Just as always, it has come about in society that women have been viewed as the “weaker” sex. Society has been making it seem like women aren’t as capable as men, but that is not true. A woman, just like any other human, can do whatever she puts her mind to. Also, in today’s society, a woman feels as though if she is not slim with long beautiful hair and a big butt, she is not beautiful. That is not the case, especially in this story. In the comic “Bitch Planet”, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, feminism is presented throughout the story. The women in the story (prisoners such as Penelope) are presented as heroines, but a different kind of heroines. Because the story is visualized as a dystopian which is an imaginary society that is dehumanizing and unpleasant (Vocabulary). Women have been constantly visualized as being incapable of doing what men can do, the author of this story took a different approach and wrote about a few women: Penelope, her mother and her grandmother. 

The main character, Penelope, had grown up without a father and was removed from the custody of her mother when she was younger because her mother was “delusional and dangerous” (184, 2). The comic flashed back and forth between Penelope’s present and past life, explaining the background of her childhood. The flashbacks also showed how she seemed to be a happy child and as she grew older she just became more and more angry. As a child, she went to a school where the disciplinary action was to be paddled by the teachers. Later, she worked in a bakery where people were always rude and critical, whether it was towards her or themselves. Penelope’s anger was triggered by how others treated her, spoke to/about her and the general society’s attitude.

In typical comics, where the women are heroines, they’re depicted as slim, beautiful and strong. They appear this way to represent the stereotype of a heroine. In this comic, the heroine, Penelope, is obese and black. By making the main character so much different from the typical female hero, it really shows how feminism can be found in any and every woman. It can be found just by the woman’s want and ability to be strong and independent. Penelope works in a bakery where white women count calories. The men who eat there would undermine and belittle her because of her looks. Everyone who went to Penelope’s bakery acts as though they were so much better than the next. Penelope was angry with how she was treated, so she punched the man who was talking about how she was worthless due to her weight and color. Because she committed assault towards this man, she was taken to the “Bitch Planet.”

The Bitch Planet is a type of prison where noncompliant female criminals are taken. Here, they test the women and try to figure out why they are the way they are – manly, not beautiful, angry and noncompliant, the fathers make the standards for women. When they test the women, “The Fathers” ask the women to think about how they envision themselves and how they want to look. The Fathers expect Penelope to want to look like the typical tall, healthy, and fit woman. They expect that she wants to be beautiful with long hair and sexy curves and to be an obedient woman, but she doesn’t. Penelope is proud of who she is, she loves the way she looks, how she was raised and how she is capable of being herself all the time. She doesn’t want to change because she is true to herself. 

There’s a saying that says “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”? Well that’s not always true, the author used feminism to show society how poorly their actions and words make women feel. Bitch Planet is the perfect example of how women, who are not “beautiful and perfect” based on men’s standards, are treated.  The fact that a woman is not slim with long blonde hair does not mean that she does not deserve the same general respects from people. The flashbacks of Penelope’s life show feminism because it proves that she always stayed true to herself even though she didn’t have any parents there for her. Penelope was taken from her mother when she was eight because The Fathers took her in attempt to make her a different person, which is what they’re doing to Penelope now. Even though the bakery was state-sponsored and Penelope didn’t completely own it, it shows that she was independent and was able to open her own bakery, make her own money and he her own person. Finally, in the last scene, Penelope stands up to The Fathers, laughs in their faces at the fact that they think she wants to become someone she isn’t just because of outside ideals and preferences. The fact that she is larger and darker than the average superhero, this makes her appear more scary. Penelope may not be like the typical beautiful, skinny, muscular super heroine who saves the city from the villains but she is a hero in the respect of portraying true feminism – she is strong, independent and does not want to change. 
