Have you ever felt like a minority or like you don’t fit in no matter how hard you try? Women everywhere face this feeling daily based on society’s standards for them. By looking at the scene between Penny and Mother you can see the standards women are told to live up to, the major split in the genders roles, and how much lower women are in society compared to men, this is important because it shows how different women are treated compared to men, even in today’s modern society. 

In Bitch Planet it shows a big split in the gender roles and equality. The scene with Penny and her school teacher shows penny getting in trouble for hitting a boy and the school teacher talking to her and in the end fixing and cutting her hair. In the scene with Penny and Mother Siebertling, the mother refers to Penny’s grandmother as Mr. Chester Alexander. Penny corrects her by saying, “my grandma’s name is Bertha.” This shows how women come second to men to a point where they aren’t even called their own names but the name of their husband. This scene also says “fathers” a lot and in one particular line the mother says to “learn to see yourself through the father’s eyes”. This particular frame is demanding the reader to ask themselves, what does it mean to see yourself through the father’s eyes? Why do you need to see yourself through the father’s eyes and why not your own eyes? This is telling the audience and women that they should be how men or the father’s want them to be and if they don’t fit those standards then they aren’t good enough. This scene would be different all together if it was a young boy getting in trouble for hitting another boy. He would not be told to learn to see himself through his mother’s eyes, nor would he have his hair cut because it wasn’t up to societies standards. If Penny was a Paul he would probably still be getting in trouble for hitting someone, but would he be told he could be charged with assault? Would the reason for hitting him still be the same? Why did Penny hit the boy, did he make a comment about her hair, or her mother or grandmother? This whole situation would be different if it was a guy and not a girl.

The society we live in today has standards at which they say is how every female should be in order to fit in and be the ideal girl/women. You can see this in the scene with Penny and Mother S when the mother starts doing Penny’s hair. The mother asks “what are we going to do with this hair of yours?” Penny replies by asking what’s wrong with her hair. Because her hair doesn’t look like or isn’t pretty enough that something is wrong with it. It’s not acceptable to be different in the society we live in. Differences should be looked at as beauty, not ugly. This visual text is directed at society as a whole, at the men and women in society. Whether they stand out and stand up and don’t give in to being like everyone else, or if they do give in and change who they are to fit in. The text is mainly directed at the women population to come together and stand up together for the equality that women deserve. This text was written by a woman who might have felt some of these feelings of not fitting in and forced to be someone who she isn’t.  Bitch Planet appeals to the emotions of readers, more women than men, because it hits home. News articles, magazines, TV, and social media everyday tell women to be like this, to wear their hair like that, to have a thigh gap, to not have a thigh gap. It’s honestly overwhelming because there are so many things women are told to be, and some of those contradict each other so who even knows what the exact ideal way is? It’s socially acceptable to be however you want to be whether you’re a man or woman.

Bitch Planet depicts the Mother as being stupid. The way they show her facial expressions and some of the things that she says, or how she says them makes her look like she’s not qualified for this role she’s playing. In one scene she says that loyalty is admirable but the act of a fool. This statement is hypocritical statement because society wants women to be the house wife who is loyal to her husband and raises the kids and all that perfect fairytale bullshit. So, for a woman to say being loyal is the act of a fool, she’s not only calling herself a fool, but all women and anyone else who is loyal and believes in loyalty a fool. It’s almost like they put this character in to do two things. First to try and show the audience that this is what the ideal woman looks like and talks like and this is a job she’d have. Like the mother is supposed to be a type of role model for Penny. Secondly, it’s like the author is trying to show the audience that even though she has this small job, she’s not qualified or god for this job. Roles reversed, if the mother was a male, he would be in a suit. He would not be wearing revealing clothing or drawn to be this attractive character. His dialect would be more scholarly, and he wouldn’t end this meeting with the student by doing their hair. If the character changed to a woman who wore a dress suit, who was drawn to look more scholarly she’d probably be wearing glasses, with her hair up and most likely a different color of hair, and her dialect would also be different. A simple change of the female character would change what this whole scene is saying to the audience.

Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick is sending out a message about equality. Not only does this comic send out a message about racial inequality, but about gender inequality. In the society we live in, the population as a whole is told that it’s not okay not be different, that we should all fit this one specific, perfect mold. That’s the biggest piece of bull shit that’s ever been said. It’s okay to be different, it’s better to be different. Why would you want to be someone you’re not and feel uncomfortable in your own skin? This comic is relaying a message to be who you are and stand up for what you believe in, even if you are the minority. 
