Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
It’s a pretty well-known fact that superhero cinema has largely neglected women. And though the films can be enjoyed by most everyone, this has been unfair to girls and women who want to be inspired by a superhero of their own gender. Sure, Marvel has done fairly well expanding the role of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow character (and may even finally give the heroine her own movie). And DC will soon be introducing a new Wonder Woman (played by Gal Gadot) in Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice. But really, there’s still a pretty big problem in the biggest superhero films.
The good news, however, is that there are still plenty of female superheroes out there to admire! Some of them are relatively little known, and some simply haven’t made their impact on the Marvel or DC film universes just yet. But they’re out there, and some may even be going more mainstream in the near future. These are some such heroes.
She-Hulk was mentioned in one article as one of 10 little known superheroes that could “make Marvel millions” if added to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That article did a pretty good job of characterizing why she’d be a good fit in the Marvel films. Namely, she’s the cousin of Bruce Banner, and such a close connection to an existing Avenger would make for an easy entry into the MCU. However, it’s also mentioned that She-Hulk would be a good role model for girls, and I couldn’t agree more. This character - named Jennifer Walters before her transformation - is a strong, successful lawyer who chooses to become She-Hulk and learns to control the monster, ultimately adopting the persona full-time despite potential judgments from society. It’s a nice contrast to the idea that every female superhero needs to be a Hollywood beauty in form-fitting spandex.
This one might be cheating a little bit, because technically we actually have seen the Wasp in the MCU. Evangeline Lily’s character in Ant-Man is meant to step into the role, and she kind of did in the end credits scene, for those of you who may not have stuck around in the theater. Regardless, it would be nice to see this character really built up into a superhero on the same level as Marvel’s male leads. The Wasp makes for an interesting role model because, like Ant-Man or even Iron Man, she’s an ordinary (if particularly intelligent) human with a super suit - rather than a superhuman. Given that the 2018 Ant-Man sequel is expected to be titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, this could be a hero who’s on her way to bigger things.
Elektra isn’t exactly little known, and in fact she’s been more mainstream than most female characters related to Marvel. Jennifer Garner played the part in the 2003 Daredevil film and even in a solo movie spinoff. And in the time since the character has lingered in the public eye, most notably through a popular online casino game that often appears alongside Iron Man- and Avengers-themed games. Described as a Marvel gaming option for those looking for something a little more feminine, it’s almost an overt statement about the lack of female superheroes, given that it stands alone. Now, however, we’re seeing Elektra brought into the fold in a cinematic sense once more, and it’ll probably be much more significant than the Garner film. Elodie Yung is set to take up the role in the new season of the Netflix series Daredevil, just months after a solo series for Jessica Jones gave us the strongest f emale Marvel character yet.
You probably haven’t heard of Rescue unless you’re a pretty serious comic fan. But you’ve heard of the lady behind the moniker. This is Tony Stark’s personal assistant/love interest Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow in the films) in her very own Iron Man-style suit. Pepper is already one of the more compelling female characters in the MCU, as she’s undergone an interesting transition from a vaguely defined love interest to a powerful CEO with the rare ability to put Tony Stark in his place. Turning her into a superhero might set a nice example. Additionally, one implication of the name is that she might have the ability to rescue her superhero boyfriend, which would be a nice way for Marvel to flip the damsel-in-distress motif on its head.
Aside from Wasp and Elektra, Kamala Khan may ultimately be the likeliest female superhero to be injected into the MCU. In part this seems to be the case because she was recently introduced in a popular app game through which Marvel has made a few character introductions alongside film or TV debuts. But it’s also because the character by nature is easy to toss into an existing series. That’s because Kamala Khan is essentially a fan of the Avengers (and specifically Captain Marvel, or Carol Danvers). Khan sets a wonderful example for young girls in particular, because she’s one of the few Marvel superheroes who becomes one because she aspires to be one. It’s a tale of hard work and passion paying off, as Khan ultimately takes up the role of Ms. Marvel herself. Captain Marvel is already going to be brought into the MCU, so perhaps Khan will also.
