"Alan Moore's Misogynistic Legacy"

"...Alan Moore likes scripting violence against women. The fact that it may “work” in context doesn’t change anything. In fact, it allows Moore to get off twice, first by creating it and second by implicitly daring us to call him on it and expose ourselves as exactly the kind of insufferable prigs who are too stupid to be reading his books in the first place."

-- JR Minkel, "Alan Moore's Misogynistic Legacy"

Excuse me while I go grab my popcorn.

Captain Janeway: "I Didn't Want To Be Sexy"

An interesting quote from Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Janeway on Star Trek Voyager:

"They were quaking in their boots to put a woman in the (captain's) seat. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it's about sex. I didn't want her to look like someone they wanted to have sex with. I argued the fact that I didn't want her to have any sex as the first female captain because I was not going to run the risk of walking down the path that leading ladies have taken before -- to become a sexual object."

Women & Hollywood Blog via Trek Web

Does Being A Wonder Woman Include Being A Wonder Mom?

This Wonder Woman custom comic for designer Diane Von Furstenberg features three women (Diva, Viva, and Fifa) who have Wonder Woman come into their lives and tell them "you go girl" -- thus rendering them fully actualized (and well-dressed in ultra-expensive clothing) human beings.

In one sequence, housewife Fifa has been invited to the local Gourmet cookoff but three villains stand in her way: her annoying brats, who barrage her with such unreasonable requests as giving them a snack for school.

What is poor Fifa to do? Well, Wonder Woman saves the day, telling her to look beyond her present condition and "Be The Wonder Woman You Can Be." The image of Wonder Woman is of course conflated with that of Diane Von Furstenberg's floating head, as some sort of Blessed Virgin Mary apparition in the middle of thin air.

Stick-thin model shows off Von Furstenberg dress

So Fifa immediately calls the babysitter, and turns down her children's request for pancakes. The babysitter can make the damn pancakes. "I need to see what else I can do!", Mom explains in a narrative caption as she wins first prize in the cookoff. Now Fifa is a fully-actualized woman who Wonder Woman can be proud of.

Because being a mom of three children wasn't enough for Wonder Woman to make an appearance and approve. Because when you are a housewife and mother, you are a failure -- you're not a Wonder Woman, you're a slave to a patriarchal system, a joke, an underachiever. Oh, and a Stepford Wife Soccer Mom.

Official Diane Von Furstenberg Barbie doll.

That this "liberated woman" pitch is made by a member of a business sector that does so much to convince women to buy expensive shit in order to be pretty, liked, and sexy is quite ironic.

"Be The Wonder Woman You Can Be."

Buy expensive shit. Wear jewels. Promote poor body image by feeding into a system of advertisements and fashion modeling that favors the freakishly thin.

You know what would be really liberating for some women? Some sort of encouragement to just stay home for a few years with their small children. Give them a stipend so they don't have to put their kid in child care when they are only six months old.

Hopefully, this soccer mom will have Wonder Woman visit her
and make her realize what a mistake it was to birth those
two parasites who ruined all her accolades and fun.
Then she can go use the money she would have used to raise
these drains on her resources and buy a Diane Von Furstenberg dress.

I know someone who has her three-month-old child cradled in one arm and her laptop balanced on her knee so she can work from home. She doesn't have the money right now to take time off from her job to raise her infant child, nor does she want to immediately get him a nanny. She wants to bond with him. So she works her ass off to do so. Will I see a Wonder Woman comic praising her decision to keep her baby and make personal sacrifices to raise him properly?

This Wonder Woman comic is so out of touch with reality, so airy-fairy in its view of feminism and the appropriation of Wonder Woman as feminist icon, that it blows my mind. I don't need lectures about feminism from fashion designers. Sorry.

It's important to note that I am not saying that the views in this comic represent that of DC Comics. This is a custom comic -- a vanity comic, really -- written by the fashion designer herself. I suppose we won't be seeing any WW graphic novels from her any time soon.

Uh, right, DC?

Blogger Calls Joss Whedon's Firefly "Rapist's View Of The World"

As busy as I am, couldn't pass this one up.

LiveJournal user allecto claims that Joss Whedon's TV show Firefly is a "rapist's view of the world":

"I find much of Joss Whedon’s work to be heavily influenced by pornography, and pornographic humour. While I would argue that there are some aspects of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer that are feminist and progressive, there is much that isn’t and I find it highly problematic that there are many very woman-hating messages contained within a show that purports itself as feminism. But Firefly takes misogyny to a new level of terrifying. I am really, really worried that women can call the man who made this show a feminist."

