Cultural Impact
While Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain have both been the subject of academic analysis regarding the portrayal of women in comics, commentary on Barbara Gordon's Batgirl has focused on her character's connection to the Women's liberation movement, doctoral degree and career as a librarian, while analysis of Cassandra Cain's Batgirl has focused on the character's double minority status as a woman and a person of color. Since her debut in DC Comics publication, and fueled by her adaptation into the Batman television series in 1967, Barbara Gordon's Batgirl has been listed among fictional characters that are regarded as cultural icons. Author Brian Cronin, in Was Superman A Spy?: And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed (2009) notes that following her 1967 debut, "Batgirl was soon popular enough to appear regularly over the next two decades and Yvonne Craig certainly made an impression on many viewers with her one season portraying young Ms. Gordon." In 2011, IGN ranked Barbara Gordon 17th in the Top 100 Comic Books Heroes. Cassandra Cain's Batgirl has become one of the most prominent Asian characters to appear in American comic books, and her understated sexuality is notable as being contrary to the common sexual objectification of female characters, especially those of Asian descent.
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