Tag: women

Five Female Leaders Who Kick Serious Ass!

by joelrcallen

The last few years saw some great strides forward for various realms of equality, but more recently, a setback has left many feeling down about the state of gender equality. So, in an effort to remain optimistic about not just the world at large, but the world of art, here are five female leaders who knew how to get it done.

Yeah, we realize that we’re a little late for International Women’s Day, but… better late than never?

Buffy Summers – Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The titular heroine of Joss Whedon’s seminal show, Buffy was a direct response to Whedon’s desire to see the female victims in horror movies turn around and turn the tables on their attacker. What this subversive impulse brought us was an upbeat, funny teenager with the weight of the world placed squarely on her shoulders. Though she initially tried to escape her destiny, Buffy quickly rose to the challenge of being a strong leader in a world that saw her as little more than a girl. From preppy cheerleader to fearless general, Buffy grew up before our eyes, and helped buck the stereotype that beautiful girls need saving.

Laura Roslin – Battlestar Galactica: After the apocalyptic Cylon attack on the Colonies, Roslin remains the highest ranking surviving member of the Presidential line of succession, and is sworn in as President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. What makes Roslin so different to many of the women in power often seen in the media is that she didn’t have a clear political ambition. This unwanted ascension to the mantle of leader saw her grappling with her own instincts and qualities to reach her one goal: the survival of humanity.

Ellen Ripley – Aliens: After surviving the horror movie that was Alien, Ripley reluctantly joins a mission to investigate another potential infiltration. The second film in the franchise departs significantly from its predecessor, largely doing away with the horror motifs to contrast them with a war theme, casting Ripley as what many have hailed the first true action heroine. She continually comes up against male voices who seek to silence her, and is forced, in the end, to take matters into her own hands – once again for the good of all.

Leslie Knope – Parks and Recreation: In the everyday world of small town government, it might be difficult for some to imagine anyone kicking ass, but those people have clearly not encountered the sheer force of nature that is Pawnee’s Leslie Knope. From childhood, Leslie wanted to serve her country, and we see her doing that every single day. Despite her setbacks, including the small-minded town in which she lives, Leslie fights on to make the world better. What makes Leslie so special (well, one of the things), is her friendship with her boss, the hyper-masculine, anti-government Ron Swanson. Though their views stand at direct opposition, Leslie and Ron are always able to work together and remain friends – an optimistic model for how all leaders should behave.

Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games: Possibly the most influential heroine in recent memory, Katniss’ journey from peasant on society’s outer rim to revolutionary leader began when she volunteered as tribute for The Hunger Games to spare her younger sister from the same fate. As the world watched, Katniss defied the odds, and teamed up with her childhood admirer, Peta, to win the deadly competition. By subverting the ruling class’s expectations of her, Katniss became a marked woman – singled out for elimination by the government, and forced into a second Hunger Games. This act galvanized not only Katniss’ resolve, but thrust her into the spotlight as the face of a resistance movement to bring about revolution.

Geekscape Presents Warm Up: Dave Ross

by GeekscapeStaff

I think that sitting down with a comedian and kicking off a conversation with ‘what kind of stuff are you geeky about?’ is my new favorite thing. I did not expect to get into a state of the comedy union, comparing the career of a comedian to the popularity of Dischord Records with Dave Ross, Los Angeles up and comer and host of the wildly popular indy comedy show Holy Fuck, but I’m pretty damn glad that I did. Dave, who is performing at tonight’s Geekscape Presents in Burbank, and I sat down for an conversation that made me wish I still had my Refused hoodie and a healthy addiction to Camel Lights.

Geekscape: So we’re starting all of these with the same question and just seeing where they go from there: What kind of stuff are you geeky about? 

Dave Ross: I am a punk rock geek. I know a stupid amount about 90s punk rock… I’m currently obsessed with Ian Mackaye.

Geekscape: A Fugazi fan!

