Crimes by Women and then some: Female Empowerment in American 1950s Comic Books
Abstract
Many historians have noted the cultural “retreat” of women into their domestic spheres at the end of World War II. From riveting Rosies to spirited bobbysoxers and zoot suitors, women were socially contained in rigid gender lines during the early Cold War. Nevertheless, an undercurrent of dissatisfaction flowed beneath the polished floors of idealized housewives. The personification of restless women was exemplified as femme fatales in film noir and its literary twin, the pulp novel. On the flip side, overly feminine women, such as the voluptuous Marilyn Monroe, have also threatened to upend the social order.However, unlike the regulated movie industry, mainstream comic books fell under the radar in the early Cold War. In comparison with pulps, comics, such asCrime Does Not Pay, outsold Raymond Chandler by millions per month, were illustrated in full color, and were accepted as disposable entertainment for kids. Although a rudimentary regulatory body for comics existed since the 1940s, it was largely symbolic. As a result, the industry had free reign to exploit the anxieties of the Cold War.