What is Ghost World really showing us?

Ghost World is a graphic novel created by American cartoonist David Cloves and it was published from 1993 to 1997. It develops the story of two sarcastic and cynical teenagers girls (Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer) who have finished high school and now have to face their unclear futures. The graphic novel is divided in eight related short stories about their everyday lives and relationships. In other words, it shows the transition of Enid & Rebecca from their adolescence to adulthood -- this meaning with all their problems and difficulties that this transition has. Throughout the story, several topics commonly associated to adolescence are exposed: sexuality (first sexual relationships, sexual orientation doubts, etc.), identity issues (Enid changes her appearance several times) and education (high school finished, the girls must focus in what is next for them). Also, minor characters are introduced in order to be interpreted -- in my opinion -- as the reader wants. At this point, it sounds just as any other regular teenager-related story although, Ghost World goes a little bit beyond that simplicity. It shows -- what at first sight looks -- the ugly truth. However, there are elements that are provided that could make us think that this reality could not be just as authentic as it wants to be. In my view, there are two ways to interpret this graphic novel.

On the one hand, there are swearing, nonsense discussions about literally everything and problems about the time (past and future). That is why, the author is determined to show Enid & Rebecca in a negative mood. Otherwise, it would have been useless to portrait the girls as the “ladies who speak correctly and are always gently and happy” stereotype  because it would have not been believed it. The “day-to-day characters” (50’s diner waiter, old man waiting at the busstop) also help to add more authenticity to the story. And if you want to consider it, there is the fact that women’s sexuality is explicitly shown just as important as the teenagers boys’ sexuality.

On the other hand, we have just two bitchy girls that complain about everyone and everything. That is a manner of look at it. But it comes real, when the F word is in almost every single part of the dialogue and when, for example, Enid cannot even imagine the kind of guy she likes because she disapproves almost anyone. It gives the (false) sense that these girls have the control over everything and everybody (As Enid stated to Rebecca “I really do think it’s high time one of us f*** Josh” and the way they make fun of him) but the truth is that it only reveals how fragile they are -- as when Enid thinks an old man is cute for doing the shopping for his wife.

In my opinion, the entire graphic novel was vague but bombed with typical difficulties and doubts from this particular period of time that everyone must live. It is different of what society makes us think about teenage girls but it is extremely opposite to reality -- I am trying to not generalize at all, but it seems the girls were shown as boys on purpose -- and that is why I believe that is not a full portrait of reality. There was no point in show a female adolescence story if you are going to picture it in the worst possible way.