Book Review: Drawing (In) The Feminine. Bande Dessinée and Women

 reviewed by Manuela Di Franco, Ghent University

Margaret C. Flinn, editor. Drawing (In) The Feminine. Bande Dessinée and Women. Studies in Comics and Cartoons series. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2024. 279 pp. <https://ohiostatepress.org/books/titles/9780814215142.html>

Drawing (In) The Feminine raises the important issue of underrepresentation of women and nonbinary creators in the bande dessinée, or Francophone (including Africa), industry, a topic whose relevance goes beyond Franco-Belgian traditions. The volume does not only have the merit of addressing such an important topic in the field of comics studies, but also opens a debate on how scholarship can better include and give recognition to marginalised creators. The volume’s bringing to light underrepresented creators is achieved by focusing on contribution of female and nonbinary creators and by challenging the predominant, male-dominated narratives that have populated not just the comics industry, but also the scholarship. The book’s examination of how gender dynamics in the comics field caused or contributed to the marginalization of these creators is combined with a solid socio-cultural contextualization that helps situate the experience of the specific authors and case studies approached by the contributors. The volume engages well with existing scholarship and offers a rich contribution to the field, opening up paths for future research.

The volume is divided into three parts, comprised of four essays each for a total of 12 chapters, each by a different author. Part 1, “Industry, Audience, and Platforms,” tackles the issue of underrepresentation by examining dynamics between the comics industry and audiences, to highlight how some creators have attracted more attention than others. It starts with by retracing the history of bande dessinée from a gender perspective, to examine if and how the professional path of male and female creators diverged. Written by Jessica Kohn, the chapter exposes the limits of focusing on monographic careers, predominantly male, and the negative consequences such an approach has on our general understanding of the comics industry, shedding light on issues that have often been overlooked by fans and scholars. In chapter 2, Sylvain Lesage expands the question by analyzing bd publishing process as a whole, underlying the importance of recognizing and addressing the impact of roles such as that of colorists—which “has traditionally been feminine” (39)—that often go unnoticed despite their importance. In so doing, Lesage offers an examination of the gendered distribution of roles in the industry and argues of its relevance to this day in the legitimization of comics in France. Benoit Crucifix connects these ideas and adds a historical perspective on the “intermedial connections and exchanges between comics for adults and for kids” (56), the latter being the field where women cartoonists and illustrators were more widely employed (and acknowledged). Crucifix shows through the example of art by Nicole Claveloux how recognition differs between female and male creators. This third chapter therefore raises two important issues: that of the recognition of a genre (children’s comics) and of women’s artists. The final chapter of Part 1, by Jennifer Howell, addresses the use of comics by female artists as a tool for social activism, and particularly for challenging the established and oppressive patriarchal society. Howell provides an exhaustive socio-cultural contextualization that includes an overview of Moroccan feminism, allowing the readers to better understand the case studies of the chapter and adding a contemporary perspective on the issues raised in the previous chapters.

Part 2, “Geographies of Identities,” centers on bodily experience and its placement in space. The four chapters of this section deal with different aspects of the body and the physicality of women’s lived experiences. In chapter 5, Armelle Blin-Rolland adopts a “medium- and place-specific approach” (97) to examine the connection between gender and the environment and to add to the field of “ecographics.” Blin-Rolland does so by using Breton comics as a case study that shows the links between the construction of a folkloristic, rural, and feminized identity. The latter is particularly emphasized for the (historical) importance of women’s experiences with nature, which are particularly relevant for the Breton case. In chapter 6, Michelle Bumatay focuses on contribution by women and nonbinary creators within the francophone African and diasporic context comparing the work by Marguerite Abouet (and Clémenet Oubrerie) with Joëlle Epée Mandengue’s (known as Elyon). Bumatay argues that the use of the “feminine plural” in Abouet and Elyon’s comic series serves the purpose to highlight (and engage with) diversity in gender identities and experiences of African women. The chapter stresses the importance of acknowledging the intersectionality of race, gender, and cultural identity, especially to understand how these creators navigate both African and global contexts and their contribution to the comics industry. Comics emerged as a medium for African and diasporic women to express their experiences and challenge dominant, colonial narratives—showing how comics can give voice to a broad spectrum of African and diasporic womanhood. Alexandra Gueydan-Turek also explores the use of comics to give voice to marginalized communities in chapter 7, focused on the 2016 Lebanese comic anthology by the collective Samandal. Through this case study, the chapter examines the use of comics for political expression, social activism, and cultural resistance, arguing the significant role of comics as a platform for marginalized voices and a form of visual communication that can inspire political change and challenge oppressive regimes. By analysing Samandal’s work, Gueydan-Turk shows how through visual and narrative strategies representing political realities, revolutionary comics transcends borders and can amplify political impact. Finally, the chapter stresses the importance of paying more scholarly attention to this genre, especially in the context of contemporary social movements where comics still have a key role in advocating for political change. The last chapter of part 2, “Unveiling IVG” by Catriona Macleod, argues comics’ ability of breaking taboos and offer nuanced portrayal of women’s experiences with abortion, while also serving as a tool for feminist advocacy. Macleod argues the crucial role of comics in normalizing conversations about abortion by depicting it as a personal issue. By normalizing abortion through personal verbal-visual storytelling, comics humanize the issue and contribute to “unveil” lived experiences of women. The chapter adds a perspective on feminist comics and brings to the reader’s attention how they challenge and reshape cultural (and heteropatriarchal) narratives, aligning with the book’s themes of visibility, representation, and activism.

