"The comics sector is opening up avenues to increase the visibility of women"

 

Carmela Artime teaches Spanish at the AUC  (Amsterdam University College), where she coordinates the language programme. She combines her work there with her UOC Information and Knowledge Society doctoral programme studies, for which she is finishing her thesis on the contemporary graphic narratives depicting the Spanish Civil War.  Her academic interests include the study of memoirs, historical fiction, comics and literature. Born forty years ago in Pontevedra, she is a mother of two children and has been living in the Netherlands since 2012. With the Sant Jordi, or St George's Day, rose and book celebrations in full swing, Artime marks the occasion with a look at literature from a gender perspective.

 

 

Carmela Artime teaches Spanish at the AUC  (Amsterdam University College), where she coordinates the language programme. She combines her work there with her UOC Information and Knowledge Society doctoral programme studies, for which she is finishing her thesis on the contemporary graphic narratives depicting the Spanish Civil War.  Her academic interests include the study of memoirs, historical fiction, comics and literature. Born forty years ago in Pontevedra, she is a mother of two children and has been living in the Netherlands since 2012. With the Sant Jordi, or St George's Day, rose and book celebrations in full swing, Artime marks the occasion with a look at literature from a gender perspective.

 

I think it's very positive for the world of comics in Spain, even if it's just a gesture in support of equality. For many years comic strips have mainly been the domain of men and the limited number of women who have broken into that world have largely remained under the radar. Laura Pérez Vernetti is a good example of just that, since, despite having worked in comics and illustration for many years, she has not enjoyed the recognition received by her male counterparts. The number of women working in comic strip production has grown exponentially in recent years. There are now many female colourists, scriptwriters, cartoonists, etc., all contributing a diverse range of influences and styles, that we are gradually becoming aware of, which is why I am so optimistic about the impact of gestures such as these, because they highlight the issue. There is no doubt that we have a long way to go before we see significant female representation on the judging panels, in the publishing houses, until the pay discrepancy between male and female authors is redressed; in short, until gender becomes irrelevant in terms of the appreciation of a piece of work.

The sexualization of female characters in comic strips actually even predates the superhero comics. American funnies were already sexualizing the female body at the start of the 20th century, albeit in a subtler way. Bringing Up Father, a comic strip from that time, is a good example of that. All the characters in this strip are drawn in a caricatured style, except for the daughter of the family, who is a very attractive young girl with a stylized body that is sometimes revealed through transparencies, ie, at that time the character was already being reduced to just her body or her face. Art, in one way or another, reflects society and this reveals the way a woman's role in society was viewed by those authors. I would say that the problem of objectification does not just lie in the sexualization of a character but in the gestures, the lack of definition given to a character, the homogenization; until very recently all female characters were white, middle-class women. Change is needed across the board.

I am not convinced of its significance in terms of the changes that need to be made in the comic or, indeed, any other sector. It's not about comics for men and comics for women, but comics that appeal to different sensibilities. There is undoubtedly a need for changes to be made in the industry to ensure that women are not overlooked or represented in a simplified way, and those changes will be beneficial to all readers regardless of their gender.

I wouldn't say that change is a misconception. In fact, there have been changes happening for a long time but they still haven't had a significant impact on social structures, which remain patriarchal. I do think that things are changing in terms of education though, and there are initiatives that demonstrate progress in relation to the issue of gender equality. The students I teach are in their twenties and, in some of our discussions, I can see that they have a far more progressive mindset in terms of equality and diversity than my generation does. And that's very good news.

The comics sector is opening up avenues to increase the visibility of women, and the articles written in the press and the awards are all helping with that, and that is also a change. Undeniably it is still not enough and perhaps some of the media articles and awards are motivated by marketing strategies or financial interests, but, at the end of the day, they still represent small steps of progress because those gestures highlight and make us reflect on the issue of inequality.

When we change it in society that will also be reflected in the literature. Meanwhile, emotions are already being viewed differently in the arts, and we are increasingly seeing them being given more intellectual weight, both for male and female characters. In the graphic novels I am studying for my thesis on the depiction of the Spanish Civil War in contemporary comics, the feelings of the characters – almost all of which are male – form one of the key narratives.

Well, when it comes to books for my children, their enjoyment is my number one priority. I buy some books that deal with diversity issues. A really nice one is Islandborn, by Junot Diaz, or the Mulleres Galegas (Galician Women) collection of biographies for children by Enrique Mauricio and Carlos Taboada. However, above all I try to use what they read or watch, whatever that may be, to talk to them about issues that I think we need to discuss, with the hope that they will also learn to be critical in terms of the material they are exposed to.

I would recommend checking out the work of the International Comic Fair prize-winning authors, Laura Pérez Vernetti and Ana Penyas. Some other good options are Pretty Deadly by Emma Ríos and Kelly Sue DeConnick and Aloha by Uruguayan author, Maco. And, if you're new to comics, Alison Bechdel, Marjane Satrapi and Julie Doucet are always a good place to start.