Within the comic, “Bitch Planet,” issues such as gender inequality and irrational societal standards for women’s appearances are addressed. These issues exist not only in the comic, but also in the real world. Although the comic does not directly address these issues, the illustrations combined with the written text suggest messages about such key issues. Penelope’s appearance, women’s hairstyles, the Fathers (the men on the monitors), and the behavior of the women in this dystopian society are all elements that represent messages about gender inequality and standards set by the general population.

The main character in “Bitch Planet,” Penelope Rolle, represents the opposite of society’s “ideal woman.” Penelope is an overweight, dark-skinned woman with disheveled hair. Throughout “Bitch Planet,” she often stands in the shadows, wearing an orange jumpsuit, which gives her the appearance of a criminal. Which she is, according to society, because she is noncompliant; her hair should be flat or “curl up,” she should be starving herself to lose weight, and she should care about what other people think of her appearance (Deconnick). Because she does not conform to society’s standards, the people treat her as an outcast. For example, the male customers, in the restaurant where Penelope is employed, make hurtful comments about her weight and the color of her skin, and when she decides to stand up for herself, the women in the bakery act as if she is a monster. Unfortunately, people judge others by their appearances all too often, and this type of discrimination is not just something that only occurs in the comic. People often discriminate others based on their looks in the real world, too. 

Throughout the comic, women’s hairstyles are a significant visual element. Women with neatly styled hair abide by the fathers’ rules, but Penelope, a woman with untidy hair, fights the standards and faces unfair treatment. Meanwhile, men’s hairstyles are overlooked. Their hairstyles are undistinguished and do not determine treatment or behavior. This element contributes to the comic’s theme of gender inequality and unjust societal standards; society has unrealistic expectations for a woman’s appearance, while men are not held to the same standards. 

The women in the restaurant also contribute to the theme of society’s unfair expectations for women’s appearances. These women are so obsessed with weight loss that they split one muffin three ways, only consuming fifteen calories each. The topic of their discussion was how many ounces of bodily waste they have excreted over the past few days. In the background, the newscasters discuss a new fad diet: tapeworms (DeConnick). In this dystopia, women are willing to go to unhealthy extremes in order to meet society’s standards of a “good body.” Meanwhile, the men in the restaurant eat whatever they please. However, the women in the comic are not too different from women in the real world. Many women in today’s society are willing to try fad diets and waist trainers, which are both very dangerous and unhealthy, in order to get their ideal body. Along with the aforementioned elements, this element also contributes to the theme of gender inequality and unreasonable societal standards because it sends the message that society pressures many women to put themselves at risk to obtain an ideal body, but men are not put under the same amount of pressure to have a perfect body or perfect hair. 

The men who set the standards that society should strive to meet are the Fathers. Throughout the comic, the Fathers never appear in-person. They only appear on monitors in the background, making it seem like they are always observing. However, because the Fathers are never around in person, the question of how their rules are enforced arises. The answer to that question is quite simple: society. Members of society enforce the Fathers’ expectations for behavior and appearances through their judgement and treatment of other people. This contributes to the theme of unrealistic societal standards by revealing that there are no officials to enforce such rules; members of society are the people who contribute to these expectations. As soon as people decide to quit judging others’ appearances, there will no longer be a stigma associated with how a woman chooses to look or not to look.

The aforementioned elements contribute to the underlying theme of gender inequality and irrational expectations for a woman’s appearance. Society does not see men and women equally, and as a result, the two genders have different expectations to live up to, and often face discrimination. Although the images and written text in this comic are exaggerations, the message they send is very important. The reader can easily understand the message in the comic and connect it to real issues in the outside world. A woman’s ideal appearance should not be decided by society, and neither should a man’s ideal appearance. However, the men do not face the same amount of pressure as women. The pressure for women to meet societal standards is too high, and this comic reveals the dangers these expectations pose to women’s mental and physical health. Until members of society decide to quit judging each other and enforcing these standards, these issues will continue to exist. 