Ross: Fugazi, Minor Threat, Embrace, Teen Idles, Dischord Records, Pailhead…I love all of it.

Geekscape: Mackaye came up with ‘straight edge,’ right?

Ross: He did, but he hates that it’s a movement. I’ve been reading this book Our Band Could be Your Life, which is a chronicle of American punk rock and hardcore through the eyes of specific bands. It’s really great, thought I thought Mackaye was more of a peace punk his whole life than he was. That was a bit of a let-down. And it seems he’s way more pretentious than I thought. I guess I should’ve expected that. So the Minor Threat chapter, this book claims that one of the reasons Minor Threat broke up was because of how stubborn Ian was… That he wanted what he wanted and the rest of the band didn’t necessarily want that. They didn’t like straight edge, and they didn’t want to claim being absent of alcohol because they weren’t. It’s ironic, because when other straight edge bands started popping up Ian said that he hated it, because his whole straight edge philosophy was about him taking his own path and being proud of it. The message was supposed to be that you should follow your heart, not conform to what people think is cool. Yet here we are with people building their lives straight edge.

Geekscape: It’s like ‘Born in the USA.’ It’s a huge protest song, but rednecks fucking cry and salute when they hear it. People hear what they want to hear in a message and run with it.

Ross: Everyone wants to be a part of something, but it’s very rare that people start something on their own. It’s hard to have that kind of conviction. That’s why I love Ian Mackaye so much. Also, Jesus.

Geekscape: Ian is like a DIY Jesus in a hoodie.

Ross: Totally. And more of a dick. And that’s the problem. Does blazing a trail makes you arrogant and self-important? Or does the fact that people follow you down that trail do it?.

Geekscape: I feel like it sort of takes an arrogant and self important person to blaze a trail that strong.

Ross: I disagree, actually. I mean, historically, you’re right. Henry Rollins, Zach de la Rocha, Bob Dylan, Che Guevara…these are all unapologetic people who were inspiring because of their confidence but still very self-important. So I’ve been reading a lot about Ian Mackaye, and I was hoping to read two things about him: 1. That he was completely non-violent. I’d heard that he breaks up fights at shows and stops shows dead in their tracks if someone’s getting fucked up. He didn’t start doing that until Fugazi…And that’s fine, it’s just sort of a letdown to learn one of your heroes used to respond to his own angst by straight fucking dudes up. 2. That he was really, incredibly nice. Which I think he is, but he was also so insanely obsessed with his beliefs and so indignant of people’s lack of understanding for him that he removed himself, and like I said, fought people.

And I read that and I was bummed, at first. Because really what I want to do in comedy is remove the industry from the equation. If I could cite a number one goal in the entertainment industry, it’s to build a Dischord Records for comedians: a system that’s monetized and makes sense and cultivates great art while helping comedians make a living. And I know that you can do that while being all-inclusive and nice.

We’re already doing that with Holy Fuck. Holy Fuck doesn’t turn a blind eye to any comedian, and we’ve never been rude or aggressive toward anyone. It’s been successful solely on its respect for the fact that no one has money, people love comedy, and people want to be a part of something.

I’m all over the place, I know. I can go on about this forever: My aspiration is to be the Ian Mackaye of comedy, basically. Huge long shot.

Geekscape: First you’d have to stop pits from forming at your shows. You can compare your disappointment in young Mackaye to the growth of a comedian: You didn’t do your current set at your very first open mic. Your ideas have changed and grown. Young Ian was probably like ‘yeah, there’s freedom in that fucking pit’

Ross: I think I’m trying to say like three things at once, because I have horrible, fucked up ADD. The first is that I respect Ian Mackaye in the way he’s conducted his life, and how incredibly respectful of art and people he’s managed to be while still making a living at what he loves. The second is that he’s been insanely aggressive and angry in his life, and very pretentious in ways, and i think that i can do it without that part. The last is that I fucking hate the entertainment industry, and I think it’s ridiculous we have to kowtow to some old-world understanding of what good entertainment is in order to make a living. The whole world still thinks the best comedy is on TV or in comedy clubs. Why isn’t there an underground comedy scene that’s sustainable? You know what i mean? Music can do it. You make a living, albeit a shitty difficult one, but a living, as a touring indie band.

