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Chapman, Jane. "Representation of female war-time bravery in Australia’s Wanda the War Girl." Australasian Journal of Popular Culture 1. (2011): 153–63. Added by: joachim (04/03/2014, 14:26) |
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| Resource type: Journal Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1386/ajpc.1.2.153_1 BibTeX citation key: Chapman2011a Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: "Wanda the War Girl", Australia, Comic strip, Gender, O’Brien. Kath, War Creators: Chapman Collection: Australasian Journal of Popular Culture |
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| Attachments | URLs http://comicsforum ... me-bravery_pdf.pdf |
| Abstract |
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This article analyses from a gendered perspective aspects of form and cultural record relating to Wanda the War Girl (1943 –1951), by artist Kath O’Brien – a Second World War strip for the (Sydney) Sunday Telegraph that was said to have been more popular with both adults and children than Superman. This was one of the first local comics to reflect a female point of view combined with some vernacular characteristics, and the series is significant historically because World War Two was also the first occasion Australian servicewomen existed. The well-dressed adventuress and spy exemplified a new attitude towards women. Although she was a sexually provocative pin-up, Wanda the War Girl presented a form of female representation necessitated by the Second World War, that differed from earlier styles. The female character was powerful and productive: her bravery and attraction derived from her presence in male spheres. It is argued that by providing an interesting mosaic of 1940s attitudes, creator O’Brien's support for the war effort has become a valid cultural record of the period.
Added by: joachim Last edited by: joachim |