The Geek Girl Problem

The problem with the geek girl subculture is the unrelenting expectation of uniformity.

I have seen countless articles and posts about the problems with the geek girl subculture. Some are written by geek girls and some are simply commenting on us. Many cast stones at select groups of female geeks for a huge variety of transgressions. Girls are too sexy, not sexy enough, too specialized in their interest, not specialized enough, too fake, too judgmental, too obsessed, not obsessed enough, too mainstream, too antisocial, too popular, not popular enough, and on and on and on. Somehow, people have the idea that if geek girls took their specific advice, we will become a unified army of geekdom.

Are you flipping kidding me? REALLY? Despite our different backgrounds, ethnicities, body types, religions, knowledge, skills, and interests, we are expected to share the same point of view because we have vaginas?

Geek girls are free to dress up as Wonder Women at every convention they can get tickets to, and other geek girls are free to think that they are disrespecting themselves by showing off so much skin. Who has the right to judge others for their opinions? You did no share their excitement at getting a Wonder Woman lunchbox in 2nd grade, or their deeply religious upbringing in a small town. Hopefully both sides behave themselves and respect the other geek's freedom of choice, but neither is better or worse for their opinions, and neither should be expected to change their minds due to peer pressure.

This uniformity expectation also applies to geek knowledge. We keep banging our heads against the misogynistic opinion that there are only a few "real" geek girls, and the rest of us are using geekery to get male attention. Once again, in spite of our innumerable differences, women are all expected to be experts in every aspect of geek culture to PROVE that they are geeks.  I have seen it time and time again, especially at public events and conventions. Usually, it's in the form of a seemingly innocent question about a geeky topic. If the girl fails to answer correctly, *POOF* there goes all her credibility. Suddenly, the woman who spent 74 hours sewing a cosplay outfit, 9 hours in line for a panel, four days writing a Dr. Who blog post, $200 a month on comic books, or maybe is just visiting her very first convention, is lowered to the level of attention-seeking "fake" in the mind of the quizzer (who can be male or female).

Our knowledge on any subject, geek or not, is going to be as varied as our skin color or favorite foods. I hate to break it to everyone, but there aren't merit badges for knowing more nerd trivia than everyone else. Go ahead and whip out your geek fanboy (or fangirl) penis and prove it's the biggest in the room. It's the geek version of driving an inconveniently huge truck or car, everyone knows you're compensating. Judgmental showing off only drives people away from the culture. Ask yourself honestly, is that your goal?

There is no problem with geek girls, the problem is with geek girls not being accepted and respected for who they are as individuals. People desperately want to belong to a group. Sadly, the easiest way to do that is to exclude others. As geek culture rapidly becomes pop culture, we have to embrace the diversity that inevitably comes with a surge in population. Old stereotypes have to change to accommodate new faces, new interest levels, and new ways of expressing one's passion.

If Whovians, tabletop gamers, video gamers, comic readers, Trekkies, Potter Heads, Guildies, LARPers, and so much more are considered "geek," than surely there is room for a huge diversity of women to be considered "geek girls". We ALL have the right to march in the geek parade, even if we don't all march to the same drum... or trumpet... or tuba... or baton... or agree there is a parade at all...

 


Earth 2 & Worlds' Finest

Before I begin, I am going to make the recommendation that you read these two comics in a specific order, read Earth-2 #1 and then read Worlds' Finest #1. It will make much more sense. Also, THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

Earth 2
I have to admit that I was torn about them introducing the multiverse back into DC. Although it gives some great opportunities for characters and story lines, it is sort of a cheap comic book trick. Lose your favorite character? He's still alive on Earth-50! Want Wonder Woman and Superman to hook up? No problem, it happens on Earth-69! Instead of consolidating characters and giving stories more impact, the multiverse tends to water everything down. However, it has paved the way for the return of Power Girl, who is one of my favorite characters! But more on that later...