Granted, I've only seen a handful of Firefly episodes. But what do all of you out there familiar with the series think of allecto's analysis? Are there anti-feminist themes in Firefly, or in the Buffyverse?

Fangirl Fridays: You've Come A Long Way, Baby?

Comics: No Longer A Second-Class Citizen?

"Will one day I really be a real respectable entertainment medium,
Blue Fairy?"
"Only if your movie breaks a hundred mil."

Sometimes I get the impression that comics are to the rest of the entertainment industry the way women are to comics -- or at least, that's the way the media perceives it. Let me explain.

A common post in the comics blogosphere is the "look, a major newspaper/magazine/television show recognizes comics exist." I've done these sorts of posts myself. The posts are well-meaning and informative, but somewhat patronizing. The movie industry blogs don't make posts saying "oh look, Time Magazine paid attention to us. That's significant!" But we do.

The same thing sometimes happens in reporting women in comics stories. "Oh, they're paying attention to us! We're legitimate!" The very fact that women figure somewhere in the coverage, either as the subject of a comic book or as a comic creator, is highlighted. Because it's a woman. It's a "see how far we've grown!" type sentiment. The same type of sentiment I see from the comics newso/blogosphere for the mainstream comics coverage.

I'm not saying that we should stop posting this way. I'm just saying that I feel both comics and women in comics have reached a certain level of success where the fact that they're covered by major media shouldn't be such a shock. "Iron Man" is an over $100 million dollar movie. Don't worry. The media is "on" to us. They're almost going to phase out the "Biff! Pow!" phrases in the articles. It's been over 40 years, but seriously, they're going to stop.

Why I Hate "You've Come A Long Way, Baby"

She's come a long way, baby --
she can wear a man's suit with a baby-pink jacket that doesn't match.
Thank you for 30 years of irony and lung cancer, Virginia Slims

Do we need all-women comic con panels and all-women comic link-dumps? Do we need an organization like Friends of Lulu? I've always envisioned Friends of Lulu as 1) A place to celebrate the achievements of women in comics, 2) A place for women in comics to network with and find support from their peers, and 3) A place to provide young women mentorship in comics creation. Within all that there is another component of promoting all-ages comic book material. But I never saw it as a "You've Come A Long Way, Baby!" Virginia Slims type thing. "You've Come A Long Way Baby" patronizes the hell out of me. I don't need to be told how far I've come. I f**king know how far I've come. I was there!

Glamourpuss #1 Review

I was going to just draw my review by tracing panels from old issues of Cerebus and then putting my review in the word balloons, but I decided against it.

Glamourpuss #1 has two components: 1) A meditation on photo realism in comics and Alex Raymond, and 2) Some fashion model s**t. The former is interesting, the latter is flat. Models are shallow, models have eating disorders, models wear too-expensive clothes that are impractical -- there is nothing new here, at least in terms of how this material has been traditionally presented before. This is coupled with the preconceptions going in based on Glamourpuss creator Dave Sim's reputation.

Yes, I know I shouldn't go into an artist's work with preconceptions based on their reputation. But I see these lifeless pictures of the models, I see how they're presented as empty-eyed self-absorbed materialistic cyphers, I read about "Skanko," and in all honesty I have to wonder what Sim is trying to say about women in all this.

And this page differs from what Greg Land does how???

But then I contrast that with all the reconstructed Alex Raymond panels in the book which also feature women. Most of those women are sympathetic, and ironically have more life in them than the actual real-life women Sim used to draw the models from.

I guess the biggest question I have regarding Glamourpuss -- and the answer would have an impact on how I ultimately review it -- is how much irony did Dave Sim intend for it to have? How much he expected us to laugh at things like sore feet and Skanko and how much did he intended for these things to be ironic would make a difference to me. It would mean the difference between the book being an avant-garde work of art and just an overly-hyped trip through one artist's psyche.

Hillary Clinton: A Tough Nut To Crack?

I just discovered these unique items at a local store and had to take a picture.

They are Hillary Clinton "nutcrackers". In case you can't tell by the photo, you crack the nut between her legs.

Yes, very classy.

This brought to my mind the bigger issue of how women in power are sometimes perceived or equated with the idea of shrill harpies or, in the example above, "nutcrackers."

Implied in the novelty nutcracker is the idea that Hillary Clinton is specifically targeting men to oppress them in some way, or at least piss them off.

Now, as I've made clear in an earlier post, I'm an Obama fan. But, I've seen nothing of Hillary Clinton that has led me to believe that she is a man-hater.

