Sexism can be seen throughout Bitch Planet in very obvious ways. While most readers will pick up on these obvious sexist events and comments that are entailed, many fail to see the reoccurring theme that is shown in the small details within the work. Although the work is fiction, it involves scenes that the reader should connect to real problems in today’s world. In a visual analysis of Bitch Planet, the recurring scenes of imprisonment, from Penne serving other people to her actually being incarcerated, represent the gender repression society puts on women.

The very first panel in the excerpt of Bitch Planet depicts a woman standing before two men.  Her back is towards them, with her fists clenched, which shows anger and that she is against them. While the men seem to be standing behind bars wearing blue and holding guns, she is wearing an orange uniform, giving readers the idea that the female is incarcerated. While this is taken literally, it can also convey the idea that women are imprisoned by constant judgment and outlooks on how they should act and appear.

When considering Penne’s physical appearance in the first panel, it is important to take notice how she differs from society’s idea of what a woman should look like. She is drawn bigger than the social “norm”. Along with looking over weight, her shoulders are very broad and connect with her large, muscular biceps. She lacks long, flowing hair, with half of her hair actually shaved. When considering all of these attributes, one can conclude that the artists purpose was to take away Penne’s femininity by giving her features that society considers “manly”. With this idea in mind, it brings forth the underlying theme of how humankind will actually determine how much of a woman a woman really is just based on her looks. This is yet another way Penne faces imprisonment, by not being able to look a certain way without her womanhood being called into question.

When comparing Penne’s appearance with the two “guards” in the first panel, there is a significant difference. The men seem to be fit, with distinguished muscles and relative thinness. This might lead one to believe that the men care a good deal about health and physical fitness. The men also both seem to have weapons, giving the reader the sense that the men are of authority, having control of Penne who is stuck in their cage.

The fifth panel of the excerpt in Bitch Planet shows screens of men looking in disgust at Penne from the first panel. Although the reader can only see the back of her head as she is facing the screens, her eye is in the bottom right corner of the panel. The reader can tell she is angry and also in disgust with the men just from her single eye. I believe the significance of this eye is the transition that is seen from the first eye on the first panel. The reader can see Penne’s already furrowed brow moves downward, squinting her eye even more. This shoes her anger grows as the men continue to judge her. 

Harsh judgment on women is seen all throughout this work, in both obvious and obscure ways.  Not only are her looks called into question, but her actions are also closely critiqued. She is consistently punished for not acting or looking a certain way. This might lead one to then understand, or at least question, why Penne continues to displease others by being herself. It seems as is the more she is punished, the less the punishment does what is intended. The reader can clearly see the female become more aggressive in her actions as well as her appearance. When read once without this motif in mind, the reader could easily see the female as a person who does not listen to authority or behave the way she “should”. When keeping this motif in mind, the reader could easily see the female as a person who refuses to let sexism control her; someone who refuses to accept the illogical idea that men have entitlement over women. 
