Female Cmic Book Superheroes

The first female cmic book superhero was Wonder Woman, who appeared in 1941. With her patriotic outfit, she fit the superhero of the war years designed to inspire those waiting for their loved ones to return home from war. Catwoman was another of the female superheroes who appeared alongside Batman. Although the costume she wore was reminiscent of 1940's America, the manner of dress gradually began to change. When she appeared in the TV series, her figure was displayed in the skin tight suits that she wore. In today's comic books, she has large breasts and wears skimpy outfits.

One thing that you will notice about the female cmic superheroes is that they have perfect bodies. But there is also a stereotype associated with these characters of the earlier comics. In fact the comic books of the 1030's through the 1950's tended to portray two types of women as the main characters of the comics. These are:

Career oriented women. Considering that women working outside the home were just coming of age in the war years, this was a reflection on the changing society. However, none of the superheroes were married, which also reflected the fact that once you got married back then, you gave up your job. The careers that the women had reflected the fact women's work as nurses, typists and models. You did not see women doctors or managers or bosses.
Helpless. Women were very rarely portrayed as superheroes and often played the helpless female who had to depend on the man's strength to resolve the problem. The male superheroes were constantly coming to the aid of a female and even when the female cmic book superhero teamed up with her male counterpart she always took orders from him.

The drawing of the women in the comic books had an effect on how successful the titles were. Those that were portrayed with curvaceous figures and were very beautiful were more successful than the women who were drawn as ordinary people.