in 2007, little mosque on the prairie premiered on the canadian broadcasting corporation network. it told the story of a mosque community that worshiped in the basement of an anglican church. it was a bona fide hit, running for six seasons and playing on networks all over the world.

kyle conway's textual analysis and in-depth research, including interviews from the show's creator, executive producers, writers, and cbc executives, reveals the many ways muslims have and have not been integrated into north american television. despite a desire to showcase the diversity of muslims in canada, the makers of little mosque had to erase visible signs of difference in order to reach a broad audience. this paradox of 'saleable diversity' challenges conventional ideas about the ways in which sitcoms integrate minorities into the mainstream.

over the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied. today, a time when many of these characters are billion-dollar global commodities, there are more female superheroes, more queer superheroes, more superheroes of color, and more disabled superheroes--but not many more.

superwomen investigates how and why female superhero characters have become more numerous but are still not-at-all close to parity with their male counterparts; how and why they have become a flashpoint for struggles over gender, sexuality, race, and disability; what has changed over time and why in terms of how these characters have been written, drawn, marketed, purchased, read, and reacted to; and how and why representations of superheroes matter, particularly to historically underrepresented and stereotyped groups.

specifically, the book explores the production, representations, and receptions of prominent transmedia female superheroes from their creation to the present: wonder woman; batgirl and oracle; ms. marvel and captain marvel; buffy the vampire slayer; star wars' padm amidala, leia organa, jaina solo, and rey; and x-men's jean grey, storm, kitty pryde, rogue, and mystique. it analyzes their changing portrayals in comics, novels, television shows, and films, as well as how cultural narratives of gender have been negotiated through female superheroes by creators, consumers, and parent companies over the last several decades.