 Geekscape: Would you consider Brian Regan a decent example of that? I mean, he’s a club guy, but he’s found his success on his own terms.

Ross: Brian Regan is amazing. And yeah, he’s managed to do it. Even Dane Cook. Granted, he stole a joke or two and seems to be a real dick but I have to respect both of their careers.

Geekscape: I think the sad thing for Dane Cook is that his ‘young dickwad Ian’ years for very VERY publicized. Ian McKaye got to work out his preFugazi ‘kind of an asshole kinks’ in relative obscurity, whereas Dane Cook skyrocketed before working out the whole ‘I’m sort of a young brash asshole’ thing and now the whole world is like ‘oh that guy? Dickbag.’ Which he deserves, but if he grown up more before hitting that fame, 40 year old Dane Cook is probably the best comedian of all time.

Ross: (laughs) Nah, he sucks. Fuck that guy.

Geekscape: Fuck you, Future Dane!

Ross: Why isn’t there a more sustainable alternative comedy lifestyle? Like, Dischord Records is huge, you know? Alternative Tentacles? Huge. And everything’s on their terms. They don’t make as much money as if they were on MTV or whatever, but there are huge, major bands on those labels. But with comedy, it’s so god damn hard to get good that by the time you’re good enough to put out an amazing album…

Geekscape: You’re getting paid by the industry already.

Ross: And it’s all you know. We’re just as much to blame as anyone else. When I go on the road, I look for shows and bookers my friends have done before, or I try to do clubs or whatever, but what we SHOULD be doing is just finding the one or two fans we have, and throwing a show at their house or in their basement or whatever. We should have a home base comedy club in LA that always has five dollar shows, that’s all standup, that doesn’t allow heckler assholes in, and has a good, young, exciting, welcoming, fun vibe to it. We should be branding smart comedy across the country. I don’t want to hear someone tell me what won’t work in some room. I don’t want to hear what can’t be done, and that people in the bible belt don’t want to hear jokes about Jesus. That’s fucking bullshit, because there are kids in high school in Alabama and Missouri and Indiana who hate it there and are terrified, and just want someone to relate to them.

Geekscape: And they’d love a scene like LA has for comedy.

Ross: Yeah. Give strangers a home. I think we can do with stand-up comedy what they were doing with punk rock in the 80s.

Geekscape: the funny (in a sad way) thing about what you’re talking about, is that LA’s comedy scene has the legs and the base to start that movement, but because it’s LA, the scene, whether it likes it or not, is still pretty focused on the industry you want it to avoid. We have all of these great indy rooms, sure, but at the end of the day we’re still fighting for Conan spots.

Ross: Yeah. Well, and I should also say that I judge no one. I’m part of the industry. I have a manager, I want to make a living! And maybe this ideal doesn’t happen. And if it does, it’ll be on a smaller scale than I’d like. It’s funny. As I’m talking about this, I’m realizing i don’t actually have a solid idea of what i want. I’m not even frustrated about my own career. I just know i’m angry

Geekscape: Which is pretty punk rock.

Ross: Sorry I’m so scattered. I’m hoping that I find more direction in my anger soon! It’s all over the place now, and I think what’s the most ironic is that I’m ANGRY that the world isn’t NICER. That’s my major point of frustration with our world: JUST BE FUCKING NICE.

Geekscape: Or I will curbstomp you STRAIGHT EDGE STYLE.

