Examining the representation of Muslim female superheroes in comics in the context of gender and orientalism: Comparison between comics published in the USA and Muslim countries

Orientalism, which generally found its place in paintings in the 19th century, began to appear in comic books, which are products of popular culture, in the following period. This study aims to investigate how Muslim women in comic books, which reach every country in the world and develop according to the social and cultural conditions of each geography where they spread, are represented in popular culture in the context of gender and Orientalism. Document analysis, descriptive analysis and discourse analysis were used as research methods in the study. The comic book sample was chosen among the Muslim female superheroes included in Shamila Karunakaran's article "Muslimahs in Comics and Graphic Novels: History and Representation". In the study, Muslim female superheroes in comic books published in Egypt, Kuwait and the USA were determined as the research universe. While it was revealed that there were both gender and orientalist elements in the comics selected for the sample in the USA (Blue Bettle-Salima Baranizar and Miss MarvelKamala Khan) with the findings obtained in the method part of the research, the 99 comics prepared in Kuwait-American cooperation were revealed. Attention was drawn to implicit Orientalism. However, it has been revealed that the attitudes of a Muslim superhero named Kahera, who emerged in Egypt, have moved away from orientalist discourses and existing gender stereotypes. As a result of the research, it was concluded that there are discourses that normalize gender and orientalism in the analyzed American comics. In the comics published in these countries, it has been seen that Muslim superheroes are not weak and weak-willed, on the contrary, they are determined and idealistic personalities. Keywords: Orientalism, Gender, Comics, Muslim, Woman.