My early nerdism manifested itself interestingly. I didn’t watch Star Wars or Star Trek, nor did I precociously chow down on Michael Critchon novels (Les Mis was more my style, which I attempted to read — unabridged — at age 10), or even watch Sci-Fi/Fantasy on TV. Nope, I collected Archie comics. Yes, comics, but come on — Archie is nerd-lite in the comic world. It was just a passing childhood phase.
Well, clearly, no it wasn’t. Because I was SHOCKED and APPALLED to hear the news that Archie is marrying Veronica.
Veronica.
VERONICA!?!?! alfjdklfjlskjflasjf;a.
Ok, srsly, WTF Archie comics. Yes, I am going to raise the age-old Betty vs. Veronica debate and boldly state my position: Betty all. the. way. Betty represents the every-girl. The girl next door. She is sweet, and kind and giving, and Archie hardly deserves her. Veronica on the other hand, while not inherently bad, is so stereotypical in her self-centered, materalistic bitch type that I can’t help but think that she doesn’t deserve him.
My inherent and virulent reaction to this news raises interesting questions in myself. On the surface, I relate to and prefer Betty for the aforementioned “obvious” reasons — she’s nice and sweet, and Veronica is not really. Veronica is the bitch type of woman I’ve had to deal with many times over the years. So of course I’m going to root for the underdog.
But that said, Betty and Veronica represent two very interesting and not necessarily contradictory feminist (or anti-feminist) stereotypes, and I wonder if my sticking with Betty is indicative of my being indoctrinated to a certain degree. Why? Because Betty represents the 50s ideal — the sweet, blonde Betty Crocker type who stays true to her man, wants to get married and have babies. And that is Betty. In the comics, she is always doing things for Archie, just because she cares. But with Veronica, it’s more about the world revolving around her, and what Archie can do for her. At the time that Archie was created in the 50s, Betty’s archetype was meant to embody the “ideal” female profile, whereas Veronica was the great contrast, what the girls shouldn’t have been aspiring to.
Fifty years later, there has been a shift in contemporary, acceptable female behavior. The “me me me” generation of young women IS Veronica in a nutshell… and they now typically embody BOTH Betty and Veronica — girls are encouraged to be bold, sexy, demanding, materialistic and self-centered… and then settle down, get married, love their man and have babies.
By finally having Archie choose Veronica (though I do wonder if the final book in the series will culminate in a “Betty trying to stop the wedding” plot twist), the Archie comics is making a bold statement, I think. The Bettys of this world are dead, and girls need to be Veronicas. I’m not sure how I feel about this, nor am I equally sure of how Betty I could ever realistically be. Why am I rooting for a girl who allows herself to be a doormat?
But enough open-ended questions on feminist theory! At the end of the day, I am NOT HAPPY about this.
I’m almost tempted to go out and buy an Archie comic. (*insert probing conversation about brilliant marketing strategy here*)
