A PSA for Ottawa Comiccon #OCC #consent

In the current conversation about consent and sexual harassment/assault, the subject of how people are dressed often comes up. Whether it's a police officer saying "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized" (the wotrds that launched Slutwalk) or questions about behaviour or reputation, victim-blaming contributes to a culture that enables rape.

At this weekend's Ottawa Comiccon, you can expect to see all kinds of attendees, men and women, getting their "cosplay" on as they dress up as their favourite comic book and sci-fi characters.

Via comicsthegathering.com

Unfortunately, some attendees see costumes as an excuse to harass and assault women at the Comicon. To address this issue, Hollaback! will be there, "to explore the issue of harassment in geek spaces and open up the floor to discussions on how we can make the community safer."

They are also participating in the "Cosplay =/= Consent" campaign by Geeks for CONsent, an organization started by Hollaback! Philly that encourages the organizers of comicons to adopt an anti-harassment policy and train their volunteers on how to appropriately deal with offences. They also encourage people share their stories of harassment, to hand out "Harasser Cards," learn how to be supportive bystanders, and to promote the Cosplay =/= Consent meme by posing with branded placards.

Have fun at the con, everyone. Just don't be a SuperAsshole.

Ms Marvel gets a multicultural makeover

1977 (via comicbookcatacombs)

Begun as a rather problematic response to second-wave feminism, Ms. Marvel was a superhero who embodied "modern woman's quest for raised consciousness, for self-liberation, for identity" — while wearing very tight and revealing clothes.

2006 (Wikimedia) You don't even want to know about the fan art versions.

That's right. Blonde, blue-eyed and buxom, she was a reminder that inside many male comic book artists is a furiously masturbating 13-year-old boy.

But there's a new Ms. Marvel in town:

Kamala Khan is "a 16-year-old high school student who lives in Jersey City with her Pakistani immigrant parents," according to AlJazeera and represents the first Muslim lead character in a Marvel comic series.

Fatemeh Fakhraie, the founder of Muslimah Media Watch, applauded the move. "She is going to be a window into the American Muslim experience," she said. "A lot of us are bumping up against that the idea that a lot of America is white, while that isn't what America is, we're not all white and Christian."

The best thing about this move is that it appears to be an attempt to move beyond the token ethnic stereotypes of 70s superheroes like Power Man. The character is inspired by the authentic experiences of Marvel editor Sana Amanat growing up as a Pakistani Muslim-American.

Sana Amanat (left) Via Marvel Comics

The character was further developed by writer G. Willow Wilson, who is herself a Muslim convert. She told Patheos.com:

"Her religion is an integral part of who she is, and that is obvious right away. But she is not a poster child (for Islam). I’ve been wearing hijab for ten years, but I wanted to make her representative of Muslim woman at large, and the majority does not wear hijab. She is not perfect, and she doesn’t ascribe to perfection. She’s kind of shy geek girl who kind of has artsy interests. A big part of her life is trying to balance the demands of her faith with the realities of being a teenager. An interesting side story is that one of her best friends just started to wear hijab in the book and is getting more serious about the religion."

It will be interesting to watch this move by Marvel filter through American society. Conan O’Brien already got a taste of controversy when he made a stupid joke about the character on Twitter. Stephen Colbert, on the other hand, got a pass for doing much the same thing — but in strawman character.

Disney: Girls need heroes, boys need to be them

What is it with kids' t-shirts?

This time, Disney is in trouble with the internet over some licensed Avengers shirts for children:

The Disney Store is selling Avengers t-shirts for women with the slogan "I Need a Hero" and "I Only Kiss Heroes," and an Iron Man t-shirt for boys that reads "Be a Hero." This sends a harmful message about who can and cannot be a leader in this world. These shirts promote the idea that men and boys are meant to do the saving, and that women and girls are the ones who need to be saved.

This is from a Change.org petition by MissRepresentation.org. They are, quite understandably, pissed off at the primitive sexism.

Ironically, Marvel comics has a long history of including (at least token) strong women superheroes in the original comic series. Even the movie includes Black Widow.

The shirt for girls only shows male characters as "heroes" and there doesn't seem to be a hero version for girls.

F'd Ad Fridays: Lingerie of comic proportions

Comic books are notorious for exaggerating human morphology, with impossibly muscled men and women with extreme hip/waist/boob ratios.

Now Lingerie brand Spencer's offers flesh-and-blood women the opportunity to show off comic proportions in the bedroom with superhero jammies:

She-Hulk (centre) seems inspired by fan art.

Captain America appears to have wet herself.

What's next, an adult version of this for the guys?