The importance of female superheroes in Western culture cannot be ignored. From Wonder Woman in the 1940s to Captain Marvel in the 2010s, the inspiration and cultural impact these representations of heroism provide fans regardless of gender are undeniable. While there is a wealth of research examining the representation of the female superhero and how this speaks to perceptions of femininity across the past eighty years, its focus is often the prevalence of stereotypical over authentic depictions, and the harmful effects of this on society.

Part of the MIT Museum Talk Back 360 programs:

Join a conversation with MIT Professor D. Fox Harrell and MIT Researcher Todd Harper as they discuss the ways in which cultural values are both created and represented in digital media. Explore how online communities and computer code both give rise to shared values – through the interactions between people online, as well as the underlying computational structure of video games, websites, and other online communities.