This entire comic was basically a prologue for stories that are yet to come. I watched the DC Trinity battling to the death against an invading force of aliens. Readers catch up on years of Earth-2 history in a few pages, and boy is it a dark history. The world is doomed, but for real this time. The inner dialogue of our heroes is about as shocking as it comes. Our heroes have lost everything, but are still fighting for their world. They make the ultimate sacrifice. The world survives, but it has no heroes left.

I think this is the best thing they could have done with Earth-2. Wipe out the familiar characters and start from scratch with all new characters. I don't want to keep track of multiple Wonder Women, or read about an earth that is pretty much just like the main earth (FYI, DC has yet to define which earth the New 52 is taking place on.). Other earths need to be different! VERY different! I hope they hold course with Earth-2 and use it to create some great new characters for the DC universe. That said, the writing was a bit rushed. They tried to fit too much into one book, and that caused the drama to lose some of it's impact. Generally, I'd want a major character's death to take up more than a few panels, but I'm hoping that this will be remedied in future books since they won't be trying to set up an entire new timeline in every issue. I can't say if I am going to stick with this book, because we have yet to really meet the main characters. I'll definitely be picking up #2!

The art was good and I liked the costumes on Earth-2. Wonder Woman's threads had some really great details on them. Crap... now I have ANOTHER Wonder Woman cosplay on my to-do list!

 

Worlds' Finest
I am a huge Power Girl fan. I even loved her all through the 90's and her crazy thong, tights, and headband era. But holy crap is her new costume horrible... opps. I'm jumping ahead. Let's go back a little bit.

This story actually takes place on the main DC earth. It is revealed that Huntress is actually Helena Wayne, the Robin from Earth-2. She and Earth-2's Supergirl were accidentally transported to the main earth during the epic battle that took place in Earth-2, #1. (Hence the plural possessive punctuation in the title, they are from multiple worlds!) They are utterly alone, but making the best of it. Helena has taken up as the Huntress, and Kara (now called Karen) is a development mogul who seems fixated on returning to Earth-2. She isn't working as a hero at the moment, but is pouring millions into developing technologies to get the pair home. (Seriously, read Earth-2 #1 before you read this comic.) Neither character seems interested in making contact with the heroes from this world.

Let's start with Huntress. Although I am very sad that Helena Bartinelli seems to not exist in the DC New 52, I am a huge fan of Helena Wayne as the Huntress. I have a huge collection of old comics from the pre-Crisis era and love that Batman had a bad ass daughter. There is part of me that squealed a little at the thought of her being the main Huntress in the DC Universe again. That said, the writing didn't nail the character that I know and love. There is also the personality continuity problem between the character in this title, and the character in the Huntress book. Are they the same character? It would seem so, but there is a definite disconnect happening somewhere. I do like the outfit they have given her since the New 52 debut.

And Power Girl. They are definitely TRYING to nail the sarcastic, brash, human character that we love, but again, they don't quite get it right. Kara was likeable because, despite her amazing powers, she was fallible. She lost her temper, was a little to sexy, and was trying to find herself. I hope they start to include that in this character as the books go on. Then... there is her new outfit. They have exchanged the boob window for a boob target. Seriously. There is a decorative "P" shape (for Power Girl once she reveals that as her new hero call sign) that fits perfectly over her left breast. There is even a little circle that fits EXACTLY over where her nipple would be. It's just... odd. It calls attention to her breast (yes... just the left one) in a way that is unsexy, and a little awkward. Almost like when someone has a stain on their shirt and you are contemplating telling them or not.

To be honest, I hated the artwork in this book. Some of it looks like a high school art student drew it. Some panels are beautiful, but sometimes the angles and human proportions are so wrong you wonder how it got printed. It reminds me of the recent Hawk & Dove in the New 52. George Perez's Wonder Woman run was incredible, so I'm not sure what's happened with this book. Maybe they just need more practice with these characters? Again, I'm not sold on this series. I might pick up #2, but more likely I'll just wait until Power Girl pops up in another series.


