Wow, can you say offensive?

[the_wanlorn]

Dear Kevin Maher, Bite me, asshole. No Love, In fact, Negative Love Because I Want to Beat the Shit Out Of You, Nire I have never read an article as offensive as this one. Now excuse me while I pick it apart. Okay, let's start with the modified Chasing Amy quote. Approaching from four sides are: a) your typical socially maladjusted and intellectually inert comic-book geek; b) a woman in fishnet stockings who likes getting smacked; c) a naked pole-dancer who knows karate and can take a good beating; and d) a topless lesbian cop in high heels and a thong. The question is: who gets to the money first? The answer, of course, is the comic-book geek. Why? Because the other three are figments of his imagination. Let's see... a) I think he forgot the word "stereo" in front of "typical". b) Um, what? I don't think a woman like that would be hard to find at all. c) Eh, a lot harder, but not necessarily impossible. d) Okay, I'll give him that one. Grudgingly. By the "his" at the end, we're clearly dealing with the assumption that the mentioned comic book geek is male and straight. Ooookay... and thank you Mr. Maher for emphasizing the "his". Gee, I wonder what this is going to be about... [Sin City] is so steeped in fetishistic adolescent imagery and casual misogyny that it overexposes the sinister appetites of its hardcore fanbase. Sexist? Yeah, Sin City is definitely sexist. No more so than any film noir, in my opinion. Did I, a woman, still love the movie and want to read the comic? Why, yes, I did. I know, I'm such a horrible woman, aren't I? (/end passive-agressive annoyance with supa-feminists) But mysoginistic? Forgive me for not seeing that. [T]he movie unwittingly reveals the frank and masturbatory hatred of women that is fundamental to any understanding of the comic-book geek. Oh gods, I hate myself! Why didn't I see this before?! Thank you, Kevin Maher! Thank you for showing me just how much self-loathing I have! ... For most people (those who have a life and don’t actually care about the great intergalactic struggle between Marvel and DC comics) contact with comic books is generally a secondary experience. Okay, I admit, I'm shamelessly copping my response to this from apiphile. It captures exactly what I was thinking, except far more amusing and well-put than I could. "'For most people (those who have a life and don't actually care about the great intergalatic struggle between $generic_footbal_team_a and $generic_football_team_b)' OH WAIT SUDDENLY I'M BEING OFFENSIVE. And yet no hordes of geeks have been seen trashing pubs and STABBING PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF FINSBURY PARK STATION I WONDER WHY THAT WAS." Honestly. How are comic book fans any different from other fans? How do they have any less of a life? Please, do explain this to me. I don't have a life because I read comic books? Oh dear, and I thought that was because I watched movies & TV shows all day. SILLY ME. ...a jaded industry that’s [...] entirely hostile to women... Right. This is why you see women shopping in comic book stores and working in comic book stores. Or do you... “Women just don’t go into comic-book stores,” explains Trina Robbins, the author of The Great Women Cartoonists, speaking recently to the New York City Comic Book Museum. “A woman gets as far as the door, and after the cardboard life-size cut-out of a babe with giant breasts in a little thong bikini and spike-heel boots, the next thing that hits her is the smell. It smells like unwashed teenage boys, and it has this real porn-store atmosphere.” Um, what? Wait, so you're telling me I'm not a woman? Damn! And all this time I thought I was... *looks down* Do I get a prize for having The Biggest ManBoobs Ever? *checks pants* :-( What about a consolation prize for having The Smallest Penis Ever? Has this woman ever been in a comic book store? Or a porn store? 20 bucks says this woman is more the type who spends 4 hours in the bathroom each morning, getting all prettied up even though she's not leaving the house and spends 400 bucks on a new handbag every season and wouldn't be caught dead in a store that didn't sell clothing. Expensive clothing. OH YEAH BITCH! I CAN PLAY WITH STEREOTYPES TOO. Seriously. Shut up. You're an idiot. Elsewhere the political work of Last Gasp comics in San Francisco and the cult feminist series Wimmin’s Comix tried to show a side to the craft that was witty and thoughtful. Okay, I'm just disagreeing here. I find most comics to be witty and a far number of them to be thoughtful. But I guess that's just me, easily amused and looking for deeper meanings in everything. [T]he fundamental law of the comic-book universe states that the geeks are male, and the breasts are large. Again, I'm a guy apparently. Or maybe he's saying that there's no female geeks in the comic books, in which case he contradicts himself on the second page. Under the Superpowers heading he has “online skills” (and gymnastics and fucking with people's emotions) instead of whatever super-cool superpowers male characters get. Gee, that sounds kinda geeky to me... And the breasts are large? Yeah, no shit. Last I checked, they were drawing the idealized human body for the heros and minor characters and most of the villains. How come we get no mention of how all the male characters have huge packages and bulging muscles? Is he saying that's true to life? o.O [T]he movie business is actually fuelling the comic-book industry’s continuing obsession with hooker chic. Personally, I would say that it's general society's obsession with hooker chic. I'm fairly certain it's not just limited to the comic book industry and things that spin off from the comic book industry. It goes on a bit more. But I've run out of steam to write about it and I have a feeling that I'm not doing my utter disgust, anger, and offendedness justice. What I want to know is what the fuck is this guy's problem? I'm insulted as a woman, as a comic-book geek, and as a general geek.

