Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn quickly establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with within Paul Dini’s comic, Gotham City Sirens. The comic begins with Catwoman losing a fight with an amateur male villain, and Poison Ivy coming to her aid. After the battle, the two women meet up with Harley Quinn, and the three women decide to live together. Upon the decision being made, the amateur male villain, who calls himself Boneblaster, re-appears for revenge. Boneblaster greets the women by saying, “Evening, Beyotches” (Dini). The use of the word “beyotch” in Dini’s work speaks to the issue of the oppression of women through language. Shannon Austin, in her article “Batman’s Female Foes: The Gender War in Gotham City,” discusses the “villainous connotations given to women as opposed to men in the same positions” (287). Using the word “bitch” as an example, Austin argues that women in power threaten men; thus, causing men to use language as a means to try and diminish their power. Boneblaster referring to the three women in Dini’s comic as beyotches exemplifies this idea.
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Oppression Through Language
However, this is not the only example within Dini’s work regarding the oppression of women through language. In a later chapter of Gotham City Sirens, Catwoman is casually drinking with Batman in his apartment, despite both being out of their costumes, they are aware of each other’s identity. Soon, Robin rushes in in-costume and says to Batman, “There’s an animal out there killing runaway kids. Are you going to suit up or get drunk with the tramp?” (Dini). Robin’s use of the word “tramp” in reference to Catwoman is particularly interesting. Robin is viewed as a hero. He is not a villain. However, his oppression of Catwoman through his insulting language is far from chivalrous. While it is unclear from the scene if Robin is entirely aware that Selina is Catwoman, one can assume that he does. Robin's rushing into the room holding Batman's suit and declaring he needs to suit up would alert a typical civilian woman to Batman's true identity. Robin's disregard for this seems to imply that he is aware of Selina's identity as well, since Catwoman is one of the few who is notoriously aware of Batman's identity. Robin's hostility towards Catwoman through language in this scene draws the reader to an instance where a male hero is potentially threatened to the presence of a female villainess. Gotham City Sirens is a work that focuses on the power that emerges when three strong women come together and aid each other. However, as Austin points out in her article, “Because they choose to throw off the gender balance, work together to gain similar goals, and thwart male authority, they are sought out, and men try harder to make examples of them” (293). The use of sexist language within the comic is just one particular aspect that the women are targeted.