Heroine Addict: In Defense of Fishnets

by Molly Mahan

Women’s costuming is a topic often put on the block for debate, especially in comic books. Do the costumes make sense or are they simply exploitative? Fashion guru Tim Gunn even threw his hat into the ring a few years ago, critiquing an array of female superheroes and villains’ wardrobes. Among those he critiqued were Power Girl and Black Canary. Interestingly, Gunn said he believes that Power Girl owns her boob window costume and that it is less objectionable than many of the other costumes (such as Star Sapphire and even the current Catwoman costume, which is typically lauded for its utility). Conversely, upon seeing Black Canary’s costume his immediate response was, “Well, she’s a tramp.” I’m not going to accuse Mr. Gunn of slut shaming a fictional character, but as Geekscape.net’s number one Black Canary fan and doppelgänger, I feel it is my duty to defend her and the fishnets.

First of all, the costume has history. It is as old as the character, dating back to 1947 when the original Black Canary, Dinah Drake, first appeared on the scene. At first, she looked to be a villain, before she was revealed was the newest costumed hero, infiltrating a criminal gang. She was a competent hero who joined the Justice Society of America and, later, helped found the original Justice League of America. Her daughter, Dinah Laurel Lance, would follow in her footsteps and put on the fishnets herself to become the new Black Canary of the modern age.

Nevertheless, since taking over her mother’s role, Dinah has gone through several costume changes. Some more practical than others, but she eventually always reverts back to the fishnets. Although the look of the bodysuit has changed over time (from breast baring to a turtleneck on top and with varying cuts over, under and on the hips), the wide weave fishnets have been a consistent staple to the costume. In her rebooted costume, there are even references to the fishnets in the design on her pants. Although I think this particular costume is ridiculous, the fact the wide weave made it into the character design proves how important the fishnets are to the character.

In Gail Simone’s first run on Birds of Prey, Huntress dresses up and pretends to be Black Canary, while Dinah is rehabilitating from a previous mission. Helena could not handle the fishnets at all; she felt gross and exposed. A later Helena asks Dinah how she could possibly bear to wear that kind of thing on a nightly basis and not feel trashy, and Dinah quips, “At least when I go after Two-Face he can’t tell if I have an innie or an outie,” and Helena rescinds her comment.*

When it comes to costuming in comic books, it is pretty easy to look at a character and be disgusted by the way he or she looks (there are some seriously bad male costumes out there, too), but to take one look at Black Canary and call her a “tramp” is grating. It shows he doesn’t know anything about the character and her history. Which may be the point: he’s assessing based on visual alone, yet he still says Power Girl owns her costume and is fine with it. In which case, it’s possible that the pictures used for reference were poorly chosen. The things to pay attention to are the history of the costume, the personality of the character, in addition to the potential beef and cheesecake factors. I agree with Tim Gunn when he says that Power Girl’s costume works for her, in the same way I believe Emma Frost costume works for her. I can’t imagine just anyone running around in a corset, which is why Harley Quinn’s costume design upsets just about everyone who looks at it.

Of course, this is the problem we run into when a universe is rebooted and so none of the character have a history that we are familiar with. Black Canary’s mother likely no longer exists, and so her fishnet costume no longer makes sense and the traditionally conservative Harley Quinn may fit the new Quinn who we only know so much about.

In another video by Crazy Sexy Geeks, they poll convention participants on whether or not Wonder Woman should wear pants. The women asked, mostly cosplayers and artists, almost unanimously say “No.” One Supergirl cosplayer even points out that “when you’re invincible, you don’t really need to cover up.” Tim Gunn, of course, won’t say she has to wear pants, but if she wanted to work a skinny jean, she totally could. Yet every time artists change Wonder Woman’s costume, the horde comes after them and the editors, even those who hate her patriotic color scheme have taken ill with some of her changes. Perhaps because while it may get more practical in some areas (i.e., pants), impractical parts still exist (like the corset). My personal favorite version of her costume will always be the Grecian armor in her standard color scheme. It represents all aspects of her history and origin, and keeps most of her thighs covered. Everyone wins here, in my opinion. But alas, we have that “no skirts” rule, which is ridiculous.

