Superheroine

I recently read an article for a TCOM class about superhero culture and gender roles. The focus was on NBC’s Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010. At first glance, the show looks like it might have been doing something positive with its diverse cast. There are two female superheroes in Season 1 and characters from several nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, to an almost Law & Order degree of variety, which is hardly a bad thing.

The trouble comes up in the way the female characters are portrayed; things quickly devolve into the usual damsel-in-distress tropes in the guise of socially responsible television. The women get the label of hero, but the roles they’re given don’t live up to it.

To start, our two superheroines are very obviously painted for the hetero male gaze. In her first scene, Niki Sanders strips for a webcam, which is supposed to show her desperation for money, but there’s no downplaying the sexiness on the part of the showrunners. So we’ve got a stripper, next up of course is a cheerleader! The character of Claire Bennett is a downright devious creation on the part of the writers. You see, Claire’s superpower… is the ability to heal herself.

I didn’t think anything of it at first either, but she’s a female superhero whose power is completely passive. Despite her superhero status, her lot in life is still to be rescued by men, over and over again. That’s the devious thing about Claire. Being able to regenerate herself, the villains can do worse and worse things to her, but she can still be saved in the end!

This even comes through in the tagline of the show: save the cheerleader, save the world.