Charlie Anders at Mother Jones believes that gender bias in comics is wildly out of hand
"Ever since the pulpy era of tales like 'Lois Lane, Slave Girl,' women in comic books have usually been stuck as tagalongs, also-rans, and girlfriends who try to tie down male heroes with marriage. With very few exceptions, comic-book writers and artists have been men, and they've assumed most of their readers were, too. But despite the genre's teenage testosterone appeal, there have always been dedicated fans like Gail Simone, who grew up in the 1970s enjoying the all-American ritual of buying comic books at the convenience store and curling up with four-color fantasies about fellow redhead Batgirl. As she got older, Simone noticed that a dark undercurrent was creeping into her favorite titles as they pushed a new 'grim 'n' gritty' aesthetic. Batgirl was shot in the spine by the Joker, who then took obscene photos of her."
Gail Simone's website, Women in Refrigerators, has the pack of smart female fans of comics who are demanding quality female characters--not just sexy gals who are set up to be raped and tortured. Also see: When Fangirls Attack and online columns such as Girls Read Comics (And They're Pissed).
Simone, by the way, is set to be the new writer behind Wonder Woman.
Via Feministing.
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