Going Digital: The Future of Comics

I love my local comic shop. The owner is a great guy, who cusses like a sailor and loves to chat about old story lines. He is one of the few people who can actually follow what I'm talking about when I start to ramble about Justice League Europe in the '90s, or the old "New Teen Titans". However, in recent months I have started buying most of my comics digitally. This isn't because I dislike comic stores, quite the opposite, but it is so much more convenient to buy online. I can curl up in bed at 11:30pm and buy the latest editions of my favorite comics. Best of all, I don't have to worry about storing them. The storage part is HUGE! I hate throwing comics away and already have hundreds of plastic covered gems filling my bookshelves and boxes. Digital comics take up no space, but I can reread them whenever the fancy strikes me.

I'm sort of a traitor.

However, the comic industry has to evolve to keep up with the times. We are moving into the age of digital everything. A good comparison is the music industry. Many people claim that iTunes is killing the music industry, but it's not dying, it's evolving! The music labels are definitely not hurting for cash, and small bands (like mine!!) have a chance to sell their music on a global scale, all thanks to digital distribution. There is an adjustment, and unfortunately, retail stores can suffer. But in order to continue growing their fan-base, comic companies are going to have to continue to move into the digital realm.

The first step that the comic book companies need to take? Agree on a universal format that can be easily bought and read with programs like the Newsstand app. Having a separate app for each comic company is really a joke. Can you imagine if each record label had their own app that you had to buy and listen to music through? For god's sake! I couldn't listen to "Weird Al" Yankovic and Johnny Cash without switching apps! I believe that the comic industry would increase their sales if people were able to easily subscribe to their favorite titles and have them show up in the same app. The convenience might tempt people to try a comic who normally would never visit a store or download a comic-specific app. I've found amazing musicians buy buying a single song, just to try them out. The same would happen with comics. The comic companies could even include ads, like in current printed titles, to insure that they made a profit. They'd also save money by eliminating the need for them to maintain their own apps. Another perk would be that it would create a wonderful platform for independent comics to reach a much larger market. Everybody wins.

With the incorporation of programs similar to iCloud or iTunes Match, a digital customer could access their comics anywhere that had an internet connection. Your entire comic collection at your fingertips! How amazing would that be? Bus running late? Pull up your favorite DC title. Bored at work? Read X-men on your desktop, and still look like you are working! Did you only get through half of Batgirl before you left for class? Pull it up on your iPhone during the lecture. I love rereading old comics from the 80s and 90s and having them only a few taps away would be amazing! Convenience and mobility are the major perks of the digital age, and the comic industry is missing out.

Store owners and hardcore printed comics fans will disagree with me, but in a world where music and bookstores are closing at alarming rates, the influence of digital distribution is undeniable. I'd rather see the industry change than have it die completely. Over 19% of the US population now owns a tablet of some kind and millions more are being sold each month. I think it's pretty obvious where the future lies for comics.

EDIT: A few people have mentioned ComiXology to me, and they have a very valid point. ComiXology has many of the perks I mentioned above, but ComiXology does not actually sell comics... they sell the license to view comics from their servers. It's a really great option if you aren't the type to reread comics, but if you are an archive reader like me there are some drawbacks. If they lose their license with a company like DC, they'd have no choice but to remove those comics from their servers... and your collection. (Thanks Trent for bringing this up!)


DC Survey & Women - Pay Up or Shut Up

Women, do you buy a comic book every month?

If your answer was yes, wonderful! If you said no, then you are part of the problem with women in comics. It's time for women to pay up, or shut up.