Marvel is slowly but surely beginning to include more female superheroes in starring roles. But adding these five to the mix would give young women even more characters to look up to.
We all love free things. And around here, we love things that promote female artists, creators, writers and makers. Imagine this: there are combinations of these things. And it’s happening on this here blog. Emet Comics was launched in January 2015 to empower female storytellers and artists. They partner with these women to release new comics online every week.
And this week, we get to offer you one of these comics for free! Woot.
The work being done at Emet Comics is really important for a lot of reasons, but here are some of the most prominent:
- Women are under-represented in comics, both on the art and story side.
- Comic readers don’t have many options for stories about ALL kinds of women.
- Financial support from comic publisher’s continues to dwindle, which means new female talent aren’t getting any new opportunities.
The free comic they are offering to Being Geek Chic readers is a new title from Cindy Tobisman and Lynne Yoshii called Inside the Loop. The story follows Tora Wellborne who stands at the center of two politically diverged cities,
The Collective and The Loop. When she falls victim to the Plague, she
finds her allegiances in question as she fights to survive.
DOWNLOAD INSIDE THE LOOP HERE.
You can learn more about Emet Comics on their website or on Twitter (@emetcomics) and we really encourage you to download their freebie here to get an idea of what kind of amazing content you’ll find on their publishing platform.
It would be futile for me to list a bunch of reasons for you to go see Age of Ultron if you haven’t already. You already have all the reasons you need and it’s clearly the blockbuster movie of 2015 so far. It would, however, be irresponsible of me not to point out the most important part of the entire film.
Here’s the basic description: Early in the film, Thor and Tony Stark are standing at the bar when Maria asks: “Where’s Pepper?” Simple question. Simple response: She has a company to run. Could be the end of the conversation and move along, but critically it is not. Joss Whedon instead uses it as a moment to establish that these men have chosen REMARKABLE women as partners. Thor goes on to brag about Jane’s consideration for a Nobel Peace Prize and Tony postures additionally about Pepper’s girl boss status.
These men are not intimidated by brilliant, powerful and successful women. These men didn’t choose damsels in distress. These men chose women who were so badass, they were probably too busy to hang out with their boyfriends at some random party anyway.
Why is this important? Imagine the millions of little boys who want to be Iron Man or Captain America or Thor. There are plenty of non-realistic, totally fantastical reasons to aspire to superheroics: flying, fighting bad guys, awesome outfits and powers from beyond human understanding. But then there are qualities that are real. Qualities that are actually translatable to the futures they are envisioning and actively creating. Imagine planting the idea that men should strive for not the hottest woman, but the most brilliant. The CEO status-caliber woman. The Nobel Prize-winning woman. The Feminist Anarchist Federal Agent woman.
The scene is used to establish that it’s not just Hawkeye and Bruce and Natasha who have relationships in their interpersonal lives. But more than that, it also serves to display the constant sense of competition amongst each of our respective heroes. This could be done in a lot of ways: see the “let’s watch everyone try to pick up Thor’s hammer” scene, for example. We’ve all seen movies and media that show men competing with their respective partners for the appreciation of their male friends. Most media literally shows off two women alongside each other in a scene without listing her accomplishments or even mentioning a single thing about her. In fact, at best, it’s a bikini scene where she gets one small line of dialogue.
The Marvel universe may not always get women right. And they certainly don’t deserve credit for being feminist friendly, but they do deserve credit for this. Specifically, I would guess that Joss Whedon deserves credit for this moment in the film.
If more little boys growing up thinking: I want to be seen with/connected to/married to a bad ass woman, then maybe we will have achieved a certain kind of global peace after all.
Who are you supposed to be?
I’m Captain America.
I beg your pardon?
