Every day people are faced with the challenge of staying true to who they are in a world full of judgmental people.  People are criticized because of a number of reasons including the way they look, what they eat, and the way they dress. Even people who are true to who they are will have their ideals questioned by society. No matter what other people say about your beliefs and self-image, you should not change what you think of yourself. The main character in “Bitch Planet” by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Penelope, is a perfect example of a woman who stays true to herself no matter how many times her beliefs are challenged. Penelope, also called Penny, believes she is the best version of herself but her confidence is crushed because of the patriarchal society. When we look in depth at different elements of “Bitch Planet” we can see that it is talking about how you are the perfect version of yourself and you should not let anyone tell you differently. This is important because people will always criticize you and challenge your values, but if you keep trying to be someone you are not you will never be happy. In “Bitch Planet” the fathers were the ones who questioned Penny’s values which made her happiness quickly decay.

In the beginning of “Bitch Planet”, Penny is being criticized by her “fathers”. One panel shows of the facial expressions of the men are extremely judgmental as they list off all of the criminal offenses Penny has against her (DeConnick 177). You can tell by the images of their faces they are treating this as a job instead of a conversation with their “child.” They are all wearing suits and it appears that they are sitting in desk chairs. From the images we can tell they are just a group of judgmental men trying to put Penny down in an effort to change her into a “normal woman of society”, whatever they think that is. The small zoomed in picture of her eye shows how angry she is at their comment, “Good God woman. What have you done to yourself?” (DeConnick 177). The way her eye shrinks up as she stands there getting all of this criticism shows she is angry and upset which is how most people would react to the situation. The “fathers” have careless facial expressions while they try to tell Penny they care about her and want to help her, quite ironic. Later Penny’s face looks distraught, revealing that their criticism makes her upset (DeConnick 178). However, Penny does not let it affect who she is as a person; she continues being exactly who she wants to be. This example of Penny taking the criticism from her “fathers” and not letting it affect her contributes to the theme because it shows Penny is an example of a person who does not let other people’s opinions change them. 

The “fathers” attempted to destroy Penny mentally by criticizing her and making her feel bad about herself by physically forcing her to see her ideal self. They hooked Penelope up to wires to try to get pictures out of her head, treating her like an experiment. Since they want Penelope to change because they think she is so different than a “normal woman of society”, they think Penelope is ashamed of herself and also wants to change. They ask her questions such as “how long since you imagined what your life could be like if you were more compliant Penelope?” and “how long since you prioritized how others see you?” (DeConnick 190). Penelope responds “I dunno” (DeConnick 190) because she does not think about these things. In her mind, she is content with herself so she does not imagine what her life would be like if she was different. The two men holding up the mirror are in all black armor-looking clothing which makes it seem like Penelope is a threat. Again, the men are making her feel bad about herself and treating this like it’s a job. However, no matter what the men say or do to Penny, she does not change herself. Her response of “I dunno” just shows that she does not think about these things to the point where they affect her and want her to change herself. She takes what they say and continues being herself. 

At the end of the experiment on page 199, Penelope’s true self-image comes in the mirror. The top picture to me is the most important of the entire book. The only change Penelope makes to herself in her head is that she is happy. Her ideal self, shown in the mirror, is a photo of exactly the way she looks now but smiling. The facial expressions of the men show some are afraid, some angry, and some annoyed. Even the men in black armor look angry at the way Penelope sees herself. In the bottom photos, Penelope makes 3 different facial expressions which sum up how she is feeling. The first is sardonic as she has an expression that shows she has a lack of respect for the men who were trying to change her while she says, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” (DeConnick 199). In the next photo Penny looks sad however, sure of herself. She seems upset at the fact that they tried so hard to change her but claims, “I ain’t broke” (DeConnick 199). In the very bottom photo on the page Penny looks victorious. She feels she won this fight and finally showed the men that she is exactly who she wants to be and with all the effort in the world they are not going to change her. She also seems very confident again with her words, “…and you bastards ain’t never gonna break me” (Deconnick 199). This sums up the theme of the entire comic. Many people in today’s society would not consider their ideal self as the way they physically look right now. Penelope teaches a lesson to all women in society by representing the idea that everyone’s perfect version of themselves should be themselves. 

Penelope is an example of someone with a positive self-image. She does not let the words or actions of others change how she feels about herself which is a problem in today’s society. There are so many judgmental people in the world and they change the way people view themselves because of a simple rude glance. Penelope’s self-image is challenged many times through the course of “Bitch Planet.” First, the “fathers” put her down by listing all of the crimes she has committed and telling her they are there to help her, as if she is broken. They start off by messing with her head and trying to convince her that there is something wrong with her and they are going to help fix it. Next, the men try to do something physical to help her change. They put photos on the wall of women Penny should look like, hook her up to a bunch of wires, and tell her again that it is all to help her. When they finally see Penny’s ideal version of herself, which is exactly the way she is now, the men are confused and angry. Although they tried a few different ways to change her and challenge her beliefs, she did not let it change what she thinks of herself. This is a very important theme especially for women in today’s society. There are judgmental people in this world who will make you question everything about yourself but the key is to be like Penny and not let it affect who you are as a person. Every woman in society should know that they are the perfect version of themselves and should not let other people in society tell them otherwise. 
