are thrown into the system where they are raised in foster homes, and forgotten there. This lifestyle creates a pattern of violence in these impressionable children as they are left feeling undeserving of an enriching future. Thus, adolescences turn to crime. The justice system claims to want to help these children and young adults but yet fail to realize as to why this group turns to a life of crime. Another noticeable point in the comic is how the African American females are drawn, literally and figuratively, in comparison to the white females. Penelope is heavier in weight, as was her grandmother, and is portrayed as angry and dull in color. The other women are drawn as thin, fashionable, bright, and beautiful. This stark comparison gives off the impression that African American women are not as valued to society as their other female counterparts. Therefore, the justice system is more willing to excuse the white females that are “beautiful” and come from a better background. At the end of the comic, the Fathers strap Penelope up to machine that will allow these men to see Penelope’s ideal self, which will supposedly help the Fathers “cure” her. However, the reflection staring back at each member in the room is no different than Penelope’s real self; her ideal self is already who she is. “I ain’t broke. And you bastards ain’t never gonna break me,” (DeConnick 199) Penelope resolves internally after seeing her reflection in the mirror. The realization that her real self is how Penelope really wants to be is important because this oppressed woman accepts herself as is. Many African American women are not allowed to have this confidence, something that would be greatly beneficial to them.

African American females are mostly viewed as victims of their circumstance, yet others observing from the outside do not want to take into account those circumstances when African Americans commit crime.  Domestic violence is a growing problem among the African American community but no one wants to do anything to help women that have been battered and beaten continuously. Instead, the justice system tends to throws these victims in jail or prisons when African American women commit an offense. The form of incarceration called rehabilitation is ignored for incapacitation, an ideal that is more of a hindrance than a help to the actual person being put away. This creates recidivism. “Poor African American battered women in contemporary society are increasingly restricted by their gender roles, stigmatized by their racial/ethnic and class position . . .” (Richie 2). These women are entrapped in a stereotype that says they are weak and unvalued to society. African American women are not a victim of their circumstance; they are a victims of the restraints others put on them. The system gives them no room to break free from “gender entrapment” (Richie 4). “. . . the gender entrapment theory helps to explain how women who participate in illegal activities in response to violence, the threat of violence, or coercion by their male partners” (Richie 4). When one is subjected to violence over and over again in their everyday lives, the victims, as well as the ones who are enacting that violence, come to see violence as the norm. No wonder African American women are incarcerated more than any other group, as they are exposed to violent habits at a greater rate than most races. On page 5, Richie states, “At the same time, [African American women] were trying desperately to exist in a social world that was determined to condemn them . . .” How are women that are oppressed expected to thrive in a society that refuses to let them rise above their stereotypes and circumstance? The answer is a simple one: They can’t.

The relationship between African American women and the criminal justice system is a complicated one. In 1994, African American women made up over forty percent of women incarcerated in federal prisons (Johnson 5). While that number has decreased over the years, as well as white female offenders rising, the two still have yet to meet in the middle. African American women are still arrested and put into jails/prisons at a higher rate. These women also tend to receive high sentencing terms compared to African American males, especially for drug offenses. This is not a new statistic by any means. “. . . it was thought the ideal sentence to a women’s reformatory should be ‘indeterminate with no limits at all on the minimum and maximum terms that an inmate should be forced to serve’” (Johnson 26). Even during the twentieth century, and prior, African American women were viewed as more insubordinate than African American men, requiring higher prison sentences than those who beat the perceived perpetrators. The criminal justice system does not allow for these women to be heard and because of that, African American women carry feelings of mistrust towards that system. This leads to the lack of reports being made on domestic violence within the homes in which these women reside, causing nothing to be done about the violence, and, thus, African American females are once again prone to commit crimes. The cycle continues.

Bitch Planet is a comic that addresses how African American women are viewed in the eyes of the justice system as well as to why these women are compelled to commit more crime in a cultural context. In this culture, African American females are raised and viewed to be undervalued members of a society that judges them before they speak out. Also, this social group holds a norm of drugs and violence. Because of this norm and because they are undervalued, African American women are put away in prisons more than any other ethnicity.  All the factors discussed in this essay that contribute to oppressed women being incarcerated describes a cycle that does not look like it’s going to break anytime soon. As long as society and the justice system continues to punish those who are oppressed by said system, as well as members of their own social group, the voices of those oppressed will never be heard. Rates of African American women will continue to remain high and true justice will never be served by the justice system.