Comments

[crazyasitsounds.livejournal.com]

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

*shoots you down, sorta* Comic cons!

Heh heh. Lovely use of Nascar. :-D

[crazyasitsounds.livejournal.com]

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

I was all confused cuz I got an email notifying my of an empty, non-existant comment.

Then I remembered that you can delete them and was less confused.

And this is true. I have, sadly, been pwnd.

Everyone hates NASCAR. Except the people who like it. And they're just weird. *hopes she didn't just insult your family or something, knows that she just insulted hers*

:-D

[pezzonovante.livejournal.com]

My favorite part was the poorly-researched-heroine-characteristics:

Appearance
Tiny waist, thunder thighs, muscular buttocks, watermelon breasts and non-existent costume.

And the only difference I see between this and almost all male comic book heroes is the breasts. Who's the last comic book hero you saw who's physique reminded you of Dom Deluise?

Superpowers
Unlike male counterparts, female comic heroines are skilled in the mundane arts, such as gymnastics (DC’s Huntress), “online skills” (seriously! See DC’s desk-bound Oracle) and messing with the emotional centres of the brain (typical woman! See Marvel’s Malice).

Male Gymnast super-heroes: Spiderman, Batman. Male Bookworm superheroes: Microchip. Telepathic male superheroes: Xavier. Want women whose superpowers are just as kickass as their male counterparts? Try the women in X-Men.

Adventures
Rarely privileged with central roles, comic babes are restricted to supporting parts on the villainous periphery — see Spider-Man villain White Rabbit or Batman’s voluptuous stalker, Harley Quinn.

Again, look at the X-Men. Or Wonder Woman.

Says
“You’re right about me! I’m nothing but a selfish slut who threw away the only man she ever loved . . . I’m such a fool. Such a selfish stupid slut.” (Ava in Sin City).

Need I lecture on how one data point does not a pattern make?

Career Prospects
Not promising. Batwoman is killed, Batgirl is paralysed, Mirage is raped, while Black Canary is tortured, made infertile, and de-powered!

Every superhero dies at least once in comic books. Superman died, The Punisher died, The Flash died, Robin died, Captain Marvel died. Dying is something that happens to superheroes. Sometimes repeatedly.

So what makes the female superheroes so different from male superheroes?

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

Ah, apparently I'm not enough of a compulsive email checker. ;-)

Hmmm. Remember that crazy wank I linked you to a while back (at least I think it was you) with all the chicks getting pissed off at guys writing lesbian pr0n, but that them writing gay pr0n was stickin' it to the man?

I think this smells of something like that. Except with how characters are portrayed. I think maybe.

[svtdragon.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite a comic book geek, but I think I have a fair understanding of them. And all I can say is bravo. People like that need to be torn apart (verbally, at least) until they get out of their little holier-than-thou shells and realize their views aren't the only ones that matter, and nor are they in a position to speak on behalf of the entire female portion of this species against the geeky portion of said species.

/rant

[svtdragon.livejournal.com]

That was a little unclear: "People like that"=people like the author, not the geeks.