The world would be a better place if everyone had equal rights. Feminism, the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men, is the solution to most problems regarding the discrimination of women. Women are often discriminated because in the past, men have been in control. It was believed that women were not equal to men and this still continues in the world today.  In the comic, Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick, the discrimination based on gender and weight is a huge problem that the main character, Penelope, wanted to solve. This comic was written because of DeConnick’s interest in the seventies era and the amount of anti-feminism and discrimination on women during this time. In order to get rid of this future dystopian society that revolves around the patriarchies of men we must increase the amount of feminism and equality that is throughout the world. 

Penelope is enraged by the discrimination she receives from the “board of fathers” who believe that she is being judged because she does not look like the typical woman. They interrogate her because she does not believe the same way that they do, she believes that women should not be judged on looks and that they deserve just as many rights as a man does, like the ability to dress and look the way they want without being judged. In one of the panels, a man on the board of fathers says to Penelope that her mother, a feminist because she believes that women deserve to be equal to men, is “delusional, and dangerous, and didn’t want to see the truth before her,” (pg. 184 panel 2) all because her mother believes that women should feel equal. The board of fathers looked down on her mother because her mother believed that women should feel empowered and that they deserve just as much as men. You can see within the panel that the men feel superior against Penelope and that they feel they can control her. The board of fathers are a perfect example of people who prevent the equality of all people in America because they judge others believe that they are above everyone else. The actions and judgment of these men is something similar to what will cause the future of society to crumble. 

In one of the flash back panels, a female news reporter says, “and we are back, today’s top stories- How you can try the parasitic worm diet that is all the rage with the teen celebs,” (pg. 193 panel 3). This quote shows the stereotypes among young teenage women who tend to eat extremely less, without gluten, sugar, fat, and sodium in order to feel better. Women are expected to be skinny and to not eat as much as men which leads to weight discrimination and sexism. The female news reporter who says this is the stereotypical woman with long hair and a skinny waist is envisioned in a flashback, indicated by the color change of the gutter, that has caused a bad thought in Penelope’s head. This stereotype is what leads women to feel less of a person because men do not have criteria that they are expected to meet to. In the future, men and women should try to empower others and build them up instead of forcing them to meet these stereotypes. 

The lack of feminism in today’s society is believed to be a huge issue to some people. This comic allows readers to understand the struggles of equality that goes on in the real world while still giving them something interesting and fun to read. Kelly Sue DeConnick does a great job in relaying a huge problem into something that makes the reader want to fix the problem before it gets too out of hand. Feminism is something that should be spread all over the world because it means the equality for all races, genders, and people. 

Everyone deserves equal rights and the same opportunities that others are given. No one should be discriminated based off of their race, appearance, and especially gender. These are characteristics that people are born with and cannot change. Bitch Planet opens reader’s eyes to a new problem existing in this world and spreads awareness in order to stop this anti feminism. Discrimination based on race, gender, and appearance leads to a world of problems that need the support of all people in order to be stopped. 