It’s a great line out of a classic movie, but I often find myself wondering the same thing when I’m trying to figure out exactly what is supposed to be represented in superhero cosplay for young girls. I’m always thrilled to see that younger female viewers have taken an interest (and been encouraged to do so!) in something that’s not solely princess-themed, or pink, or some stereotyped combination of the two, but when it comes to portrayal and merchandise availability for girl’s products, the inclusivity sort of ends at blankets and Trapper Keepers.
If you find yourself searching stores for superhero-themed swag for your daughter rather than busting the old sewing machine to make your own, you might be stuck with something a bit more feminized than you bargained for.
Not that there’s anything specifically wrong with that if your daughter is looking to save the world while indulging her pre-established womanly side, but the lack of neutral options certainly encourages taking matters into your own hands to create something more fitting. Offering male character-based products for girls at all is a huge step in the right direction, but I think it’s safe to ask what kind of message is being sent to young girls who are exposed to images with such a strong distinction.
Does it require bulge-inducing tights to kick-ass in the world today? I doubt it, but it certainly doesn’t require a skirt, either. Since when do young boys want strong muscles and pants more than young girls do?
I seem to remember a little me, begging her mom for karate classes so that I could be the next Karate Kid (Miyagi era, not Han), so I’m wondering when it was decided that superheroes needed to be feminized to become more accessible to the young girl audience. No doubt there are consumer tests that prove that certain kids prefer the “girlified” products, but it’s not an all-inclusive metric, and it’s a perpetuation of a deeply historic norm that leaves out a number of girls who prefer it the original way.
Children are impressionable; it seems like at some point we either forgot, or stopped caring that their minds are thirsty little sponges, waiting to soak up any and all images and ideas they are exposed to in a day. And while there are a number of steps a parent can take in theory to protect their kids from the demon formally known as negative body image, it’s hard to keep them from hearing a gendered message when it’s so obviously laid out in front of them in the grossly oversized muscles reserved for boys, and the glitters and frills implied for girls.
There’s untapped value waiting to be found in the grey area that lies between the two polar norms of boy versus girl; a neutral haven that questions the constant push for gender distinction at a young age, keeping us deeply rooted in a divided society that hinders a true personal identity.
So I say, “you go girl!” to the pioneers out there donning the male identities despite the label; be the superhero you want to be! I’m going to go dust off that yellow belt in the back of my closet and remember what I wanted to fight for.
Photo Credit: Costume Express
Post by Lydia Mondy is a feminist killjoy from the Northwest who enjoys writing about the experiences of women in nerd culture. Reddit users beware.You can follow her on Twitter @lydiamondy.
So Halloween is upon us and I’ve been sucking down Caramel Apple Pops like I got hired to check out the evenness of the caramel to apple ratio. In fact, I am not being paid. I just have a problem. Or an obsession. Whatever. Point is, you don’t have to go the candy route! You can totally go DIY on your Halloween costume AND your treats.
Here’s some really fun ones:
Make Veronica Mars themed Marshmallow treats! Add some food coloring to make them a little more festive if you like. Or don’t. White is fun too. Recipe here!
Make Star Wars themed Death Star Popcorn Balls! I love me a popcorn ball. And while they were a hot item on the grocery shelves during my trick or treating years, they are much more uncommon now. So, you’ll just have go get the kernels and the butter and the syrup and do it yourself. So worth it. Recipe here!
Cook up Harry Potter’s favorite pumpkin desert! Everyone loves Harry Potter, even the newest readers of the series. I love the pasties because they are so good fresh, but they’re even better cold. Shhh. I know it’s weird. But yum. Recipe here!
Let’s bake some Iron Man Arc Reactor Cookies for all those Marvel themed customed kiddos! I’m expecting to see at least 10 tiny Thors, 6 adorable Hulks and 5 itty bitty Iron Mans on Friday. It only makes sense that I’d delight them with Arc Reactor cookies. Come on now! So cute. Recipe here!
