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dayton1304648596.pdf (4.78 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
The Anxious Aardvark Sees the Light: Divine Masculinity in Dave Sim's
Cerebus
Author Info
Mayeux, Isaac J.
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1304648596
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2011, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, English.
Abstract
For most of its existence, detractors of
Cerebus
—a comic that details the exploits of an anthropomorphic aardvark who often struggles against women for power —have accused the comic of misogyny. Certain critics have attempted to answer the charges of misogyny by arguing that
Cerebus
portrays gender as a social construction, but those critics must ignore crucial sections of the text in order to make such an argument. I attend to
Cerebus
as a whole by arguing that it critiques feminists for decrying patriarchal aggression even as they use the narrative of masculine conquest for their own benefit. Nonetheless, the text offers its own critique of the narrative of masculine conquest by constructing Jaka as a victim of masculine aggression and by portraying
Cerebus
as the anxious male. Having exposed the insufficiency of the phallic model of masculinity,
Cerebus
proposes an alternative conception of gender that is linked to the divine. Finally, the text undermines its own authority as a source of truth, mitigating the concern that it is a hegemonic text. Because
Cerebus
privileges the notion that gender is a position in a divine grammar, the text argues for a different kind of gender essentialism in which both men and women can participate in masculinity.
Committee
Richard Slade, PhD (Committee Chair)
James Boehnlein, PhD (Committee Member)
Thomas Morgan, PhD (Committee Member)
Pages
62 p.
Subject Headings
Gender Studies
;
Literature
Keywords
Cerebus
;
Dave Sim
;
comics
;
graphic novel
;
gender
;
masculinity
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
RIS
Mendeley
Citations
Mayeux, I. J. (2011).
The Anxious Aardvark Sees the Light: Divine Masculinity in Dave Sim's
Cerebus
[Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1304648596
APA Style (7th edition)
Mayeux, Isaac.
The Anxious Aardvark Sees the Light: Divine Masculinity in Dave Sim's
Cerebus
.
2011. University of Dayton, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1304648596.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Mayeux, Isaac. "The Anxious Aardvark Sees the Light: Divine Masculinity in Dave Sim's
Cerebus
." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1304648596
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
dayton1304648596
Download Count:
1,475
Copyright Info
© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.