Bam! Pow! Comics Aren't Just For *Boys* Anymore!
It's understood as a general premise among most comics fans that there's sexism in comics. It's understood as a general premise among most *female* fans - and, apparently, a somewhat, *worryingly*, smaller proportion of comics fans in general - that this is a *problem*.
When talking about it, we often point at the art for examples, because the art is *right there*, but it's deeper than that. It's the way the characters are written. The way (and the reasons) they are killed off. The way (and the *if*) they're remembered.
(I'm sure most everyone reading this is familiar with the Women in Refrigerators site. It hasn't been updated for a while, but this isn't because there are no new names to add. Likewise, I'm sure we've all seen the pages from Frank Miller's script for All Star Batman.)
Infinite Crisis may have changed some things around the DCU - we will see - but it is already very apparent that it did not change THAT.
And there are people smarter than me who are pissed off and doing something about it.
monkeycrackmary is starting up Girl-Wonder.Org.
As I said here, I want to make this site primarily concerned with Stephanie Brown and how sick lots of fans are of being spoon-fed bullshit like the idea that her death "had a major impact on our heroes and their lives, and will continue to do so in the year to come. I see no need to change that" when the only place she's been mentioned at all is in the (cancelled) Batgirl and a Batgirl story in the (cancelled) Solo.
But there are a lot of other reasons for female fans in comics to be pissed, and so I'm here offering a hundred megs of space at the new domain to anyone and everyone who wants to champion a similar cause, make a fansite, host fanworks, or even just have a personal page as a female comics fan. The only things you can't apply for space for are trafficking scanned comics (torrents are your less-illegal friend, yo) or online petitions. Online petitions do squat. If you want someone to notice your support of a cause, buy a stamp and an envelope.
There's a lot of explanation and interesting discussion (and a lot of argry discussion, but it is rightfully angry and still *interesting*) to be found here, here, here, and here. Or just go through her recent blog entries. There's also talk of starting an Ad-Libbed letter writing campaign which is amusing, pointed, and appropriate.
There are many quotes I just want to crop out and point at and go WORD. YES. But I shall leave you to go there on your own, except for one.
It's about... well, to be honest, a lot of it for me (and I know this would be a very, very dicey reason to include on any list, and I don't intend to use it on the site) is that I have an under-ten sister who likes to play at being Robin. She's only just started reading comics, and I'm in this terrible position where I'm actually hoping she'll never read these same books I gobble up.
WORD. YES.
Also.
petronelle is more eloquent than I could be on why it matters as a *fan*.
littledarkvoice is starting a wiki-type webcylopedia on the history of female superheroes.
It should be a fun project. The origins (not to be confused with the Secret Origins!!!) of Wonder Woman and Power Girl, for instance, have bits that make me giggle. The origins of Oracle, much as I love the character, has bits that never fail to make me cranky.
____
This is something I care strongly about. And part of it is that, yes, I want superhero comics to be a totally valid art form that can be passed on to future readers without shame or essays about negotiated reading. (At least, from a *feminist* perspective. Comic fans either get skilled at the general practise or their brains explode.) There are issues enough with sexism in society without *my hobby*, to which I give *my money*, being part of the problem.
And, honestly, a lot of it is that I am shallow. I want to be able to read comics about my favourite characters without being cranky and thinking "Ew!" and "Pants, plz! Put on some goddamn *pants!"