Cupcakes and beefcakes

Students’ readings of gender in superhero texts

Bibliographic Data

ID12230684
AuthorsAshley K Dallacqua (The Ohio State University, corresponding author), David E Low (0000-0001-7999-5001, Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education, California State University, Fresno, CA, USA)
Year2019
Volume33
Issue1
Pages68-85
Publication date2019-06-26
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGender and Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0954-0253 • E-ISSN: 1360-0516
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540253.2019.1633460
OpenAlexW2954831918
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited19

Given the growing interest and representation of superheroes in comics and other media, we are interested in the ways young people read superhero texts and how those readings influence their conceptualisations of gender within and outside educational spaces. In this article we explore students’ responses to (re)presentations of gender in superhero texts (which include graphic novels, comic books, films, YouTube, and more), and examine how they reproduce and/or challenge assumptions about gender identity. This ethnographic study focuses on six seventh-graders across a school year in the United States. Our findings suggest that (1) students employ superhero texts as a multimedia resource for inquiring into gender, (2) superhero texts contribute to students’ complex and evolving understandings of gender, and (3) students both critique and reify gender ideologies that are surfaced through their transactions with comics and related media

Aesthetics · Art · Comics · Ethnography · Identity (music · Ideology · Literature · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Sociology · Anthropology · Comics and Graphic Narratives · Digital Storytelling and Education · Gender Studies · Literacy, Media, and Education · Psychology

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