Gender of Illustrator Grouped by Primary Publication Year
This visualization shows the distribution of comic book illustrators according to their gender over time. From the Golden Age of Comics to today, you can track changes in gender representation within the industry by grouping illustrators by their primary publication year.
Information Shown: The x-axis represents the percentage distribution of illustrators by gender. The y-axis represents the years in which illustrators had their primary publication. Each bar on the chart represents a specific year or period. Each bar has stacked segments representing the percentage of male and female illustrators for that year. For example, a bar for a particular year has one segment showing the rate of male illustrators and another segment showing the percentage of female illustrators. The height of each segment within a bar represents the percentage of illustrators of that gender for that year. (97)
Effectiveness: This visualization effectively provides a clear overview of how the gender composition of comic book illustrators has changed over time. It allows viewers to quickly compare the representation of male and female illustrators in different decades or years. The chapter on data visualization, it talks about the choice of your visualization and choosing the best option. It is easy to compare gender representation within each year or period of time with a stacked bar graph. As each bar represents a certain year, the stacked segments within each bar reflect the number of male and female illustrators for that year. As a result, viewers can easily identify trends and patterns in how gender representation has changed over time. (90)
Interesting Points: There were few female illustrators during the Golden Age of Comics but a significant increase in representation in more recent years.
What’s Not Shown: While this visualization can provide insights into gender representation in terms of male and female illustrators, it does not capture the full diversity within the industry. It does not account for non-binary or gender-nonconforming illustrators. By focusing solely on the binary categories of male and female illustrators, this visualization perpetuates a limited or exclusionary view of gender diversity. In light of the idea that visualizations can shape perceptions, the exclusion of non-binary or gender-nonconforming illustrators from the visualization conveys a specific perspective on gender within the industry.
Link to Graphic:
https://groups.uni-paderborn.de/graphic-literature/gncorpus/charts/genderIllustratorPerPublicationYear.php