Bobbi Harlow
Encyclopedia
Bobbi Harlow is a fictional character in Berke Breathed's comic strip Bloom County
.
A schoolteacher, Bobbi was popular among her students, particularly Milo Bloom
and Michael Binkley
, who both harbored crushes on her. However, the conservative adults in the town were suspicious of her liberal
, feminist views. Their suspicions turned to outrage when she brought her left-wing
, radical feminist politics into the classroom, such as having the students wear gas masks in case "the fascists
" (or, as the children called them "fish
es") tear gassed them, throwing fake blood at "the war mongerers" ("war monkeys" in kid-speak) and teaching them about women's liberation. Bobbi originally started dating Steve Dallas
, but was swept off her feet (figuratively and literally) by Cutter John
.
Bobbi started out as a major recurring character in the strip, but as time went on her role became more and more limited. As the strip began to focus more on children and animal characters (with the notable exception of Steve), there was less room for Bobbi. By 1983, she was gone completely, without explanation.
In 1988, Bobbi was mentioned in a Sunday strip, where it was revealed that she had joined the staff of Donahue
in 1983, and then shaved her head in despair over the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment
. She has not appeared in any of Breathed's works since.
Bloom County
Bloom County is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989. It examined events in politics and culture through the viewpoint of a fanciful small town in Middle America, where children often have adult personalities and vocabularies and where...
.
A schoolteacher, Bobbi was popular among her students, particularly Milo Bloom
Milo Bloom
Milo Bloom is a fictional character in the American comic strip Bloom County. He was originally the main character, but was soon overshadowed by his best friend Michael Binkley and later on by Opus the penguin.-In Bloom County:...
and Michael Binkley
Michael Binkley
Michael Binkley is a fictional character in Berke Breathed's cartoon strip Bloom County.Michael, known to all simply as 'Binkley,' is a 10-year-old boy who lives at the Bloom County Boarding House with his father Tom . Binkley is in the same class as Milo Bloom, his best friend...
, who both harbored crushes on her. However, the conservative adults in the town were suspicious of her liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, feminist views. Their suspicions turned to outrage when she brought her left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, radical feminist politics into the classroom, such as having the students wear gas masks in case "the fascists
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
" (or, as the children called them "fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
es") tear gassed them, throwing fake blood at "the war mongerers" ("war monkeys" in kid-speak) and teaching them about women's liberation. Bobbi originally started dating Steve Dallas
Steve Dallas
Steve Dallas is a fictional character in the American comic strips of Berke Breathed, most famously Bloom County in the 1980s.He was first introduced as an obnoxious frat boy in the college strip The Academia Waltz, which ran in the University of Texas's Daily Texan during 1978 and 1979...
, but was swept off her feet (figuratively and literally) by Cutter John
Cutter John
Cutter John is a fictional character in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County by Berke Breathed.Cutter, a wheelchair-user and Vietnam War veteran was one of the county's most well-liked citizens. Despite being somewhat childish and awkward at times, he was very popular with the ladies, particularly...
.
Bobbi started out as a major recurring character in the strip, but as time went on her role became more and more limited. As the strip began to focus more on children and animal characters (with the notable exception of Steve), there was less room for Bobbi. By 1983, she was gone completely, without explanation.
In 1988, Bobbi was mentioned in a Sunday strip, where it was revealed that she had joined the staff of Donahue
The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...
in 1983, and then shaved her head in despair over the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
. She has not appeared in any of Breathed's works since.