Superheroines, their costumes and patriarchal representations:a case study of three Indian comic book ‘superheroines’

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study of Indian comic book superheroines holds tremendous potential for analysing issues of gender, colour and other social processes in the Indian socio-cultural milieu. Among Indian vernacular comics, Shakti, Visarpi and Chandika are three popular women characters, each possessing a unique socio-cultural representation. While Chandika and Visarpi are supporting characters in popular male superhero comics, Shakti has her own independent identity. This paper relates the socio-cultural positioning of these characters to their costumes and analyses the importance of costumes in the construction of any superhuman character in comics. In doing so, the paper critically analyses the costumes of the characters mentioned above. Chandika, socially placed within a traditional Hindu family, dresses up in a purple costume and a mask, which covers her almost completely. Visarpi and Shakti’s costumes, on the other hand, leave a significant portion of their bodies uncovered, while still conforming to traditional aesthetic values. Taking these superheroines as subjects of study and locating them within broader pop-culture and comics studies, the paper comparatively analyses the costumes and socio-cultural location of these Indian superheroines and their western counterparts, and argues that costumes further the reiteration of the patriarchal ideas of dependency, social status, morality and femininity.