Superheroines and superstereotypes? Queer postfeminism, intersectionality and female superheroes in Supergirl

Abstract

Since the new millennium, there has been a remarkable increase in audio-visual adaptations of superhero comic books (Garcia-Escriva, 2018). Whereas these adaptations used to include predominantly male superheroes, they have started to feature more female superheroes (Curtis & Cardo, 2018). An increase, however, does not imply diverse and rounded representations, since women in superhero movies tend to be depicted in stereotypical and sexualized ways (Kaplan, Miller & Rauch, 2016). Even though previous research has addressed the films and series' politics of gender representation, there is a need for research that looks at televised female superheroes from a queer postfeminist and intersectional lens. Therefore, this study conducted a textual analysis, informed by queer postfeminist and intersectional theory, to explore how leading female superheroes in the Arrowverse series Arrow and Supergirl are represented. We concluded that female superheroes who assume a central role in the series are represented in a rather empowered manner, but that there are still improvements possible with regard to the representation of race and sexuality.