From my understanding, the reason the “no skirts” rule came about was because there was one too many panty shots of our dear Supergirl. This should really just have been a ban on the artist exploiting female characters, as there is nothing inherently sexist or offensive about fighting crime in a skirt. The Greeks and Romans did this for years, even after the invention of pants. And this is the true problem when it comes to costumes: the artist needs to respect the characters he or she is drawing. While fanservice and pinups have their place, it is rarely within the pages of a comic.

Back when Ed Benes was the main artist for Birds of Prey, I used to count how many panels it would take before I got to one where I didn’t see any of the character’s butts. Even with Huntress’s cape, he managed to make it so her derrière was still prominent in most of the panels. Now, I’m a fan of Ed Benes’s work. His women are beautiful, I have a copy of his first art booklet and I not-so-secretly want to commission him to draw me as Black Canary someday. Nevertheless, there is a time and place. So, unless Helena’s butt is aiding in the storytelling, there’s no need for it, and I doubt Gail Simone requested that Mr. Benes put her bottom out there so often in the panels of their book.

Ed Benes just can’t help himself.

Though some writers do detail it into their scripts, though it does not always add to the story. Jim Lee was requested by Frank Miller to draw Vicki Vale in her panties and heels, waltzing around her curtains-less apartment, as she works on her next news piece. She also appears to have been knocked down from an investigative reporter to a Carrie Bradshaw-esque sex columnist. Neither of these things particularly aids her in being a realistic and respected character. Not to say that real women don’t walk around their apartment in their underwear and five inch heels, but few do it to excite an audience like Miller. Here’s an actual line from his script to Jim Lee:

“Okay Jim, I’m shameless. Let’s go with an ASS shot. Panties detailed. Balloons from above. She’s walking, restless as always. We can’t take our eyes off her. Especially since she’s got one fine ass.”

A Frank Miller “Character Moment”

What does this add to the story? Not a thing. But that’s what happens when your creators don’t respect their characters, and Miller calls himself on it with the “I’m shameless” bit. It’s heartbreaking to see that kind of behavior, but I digress.

The trick to having empowered female characters is to make sure all the creators involved respect the work they have created and view each of the characters as his or her own person and not just as plot devices or eye candy. If you’re going to write or draw a character then at least have the decency to know and understand her. Read the Wiki article and a couple of back issues. The more realistic the character, the better the story will be. It doesn’t matter if she wears pants, a skirt or fishnets, so long as it’s the kind of clothing that character could pull off.

When I dressed up as Black Canary for Comic Con this last year, I was a little nervous about the endeavor. It was less clothing than I have ever really worn out in public (during daylight hours, no less!), it was my first day at Comic Con, ever, and I just wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. But believe me, once I put it on and got myself into the character of Dinah Lance, I loved it. I didn’t feel like a tramp, I didn’t feel objectified by the people around me. I felt confident and proud of my costume. If it weren’t for the fact I got run over by a rickshaw that night, I probably would have worn it again later in the Con. And I think all of this stems from my original argument for why Dinah Lance wears the fishnets in the first place: she wears them to emulate a person she loves and respects. She wears them because they remind her of who she is and where she comes from. They help her to become the Black Canary, which is why I think her other costumes didn’t last very long, even if they were more practical.

The fishnets don’t work for everyone and each character has his or her own style. For an artist to redesign a character (be it Black Canary or anyone else), he needs to first understand who that character is, where he or she comes from and where he or she plans to go and do, before he can decide what look works for her.

* Huntress’s costume has come under its own share of fire. The costume she wore for most of the 90s was based on Roman Catholic robes and had full bodied protection. When the change came during the first Hush storyline in Batman, fans were aggravated because it no longer expressed anything about her and showed off her stomach, where she had not too long ago taken a bullet. Her current costume (a full body variation of the new Jim Lee design), is once again practical and references her Catholic roots again with the white cross.

