McCann 1 Kathleen MeCann Prof. Beadle English 115 15 October 2015, Breaking the Bonds Gender expectations place a constricting hold on the members of society by classifying each individual into a gender role. In the comic Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson, Kamala Khan rises above gender expectations by gaining her superpowers because she breaks free from her preconceived female superhero image, challenges the classic damsel in distress archetype, and her self-acceptance of the composition of a superhero is their actions rather than looks. Throughout the novel Kamala grows and rises above her gender expectations similar to the ideals Patricia Hill Collins and Judith Lorber critique in their articles. Kamala’s growth from her ideal of what the perfect superhero looks like begins from when she fi envisions what she should look like as a superhero and transitions into accepting that being herself, makes her a good superhero, In the first edition the stereotypical superhero image is presented when Kamala requests that she become the “beautiful and awesome and butt-kicking and less complicated” superhero (Wilson 18). Kamala’s idealistic perception of what makes a good superhero is stemmed from her belief that they have to look like the A-typical tall blonde in the skimpy costume. Believing that she needs to become someone else sets the bar for her standards for what is expected as a female. After Kamala is shot in the 4th edition her contemplation of what Ms Marvel needs to look like for the world to approve of her is questioned by Bruno. Kamala believed that everyone would be expecting “a real superheroMcCann 2. with perfect hair and big boots not Kamala Khan from Jersey City” however Bruno comes back and says “what we need—is you” the superhero on the inside rather than the looks on the outside (Wilson 30). This conversation changes Kamala’s ideas of what she needs to look like because all that should matter is the hero she is within which raises her above her gender expectations of being the pretty, dainty blonde that needs to be rescued rather than being the rescuer. The ability to rescue those in need no matter what their gender is believed to be is what allows Kamala to grow from her believed gender expectations and take on the role of rescuer. The final step that helps Kamala figure out who she is comes from her father who reminds her that young women have “pressure to be things they are not, do things they do not want to do” but her father reminds her she “doesn’t have to be someone else to impress anybody [she is] perfect the way [she is] rather than trying to be “a watered-down version of some other hero” (Wilson 92). Kamala deciding to be her own individual superhero is what helps her transcend the gender expectations placed upon her at birth. Each person is different and all of the attributes that make Kamala different are what help her rise from the expectations placed on her as a female. Kamala’s fight against the classic damsel in distress archetype pairs with her rise against gender expectations because she counters those who believe she needs to be saved since she is a girl. This archetype is found all throughout our society in movies, comics, and novels because women are always seen to be in need of by the strong, daring man, When Kamala received her superpowers she realized that she did not need rescuing, rather that she could rescue others. After Kamala receives her powers the first person she saves is a young girls whose boyfriend is helpless to rescue her. The responsibility Kamala places on herself as the man yells for “someone [to] help her” allows Kamala to grow out of damsel in distress because she is the one whoMcCann 3 rescues the damsel (Wilson 25). Kamala’s actions help her rise above the expectation McCann 3 that women need the rescuing rather than being the rescuer because she does something the man couldn't do at the time. These gender expectations make females out to be weak and fragile rather than strong and fearless and Kamala’s rise above this furthers her breakage over the classical restraints her gender has placed on her. In the 3rd edition Bruno acknowledges that he feels the need to protect her since she is the girl but Kamala tells him “{she's] the one with superpowers” not him she is responsible for the rescuing now (Wilson). Her acceptance of this role as the dominant rescuer is that allows the transition between delicate young females to the strong and empowered super hero. Her achievement of powers is what brought on this change. ‘Some may say the powers are the only thing that allows her to break the expectations, but the powers were only part of the process, it was also the person she is at heart that led her to rising above the bonds and classifications of her gender. Through all of the expectations she has faced, Kamala’s final acceptance of who she is and what she has become with her powers is the final stage in breaking the gender expectations placed upon her. When Kamala is faced with having to rescue Zoe because her boyfriend was too drunk she looked inside herself and realized that “whoever saves one person, it is as if he has saved all of mankind” allowing herself to buy into the idea that any person can be a superhero (Wilson 30). Kamala’s gain in super powers allowed her to reach inside herself to her inner teachings believing that everyone makes a difference also challenges her belief that women cannot do anything. The gender expectations she placed herself under were telling her she could not do anything to save the girl because she was not enough on her own but the powers allowed her to bridge