Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture

by S. Inness

Overview

Xena, Buffy, Lara Croft. WWF, The Sopranos, Witchblade, La Femme Nikita. The women of pop culture are center stage and as tough as ever. Action Chicks is a groundbreaking collection highlighting the heroines we've grown to worship. What can they tell us about women in the Twent-first-century? What can they tell us about how popular culture depicts women? Do the characters escape traditional gender role expectations? Or do they adhere to sexual, racial, ethnic, and class stereotypes? The essays in Action Chicks provide fans with a new look at their favourite icons and their relationship to the popular media machine. A fascinating collection that's bound to stir up some excitement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403964038
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	07/30/2004
Edition description:	2004
Pages:	293
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

SHERRIE A. INNESS is Professor of English at Miami University. She is the author/editor of several books including Disco Divas: Women, Gender, and Popular Culture in the 1970s, Cooking Lessons: The Politics of Gender and Food, and Delinquents and Debutantes: Twentieth-Century American Girls' Cultures. She lives in Fairfield, Ohio, USA.

Table of Contents

Boxing Gloves and Bustiers': New Images of Tough Women; S.A.Inness Lara's Lethal and Loaded Mission: Transposing Reproduction and Destruction; C.Herbst Gender, Sexuality, and Toughness: The Bad Girls of Action Film and Comic Books; J.A.Brown 'It's a Girl Thing': Tough Female Action Figures in the Toy Store; S.A.Inness Embodying an Image: Gender, Race, and Sexuality in La Femme Nikita ; C.Tung Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Defiant Women, Decadent Men, Objects of Power, and Witchblade; D.Greven The Cruelest Season: Female Heroes Snapped into Sacrificial Heroines; S.Crosby Can No Cage Hold Her Rage? Gender, Transgression, and the World Wrestling Federation's; C.D.Heinecken Tough Love: Mamas, Molls, and Mob Wives; M.Yaquinto 'Tough Enough': Female Friendship and Heroism in Xena and Buffy ; S.Ross Little Miss Tough Chick of the Universe: Farscape 's Inverted Sexual Dynamics; R.Christopher

Editorial Reviews

'From action figures to video games, this book explains who the chicks are and what they mean. Trenchant and compelling analysis.' - Robin Roberts, Louisiana State University, USA

From the Publisher

Lights! Camera! Action chicks! Lara Croft, Xena, and Buffy are but a few of the larger-than-life fictional action heroines of today. In this collection of ten essays, scholars address the prevalence and significance of female action stars in a variety of media. Edited by Inness (English, Miami Univ.; The Lesbian Menace), the essays take a look at how recent depictions of women in action films, TV shows, comic books, and video games reflect a changing acceptance of women in traditionally male heroic or tough-guy roles. One intriguing example is the essay by Marilyn Yaquinto, which explores the morphing roles of mob wives and girlfriends from innocent, passive bystanders (e.g., The Godfather movies) to aggressive, sassy partners-in-crime (e.g., The Sopranos). Inness's own essay considers the increasing number of female action figures available in toy stores, which may indicate a change in media stereotypes about women. While many of the essays study well-known figures, some discuss more esoteric characters from short-lived TV shows, which may limit the book's appeal. This highly specialized and scholarly study is suitable for university libraries, especially those with gender and media studies collections.-Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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