Quotes and Stuff

"The first image we get of Starfire is with her face directed downward in a pose of submission. She allows the male gaze, the assumed heterosexual male reader, to wash over her. She has just destroyed three tanks yet the focus is on her looks and her body. Her first words are: “Is there anything else I can do, Jason?” She is there for the pleasure of the males around her. As the comic continues we are presented with her in a bikini sexually posing in the water. There is a little boy taking pictures of her, letting us know that it is ok to be a voyeur. Starfire’s bodily postures are forced and unnatural, especially in the image towards the beginning of this post. Her back is contorted into an anatomically impossible angle. Just like the Venus of Urbino her body is unnaturally posed for the pleasure of the viewer. Throughout the comic we view her not as a person but as a fetish. Her objectification continues as she moves from an object to desire from afar to an object to possess through sex as she propositions Roy"



." Instead of viewing her as a whole person we view her as a sum of her body parts: a breast, a mouth, a butt."
 

Pecha Kucha

• my topic: misogyny in geek culture and how it's affected a female audience
• 40% of comic readers are female & there has been an increase in female led comics
• still a history of misogyny in the field

• a big problem is the hypersexualisation of female characters - these are my 'favourites'
• Top one done by Milo Manara, an erotic artist. There is a time & place for erotic art comic covers are not the time or place.
• Second one by Guillem March, parodied a lot. Parodied by himself in the style of Robert Crumb. - Awareness of misogyny. 

• Read quote
• Not viewing the character as a person or for their fighting skills, but for sexual purposes

• some horrifying drawings I have done in response to the 'main parts' of female characters
• Satirising the over-sexualisation of women. 

• Panel from Saga "Welcome to Sextillion"
• Parodying the reduction of women to their sexy parts.

• Women in comics are shown to defeat their enemies using their sexuality - I have drawn Batman seducing the joker. 
• Role reversal makes men uncomfortable and hopefully makes them realise how stupid it is to do this with female characters. 

• A problem with the hypersexualisation of female characters is that readers learn to objectify them, and thus don't respect real women - particularly cosplayers
• 25% of women at conventions sexually harassed, 8% have been groped, assaulted or raped. This is not okay. 

• Some may argue men are objectified because they are all portrayed as big buff men. This is a male power fantasy - and not done for female pleasure like female characters are written for male pleasure.
• Sexy batman, for some more making men uncomfortable. 

• A lot of women have been able to get into geek culture via the internet, so this is where a lot of the feminist revolution is.
• Hawkeye initiative - where hawkeye is drawn in the over sexual poses women are usually put in. Its pretty funny. 

• (this is mentioned in an earlier blog post) the sexual object vs sexual subject
• where is the line???
• A lot to do with the intent of the artist

• This comic suggests that a subject has power. Because comic characters cannot consent and can never have the power it's very hard to make them subjects
• The consent and power must be explicitly written in by the creator. 

• sexy lamp
• A lot of female characters are two dimensional and are solely there to be sexy - thus if you can replace them with a sexy lamp, its not good.

• Babs Tarr aka My Queen
• Working on Batgirl
• Draws a lot of sexy ladies, but they are not hyper sexualised or portrayed as sexual objects. They're definitely not drawn with men in mind. 

• Characters from the comic 'Rat Queens'
• They are all very diverse & you can see their character over any sexual appeal they have. 

• How do I portray a sexy character who is not objectified? How can I show the difference bluntly since there's such a fine line?
• Aaaaaah

• Just started to draw some strong women, conquering dude-bros. 

• My goal was to make something that would still be sexy but absolutely not intended for the male gaze. Something that would absolutely frighten men. 

• Started drawing these over sexual, really stupid superheroes with lazer boobs and throwing star vaginas etc. 

• I just thought I'd push it as far as I could go with it. I wanted to make it so over the top and horrific that it's just uncomfortable to look at. 

• ideas for my visual diagram - a hero layout of these horrifying superheroes
• Object vs Subject but not sure where to go with it. 

Feedback

• Very Knowlegdeable about Gender/Male Gaze
• Very good delivery style
• Sexual object vs sexual subject is an excellent central argument in many ways a model of synthesis between theory and practice
• The map of groteqsue female sexuality sounds intriguing

Babs Tarr

I got the honour of talking to Babs at Thought Bubble and had the opportunity to ask her a few questions on the matter of women in comics. In interviews she has said that there need to be more women in comics just to make the content relatable, as women will have experiences that they can include that men would have absolutely no idea about (especially hair pins).


Babs' work includes a lot of sexy, "scantily clad" or nude women but unlike a lot of comic art they are not hypersexualised. It's as if she - as a woman- has an understanding of how women like to be portrayed. The women are not there purposely to be sexy, they are fully realised characters who just happen to be sexy - but it is not their defining feature. I would even say there is more character in one of Babs' drawings than what is given to a lot of female characters in mainstream comics.


I think a lot of the way women are portrayed comes down to the intent of the artist. Babs, being female herself, is unlikely to want to create something specifically for the male gaze. Whereas a lot of mainstream comics are targeted towards a male audience and thus the intent of the artists is to make the female characters appeal to them, I guess making them sexy is easier than making a complex character.