Why do women in power like Hillary get equated with man-haters?

In her case, part of that may be because warmth and bubbliness does not seem to be her first language.

But how many men in power lack warmth and bubbliness and nobody says "boo" about it?

Personally, I think it is easier for a woman in power to be liked if they do generate that warm quality. But they shouldn't have to, the same way men don't have to. If you can do the job, you can do the job. It's just when a woman is a no-nonsense, uncompromising leader, it's considered "threatening."

It doesn't mean she hates men. And the fact that there are products like this novelty nutcracker in America depresses me.

At any rate, you can bet your bottom dollar that I won't be buying the Hillary Nutcracker. Or the Bill salad-tosser either.

Teeth: A Feminist Horror Film?

So we finally have a movie about vagina dentata:

In the case of Teeth, if some of the marketing copy is to be believed, the teeth in her vagina symbolizes her sexual repression.

So is this movie a feminist tale of revenge and a woman retaking her power? Or is it making fun of that idea?

Here is the "personal ad" seen on the Internet that is really an ad for the film:


And here is a link to the main character's Dawn MySpace, which has as its tagline, "must love dental dams!"

Now, dental dams are traditionally associated with a form of protection against STDs that lesbians use. Is the line, then, not only referring to her toothed hoohah but is a subliminal reference to gay women? Does Dawn not only have teeth in her vagina because she is sexually repressed, but because she hates men, and because she may not even "like" men?

Perhaps this movie is more about paranoid men's fears than about any sort of feminist empowerment. Which reminds me of other classic "women's revenge" flicks:


But, in the end, I think the real message the movie might be trying to impart is not women's empowerment, or women's revenge, or even primal make fears. It seems that the real culprit might be...


See, a big point in the film is that Dawn is a Christian, and is raised to wait for marriage before having sex. So it seems that being a serious Christian & devoted to chastity might give you vagina dentata.

Has making fun of Christians in the popular media grown old yet? Is there any more cheap shots to make? While I completely disagree with the traditional Christian stance on birth control, is the idea of a teenager waiting to have sex until they at least graduate high school so absolutely insane-crazy?

Anyway, here is a horror film about the sexual issues of teenage girls that I actually know is very good:


In Ginger Snaps, these sexual issues and related issues of power are represented not by vagina dentata, but by one's menstrual period. Oh, and werewolves.

It remains to be seen if Teeth will be as good as Ginger Snaps -- if it is, as some reports say, an "art" horror film, or just sensationalistic.

How NOT To Have A Feminist Discourse With A Man, #234

When engaged in feminist debate with a member of the estrogenly-challenged sex, it might be wise to avoid the following nugget:

"Well, do you have a vagina? No? Then be quiet."

I might want to start "D'Orazio's Law" -- corollary to the oft-invoked Godwin's Law of Internet discourse -- in which anyone in a feminist debate asking the accusatory question "do you have a vagina?" to a member of the estrogenly-challenged sex hast thus ended the discussion.

Now, I am quite aware of the meaning behind asking a man, "do you have a vagina" in response to his opinions on wimmins. The inquiry points out the fact that men do not know what is like to be women and thus hast no business (so the theory goes) to lend their opinions on the subject of the testosterone-challenged sex.

However, we all know what the answer is (usually) to the question thus posed to a man, "do you have a vagina?"

NO, HE DOESN'T HAVE A VAGINA!!!!!!

Asking him if he indeed has a vagina serves very little constructive purpose. I understand the meaning behind the question, but all it will really accomplish is to make the man defensive.

Now, there is the related issue of whether a man sans vagina sans tits sans ovaries is in any position to comment on wimmin's issues at all.

If we as women want to take that view, then the reverse can be used on us, and we can be kept from...oh gosh I don't know, writing comics starring male superheroes, because we do not have a penis and therefore are not "fit" to write about those possessing said instrument. 'Cause we don't "get" the whole penis thing.

In the end, I think you have to figure out what means more to you in a debate -- getting in the last word with a pithy comment, or actually trying to help change another person's point of view. If you want to help change (or expand) another person's point of view, you've got to think "inclusive" and not "exclusive." You can't underline how different you are from the other person...you have to find some common ground to speak from.

Yeah, your male counterpart in the feminist debate about cheesecake in comics doesn't have a vagina. That's right. But has he ever felt embarrassed, ashamed? Has he ever felt defensive about the way a female friend or family member has been treated? Has he ever suffered from being stereotyped, misunderstood? These are all areas from which to build some common ground.

