#anons you're not going to change my mind on batgirls i will never like this book and i probably won't bother reading the next issue

[danny-chase]

A lot of how we view teenage girls is based on misogynistic standards. There is a lot about adultification of teen girls and how we portray teen girls in media. A teen girl with no make-up actually looks very young. People constantly thought I was 14-16 even when I was in my early twenties. I know 20 and even 30 something women who like bunkbeds, stuffed animals, and act silly/goofy.

Look. I get it. I got pegged as an 8th-9th grader last weekend (I'm in my senior year of college). I sleep with a stuffed animal, and only stopped sharing bunk beds with my sibling a little bit ago. I am literally the type of person you are describing.

Cass does not act like she did in Batgirls.

Here's Batgirls:

Batgirls #1

Here's from the second issue of her solo

Batgirl (2000) #2

Here's Batgirls:

Batgirls #1

It pretty much makes no sense for them to be seeking her approval constantly. Here's Cass:

Batgirl (2000) #7

Cass goes on in this issue to run around Gotham not as Batgirl, but her own vigilante even Bruce told her no (and Barbara clearly implies she wants her to stay home). Cass semi-cares about Bab's approval, but her sense of duty is stronger. (She wouldn't go to Barbara first, she'd jump out the window and likely wouldn't worry about Babs being upset when she got back).

Steph's also not the type to ask permission:

Batgirl (2009) #2

She didn't go to Barbara for permission being Batgirl, Barbara showed up at her house unannounced to talk her out of it, and Steph pretty much just completely ignores her. Neither of them would be constantly seeking approval for their actions from her.

I'm not exaggerating much when I say their expressions hardly change throughout the entire issue. It's like they took one look at Cass, and assigned her entire personality as "goth" because her costume is all black.

Here's her after showering in Batgirls:

Batgirls #1

And here's her taking a bath in her solo:

Batgirl (2000) #65

In both scenes she's portrayed childishly, the difference is in her solo she's enjoying it, whereas in Batgirls she's just -_- the entire time. Which is starkly different from her solo run in which she is incredibly expressive.

Meanwhile Steph has a smile plastered on her face the entire issue. Can she be goofy in her solo? Absolutely! She is!

Batgirl (2009) #3

Is that her only personality trait? No. Not by a long shot. For comparison, here's Steph being goofy in her solo, without her face being stuck in one setting:

Batgirl (2009) #1

And of course Steph has more serious issues going on too. She's coming back from dying, no one treats her seriously (especially Tim, who tried firing her from spoiler, which she didn't listen). Her father is a pest, she's not an only happy-go-lucky character (aka smiling is not her only personality trait). She's optimistic yes, but that's not all she is.

There are ways to show "childish" behaviors without losing the depth of these characters. Batgirls gave Steph and Cass 1 personality trait each and had them act childishly the entire time and mind you, I would not care at all if it wasn't Cass and Steph - if there names were Laura and Mary or smth I'd be like this is fun. I would reccomend reading Batgirl (2000) #1 and Batgirl (2009) #1 as comparison to see just how flat Batgirls #1 portrayal of these two characters is (and Birds of Prey #1 for Barbara, although she wasn't who this post is about). It legitimately takes reading 1 comic to show the difference, you don't need to take my word on this, and I encourage you to read each issue and judge for yourself whether or not Batgirls did Cass and Steph justice.