Sexual Object VS Sexual Subject

"Art has a long history of images that cater to the male gaze. One of the best examples of this isTitian’s Venus of Urbino. It is little more than 16th century porn. Everything about her panders to the male gaze from her inviting smile to her soft features. Her anatomy is exaggerated to better please the viewer. Follow her arm as it lays across her belly. There isn’t bone underneath that flesh. An arm can’t bend like that. Follow her arm down to her hand. Is she covering herself up? Or, is she getting things started? She is like the Classical Greek sculptures of Venus who are surprised that you caught them, but aren’t upset in the slightest. They have inviting smiles and cover up to draw attention to the fact that they are nude.

Here is a classic example of woman as subject. Edouard Manet’s Olympia is directly commenting on the Venus of Urbino and subverting it. She is a confident and defiant female. She is not a passive object but an aggressive subject. She is angular and rigid not soft and round. The position of Venus of Urbino’s hand over her crotch signified her nakedness and her willingness, however with Olympia it signifies her control over the situation. Her hand isn’t resting or nestling, it is clamped down. The viewer will not participate in anything unless she permits."

http://www.thedollarbin.net/shows/2012/10/9/woman-as-object-woman-as-subject-the-male-gaze-and-the-dc-comics-relaunch

This passage really got me thinking about women in comics being generally presented as sexual objects for the male gaze, which is what makes the imagery so offensive. If characters were portrayed as sexual, but in the terms of a sexual subject would this be less offensive? Or even appeal to women? Personally I would say yes, a lot of the art that I like to make and look of is of sexy women but it appeals to me because the characters are sexy and owning it. It's about the character and women being in control of their sexiness rather than it just being there for the benefit of a man. 

Research!

5 Quotes

“the inclusion of woman focused panels in formal cci programming legitimizes the presence of women and girls within the historically male dominated space that is comic book culture” - Kaplan / boiling & smith : 55) It happens at Comic con.

“while a 'geek' is identified by his fandom proven knowlegde a 'geek girl' appears to need proven knowledge but gains more recognition for her ability to exhibit her fandom ina sexy and/or feminine way. The exhibition of the geek girl as object in opposition to subject proves continously problematic for both women and men at CCI” Kaplan/ Boiling & Smith : 57

“In 1941 wonder woman wore a knee length pencil skirt, but the life of this heroine has been extended by the dramatic shrinking of her costume. Every time she gets 'edgier' in order to appeal to a new audience her body gets more distorted. Thank god she can fly now, because she probably can't walk” - Walker/Pohl-Weary: 214.

“I definitely think it’s helpful to have a female artist drawing female characters because there are things that we know as women that guys would just never notice. Like in Batgirl #35 in the first panel [on the second page], I drew her nightstand and you can see it has bobby pins on it. A guy would almost never think to draw that. I’m trying to make the fashion and the environments that the girls are in trendy and cool in a way that might not occur to male artists. Each girl has their own style and favorite colors. They all wear their hair differently. ... I feel like in the past, women represented in comics were all wearing the generic comic book heels, skirt and jacket. It’s always the default thing. It takes a lot of time to get invested in fashion, and I can understand why that’s sort of daunting for guys to have to come up with. But I feel that books like this call for it, and you’re going to notice if it’s not there. I think that’s one of the cool things that will come with more female artists drawing books like this. We can take it to the next level of authenticity.” - Babs Tarr

“male clientele won't buy them. That argument suggests that girls don't naturally like to read or watch stories about themselves. I believe that girls don't usually go for this stuff because they must resort to choosing from a vast array of male characters or accept the limitations placed on their fantasy peers” - (vincent /Pohl Weary : 334/335)

Yet for Women who loved reading comics the problem was crude and basic. ‘Navigating the typical comic book store, complete with trolls, trivia fiends, teenage boys, and twodimensional gigantic tits, is intimidating for those lacking an X chromosome [4]. As ‘Comic book shops are generally bastions of acne-infused boys and their festering hormones. Persuading stores to carry women's comic books can be a battle [5]. 

http://allsubjectjournal.com/vol2/issue1/PartF/pdf/49.1.pdf

A lot more than 5 Statistics/ facts

- "An informal survey found that one quarter of the women who attend conventions have been sexually harassed."

- "Female attendance at fantasy conventions is growing rapidly. It's estimated that 41percent of attendees are now women. 

- A group of female fans has started a movement called Geeks for CONsent to make Comic Con address the issue of sexual harassment. They created a Change.org petition calling on Comic Con to adopt a formal anti-harassment policy, post signs about harassment and train volunteers on how to deal with it."

