 Racial and gender discrimination is a big issue in our society. Throughout history, blacks and women’s rights have been highly controversial issues that have mostly been resolved, but are people missing the fact that it still may be an issue, or are people just choosing to ignore it?

Bitch Planet was a very influential book. It seemed to point out all the social issues of the world with people discriminating against others in a way that the reader had to pick up and interpret. This was a smart idea, because many things could be interpreted in different ways, leaving the comic open for discussion. Throughout Bitch Planet, Penny was the center of attention. The main character, in each scene we see her in a different place with different people; she is almost the perfect example of someone who could be discriminated against because of her weight, her ethnicity, her gender, and the fact that she has a father in jail. I think the author is trying to show us how messed up the world is now and what it could become in the future as technology grows more powerful and people grow farther apart from the previous values and beliefs of society.

Caucasian people take a lot of things for granted, but what they don’t do is put themselves in the shoes of a minority. A perfect example would be the Black Lives Matter movement. Many African Americans feel very strongly about this movement. However, some white people think it’s ridiculous or dumb and they just do it to cause trouble, but many whites have never been discriminated against and don’t know what it’s like to be treated that way.

In one of the sources reviewed about African American people and discrimination, the author says, “Racial discrimination is a continuing and major problem for middle-class blacks and has been downplayed as analysts have turned to the various problems of the “underclass.” (Feagin) This being found and said, gives me reason to believe and understand that blacks are still discriminated against and that the public eye either doesn’t realize it, or are just choosing to ignore it. In Bitch Planet, DeConnick makes it clear that she realizes the discrimination and is aware. However, I think she does this to see if who will, and who will not, realize the discrimination factor without bluntly putting it in the comic saying that Penny is being discriminated against only using visuals for the reader to interpret.

Racial discrimination is an unfortunate occurring event that has no place in this world, but still is an issue today and potentially could become a bigger issue in the years to come. Bitch Planet was written a few years ago but I believe it is predicting what society will be like in the future; maybe suggesting racial discrimination is going to turn around and go back towards the direction of the 1960s. Many assessments have been done to see how African Americans feel about racial discrimination. The author of this article took a survey of 100 African Americans that had been discriminated against and asked specifically about the type of discrimination. He also asked how they responded. The number one instance of discrimination in the public eye was poor service at restaurants and other businesses, and the biggest response from African Americans to the offenders was to withdraw from the situation or respond verbally towards the person who discriminated against them. The author of this article stated, “black middle-class responses to white discrimination accents the changing character of white-black interactions.” (Feagin) This just comes to show the sad reality of racial discrimination in our country today. Although we have an African American president currently, maybe it was just a phase. With a new president on the way, we can only hope for things to get better. It’s a long shot but all Americans can have some hope.

Women’s rights and gender discrimination have always been a hot topic in world society but also American society. The 18th and 19th centuries in America were times that women had no say in government or in the working industry; they were housewives. Back then, most women were okay with that and knew nothing other. As time progressed to the World Wars era some women began to realize and protest that a woman can do anything a man can do. This opened the eyes of many women to try for their right for the same equality of men. After receiving many of their rights, some people (men especially) in today’s time have given out this image of what a woman should look like, or what she should wear, and even who she should be. I think that’s a very ignorant and ridiculous reason for a woman to have to look a certain way for men to be satisfied, and honestly it’s unacceptable.

In Bitch Planet, there are many times where DeConnick is trying to show the reader discrimination against women or give the example of what a typical woman should look like. There is a scene where the principal of the school is wearing an outfit that looks inappropriate for school, but is accepted at the time in the book. As I have grown through my years as a student in school, I can tell that the times are changing. As a kindergartener the teachers wore clothes that seemed very professional for a teacher, but as the times continued through senior year the clothes that teachers would wear became less formal (nothing like the example in the book) and more comfortable, meaning that in the future teachers clothing options could become more risqué. 

Some people may think that “certain jobs are only for a certain sex.” For example, some people may associate a man to be a truck driver or a woman to be a cafeteria worker. This is a wrong assumption to make but it does unfortunately happen. In a recent study from an article I read, a group of people conducted a test by looking at the job sections in a couple of newspapers in their area, there was a male that would call and then a female would call and they compared and contrasted the outcome of these calls and how different the hiring person would react to a certain sex. The author found that, “In sum, clear-cut discrimination was reported in over 35% of the 256 phoned inquiries, and more discrimination was met by males seeking traditionally female jobs (44%) than females inquiring about traditionally male jobs (28%). This experience dramatized the continued existence of sex discrimination against woman and raised additional issues about males too.” (Levinson) In short, this is a very real issue that is happening in our society. In Bitch Planet we also see Penny working in a bakery which some would consider to be a “woman’s job.” This is just more evidence from Deconnick to support her message that she is trying to relay to her readers.

People are missing the real issues going on in today’s society, whether they just simply overlook them, or are aware of the issues but choose not to act. In the past, African Americans and women’s rights have been highly controversial issues that have mostly been resolved, but once again, it is becoming an issue in society. Unfortunately, until action is taken, it will continue to be a problem.