past these views and branch to the fact that anyone can rescue those in needMcCann 4 ‘whenever they are called upon. Later on, her self acceptance grows when faced with the possibility of being discovered leaving her paranoid they would find out who she really was, but there was no need because “who cares what people expect? Maybe the expect some perfect, blonde...what [they] need” is her (Wilson 70). Trying to be what she thought the world expected to her only left her doubting her abilities whereas when she accepted who she had become, her strength in herself grew. This self acceptance that though this world may have gender expectations placed upon everyone, there are no limitations to the amount one can grow themselves. Kamala leamed to accept that what the world is expecting is not always what the world needs nor will it always be what he needs as a human being. Kamala’s character grew and evolved from a girl who was unsure of herself to a woman. ‘who was confident that she had become enough for the world and that she could master any. challenge thrown her way be it identity crisis’s or challenging archetypes seemed to be set in stone, The standard of beauty has remained focused upon females with “milky White skin, long blond hair, and slim figures” because that has been the normal standard for a while (Collins 232). This fixation on the milky White skin and the long blonde hair is present in Kamala’s inner struggle for self acceptance because she is not the typical woman, some people may say that the standards are growing and changing however our youth is quite obviously still swayed by these introductory ideals of beauty at a young and impressionable age. Along with Kamala’s standard of beauty being challenged so was her racial aspects of what makes a woman beautiful because “the significance attached to skin color, especially for women, is changing” because with the growth in biracial women “skin color no longer serves as a definitive mark” for beauty (Collins 233), These ideals are what place gender restrictions on Kamala in the beginning however, withMcCann $ her growth after she received her super powers and her self acceptance also came with acceptance of her race and her religion. Similar to Collins article, the idea that our society has shaped us into what we now consider normal to our society based upon what is socially accepted and what is necessary in order to fit the common classifications of our lives. Judith Lorber noticed that in our society our “social statuses are carefully constructed through prescribed processes of teaching, leaning, emulation, and enforcement” which create this separation between men and women (Lorber 22). This only serves to further the idea that our society creates these expectation men and women are required to follow which directly affect Kamala and her journey while she gains these super powers. Some may say that our society does not place these restrictions on our youth anymore but absentmindedly, our conditioned ideals are placed upon our children. Over all these scientists with backgrounds and growing knowledge of how our society’s gender expectations are apparent in almost every aspect of our life whether it is in the media or in our homes. Kamala’s gaining super powers allowed her to get a glimpse of all the restrictions she had placed upon herself with ideal looks, typical female actions, as well as her own self acceptance. Kamala’s growth can be categorized as breaking traditional bonds her gender has placed upon her with the help of Patricia Hill Collins and Judith Lorber and their research into the limits placed upon us at birth as well as the expansion from then on, It is easy to say that Kamala’s growth did not break any gender expectations because one can only change so much. If you take a deeper look at her growth however, her acceptance that women can be more and do more for those around her gave her a self acceptance she was searching for as well as allowed her to fully, become the woman she already was on the inside, Every single person has the ability to beMcCann 6 anything they want inside of them already all it takes is a little extra nudge to open up that locked compartment which helps them break free of the mold they kept trying to fit intoMcCann 7 Works Cited Lorber, Judith. “*Night to His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender”. Groner, Rachael, and John F. O'Hara. Composing Gender. Boston: Bedford, 2014. (22) Collins, Patricia Hill, “Hegemonic Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology”. Groner, Rachael, and John F. O"Hara. Composing Gender. Boston: Bedford, 2014. (233) Alphona, Adrian, “Ms, Marvel”. Comic Book, Marvel Entertainment,2015, 1-105.print,McCann 8 LRC review I met with the same tutor as last time and we really focused on the same areas as the meeting. before. I focused mainly on making sure that my thesis was well written and straight to the point. T needed to work on wording it better as well as creating a better structure to allow for the natural flow of the essay. I adjusted my commentary in a few of my paragraphs because even though they were well written commentary, they strayed from the overall main idea i was addressing and didn't support my claim neatly as much as it could have so I adjusted and focused on the arguments I was attempting to make. Overall the meeting helped me structure and plan how i was going to finish my essay since I was only 4 pages in but | feel it strengthened my essay.I do agree that these meetings are beneficial with structure and simply catching the run on sentences and repetition that would go unnoticed by the writers eye.