Bitch Planet Video Analysis

In the comic book Bitch Planet, writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Valetine De Landro create a parallel universe which contains a place called Bitch Planet, where women are sent to for being non-compliant. Being charged with non-compliance results from a variety of crimes: too fat, too thin, too secular, too religious, the list goes on. Though at first this may seem like an unrealistic exaggeration, after a close reading, it becomes clear the Bitch Planet and the things that happen there are a cultural metaphor for our own world. One of the ways in which DeConnick and De Landro draw this parallel is by using various aspects of the Megaton and the events leading up to it as a satire on gender roles, gender inequality, and society’s role in these areas. As soon as Kam agrees to arrange a team of women to participate in the Megaton, the Megaton instructional video begins playing. This video is hosted by two girls, Hailey and Kailey, who are portrayed as ditsy cheerleaders dressed in skimpy outfits. The video begins with them advertising how much men love megaton. Hailey claims, “Single

At one point in the game, a guard uses a mask as a weapon to smash a woman’s unprotected face. The lack of protection that the women have ultimately leads to the end of the game and the death of Meiko, as the guard grabs her by her hair and slams her head into the ground. At this sight, the moderator rules the game as being over, saying, “Let the record show the game was decided by forfeit…” (DeConnick). Likewise, women receive unequal opportunities in education and occupation, yet are expected to deliver the same results as men. When they are unable to meet those standards because they are ill-equipped, society blames their defeat on weakness or