Part 3, “Representations and History (Herstories),” concludes the volume with essays addressing how women have been represented across century (and genres). It starts with Jacques Dürrenmatt’s analysis of the depiction of women in early bande dessinées and their stereotypical image that followed society’s view of women of the time. This chapter puts the physical representation of women into the socio-historical context that wanted women attractive and vulnerable, traits that comics reflected by portraying them with exaggerated feminine features and secondary roles. Dürrenmatt engages in a visual analysis through case studies to show how deliberate visual choices reinforced the idea of women’s passive and secondary role in both society and comics. The analysis is concluded by a call for a reassessment of early French comics. The evolution of the portrayal of women is traced by Mark McKinney in his study of the “the Black woman warrior, or ‘Amazon,’ from Dahomey” (198), who follows its transformation from colonial to postcolonial narratives (chapter 10). The chapter argues that French colonial comics often exoticized (and eroticized) and simplified the Amazons, while post-colonial African comics have reclaimed and recontextualized their image as symbols of empowerment and resistance. McKinney also examines the complex gender dynamics surrounding the portrayal of the Dahomey Amazons, whose representation in comics provides a space to explore gender, power, and resistance, as well as the defiance of the typical representation of women as passive or subordinate (as seen in the previous chapter). McKinney brings to light the importance of reclaiming historical narratives through cultural production and highlights the importance of comics in the process of decolonization in African arts and literature: by challenging the effects of colonialism on cultural representations, comics can actively engage with ongoing discussions of postcolonial narratives—including the European colonial responsibilities. In the following chapter (chapter 11), Isabelle Delorme adds to the discourse of women’s representation in comics by analyzing the work of Catel (Catel Muller), whose feminist biographical bande dessinées have challenged the historical underrepresentation of women in both history and popular culture. Delorme examines how Catel’s work blurs the line between art and activism by advocating with her (bio)graphic novels for greater visibility of women’s contribution to history, culture, and society. Catel not only brought attention to marginalized or overlooked female figures, but she also legitimized the genre of biographies dessinées. Delorme concludes by suggesting that Catel’s work and collaborative projects points for future directions for both feminist art and the comics medium. Véronique Bragard concludes this section with an analysis of how women creators can contribute to the overturning of “normalized versions of social organization, offering alternative readings of exploitative systems and hierarchies as well as alternative appropriations of the comics medium” (240). Through the analysis of Emilie Plateau’s Noire and her representation of Claudette Colvin, Bragard shows how comics can be used to re-tell history from a feminist perspective and make a significant contribution to collective memory. By emphasizing the contributions of women to the Civil Rights Movement, Plateau’s work challenges the traditional focus on male leaders and instead gives voice to marginalized female voices, making the story one of gendered experience and not only of racial injustice.

Overall, the volume achieves its goal of giving voice to marginalized women and nonbinary creators, although perhaps with a certain imbalance in favor of the first category. The contributors call for further research on forgotten or disregarded comics creators, a call that one can only hope will be welcomed by the scholarship to bring to light the many underrepresented and marginalized voices left outside of the established, male-dominated narrative.