Mary Sue: because women aren’t supposed to be heroes

[leavethesky]

Originally posted by feministsf at Mary Sue: because women aren’t supposed to be heroes

http://blogs.feministsf.net/mary-sue-because-women-arent-supposed-to-be-heroes

http://blogs.feministsf.net/?p=1686

I was reading this fabulous essay by Comic Book Girl, Mary Sue, what are you? or why the concept of Sue is sexist:
So, there’s this girl. She’s tragically

Comments

[laurel_hardy]

Hmmm...being olde I haven't had much to do with comic books in decades, back then even guys had to read them on the down low after they reached the age of 12 or so. BUT, that puts me of an age to have been heavily influenced by the feminists of the early 70s, which means I'm also old enough to remember that the girls/women coming up after me often ran from the title. I don't think this meant that they actually wanted to be confined to the approved roles for women that came before feminism, but they were terrified of the idea of being thought 'unwomanly/undesirable'. In other words, they were terrified of being labelled as lesbians. Just to reiterate for the younger readers, the cascade effect of social liberation and empowerment (at least in the US) went forward to include these groups in this order: people of (at least some) African descent, women, gays. So, with the humasexshuls still being openly denigrated, it was used as leverage to keep the little women in their place and to drive a wedge into any nascent solidarity. And as we all know, although things have indeed gotten better, it's not like the world has suddenly become a perfect place for either women or homos of either gender. And let's not forget that those on the margins are the most likely to lose and so are paradoxically often the most staunch in maintain exactly the old order that puts them in the margins in the first place. All those genital mutilations that get called 'female circumcision'? Almost all of them are arranged BY women, the elders of the village or family.

So although my understanding of the original Mary Sue was the personification of an immature author working out her schoolgirl fantasies, I'm thinking it's time for someone to OWN Mary Sue and make her the heroine of her own series. And Mary Sue herself, or her trusty sidekick (they still have trusty sidekicks in comics, don't they?) should be a full-blown lez. And somebody needs to do this ASAP cause my name is Sue. Somebody take that taint away?