- A survey on social media by Bitch magazine, found that about 25percent of women at conventions reported being sexually harassed. Eight percent said they had been groped, assaulted or raped

- "The new Thor is outselling her predecessor by 30%"

"

Women and Purchasing Power

Women’s influence on purchase decisions is on the rise

• A 2012 survey reveals that 54 percent of U.S. female Internet users said they feel a responsibility to help friends and family make wise purchase decisions. Compare this to 2008, when only 31 percent of women said they felt they regularly influenced other people’s purchase decisions.[1]
• Over half (51 percent) of all moviegoers are women.[2]
• Forty percent of all people who saw The Avengers on opening weekend—the weekend where only the most enthusiastic fans come out—were women.
• Women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases.[3]

Women and Science Fiction

Don’t believe the stereotype that science fiction is for men

• According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), nearly equal percentages of men (31 percent) and women (28 percent) report they read science fiction books or magazines.[4]
• NSF also reports that women make up almost half (45 percent) of SyFy Channel viewership.[4]
• In a survey of Star Trek fans, 57 percent of respondents identified as female.[5]

Women and Gaming

Women are a large—and growing—population in the gaming world

• Nearly half (45 percent) of all video game players are women.[6]
• Women age 18 and older represent a significantly greater portion of game players (31 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (19 percent).[6]
• Women also make up 46 percent of the people who buy video games (this could include moms).[6]
• The audience of Big Fish Games is more than 80 percent female.[3]
• Nearly 40 percent of all World of Warcraft players are women.[7]
• There are roughly 130 million women playing online PC games worldwide and 140 million men.[3]
• Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said last year that Nintendo users are split 50/50 between males and females.

Women and Comics

While we lack accurate data on comic readership, women DO read comic books

• According to a Facebook scan done by Brett Schenker, women make up about 40 percent of the self-identified comic-reading population in the United States.[8]
• Comic book store Comicopia employees estimate that 35 to 40 percent of their customers are female.[9]
• When the proportion of female creators for DC Comics plunged from 12 percent to 1 percent in 2011, women and their supporters helped convince DC Comics to hire more female creators.[10]

Women in STEM Fields

Stereotypes are harmful to women and girls

• In an ETS field study, a set of students were asked to indicate their gender after completing the AP Calculus test, while another group filled in this answer before the test. Females who received the inquiry before the test scored an average of 12.5, while males averaged 16.5. For those receiving the gender inquiry after the test, women outscored men, with an average of 15 versus 14.[11]
• Researchers tested two groups of undergraduate students of both sexes, all skilled math students. Before the test, one group was informed that women usually didn’t do as well on the test as men. The women who weren’t informed of this stereotype performed just as well as the men. The women informed of the negative assumption scored significantly lower than the men, with average scores of 609 versus 817 for the men.[12]
• A University of Washington study found that, as early as second grade, boys and girls associated math words with boys.[13]

Women are underrepresented in many science and engineering occupations

• Although women fill close to half of all U.S. jobs, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs.[14]
• While women make up more than half of working biological scientists, they make up less than 7 percent of mechanical engineers.[15]
• In fact, in 2010, women earned 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, yet only earned 18 percent of computer and information science bachelor’s degrees—down from 37 percent in 1985.

Women in Technology

Women use and purchase technology at higher rates than men

• Fifty-six percent of social media users are women. That’s 81 million women blogging, tweeting, pinning, using Instagram and Google+, and posting to Facebook.
• As was pointed out in The Atlantic’s “Sorry, Young Man, You’re Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech,” women in Western countries use the Internet 17 percent more every month than their male counterparts. Women are also the vast majority owners of all internet enabled devices—readers, healthcare devices, GPS, etc.

Women in the Media

Women are underrepresented in mainstream media

• Women hold only 3 percent of influential or powerful positions in mainstream media.[16]
• Roughly 24 percent of the people interviewed, heard, seen, or read about in mainstream broadcast and print news are female.[16]
• A 2011 survey found women contribute to about 28 percent of articles in major magazines.[17]
• The “Bechdel Test,” a basic measure of the representation of women in media, revealed only two of the nine “Best Picture” Oscar nominees in 2012 clearly passed the minimal criteria.[18] The number was much higher in 2013; four of the nine “Best Picture” nominees clearly passed the criteria. Two other films nearly passed.[19]"

5 Significant moments in history
- Nichelle Nichols plays Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek - "one of the first black women featured in a major television series not portraying a servant"
- Gamergate "the vociferous video game “protest movement” that exploded across the internet in August. Leaderless and chaotic, this ragtag community of self-identifying “hardcore” gamers sees its culture under threat from insidious outsiders – usually feminists and academics – who are challenging the industry on its sometimes questionable representation of violence, minorities and gender. Gamergate wants video games to be left alone."
- Female Thor released - 2014
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5 People of note

1. Anita Sarkeesian: "Feminist public speaker, media critic and blogger" - Creator of feminist frequency & does videos that explore female tropes in video games and other pop culture. Recieved threats after being scheduled to do a talk in a school. 

2. Babs Tarr - Artist alongside Cameron Stewart for Batgirl 


3. Joss Whedon - Creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

4.

5. 

5 Images/ photos/ maps/ drawings/ charts

1. 

Venus of Urbino

Add caption

5 Inventions/ objects/ garments/ artefacts

online gaming

3D printed 'spider dress' that 'attacks' when personal space is entered.



Slave Leia (or generally revealing costumes)


Michelle Pfeiffer's catwoman costume

5 Locations/ environments/ countries

Comic Con

Comic Shops



Geek Girl Con! 

The Internet! (Online Gaming, Social Media etc)

Utah State University