Stereotypes have had an enormous impact on society and its culture since the beginning of civilization.  A stereotype is a widely held simplified description of a particular type of person or thing.  Of all the stereotypes that appear in today’s society, those of gender and race stand out to be the most prevalent and influential throughout history which has shaped modern times.  These stereotypes influence everything around us such as art, literature, and the way people act in their everyday lives.  The graphic short story, “Bitch Planet,” Kelly Sue DeConnick portrays the immense cultural differences between gender and racial stereotypes in modern day society.  By looking at these stereotypes, we can see why Penelope, the main character, is continuously criticized and forced to conform to the strict societal standards she lives with. 

Throughout history there has been a clear divide between the roles of men and women in the workplace and at home.  Gender roles and their stereotypes play a massive part in how contemporary society operates and how it has evolved into what is it today.  In “Bitch Planet,” DeConnick displays these stereotypes in an exaggerated manor through creating a clear divide between the men and women in her short story.  Within her story, the fathers play the key role of enforcing the common stereotypes that we see in our society every day; although the fathers implement these biases in an extreme manor, the source of the pre-conceived notions are pulled from real-life society.  A common stereotype of women is that they are born to be housewives and nothing else, that women are strictly confined to taking care of their husbands and children with no other options.  In an interview between a multiple Mexican wives and Charles Rowell, women are depicted as being unable to do anything that their husband does not condone; they are not allowed to get a job even if they have gone to school and studied for a certain profession.  This household situation was common for ages throughout history and has developed into a predominant modern stereotype.  In “Bitch Planet,” Penelope in unable to conform with modern stereotypes like these and is seen as an outcast that needs to be controlled.  Penelope appears to be the only one, aside from her mother, who can see past the pre-determined roles set by the fathers.  DeConnick chose to create her main character as a woman that defies all feminine stereotypes in order to show how dominant these biased opinions are in the world today; hell breaks loose the moment Penelope shows the slightest sign of breaking her customary role in society.  When one pictures a female as the main character in a story, one is not likely to choose a large, muscular, black lady who has trouble controlling her anger and fitting into society, this creates conflict in the story.  

Stereotypes evolve, and although women today may not be forced to stay at home, they are expected to.  Women are commonly seen as less capable of doing the same work as a man, this shows when it comes to stay-at-home mothers, wage gap between genders and other common stereotypes.  When a family has a child, it is assumed that the mother will be halting her career in order to take care of the new child, not the father; when a woman has any meat on their bones they are automatically considered manly.  These are both examples common biases pertaining to women that are heavily dominant in today’s culture that automatically assume one’s role in society based on gender.  DeConnick depicts stereotypes like these by presenting the average white girl ordering her food, “One sugar-free, salt free, gluten-free muffin and three plates please” (DeConnick 193).  This encounter between Penelope, the opposite of a stereotypical girl, and the cliché white girl ordering her critically specialized meal in order to maintain her good looks, introduces the stereotype that all women are egotistical beings that care only about their appearance.  Penelope is the epitome of a male stereotype: half-shaven hair, muscular, angry, and doesn’t care about her appearance.  This goes against every societal standard held against females in this world.  

Another stereotype that DeConnick displays is that of a white male in power.  Everyone within “Bitch Planet” listens to the group of, well dressed white men who make the decisions and impose rules that are meant to “help [Penelope]” (DeConnick 178) as if the only way to achieve happiness is conforming to society’s expectations due to gender.  By the fathers stating that the gender roles set in place are meant to make her “happy,” they are also saying that men and women are both destined to perform certain tasks and fit into certain parameters that the other gender cannot.  

The common belief that certain genders are destined to fit a certain criterion is seen in “Bitch Planet” and also in today’s civilization.  Studies show that there are specific expectations held to each gender; women are much more likely to be expected to take care of their homes while leaving the men to get a job and provide for his family (Rice and Coates 744).  DeConnick displays this stereotypical gap in professional expectations in her work by creating the fathers.  The fathers are a select group of, seemingly wealthy, white men who control every aspect of society; with this, they attempt to govern how males and females should act differently.  When the fathers notice that someone is not fitting into society, for example Penelope’s mother, they step in and correct the behavior according to their likings, always relating to gender roles, and how they believe each person should act.  This government-like group of men act as promoters and enforcers to gender stereotypes and are brainwashing the rest of the population into believing that each gender has its own pre-determined role in society.  

DeConnick uses these characters to display how modern day society has similar groups of people that keep these predominant stereotypes alive and prevents change from happening.  When asked about why women in Coyolillo, Veracruz, Mexico do not work, Benita, a housewife, responds, “I'm talking about their husbands. Their husbands don't give them permission.”  In “Bitch Planet,” the fathers represent the oppressive husbands of societies around the world that limit the potential of women in the work force and every other aspect of life.  Commonly in history, males take over the dominant role in the family and leave the women behind to do the tedious house work such as cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children, all of which these women of Mexico are secluded to.  

By choosing to make her short story contain graphics, DeConnick allows the audience to visualize and interpret each stereotype on its own, view them how we individually see them, instead of laying it out directly for the viewer.  By drawing out white men in positions of power, she allows us, the readers, to relate our pre-conceived stereotypes, ones where we are used to men having all the power, and compare them to how the book similarly operates.  Although this may be an exaggerated form of how gender roles are different in actual society, DeConnick makes it clear that this is how society runs behind the scenes.  A main theme in this story is how gender role stereotypes take over our lives and dictate how we act and think; by implementing illustrations, the lesson is virtually taught on its own. Instead of describing the fathers as rich white males, the author allows the reader to fill in the gaps with his/her previous knowledge and expectations.  Studies show that white men hold more traditional roles of power than any other group of people (Coates and Rice 749), this is why nobody is surprised to see older white men running the country and enforcing their beliefs on the rest of civilization. Society is used to operating in this manner and the stereotype lives on through people who refuse to acknowledge that gender and race does not determine potential in the work force.  Once DeConnick challenges these predefined roles within her story, the correlation is made between her exaggerated theoretical situation and real-life society, both where men are in control and breaking free of stereotypes is nearly impossible.  This connection brings about ideas within our own society that make us question why we do certain things how we do them, why we need to question authority, and where these planted, pre-determined, ideas about gender roles sprout from.  

