Gender stereotypes have played a big role in how characters are shown in comic books over the years.

In the past, most characters were male, while female characters were often put in secondary roles or shown in ways that focused too much on their looks.

Here’s a closer look at how things have changed:

1. Early Representation:

   • In the 1940s, about 90% of comic book superheroes were men.
   • We did see some female superheroes, like Wonder Woman, but they often wore outfits that highlighted traditional feminine traits.

2. Golden and Silver Ages:

   • During the Golden Age (from the 1930s to the 1950s), female characters were mostly shown as love interests or "damsels in distress."
   • By the Silver Age (from 1956 to 1970), things started to change with characters like Batgirl, but women still only had 10% of leading roles.

3. Modern Era:

   • In the 2000s, there was a slow increase in the number of female characters.
   • By 2011, about 17% of comic book titles had female leads, showing a noticeable change.

4. Current Trends:

   • By the late 2010s, around 25% of comic book titles featured female main characters.
   • Big publishers like Marvel and DC started to focus more on including a variety of characters and talking about gender roles in stories.

These changes in how characters are represented reflect larger shifts in society. However, gender stereotypes still make it hard to reach true equality in comic book storytelling.