
In the ongoing fight for gender equality, women have proved determined and driven to rule out the issues and inequalities in the past and current society. Although stronger in the past, gender inequality is still an issue in current society, as illustrated by many writers and artists like Kelly Sue DeConnick. Kelly Sue DeConnick’s comic “Bitch Planet” allows the reader to imagine a patriarchal society where women who misbehave are considered non-compliant and punished by being sent to a place called “Bitch Planet”. From committing murder to being overweight, the range of “crimes” women are subject to being arrested for is absolutely absurd. This goes to show how women in this society are controlled by men, and the smallest misdemeanors or even traits they can’t control can get them in trouble A patriarchal society occurs when men are in charge of women in every aspect of society, and men run this society in “Bitch Planet” and choose how women should act. The main character Penelope, and her mother and grandmother, were three of the women sent to bitch planet for their misdemeanors. This story is about her fight against this society and for gender equality and freedom. The scene I chose that I thought best represented the larger message was the last scene, where Penelope says “And you bastards ain’t never gonna break me” (DeConnick 199). The scene of Penelope telling her “fathers” they are not going to break her appropriately communicates the larger message of the piece by representing the consequences of women who misbehave in this patriarchy and Penelope’s fight against it. 

It seems like when a woman misbehaves or doesn’t follow the rules of the “fathers” they get sent away to a place called “Bitch Planet”. The women sent to this planet can be deemed as too much of a problem or can be removed from the society if people simply prefer not to look at them. The main character, Penelope isn’t the first woman in her family to be sent here. She was taken from her mom and grandma at an extremely young age and we can assume they both went to this place called “Bitch Planet”, especially when several characters make them out to have been misbehaving women. We aren’t told how Penelope’s mother ends up on this planet, but we know her grandmother had a problem because she enjoyed cooking pastries, and thus wasn’t invested in watching her weight. Penelope, like her grandmother, was overweight. She is considered a habitual offender taken out of this society for “insubordination, assault, assault, assault, repeated citations for aesthetic offenses, capillary disfigurement, and wanton obesity” (DeConnick 177). In the scene I chose, Penelope is already on this “Bitch Planet”. The reader gets to see this planet and the men who run it. This scene is an ideal scene because it’s location takes place in the name of this comic, “Bitch Planet”. The scene we see fits in with everything we expect “Bitch Planet” to look like. It is an empty room filled with guards and screens with men so they can examine and interrogate the women who break the law (DeConnick 199). In this image, the reader sees Penelope being experimented on for breaking the rules that are enforced by the males on this planet. When they don’t like her behavior, they try to fix her, but like her grandmother and mother, Penelope continues to fight against the system when she says “and you bastards ain’t never going to break me” (DeConnick 199)”. This scene in the comic helps to represent the patriarchal society Penelope lives in, and also how she fights against it.

 Though in control of her life physically, these leaders and incapable of taking over her mind and stopping her from staying true to herself, her mother, and her grandmother. Penelope, like many feminists in modern society, is a strong independent woman that doesn’t allow herself to be controlled or changed by the men in her life. She fights against the system for her family when she yells at her “fathers” for insulting her mother (DeConnick 183). She is representing the strength women are considered lacking as shown by her correcting her grandmother earlier on comparing Penelope’s strength to her fathers, rather than her mothers. Penelope immediately notices it and points out that her mother was also very strong, even though she was obviously punished for it (DeConnick 179). Women in this society all look feminine, thin, and lady-like. Penelope and the women in her family differed from this generalization of women. Penelope doesn’t look like or behave like the typical women during her time period, but in her society she faces consequences for it. She represents a strong feminist that doesn’t cower in the face of oppression, but looks it in the eye and fights back. Penelope in this scene fighting against her “fathers” is strong, overweight, and has short hair. Short hair, heavy weight, and strength are all qualities that fall under masculine, and all qualities Penelope possesses at her “fathers’” disliking, along with her strength. Penelope believes that she is the ideal version of herself the way she is. When the “fathers” realize that “this is a waste of time” trying to fix her, she mocks that she isn’t broken so they can’t fix her, and they will never be strong enough to break her. 

Penelope, the main character in “Bitch Planet” is taken from her family at a young age and adopted by these male figures called her fathers. They show fake concern for Penelope and her well-being while she is happy with herself and her behavior and look. When they try to experiment on her to “fix her” she remains herself and boasts on how “[those] bastards ain’t never gonna break [her]”. The scene from the comic I chose represents the larger message in the comic of feminism and the fight against this patriarchal society. Kelly Sue DeConnick exemplifies the fight and need for feminism when she creates a character that represents the women considered not feminism and different than the ideal woman in the current society. She uses this story to represent the real life fight for gender equality and how women everyday still struggle with oppression. 
