Abstract:
Unbeknownst to many viewers, cartoons and comics often portray women in a negative light, The proof exists, but often viewers do not stop to consider what they are watching. By studying several different cartoons with a similar theme, I hope to show that Western cultures continue to perpetuate negative images of women. The cartoons I examine are widely read, though by different age groups, thus affecting many different classes of society. The topic of sirens is familiar to most Americans jf for no other reason than they were forced to study The Odyssey in high school. The characters and adventures are familiar and easily reinterpreted into new and exciting forms -for example,"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou." But for some reason, the images of sirens are always negative. On one hand, this makes sense, since they are monsters and the enemies of Odysseus. But why is it so taboo to create a cartoon where the siren is the protagonist, or even the heroine? Why are sirens never portrayed as male? These questions, easily written off by lovers of cartoons, should be investigated since they are encouraging the inequality of women.
