Communication Honors Thesis
Honors Thesis at Trinity University in department of communication
“Holy Agency, Batgirl!": Evaluating Young Adult Superheroines’ Agency in Gotham Academy and Ms. Marvel
Kamala Khan poses in a panel from Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson. Kamala is a Muslim American teenager, who is trying to navigate her religious and cultural identity and her new powers.
For my undergraduate honors thesis, I evaluated how the main female protagonists of Gotham Academy and Ms. Marvel compare in their portrayal of agency. Through this comparison, I analyzed whether these portrayals align with any of the waves of feminism, or if they continue postfeminist dialogue within media. I conducted comparative textual analysis across the "Big 2" comic houses—DC and Marvel—in order to develop a full understanding of some of the most popular comics targeted at girls and young women.
Read my thesis at Trinity University's Digital Commons.
In a panel from Vol. 1 of Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Olive Silverlock and her friend Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi face mishaps while they try to unravel ghost sightings at their school.