April 12, 2009 at 3:49 pm

dude, i know that’s not what you were saying, but it does SOUND like that to the untrained ear. if you read the rest of my post, I’m trying to explain what the REAL problem is. hahaha, sorry if that wasn’t clear, I obviously write my posts like I speak and not as well thought out points, etc etc. I think a lot of people would be stunned to hear your statement and might misunderstand it the way other people did. and i HAVE heard that horrible idea before, oh god the BBC had some horrible thing say “the economic crisis wouldn’t have happened if women had been in charge”. A few people had the sense to state that greed is something that crosses all gender lines.

which brought up another interesting point. a lot of women take on the crappy characteristics once they get a position of some worth. but to me that’s a sign of “crappy person” not “crappy lady’ in particular. i think the problem with comics is that there are bad writers/artists. period. and there’s no one with the eye to go “oh god, don’t let them draw that, that’s horrible!” the aesthetics just aren’t there. when i think about how many times I’ve seen a camel toe in comics… a writer that writes good characters, male or female, shouldn’t be a fluke, it should be the norm.

hahah but maybe i’m being unfair, is there ANY industry where quality is that high?

oh but you made one point that a woman might tell a story differently than a man. the key word there is “might”. and unfortunately, you have a lot of younger girls that have bought into the less seemly aspects of comics, i mean they’re BUYING them, aren’t they? honestly, comics have a lot of archetypes and tropes etc that have inherent gender problems and attract a certain female demographic that doesn’t see a problem with those aspects, and then if you ask those ladies to write a story…? sometimes you’re just going to get the same thing. i had a lot of problems with certain things gail simone wrote in her eariler days. someone already mentioned christina z (i remember those pictures of her in wizard in a bathing suit more than anything she ever said/did).

but i do think there are certain things that are more apparent to a female writer. i just sent off an email the other day about how the threat/issue of sexual assault is more present in japanese manga which ahs many more female creators. i’m not saying like “people constantly being raped” it’s more like, an underlying acknowledgment that creepy people exist and you should be on guard. do i think these are on purpose? no, it might just be something that comes out because a woman is writing it. or that might just be the cultural difference.

man, i don’t think any of what i just wrote had a coherent point. i dunno what the solution here is. sensitivity training for editors? sometimes i just want to shake them and go “NO YOU CAN’T LET THEM DRAW HER NIPPLES SHOWING THROUGH, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?”.

jtwonderdog

April 12, 2009 at 3:50 pm

Adriana, outside of your obvious misread of the entire exchange (disagreeing with Jon’s attempt to frame the discussion on terms that were NOT being discussed and BESIDE the point isn’t being “sexist and crazy and mean,” it’s an attempt to politely recenter the conversation to the issue at hand, not the issue Jon wishes it was so that he can remain right. Just because Jon isn’t familiar with the terms, doesn’t mean it’s our responsibility, much less Amy’s, much less Jennifer’s, to enlighten him), I do have to point out that this:

unfortunately, “hella rich comic book fan lady who is not stupid” is rather elusive

Is an adorable pipe dream. If only because you have to be stupid, self-hating and into pain to put up with half this shit this industry throws at you. Brilliant, genius women have plenty of mediums and industries with more cultural cache and respect than fucking superhero comic book floppies. So yeah, if you have money and half a brain, and aren’t into pain, superhero comics probably aren’t your thing.

Yes, I’m saying you have to be a little bit of a masochist and a whole lot of stupid to insist/believe that this genre and industry has any hope for change. I am including myself in this conclusion, of course.