The Sexual Revolution...In Cartoon Form

 

BBC radio has an interesting article up entitled The Sexual Revolution...In Cartoon Form that has a very brief overview of the history of comic and cartoon characters that have changed the world's view of women and our perceptions of femininity.  Since it is a BBC article I must admit that a number of the characters discussed are British comic characters I'm unfamiliar with, however there are a number of characters even a non British audience will recognize, such as Betty Boop, Wonder Woman and Tank Girl.

 

Accompanied by her faithful kangaroo Booga and her various cohorts, Tank Girl partied, plundered, rioted, and stuck two fingers up at the establishment.

 

The tank she drives is also her home. When first introduced she undertook missions for a nebulous organisation, but after a series of mistakes was declared an outlaw.

 

Tank Girl is not your average heroine. She is a tough, no-nonsense, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, shaven-headed feisty character. However her attitude is all part of her appeal and charm and today she is recognised as a lesbian icon.

 

The strip was initially set in a stylised post-apocalyptic Australia and her creators Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin described her as "Mad Max designed by Vivienne Westwood". The comic's style was heavily influenced by punk visual art.

 

Unfortunately, the article isn't anywhere near as in depth as it could be, but as a promo piece it does its job.  The article is actually a promo for a radio show on BBC Radio 4 called Drawn To Be Wild.  Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find the archived radio show because the BBC's iplayer only holds shows on its site for seven days and the show originally aired back on December 11th.  So it looks like the show has been taken down already, which is a shame because I would have loved to listen to it. 

 

If anyone else can find the show online somewhere, let me know.

 

Lack of the radio show aside, the article still brings up an excellent point that I think generally gets overlooked.  Comics have been a big force behind the women's liberation and the feminist movements.  Yes, they still do tend to be heavily male centric, and there's that whole Women in Refrigerators thing to worry about, but on the whole I believe comics have done more good than harm.  A character like Wonder Woman, who even though she started off as a bondage pin-up girl, has gone on to become a symbol of female strength and independence.  And she's not the only one. 

 

Aside from those mentioned in the article, what other characters do you think have been empowering to women?