Mood:
don't askTopic: Rants and Raves
I just got hit with a nasty robot, the thing froze my site for a couple hours. If you couldn't visit it in the evening, it's because a bot was invading my site. So it's off to robots.txt to add yet another to my disallow list
Here's an interesting article from the world of comics and comic fandom: A serious note about sexual harassment in comic book fandom.
I first began buying comics in the early seventies (about 11 or 12 years old) and at the time I was the only girl in the local comic store; one Books Now and Then in Kitchener Ontario. I learned about harassment at a very young age. The owner of the store, Harry Kremer would let me sit beside the cash desk and he would keep the guys at a safe distance and keep them moving along. As I got older we had an agreement, he would not give out any personal information about me without my direct permission first. Only once did he ever go as far as asking my permission, usually he would shrug his shoulder and say he didn't know anything about me. And he told me some of these guys were quite persistent. Most girls my age hated the comics shop because they didn't like some of the more obnoxious guys and some of the off colour comments. You wouldn't believe some of the things I heard in there!
It's quite sad that even though females in the world of comics is no longer rare, the same issues that kept many of my peers out of the stores still exists today. It would be easy to blame the unrealistic and overtly sexualized images of females in the comics, but the idealized male images are just as physically unrealistic as the male images and we don't see the same reaction from girls. That's a distraction and not the real issue. The real issue is that the fans who harass women have never had to face consequences of their actions; they do it because they believe they have the right to do it and every girl is fair game.
Let's just stop for a moment and get rid of a few weasel words and foggy terminology here. Not all comics fans are harassing sexist jerks. Most are nice people who happen to enjoy their literature in graphic format. I am proud to be a comics fan, and proud to be a female comics fan, the first in my hometown. Comics fans are proud of what unites them, what they have in common, what makes then unique in our homogenized society where difference is discouraged. We can be different and we can be together. However there is a small group who are just plain obnoxious, the comic book guy of Simpson's fame, the stereotypical socially maladjusted fan-boy, like the guy I call "assy mcasshole"
These fanboy type believe they are the centre of the comics universe. They take the limited edition hologram UPC box seriously. They believe that having the edition with the double cover somehow makes them better than everyone else and they are ENTITLED to say and do whatever hey want because they are TRUEFANS ™ as opposed to the rest of wannabe fans. If you don't have the limited edition double cover hologram edition of "thessaly's adventures in dreamland" then how can you be a TRUEFAN™ ?
Those comic fan-types who believe they have the right do and say whatever they want whenever they want are the ones who also feel they have the right to do it and say it to anyone. Those who harass women must be made responsible for their own actions and they must face consequences for them if they are hurtful or damaging to others. And it must be done consistently and fairly. If a clear written policy against harassment is required then one must be put in place. There's no reason why comics conventions should be exempt from the rules of common decency and common courtesy. We grrls have money to spend, and if harassment in the world of fandom doesn't stop, then don't be surprised to see our money go with us to places where we are safe.
There is a difference between "hey cool n sexy catwoman costume" and "look at the ass on THAT" while grabbing the mentioned body part. Everyone, even the ass grabber knows the difference. If a person doesn't know the difference then it is time for them to learn. And if they have to learn by being tossed out of comic convention, store or whatever, then so be it.
I did some sewing yesterday. I took some of the brown bamboo/rayon and made the same top that i made from the purple bamboo/rayon. I have some crystals and beads to embellish it with and I found some acrylic stones and pearl buttons for the purple top. The brown top, from laying out, cutting to finishing took less than an afternoon. It will go with my brown capri pants, my brown and turquoise peasant skirt, my brown and gold hippy skirt, my brown shorts, and my brown and pink peasant skirt. De we sense a colour theme here? Could it be brown? I still have a yard and a bit left. Perhaps another brown top of some type?
And that's all for today. Today is hubby Dave's last day of work before his vacation. He'll either work really late, or get out really early. Later!