Get Ready To Fly, Bitch -- Death Proof, Lonely Manifestos, and Killer Chick Flicks

Arlene: Yeah? Why don't you go get ready for your lapdance?
[Stuntman Mike gets up and walks back into the bar]
Arlene: Hey, Mike.
Stuntman Mike: Yeah?
Arlene: No touch.
Stuntman Mike: No.
Arlene: I touch you, you don't touch me.
Stuntman Mike: I know.
Arlene: Good.
--Grindhouse

“Young women now seem to want to behave like men and have sex without commitment. The signals they are giving are very confusing, and rage and humiliation build up in boys who are spurned again and again.”
-- Somewhat-Feminist Commentator Camille Paglia on the Virginia Tech shootings

WARNING: SPOILERS

I nearly walked out on Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" after the car accident scene. Actually , my boyfriend hid my eyes during most of it (after the brutal face-smashing of Rose McGowan's character), but I had already saw the gory photos in Fangoria.

Basically, a guy turns four young women into hamburger with his car after stalking them. His name is Stuntman Mike. It seems like such a random, inexplicable act, intentional vehicular homicide -- but really, it's not. Tarantino's loving, lingering shots of the women being sexy, flipping their hair or shaking their ass in slow motion, tell you everything you want to know. These girls are *teases*. They intentionally tease and unintentionally tease, but their message is clear -- they have the power, the power of pussy. And Mr. Middle-Aged StuntGuy in the Icy Hot jacket and the Baron Strucker scar just ain't gettin' any.

I almost walked out of "Death Proof." Several people did. I'm not sure if it was because of the extreme violence or the fact that they've been listening to several women yakking around a table "My Dinner With Andre" style for a half-an-hour.

I almost walked out of "Death Proof" and went home and wrote Quentin Tarantino a long e-mail telling him what a bloody misogynist he was. But I stayed. And Tarantino, as if reading my mind, "apologized." Because in the second half of the film, the women "win."

Stuntman Mike stalks and hunts down another set of girls. But, little does he know that these are badass stuntwomen who will turn the tables on him and rip him another asshole. I'm not sure if he dies by the end of the film, but he sure as hell takes a nasty beating.

So, is "Death Proof" a feminist film?

Um...

Here's my problem.

The way Stuntman Mike dispatches the first set of girls is brutal and realistic to the extreme.

The way "The Girls" dispatch Mike at the end of the film is comical.

Stuntman Mike literally tears his victims apart, obliterates them, wipes their "prettiness" off the map.

By the final credits, "The Girls" do a slapstick number on Mike, hitting him in slow-motion and jumping in glee when he falls defeated. It is not even clear whether he is dead, the way it is not clear if Wily E. Coyote is ever really killed.

Why are these deaths handled differently?

Does gender play a role?

Would realistic, brutal revenge against Mike at the hands of The Girls be too disturbing, would it ruin the "mood?"

***

In a Times Online article social commentator Camille Paglia placed the responsibility for the Virginia tech slayings partially at the feet of a society that, in her view, has "feminized" men and encourages women to be "teases." The author of the article itself goes a step further and seems almost to point the finger at the women on campus that reported the future killer for stalking them:

"Then there were the college girls who reported him to the police for stalking and got him carted off to mental hospital after he sent them shy love messages full of yearning."

Hey, maybe the "Death Proof" girls *were* teases. Maybe the girls at Virginia Tech's rejection of Cho's advances did send him over the edge. Maybe this culture *is* feminizing men.

Teases, rejectors, feminizers. Doesn't mean chicks gotta be ground into hamburger.

***

Is Quentin Tarantino anti-feminist or not? And hey, don't I get into a lot of trouble for these posts? A woman bringing up topics like: "is this misogynist or not?" I mean, I remember my "Black Snake Moan" post...

"But you didn't actually *see* Black Snake Moan," David G. says. "I mean..you didn't actually see the movie so you couldn't actually tell if it really was misogynist."

"Yeah, but I saw the marketing."

"But the marketing is just the marketing."

I sit and ruminate over this for a while. David adds,

"But you actually *saw* "Death Proof. So I think this is a good thing."

Is "Death Proof" pro-feminist or anti-feminist? Did Tarantino get off on the misogynist antics of Stuntman Mike or is this film ultimately a love-letter to the Tough Chick?

Tarantino's films, I think, are ultimately a reflection of society -- a reflection of the tough choices and messy, oft-amoral situations that keep making our species interesting.

But no, "Death Proof" isn't a feminist movie.