Most women don't read comics. It's a fact. Before you start disagreeing, think of all your female friends. How many of them REALLY buy a comic every month? More specifically, how many follow the same titles from month to month? When I realistically count out my female friends who regularly buy monthly comic books... I get the number zero. I am the only one. This is especially sad because I hang out with a ton of geek girls. They can tell you all about their favorite characters, buy tons of merchandise, cosplay these characters, but for some reason they don't buy their favorite character's comic each month. This doesn't lessen their geek-cred, but it does point out that most women are apathetic when it comes to regular comic buying.

THIS IS NOT DC's FAULT!! They marketed the hell out of the New 52. Do you really think an ad in Cosmo would have made the difference? You can try to blame the way they write female characters all you like, but they have AT LEAST five current titles with powerful, well written female leads. Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Batwoman, and Huntress are all great books and the women in them kick ass. If you are boycotting DC because of Starfire, Voodoo, or another character that upset you, you are only shooting all of us in the foot. You are simply affirming their current assumption that women don't buy comics. Pick a book, just one, that you DO like and buy it each month. Seriously. It's $2.99 and you can even buy it digitally so you don't have to leave your couch or computer chair.

The reality is that the large comic book companies aren't going to change until women are a viable market. To become a viable market, we have to buy comics! Money talks and has more influence over any company than all the blog posts and tweets in the world. Businesses do not produce product for a demographic that they aren't sure will buy said product. SAYING women are a marketable audience does nothing when decades of comic sales say the opposite. We have to prove to them that they will make a profit on us. We do that by buying comics.

 


DC's New 52 & the JLI

I've been very sick this week, so what's a girl to do when she's under the weather? Catch up on her comic books while sipping tea and eating soup. Of the many comics revamped for DC Comic's New 52, I've stuck with quite a few: Wonder Woman (duh), Justice League, Justice League International, Aquaman (shut up, it's really good), Batgirl, Huntress, Nightwing, Batwoman, Teen Titans, Birds of Prey, Justice League Dark (still think it needs a better name), I, Vampire, and Green Lantern New Guardians. What can I say? I spend a lot of money on comics.

You may have noticed that I am still buying all the Justice League titles. I have been a huge JL fan for as long as I can remember. I bought Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, and even the short-lived Justice League Task Force religiously for many years. No matter how bad it gets, I'll probably keep spending my money on anything JL related. I'm very loyal... or a sucker.

Justice League International #1 (New 52 release)

I am loving JL Dark. It's well written and I'm having a blast seeing John Constantine and Zatanna share the pages of a comic. The restarted Justice League is interesting, but it's lacking in some personality. I hope they start to develop the characters more. I also really hope they start aligning the characters with what is being published in their solo titles. The Aquaman and Wonder Woman of the solo titles do not mesh with what is showing up in the pages of JL. They finally synchronized their Wonder Woman designs at least in the last issue of Justice League.

The JLI is where I'm having serious problems. I really like the characters. Booster Gold has always been a favorite of mine. I've been wondering what kind of leader he'd be since he tried to spearhead the corporate sponsored super team The Conglomerate back in 1990. I think he will be very capable eventually, and I look forward to watching him grow into the leader the JLI needs.

However, more than a leader the JLI needs more meta-human POWER. They are seriously underpowered. If Ice is one of your heavy hitters, you know you're in big trouble. I really appreciate the "international" collection of superheroes they rounded up. It's nice that the team isn't comprised totally of Americans and extra terrestrials, but couldn't they have come up with more powerful political correctness? Hell, the characters even joke about it in the first comic. I don't understand why the Teen Titans (at this point a rag-tag bunch of kids who are just hanging out together for safety) are ALREADY so much more powerful than an international, hand-picked team of proven superheroes.

