Sexism and Self discovery seem very different; however, they are actually very similar. The sad thing about our world is that the majority of our population are sexist. They believe that men are superior. Kelly Sue DeConnick illustrates in “Bitch Planet” that men will try to boss you around, but as long as you remain “tough” or “terrifying” you can stand your ground. Unfortunately, with sexism being a huge issue in our society, women have to find a way around it. They do a fantastic job on showing they are equal or even superior to men by creating their own path and disregarding what others have to say. The topic of the self has long been salient in feminist philosophy, for it is pivotal to questions about personal identity, the body, sociality, and agency that feminism must address (Willet,1) Since women have been cast as lesser forms of the masculine individual, the paradigm of the self that has gained ascendancy in U.S. popular culture and in Western philosophy is derived from the experience of the predominantly white and heterosexual, mostly economically advantaged men who have wielded social, economic, and political power and who have dominated the arts, literature, the media, and scholarship (Willet,1). Women more than anyone else knows what its like to discover yourself. In this society it is almost required to succeed. Since sexism actually exist, women need to be unique and self reliant to surpass men with the same background. Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey” is closely related to Kelly DeConnick’s comic “Bitch planet”, she creates an ‘outline’ so to speak to help us find the path to self discovery. Bitch planet delivers the same message, only by showing what self discovery actually looks like through the use of human interactions. From “the journey” being published during the time of second wave feminism, and “Bitch Planet” being released during third wave feminism period, we can see that no matter what time period, sexism is a factor in our society which is why women need to be aware of self discovery.

It is not something most of us are aware of, but Self discovery correlates highly with sexism. Self discovery is best defined as the act or process of gaining knowledge or understanding of your abilities, character, and feelings. Sexism is the discrimination of individuals based on their sex, mainly focused towards women. Women in our society today are thought to be inferior to men, no matter what qualifications they have. They are pushed around to be conformed to “basic” stereotype women are thought of as; good with children and great at cooking. Self discovery allows women to escape from this stereotype, and eliminate sexism. To overcome the idea that men are superior, self discovery needs to take place and outside forces need to be disregarded. Life is tough, and others will constantly bring you down. It is the humans job to gain knowledge throughout our existence, and learn what we are capable of to succeed. Self discovery in a woman will make them capable of accomplishing anything they set their mind to, it gives one power that they never thought one could possess. Sexism is a very big issue in our world today, but will be overcome when women discover themselves and the strong character that they are. Sexism involves forces from the outside pushing women down, making self discovery the only solution to become successful.

“The Journey” by Mary Oliver was released in 1986, when women’s liberation and radical feminism was on the rise. Second-wave feminism was occurring, and spreading throughout the world. “The Journey” is the ultimate guideline on how to achieve self discovery. It is not a coincidence that Mary Oliver released this during the period of Second-wave feminism. During this time, women were discriminated on the social aspect of life. They were denied of jobs that were considered “men” jobs, which is basically sexism. This wave unfolded in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movements and the growing self-consciousness of a variety of minority groups around the world (Rampton 1). The growing self-consciousness was not that of a positive one, instead it was an unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness due to the fact that they felt like they were being observed and judged by men. In many articles, Mary Oliver displays her self as a reporter so to speak, one that writes what is happening in the world. She noticed that women were not being noticed as equal during this period, so she does a beautiful job illustrating the solution to the problem. She states “Though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice” (Oliver 3-5). This correlates how women in our society are constantly put down by men, but as long as they ignore what they have to say and listening to their hearts they will be content with life. Oliver says “little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own” (23-29). This lets us recognize that everything will fall into place. The burning star represents our “self discovery” and the sheets of clouds are used to represent men and the sexism they display throughout history. This lets us conclude that Mary Oliver let us realize that women’s self discovery will ultimately “Burn” through the “sheets of clouds” or defeat the idea of sexism.

“Bitch Planet” by Kelly Sue DeConnick was published in 2014, during the period of Third-wave feminism. This period of time is very similar to Second-wave feminism, but it adds to it. It expands the feminism group of “women” to a more diverse group, of different colors and ethnicities. A lot of the time men think of themselves as superior to women, and even more so towards women of different ethnicities. In Kelly DeConnick’s comic “Bitch Planet” she not only illustrates how a female is put down by men, but also how an African American woman is. This is no coincidence in that it was published during the time of third-wave feminism. She just like Mary Oliver, forms a solution for this set individual to overcome sexism and discrimination in general. Kelly DeConnick speaks for many women in this comic. In a 2015 Vanity Fair interview, she talks openly about being in a field that’s dominated by men: “Being a woman in a male-dominated industry sort of sucks, but it doesn’t suck any more than being a woman in the world.” (Carolina reader, 175). “The story is about a futuristic world dominated by men, where women who are deemed “non compliant” are placed on a prison planet” (NPR,1). The title itself “Bitch Planet” demonstrates how it was not a coincidence when this was published. During third wave feminism, they developed a rhetoric of mimicry, which appropriated derogatory terms like "slut" and "bitch" in order to subvert sexist culture and deprive it of verbal weapons (Rampton 1). This allows us to assume why DeConnick made this derogatory term for the title; to subvert sexist culture and deprive it of verbal weapons. In this comic, DeConnick shows us how our society has this “Perfect Women” stereotype, and if you do not meet the requirements, then you get sent to “Bitch Planet” due to your non compliance. In the end of the comic, “The fathers” try to conform the African American female “Penelope” into the ideal version of a women. Penelope ends it by saying “If it aint broke, don’t fix it. I aint broke…. And you bastards aint never gonna break me.” (Carolina reader, 199). This displays how self discovery is so very important. Since our society is full of sexist, there will be many attempts to conform you to the average person. DeConnick shows us how if you aren’t the “perfect” women, it does not mean you are broke, so do not conform to this individual just to please others.

Both novels “The Journey” and “Bitch Planet” display the solution of Self Discovery due to our sexist society. The two text are very different in context and the time period that they were published, but they both are very similar in the message they lay out. Due similarity in the message that is conveyed, but the completely different times produced, we can see how sexism is going to be in our world no matter what. It will never be eliminated completely, but it is bound to change. Change is something that happens over time, but can not happen to women in the world today. They need to become knowledgeable of the abilities they possess, rather then trying to conform to the “perfect women”. From “The journey” being published during the time of second wave feminism, and “Bitch Planet” being released during third wave feminism period, we can see that no matter what time period, sexism is a factor in our society which is why women need to be aware of self discovery.
