Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology– to be published by IB Tauris, London.
As a comprehensive history, inquiry, critique, and reference guide, Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology, is an engaging and thought-provoking read that addresses female spies, superheroes, detectives, meta-humans and action heroes over seven decades, as well as their writers, directors, performers, illustrators and consumers.
Though women have falsely been led to believe that superheroes and heroism are not for them, and that they are little more than sidekicks, there is a history of notable superwomen in popular culture. From Wonder Woman to Buffy Summers, Emma Peel to Sydney Bristow, Charlie’s Angels to The Powerpuff Girls; the female hero in modern mythology has broken through the boy’s club barriers of the traditional masculine superhero for shining, if all too brief, moments.
In this work, three big themes are addressed over 12 distinctive chapters. The first section, Standing on the Shoulders of Amazons, provides a contextual and comparative history of female super and action heroes in film, comics, and television. Part Two, Journey of the Female Hero, explores the differences in how women and men are represented as heroic in popular culture. Chapter topics include love and compassion, spies and sexuality, daddy’s girls, and the complicated roles of superwomen who are also mothers. Part Three, The Mythmakers, looks at men and women in the United States and Great Britain who have created modern myths with a strong female presence, as well as at feminist fangirl blogging, activism, and fiction. The concluding chapter, “Where Do We Go From Here?,” speculates on the future of women’s representation in superheroic myth.
Author Jennifer Kate Stuller specializes in gender and sexuality in popular culture and has been invited to speak about superwomen at conferences across the globe. She has been interviewed on public radio and for print news and currently does freelance for both local and national publications.