Heroine Addict: Let’s Talk About Rape

by Molly Mahan

This past weekend, I was having a lunch date with a fine gent who happens to be a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. While emphatically discussing the books and the show, I made a comment on how great the women are depicted in the story and how it really could be examined as feminist literature, if you were so inclined. My date looked at me, shocked and perturbed. “Are you serious? Unless you’re [a short list of female characters which has been redacted for potential spoilers], you’re going to be raped. At least once.”

I tried to make an argument for how that was realistic, given the time period, and that the fact that GRRM even allows for women to play in his Game of Thrones was pretty awesome (Yeah, Tolkien. I’m looking at you. Eowyn aside.), but the conversation pretty much ended on that note. Which got me thinking the rest of the weekend about rape in fiction. The main question that came to my mind was, since these characters are controlled by an author (or some other conglomerate), is it okay for a character to be raped or is it fridging as usual? As with all things, it depends on its purpose and how it affects the character after the fact.

Retroactive rape is still rape.

For many a costumed heroine, rape is part of her origin story, either originally (Starfire and, depending on canon, Helena Bertinelli), or retroactively tacked on (Felicia Hardy). Even male superheroes are often subjected to rape. Though, in those cases it is less often about power and usually due to a female villain trying to breed some kind of super heir. In the Batfamily, there are only two characters that I can think of who have not yet been raped, nearly raped or a product of rape and they are Kate Kane and Cassandra Cain. Don’t worry, though, they’re pretty new to the game, so they have time. Same goes with Team Arrow, although Mia (who may be retconned?) did have some serious trauma with her history in the skin trade, but she was still able to fight crime, despite having AIDS. Even Kyle Rayner of the Green Lanterns was drugged and raped and the whole island of Themyscira is made of the souls of women who were mistreated by men in their past lives. A lot of DC references, but Marvel’s not innocent here. Ms. Marvel, the lady Hawkeye and Mockingbird have also been raped.

Kyle Rayner feels used… We’re guessing he saw the Green Lantern film too.

As you can see, rape is a prevalent trope in comics, and it affects both male and female characters with almost equal frequency (which is odd, but nice to see something is at least equal among men and women, right?). The problem with these instances is that the rapes scarcely affect the character in the long run, or at all. None of these characters dwell or angst about what happened to them. This sometimes stems from the fact that comics are serials with multiple authors over time, and depending on who is currently penning the book, he or she will concentrate on certain aspects of the character’s persona. But more often than not, it’s because these characters are viewed as weak, and not in the “I can’t carry a box that weighs more than 40lbs” weak. But in the sense that they don’t carry their own title and their existence is in virtue of the fact that they support the main hero, They are not seen as characters in their own right, so they can go through the wringer, the grinder and be served as Sunday dinner, just so the villain can “get at” the lead. None of the victims need to overcome the pain or trauma they just went through, because the pain and trauma that occurred on the previous pages wasn’t about them, but their (frequently male) cohorts and how he has been able to overcome the horrible things that just occurred to his beloved.

This is why it gets put down as “Women in Refrigerators” or “Stuffed in the Fridge” (as it may happen to men). The raping, murdering, etc. happens, but it has little to do with the character it happened to and everything to do with those who care about said character. Or it’s just to have something controversial happen to keep the books selling, but after the conclusion of the arc, it is never addressed again and no real healing occurs, either for the victim or the reader. And that is why there is a problem with rape as it is often depicted.

Though, those characters that are “strong”–Kyle Rayner, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson–either don’t remember the event or just never bring it up again. Either way, weird. You’d think a man like Bruce Wayne, with so many emotional issues, would have a serious problem with Talia Al Ghul taking advantage of him, but apparently not! Although, I have a serious qualm with that whole scenario in and of itself, as it stems from a pretty good story (Son of the Demon), where Bruce may actually have found his one true love. And while I’m no fan of Talia (and a Cat x Bat ‘shipper to the end!), it was nice to see The Detective happy with a woman. For once. As for Dick Grayson, maybe he is so jaded by all his romantic trysts that he finds it all old hat and doesn’t care that he’s been raped–twice. I don’t know the reasons why these issues are never addressed, but I definitely find it curious. Why have a rape scenario if you’re not going to address it?

