“Aos amigos ausentes, amores perdidos e velhos deuses”: considerações sobre o feminino em Sandman de Neil Gaiman

Abstract

Comic books have been gaining space in academic discussions in the last years (GARCÍA, 2012). Thus, among the several issues to be analyzed, the female status in the genre has also gained visibility. The comic book genre is considered to be highly masculine (MELLETTE, 2012) and, as a consequence, the stories present several female stereotypes, such as the mother, the romantic interest, or the damsel in distress. Because of that, we think it is important to analyze female representation in the narratives of comic books, focusing on Sandman (1989-1996), written by Neil Gaiman. We will focus on the female characters of the Endless family – Death, Despair, and Delirium – as well as the character of Desire. To do so, we will use the concept of gender performativity proposed by Judith Butler which shows gender as being discursively created and imposed by social practices (BUTLER, 2014). Gender would be formed by the repetition and stylization of the body, which would, then, lead to the production of a seemly natural structure of being (BUTLER, 2014). Gender is not the essence of something, but instead it is performatic, in the sense that it creates that which it intends to express.