However, despite this major flaw, Justice League International is really fun to read. DC is doing a GREAT job with the characters and the dynamics of the team. Godiva is a huge flirt with a crush on Booster, and it's a good thing her character is interesting because moving hair isn't exactly a JL level superpower. Booster is his same self-promoting showoff, but he really seems to want to become a good leader. Then there is my favorite unlikely duo, Fire and Ice. I've loved them since they joined the Justice League ages (and many costumes) ago. Then Red Rocket returns to the team with the added bonus of August General in Iron from China. These two veteran warriors clash due to the competitive nature of former communist nations. Then there is Vixen to add a little more of an "international" look to the group. Add a dash of Batman to the mix (because it seems he has to be in EVERY New 52 title...) and sprinkle with a bit of Guy Gardner and there you have it! The JLI! Full of drama, ego, flawed characters, and sketchy motives. It's really fun to read, even if you don't really believe they'd be able to save the world.

 


In Defense of Starfire

I wrote this post back in Fall of 2011 after DC's New 52 had just been released. I was furious at all the internet uproar about Starfire's new look and personality, most of it posted by people who didn't know a thing about the comic book starfire vs. the cartoon version. My great friend Amy let me post it on her blog "Geek with Curves" since I didn't have a place to share my opinion.
. . . . . . . . .

Equality

There are a lot of male letches, jerks, and crazies in the comic book world, even among its heroes. Guy Gardner is the classic example, but there are many men in the comic universe who aren’t shy about their sexual exploits. Starfire has always been a very sexual character and it has always been clear that people on her home planet are not monogamous. Why are we upset that a woman treats sex as casually as other male characters? This comic is clearly not meant for children, so we do not have the issue of her being a bad role model. Do we expect all of heroines in comics to be perfect, beautiful, monogamous examples of women? In the end, are we asking them to make their morals and personalities as flawless as the scantly clad bodies that we point out are unrealistic?

Which brings me to….


Reality

To me, the new Starfire is flawed. She is incredibly shallow, but I know people like that. It’s sad, but true. We can all name at least one woman that we know who fits the description of “slut”, so why is it so hard for us to swallow that concept in a comic? It is a realistic flaw that really occurs in society, sometimes due to emotional problems. People have pointed out that Starfire’s behavior is similar to a rape victim or someone who has been through some other trauma. Well, Starfire was enslaved by her older sister and sexually exploited. Maybe she should have been acting this way the whole time. Maybe this is more realistic, albeit unpleasant.

And to clarify, the names she lists off in the infamous beach scene are not all her ex-lovers; they are members of her old superhero team… who she doesn’t remember because of her alien memory. I guess it’s better than a retcon? At least they didn’t un-marry her like poor Superman and Lois Lane.

Which leads into…

Be a Good Geek not just a Geek Girl

If you are going to be mad that they changed Starfire as a character, more power to you, but don’t be mad about it just because of her gender. Gender bias is what we are fighting against! If the entire female comic community gets upset every time they change a female character, we are doomed. It won’t take long before comic companies start avoiding the bad press by never taking chances with female characters, or worse, keeping the number of female characters as low as possible.

If you really want to help, be a POSITIVE customer. Vote with good press about the books you like, bugging them for new female characters to support, and by BUYING the comics you like. Once you write off a comic company, they do the same to you.

Also, support female comic writers and artists! BUY THEIR BOOKS! Contact the big companies and say that you’d love to buy comics drawn by so-and-so. Getting more women into making comics will help the quality of the female characters in the comics. When it comes right down to it, the almighty dollar is king in the DC universe. Spending money will always be heard over the din of the Internet.

And because I’m a major geek…

For the Kids

Please, enough with comparing the cartoon Starfire to the one in Red Hood. Please? The Teen Titans cartoon is not a good basis of knowledge for Starfire. It was a character more inspired by the comic Starfire, than an actual accurate portrayal. Yes, people who watched the TV show might be upset if they read Red Hood. They may also be upset when they read older comics and learn that Kory was enslaved, sexually exploited, had her family destroyed, practiced free love on her planet, and that she got her starbolts as the result of being a guinea pig in forced alien experimentation… and her new comic outfit is just as skimpy as her old outfit!

Starfire's Old Outfit