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Culturales
On-line version ISSN 2448-539XPrint version ISSN 1870-1191
Abstract
ROMERO GALLARDO, Michelle Vyoleta and ARTEAGA BOTELLO, Nelson. Harley Quinn and the purification of rebel female iconicity. Culturales [online]. 2017, vol.5, n.2, pp.287-319. ISSN 2448-539X.
The article analyzes the way Harley Quinn, a popular comic book villain, has undergone a transformation of her iconicity. Aesthetically, Quinn used to emphasize the ambiguity of innocence and sexuality and, on a moral level, she was defined by transgression. However, she is currently an icon that retains her distinctive body image, while she has been morally purified for her mass consumption. From the perspective of the iconic turn in cultural sociology, it is proposed that this commercial reinterpretation celebrates aesthetic rebellion, but it "exorcises" morality, especially with regard to female involvement in personal relationships in which situations of violence occur. It is concluded that reprocessing the narrative around the moral density of Quinn has as consequences the blurring of the capacity of agency of the character and the reinforcement of stereotypes of feminine passivity.
Keywords : female agency; gender roles; Harley Quinn; iconicity.