Batman: A Victim of Rape. Yes. BATMAN.

Before writing this article, I looked up the statistics for rape. According to the US Department of Justice, by way of Wikipedia, 1 in 6 women are either victims of rape or have been nearly/partially raped. In the US. That’s just under 17%, and I’m not certain if that is adjusted to include the number of rapes that go unreported. Either way, it’s a more frequent occurrence than how many women develop breast cancer in their lifetime (1 in 8), and that has a whole month dedicated to it, and it means we all know someone who is dealing with that trauma, whether we are aware of it or not. Which means, every writer of comic books knows–or, possibly, is–someone who has been raped or nearly raped, which gets me to thinking, as statistics are wont to do: if you know someone who is suffering, be it deeply or something that only crosses her mind when there is a trigger present, wouldn’t you want to create characters that actually deal with their pain rather than ignore it or pretend it didn’t happen?

Which brings me back to A Song of Ice and Fire. By virtue of the fact that it has one author, George R. R. Martin, and, potentially, a definitive beginning and end, all of the events that happen in the novels occur with purpose. Additionally, is written from 3rd person multi-perspective, meaning the reader gets to view the events from a variety of different view points. Some of these characters are women, and some of those women go through the wringer, grinder and are (nearly) served up as Sunday dinner and some of them do the wringing, grinding and serving. It’s a wild world in Westeros, but the pain is palatable. They aren’t just victims, even if we sometimes think of them that way. Despite all her faults, Sansa is aiming to survive and live through her experiences just as much as the beguiling Cersei, come hell or high water. If you can give even your most loathsome character that trait, then even if everyone around her views her as pathetic, she still has a lot of grit to her. That’s right, I said it: Sansa has grit. It doesn’t matter how much she internalizes all her fears and emotional trauma, she’s still managing through those books better than her brother Bran made it through the pilot episode of Game of Thrones. (But I don’t want to give too much away about just yet, as I still want to do an article on the awesome women of Westeros.)

Basically, what I’m saying is not to not write rape scenarios, but if you’re going to do something like that, at least understand the repercussions and ramifications such and action will cause. Not just to those who love the victim, but to the victim, too. Let them deal with the pain, on the page. Research your characters thoroughly and show us how they deal with it on the page so that those who have been hurt might be able to learn how to do deal with it, too. It’s a serious issue and one that affects more people than I’d like to think possible, and therefore should be addressed with delicacy and care. It’s not something that should be used just to sell books.

This would be a hard one to forget for numerous reasons.

As a reader and fan of fiction, I like to imagine that writers have a great duty in being stewards to the collective consciousness, by bringing humanity to a fuller understanding of each other, rather than just being purveyors of all that is wrong with the world and insight further fear or misunderstanding. So, if you’re going to abuse your characters, at least know how it will affect the character going through the experience, and not just those around her.

Heroine Addict: The Skinny on Heroines in Film and Television

by Molly Mahan

I have always been a fan of the action genre. When I was 6, I made my first attempt at script writing and wrote a five page Xena/Hercules skit for my friends and I to perform; later I dreamed someday I’d be Sarah Connor and would lead the fight when machines inevitably turned on us (Y2K was obviously a very exciting time for me, as I hoped I would finally fulfill my destiny). I am still aiming to do both of those things, in some capacity, but when I look around at Hollywood today I become forlorn and moderately depressed. Where are our Lucy Lawlesses and Linda Hamiltons of this generation? Nowhere, as far as I can see.

