What if Superman had always been a woman?

[inmyriadbits]

[Not really the point of this post, but I went completely insane today and cleaned the entire freaking kitchen (including washing all the dishes, mopping the floor, taking out the trash, and cleaning the stove, for fuck's sake), went to the store, and cooked a gormet fucking meal for dinner: tarragon chicken, steamed asparagus, candied carrots, French bread, white wine, apple crisp with cream for dessert. INSANE, I TELL YOU. But delicious insanity, at least. :D]

I was talking to my mom the other day about fandom, as I occasionally do. In this case, I was explaining some of the weirder subgenres that spring up -- wing!fic, genderswap, bodyswap, AUs, etc -- in particular always-been-a-girl fic, because I've been enjoying the hell out of idyll's always-been-a-girl!Bob fic (which I will once again say is awesome and everyone should read). Anyway, I babbled on about always-been-a-girl fic and the cool things you could do with examining gender dynamics. Then my mom did the "make an exemplary statement in summation to show understanding" thing, and it was TOTALLY AWESOME and I had to share. Because she said:

"Right, like always-been-a-girl Clark Kent."

And I said "...OOOOOOH."

Because that's a REALLY COOL IDEA, OKAY? It's different from Supergirl, or Wonder Woman, or any other superheroine, because Superman is the iconic hero. And what if he'd been a she? Can you imagine? I mean, besides the effect it would've had on the story itself, Superman is such a powerful figure that it would've actually changed the world, I think. What if the original superhero had been a superheroine? What if all the super-powered women who followed weren't just considered slightly weaker female knock-offs of an iconic male figure? Do you think it would've had the same impact? Do you think people would've been as struck by Supermanwoman? Do you think it was even possible for someone to have created such a strong female character in that day and age?

C'mon and talk to me about this, y'all. (poisonivory, I'm looking at you in particular.) What's the first thing you think of when I say "always-been-a-girl Clark Kent"?

Comments

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

Didn't someone write that in Smallville? I don't know how good it was because it was a) a while ago and b) I didn't read it.

that's the first thing I think of at least. Those are really good questions but, oh wow, it's almost 1 am.

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but that would be cool! I'll have to look for it now.

Got any more thoughts now that it's nine three in the afternoon? :)

[poisonivory.livejournal.com]

Well. Are we talking about how it would have changed HIS (her) world, or how it would have changed OUR world? Because I don't think it would have been possible for the first superhero to be a woman, in our world. She wouldn't have been the first superhero, she would have been some weird woman in a leotard with superpowers.

As far as the DCU goes, there have been genderswap AUs where everyone has always been the opposite gender, and things are exactly the same, just swapped. I don't think that would have been the case either, realistically, but it also depends on whether we're talking pre-Crisis, where Superman really was the first superhero ever, or post-Crisis, where he's part of the second generation (and even the first generation - the JSA - was predated by individual superheros throughout history). Post-Crisis is more likely to be largely the same, for a number of reasons.

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

Both his and our world. I agree that I don't think a woman could've been first (from both directions of who would've been in the position to create/publish the comic and the culture into which it would've been released, which are points that sort of eat each others' tails) but that's such a sad/frustrating thought. Argh, society.

Do you have links to any good genderswap AUs? I find the idea fascinating, I'd like to see how people have handled it.

The pre/post-Crisis distinction is interesting, and a good point. What are the "number of reasons" you think post-Crisis is more likely to be the same? I would guess it has a lot to do with the fact that Crisis was published in the eighties (i.e., a significantly less sexist era), but what else were you thinking about? I am vastly curious. :)