
“Bitch Planet,” created and written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and illustrated by Valentine De Landro, is an occurring graphic novel that targets and exposes the cruel oppression of women by society. The basic plot of this story in the series is about an African-American woman named Penelope “Penny” Rolle who was taken by the government when she was a girl for not fitting the ideals of society; she gets put into the care of the “Fathers,” a council of only men, who assess and aim to fix her. The story goes back and forth between present day in the assessment by the Fathers and her past experiences of societal oppression. This graphic novel is another way of bringing light to the ongoing Feminist Movement. Feminism is a social issue that has been around since the ancient civilizations and medieval times, but has exploded in the last three-hundred years. The term “feminism” is believed to be coined from Charles Fourier (1772-1837), a French philosopher and socialist thinker. His word “féministe,” was created around his belief for abolition of the family and traditional gender roles. (Goldstein 92). The history of Western Feminism is the most renowned and it is characterized by three distinct waves. The first wave of feminism was during the mid-late nineteenth century through the early twentieth century and was about equal educational, marriage, and property rights for women. The second wave was during the mid-twentieth century and was all about women’s suffrage—the right to vote. Finally, the third wave began in the late-twentieth century and was about women defying conventional sexuality. This included sexual-orientation, women empowerment through embracing sexuality, and challenging the idea that women had to be feminine. Having a prior knowledge of the Feminist Movement is essential in better understanding “Bitch Planet.” The movement may have eradicated most of the inequalities, but sexism towards women is still very prevalent in society today—even if it is not crystal clear. “Bitch Planet” is a perfect example of the oppression on women. Through having a prior knowledge on the Feminist Movement, readers can interpret and understand the oppression by the patriarch and the ideals that women are expected to hold up to in DeConnick’s graphic novel, “Bitch Planet.”

Knowing some history on the dominance of men over women helps readers understand the patriarchal oppression of women scattered all through the novel. Since the beginning of time, men have taken the dominate role in society and have always been superior. The first evidence of this can be taken from the story of Adam and Even in Genesis. “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:22-23). According to history, women were made from men to be their helpers and subordinates. From the creation of the Earth, men ruled the household; were the breadwinners; held political power; had the right to vote, own land, become educated, etc. The job of women was to take care of the house, have children and support her husband and they were taught to never stray from their duties. But as technology took off in the nineteenth century, the standards for men and women changed drastically. During the Industrial Revolution, factories required less skill and more workers which lead to an influx of women in the workforce. Additionally, war in the twentieth century forced women to take over the jobs of the men being drafted and deployed. This time-period is when the Feminist Movement was in the prime. Now, with women being almost equal to men, “Bitch Planet” demonstrates the truth that women will never be fully equal to men. They will always have the patriarchal advantage. On the first page, Penny is standing in a room surrounded by monitors with the Fathers assessing her. She says, “I can’t see you, but I feel you…judging me” (DeConnick 176) to which one of the Fathers replies, “Next case: Penelope Leona Rolle, Age: 22, District 42, habitual offender, insubordination, assault, assault, repeated citations for aesthetic offenses, capillary disfigurement and wanton obesity. Good God, woman!” (DeConnick 177). This is the first indication of patriarchal oppression. Penny is being told how to look and act by a panel of men. DeConnick exaggerates the extent to which they are judging her by issuing offenses based on looks and even as something minute and microscopic as capillary disfigurement. This shows how women have been oppressed by men for things like looks. In this story, men set the ideal for what a woman must look and act like, which is not far off from what reality is like. Men have unrealistically high standards for women that will never be met due to the usage of false advertising. Women being held to impractical ideals is a form of cruelty many over-look. They are told that if they do not do this or do that then they will never succeed in life. Later in the story, Penny is sent to the principal’s office because she hit a boy who talked about her grandmother. They talk and the principal tries to fix her hair because she says it refuses to behave. Penny cannot see why her hair needs to be fixed and the principal replies, “No, Penny. It doesn’t work like that. You need to learn to see yourself through the Fathers’ eyes” (DeConnick 188). Again, Penny is told that she needs to view herself by the standards of somebody else. Any form of individuality or independence as a woman is discouraged and even looked down upon. Women have fought hard to be delivered out of the dictatorship of the patriarch. Women have been liberated to be who they want to be, but society still does not prefer it that way. 

Readers can interpret and understand the oppression by the patriarch and the ideals that women are expected to hold up to through having a prior knowledge on the Feminist Movement and dominance of men in DeConnick’s graphic novel, “Bitch Planet.” In the novel, Penny is persecuted for being different and not fitting the social norms that the Fathers set out for people. This represents the oppression that women still face even though they have fought for hundreds or years to be released from the cycle of standards. Women have the opportunity to do so much more now, but through false advertising and perfecting the image of an ideal woman, there is a pressure on them to still try and meet these criteria. Having a knowledge of history about feminism and male dominance can bring a new interpretation of the text.
