"This Isn't About Women's Rights... It's About Being Realistic." Analyzing Gender in Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead

Details

Supervisors

Bragard, Véronique

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques

Abstract

Over the last few decades, concerns about gender stereotypes have considerably increased. Among the various media through which these stereotypes have been denounced is post-apocalyptic fiction. The present dissertation analyzes how a recent comic book series, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead (2003-2019), represents gender stereotypes, i.e. how this notion in rethought in a world where all social structures, including the notion of gender roles, have collapsed. The dissertation provides a quantitative analysis showing that female characters are underrepresented in comparison to male characters, both in terms of numerical quantity and in terms of appearance on panels, and a qualitative analysis showing that although the comic book does not seek to hypersexualize female characters, the representation of the division of labor, as well as that of leadership, remain highly gendered and oriented towards patriarchy.