In addition to demonstrating the vast differences between the roles of men and women, DeConnick uses “Bitch Planet” to display the reasoning behind why women tend to be more egalitarian than men (Coates and Rice 745).  Throughout history, women have been treated extremely different from males; most commonly, males are viewed as the superiors to females and the only valuable quality a woman can have is to serve men.  This is why women are more likely to promote change within society, as they are likely the ones being suppressed and are willing to fight for equal rights.  Penelope can be seen fighting common stereotypes throughout the entire story, commonly repeating the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (DeConnick 187).  Whenever a superior figure, usually a male, attempts to correct Penelope’s behavior in order to conform her to how the rest of society wants her to think, she always repeats this phrase, emphasizing the essential question of why she needs to act this way solely due to her gender.  Within the same study, results found that men are the most resistant to change the way society views gender stereotypes due to their superior stature; this can also be seen within DeConnick’s work.  The fathers have brainwashed all of society into believing that these certain roles must be played out by each gender, otherwise they will be outcast from the culture.  This can be seen when Penelope gets into a fight at school and must meet with the principal, a female that goes by Mother Siebertling.  Although a woman with authority defies female stereotypes due to a her holding a position of power, she still conforms to the fathers’ wishes by enforcing their rules upon other men and women to ensure that they are heading in the correct direction.  One may think that since a woman holds a job with power it entails that stereotypes have been broken, but in reality Mother Siebertling is still heavily enforcing the father’s wishes.  By placing a woman in a position of power, yet still conforming to female stereotypes, DeConnick presents a situation that feels as if stereotypes have been broken, but a closer look shows that it is clear the gender societal roles still weigh down women greatly due to lack of egalitarian effort by females.  

In addition to purely gender stereotypes, DeConnick exposes the difficulties that African American women have in society.  Black women are apprehended to a different stereotype than all others.  Originally, black women in America were held to the same standards as men in terms of labor, but more recently women are seen as delicate and soft.  “Black women were viewed as beasts of burden and subjected to the same demeaning labor and hardships as black men” (Dugger 427).  Traditionally women are seen as gentle and delicate, but by conflicting stereotypes between a working African American and a soft pampered woman, Penelope is put in a tough situation where she struggles to conform to both side’s standards.  This conflict can be seen when Penelope is working and the customer describes the common views black women, “Skins.  They like ‘em big like that.  It’s in their animal nature—big asses, big lips.” DeConnick demonstrations these clashing stereotypes by including a male in her story that describes Penelope, as a natural beast while on the other hand the fathers are telling her that she needs to be fragile and delicate, the exact opposite of her “animal nature.”  Due to Penelope’s background of being a black female, she is more likely to be egalitarian than white men or women (Dugger 427); the expectations of black women have changed from being equals with that of men, to being far inferior.  Penelope was raised by her mother who faced the same issues with the fathers that she is currently facing, her mother ended up getting taken away for she was described as too dangerous to society for not seeing the truth behind why the fathers enforce the decisions that they do.  

“Bitch Planet” also reveals the stereotypes of women in the workplace and how gender roles affect the responsibilities of men and women differently.  Although the principal at Penelope’s former school is a woman, referred to as Mother Siebertling, her gender still greatly affects the power and authority that she holds with the position of being a principal.  Being the principal of a school entails that one has the power to shape children’s minds; Mother Siebertling is forced to obey the rulings and guidelines set in place by the fathers; this means that she must enforce all the gender stereotypes that are in place upon the children at a young age.  There are two types of stereotypes.  Descriptive stereotypes pertain to beliefs about traits that a certain group has, while prescriptive stereotypes concern the traits that a certain group should have (Bobbitt-Zeher 766).  Through implementing purely prescriptive stereotypes during the adolescent lives of children, the fathers are able plant the specific stereotypes that they believe in and affectively shape the minds of society to think how they want them to.  This is similar to how stereotypes are passed on through generations in real life; television shows, movies, music, and all other forms of entertainment display these common opinions about gender roles constantly throughout.  Without even knowing it, children are being fed pre-conceived notions about how society is supposed to operate thus molding the thought processes of future generations.  

While the primary cause of gender discrimination is embedded in cultural beliefs, secondary causes concern organizational structures such as policies and practices (767).  DeConnick depicts how real-life stereotypes are born through Mother Siebertling, by planting them in children’s heads at a young age in order for them to grow up with this mindset.  Although modern day stereotypes are not taught in this specific manor, the author portrays how the information is fed into the minds of the youth around the world and how this information shapes our minds.  

“Bitch Planet,” by Kelly Sue DeConnick, clarifies the vast differences of expectations between gender and racial stereotypes.  Throughout the graphic story, DeConnick portrays Penelope as a character struggling to conform to how society believes a woman should act.  By implementing a black woman as the main character in the story, the author opens up new windows of conflict between gender and racial stereotypes that are not heavily prevalent on the surface.  Throughout “Bitch Planet,” DeConnick consistently illuminates the great differences between gender and racial stereotypical roles within society. 
