Strip Search: This Time It’s Personal

Normally in Strip Search, Jennifer M. Babcock reviews and recommends comic strips available in print and on the web. This week she shares her own experiences as a woman cartoonist.

As you all probably know by now, I am a comics creator. I also happen to be a woman. Being a woman in the comics industry is a lonely, tough ride. There just aren’t that many of us out there and I often feel outside of what often seems to be a “boy’s club.”

Before you start accusing me of being “emo” or “PMSing,” let me explain…

Comic cons are always a problem for me- especially since I’m a heterosexual female who doesn’t cosplay. I often feel like I have to carefully select an outfit that will make me as gender ambiguous as possible. I usually opt for pants and a button down with a bangin’ tie- let’s also not forget my plastic rimmed glasses (I have to make it clear that I’m a nerd and am there on my own free will – not dragged by my boyfriend):

jen-con_

If I’m pimping my comic, it is fundamental for me that I downplay my femininity… otherwise, I won’t get taken seriously. Let’s take a look at the 2008 NYCC when I showed up on a Saturday wearing a summery white dress and peep toe heels (sans glasses). Every time I told a vendor that I was a cartoonist I was given a condescending and patronizing “Good for you!” On the other hand, when I returned the next day wearing my more masculine attire, the same vendors (who obviously didn’t remember me the day before) asked if I had a business card.

I know this is an issue that exists outside of my own experiences. I know there are many other women who feel they have to appropriate certain attire in order to be accepted at a con. Some of you reading this may not think it’s a big deal, but it is. Why do I have to deny my own gender to feel accepted?

Now some of you might be saying, “What’s this chick complaining about? There are plenty of women cartoonists out there! Why not hang out with them?!” Indeed, there are many groups for women cartoonists and readers. Just to name a couple that you can find online: Sequential Tart and gURL comix.

Don’t get me wrong- these groups are great and they provide a great forum for other female creators to talk to each other (especially nice since there are so few of us) but isn’t this sort of categorization also somewhat limiting as well?

By placing ourselves in this category of “women cartoonists” we are in fact implying that we are somehow inherently different from our male counterparts. Does Jessica Abel have a particular “feminine” creative mind that Craig Thompson can’t touch? [i][ii] That said, I am not necessarily saying that the” female voice” is always indistinguishable from the “male voice”- but I don’t see why there needs to be a separate category for “women cartoonists” as is often the case.

You know what else is sad? The internet- for all its promise of variety and fresh material- yields few significant female creators. Compared to the number of big name male web artists, the number of female web artists is pretty small.

Comics in America have for a long time been associated with immaturity and therefore men and boys (“females mature earlier than men” and “girls rule, boys drool,” remember?), which is probably why it has become such a male dominated industry. Things are starting to turn around, however, and we are starting to see more and more comics drawn and written by female creators. I have no doubt women comic roundtables and groups are helping to dispel the myth that girls “don’t read/write comics.” Pretty soon however, I think it’s important that we also realize that our ovaries do not mean that we’re on the same creative wavelength. Women should aspire to not be great “female cartoonists,” but to be a great cartoonists, period.


[i] Craig Thompson, you can touch me anytime.

[ii] Sorry, was that creepy?

Jennifer M. Babcock holds her MA in art history and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Egyptology from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, where she is also known as a comics scholar. A creator herself, she is the artist and writer behind C’est La Vie, which is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate and available at http://www.gocomics.com/cestlavie.

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  1. Good to hear your perspective, Jen. A few years ago, when they were launching the “Masters” touring exhibit, Art News explored some of what you talk about in your last paragraph.

    If you haven’t read it you can check out the article online here: http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1924

    • Sharon!
    • May 8th, 2009 11:15am

    Thanks for giving a woman’s perspective in the world of comics. You rock, Jen!

    • Jen
    • May 10th, 2009 1:07am

    Yeah I read that article- it basically was just like Linda Nochlin’s ArtNews article from the 70s (Why Have There Been No Great Woman Artists?) but in the cartooning world.

  2. Good blog, although I’m a dude, I sympathize with you. The industry has always been geared towards males. Also, from what I’ve seen a few groups of “women cartoonists” are strictly a lesbian club and can be just as alienating as the “boy’s club.” The only experience I’ve had is once I was introduced as a web comic artist, the girl turned to me and said, “Wow, are you gay?” I said “no,” and she replied with a disappointed “oh.”

    Once girls start pumping more money into the industry then women will be taken more seriously, and right now that is happening exponentially. Cheer up, you are just ahead of the curve.

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