That’s not to say that female action films are dead. With box office successes like Salt and franchises such as Resident Evil, we are bound to see one female-led action-adventure movie every year or two. But are Angelina Jolie and Milla Jovovich really believable in their roles? With Linda Hamilton we had muscles. Legitimate muscles. That’s her doing the one-armed pull ups in Terminator 2. According to this article, Linda Hamilton could pump load a shot gun with one arm from her training and preparation before filming. That’s badass. Seeing Angelina Jolie do it in Wanted, left me expecting her arm to break off from the stress. Watching action movies where I’m afraid that the heroine is going to die of exhaustion (rather than enemy fire) isn’t exciting. It also makes it impossible to see past the actor to the character.

Even her arm needs to eat a sandwich…

Gerard Butler and company completed a ridiculous exercise routine to get their 8-pack abs for 300. Lena Headey, who played Queen Gorgo in the film, may not have been expected to be so fit as her male co-stars (though Spartan women were athletes themselves), but when she took on the shotgun to play Sarah Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, why wasn’t she expected to also take on the muscles? At least Summer Glau could at least say she was a cyborg who just appeared frail to seem less intimidating to her foes (though why a Terminator would want to look nonthreatening is beyond me). Lena Headey playing the human Sarah Connor doesn’t have that luxory. Yes, there was dissonance from fans and critics regarding this contrast in physique that made national news. Yet, this incident is unique: the physique of the action heroine is scarcely ever mentioned, this incident aside. In all likelihood the uproar occurred simply because of her predecessor’s hardcore dedication to the role, and that’s a shame. All female action stars should be put under such scrutiny.  If you’re hired on as an actor to play a character, then it is your job to accurately portray that character on screen and it should be a priority of the director and producers to make sure you’re doing your job. If you’re an action heroine and you’re not pumping iron before principle filming begins, then you’re not doing your job and you shouldn’t get paid millions.

We don’t let men get away with this behavior. It’s a double standard and I find it most disturbing: why do men, when given roles as action heroes, must they hit the gym, devour protein and bulk up to look the part, but women are allowed to look like twigs? Seeing old-man Stallone packing an absurd amount of heat in The Expendables looked just as a genre acceptable and realistic as when he did it 40 years ago for Rambo. Yet, I found it more realistic watching 65 year old Helen Mirren work a Gatling gun in RED than 20-something Zoe Saldana holding a high powered rifle with both hands in Columbiana.

Could beat you in arm-wrestling… easily.

Why are we as audiences allowing this to happen? We won’t watch movies where Russell Crowe is old and fat trying to play a typically young and lithe hero (Robin Hood), yet we’ll watch Milla Jovovich slay zombies for years to come, not at all phased by the fact that her muscle tone has yet to increase.

Of course, to me, this is all a double-edged sword, because American film studios already seem to be against female leads in general, let alone in action in particular. If I stop paying to watch thin, un-toned women fight, will they view it as “oh, we need to beef these women up!” or see it as, “Clearly audiences hate female action stars!” Being the pessimist that I am, it’s probably the latter, and that’s heart shattering to a girl who grew up wanting to fight the good fight and kill half a dozen aliens and terminators while she was at it.

So, I’m writing this. Not just to vent or see if other people see the same way I do or to start a flame war or whatever it is that might happen with an opinion piece that gets posted on a website these days. It’s, in the off chance that this gets out there, that the studios know I exist and there’s something that I want.

Xena: The Female Action Gold Standard… who also wears gold.

I am your audience when it comes to action flicks and I am a woman who actively goes and see action movies. On opening night. I am that demographic, which you say doesn’t exist, but I exist and I am not alone. So if you’re trying to “tap into me”, and if you’re wondering why you don’t always get me into those seats on opening weekends, or why I’m waiting until the Blu-Ray release or for Netflix to stream it, it’s because you’re giving me a product I don’t want. You’re giving me women who are impossible for me to find cool or badass. If I can’t believe your star can throw a punch that will bruise a peach, do you think I’ll believe her when she’s holding two 20lb guns in each hand and firing willy-nilly without feeling any kind of kickback? Not a chance. You have to get me to see the reality first, then you can try to give me the fantasy.