Superheroes and Masculinity : Unmasking the Gender Performance of Heroism

Superheroes and Masculinity examines how heteropatriarchal representations of gender are both perpetuated and challenged within the superhero genre. This collection critiques stereotypical portrayals of hegemonic masculinity and explores queer alternatives to such formulations within superhero comics, film, and television.

Superheroes and Masculinity: Unmasking the Gender Performance of Heroism explores how heteropatriarchal representations of gender are portrayed within superhero comics, film, and television. The contributors examine how hegemonic masculinity has been continually perpetuated and reinforced within the superhero genre and unpack concise critiques of specific superhero representations, the industry, and the fan base at large. However, Superheroes and Masculinity also argues that possibilities of resistance and change are embedded within these problematic portrayals. To this end, several chapters explore alternative portrayals of queerness within superhero representations and read the hegemonic masculinity of various characters against the grain to produce queer possibilities. Ultimately, this collection argues that the quest to unmask how gender operates within superheroes is a crucial one.