Susan E. Kirtley, "Typical Girls: The Rhetoric of Womanhood in Comic Strips" (Ohio State UP, 2021)
In her new book\xa0Typical Girls:\xa0The Rhetoric of Womanhood in Comic Strips\xa0(Ohio State Press, 2021) Susan Kirtley examines female-created comics that were nationally syndicated starting in the late 1970s-2010. Kirtley\xa0uncovers the understudied and developing history of these strips, defining and exploring the ramifications of this expression of women\u2019s roles at a time of great change in history and in comic art. This impressive, engaging, and timely study illustrates how these comics express the complexities of women\u2019s experiences, especially as such experiences were shaped by shifting and often competing notions of womanhood and feminism. Including the comics of Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Nicole Hollander (Sylvia), Lynda Barry (Ernie Pook\u2019s Comeek), Barbara Brandon-Croft (Where I\u2019m Coming From), Alison Bechdel (Dykes to Watch Out For), and Jan Eliot (Stone Soup),\xa0Typical Girls\xa0is an important history of the representation of womanhood and women\u2019s rights in popular comic strips.\n Rebekah Buchanan\xa0is an Associate Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies