rosalarian:
Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy, in case you hadn’t heard. How dare she remove those ticking time bombs from her chest, amiright? Like, hasn’t she learned by now that her body is public domain and we all get to vote on what she does with it? Sheesh, how selfish can ya get.
Filed under misogyny Angelina Jolie cancer perfect comic
the-grease-painted-lady:
((For Munday. From Friday at C2E2.))
From my role play blog, my completed Batgirl cosplay!
Filed under Batgirl Barbara Gordon cosplay Batgirl cosplay Batman cosplay
abolished-your-mythology:
tropesarenotbad:
autumninthenorth:
swedens:
I love this image so much.
I’ve seen some women who are offended by this and say it’s ridiculous that her cleavage is showing and things of that sort.
Personally, I think it’s great.
Why should we have an image of a women with her hair tied up and flexing her muscles like she’s a man? (not that that isn’t great too!) In a way it suggests that when our hair is down, our breasts are visible and we wear (GASP) lipstick, we’re somehow lesser than men? We can do it! We can be feminine and successful.
You see what I’m saying here, ladies?
You don’t have to lose your femininity. Being feminine is great. Being masculine is great. Strength is not limited to one way of being.
oh my fucking god, this again
okay
Have you even looked at the actual Rosie the Riveter poster lately?

She’s ALREADY WEARING LIPSTICK. AND MASCARA. AND BLUSH. Her eyebrows have been PENCILED AND TWEEZED. And underneath her work bandana? HER HAIR HAS BEEN CURLED. Rosie the Riveter is a beautiful woman. This image in no way implies that wearing feminine apparel (like cosmetics) is a negative thing.
The reason that she has her hair up and her shirt buttoned and is flexing her arms has nothing to do with prudery, or with trying to be “masculine” (as if shows of physical strength are unique to one gender). It has to do with the information at the bottom of the poster: Rosie is involved in war production. That means doing hard physical labor in a 1940s factory, where large heavy machinery can easily snag a loose lock of hair, or a bit of jewelry, or an undone button. “Makeover” Rosie would not be able to do the real Rosie’s job without serious risk of injury to herself or the people around her. In that sense, the new poster is implying that no, women are NOT capable of doing the same work as men, because they are too weak/vain/self-absorbed/whatever. The old poster is saying that, while still being feminine, women are just as capable of doing the same work as men.
Also? The new and “improved” Rosie was specifically drawn to be ANTI-FEMINIST. “[William Murai] created this image for the Brazilian Alfa Magazine to accompany an article about the End of Feminism. ‘The idea was to remake the famous feminism symbol “Rosie the Riveter” [into] a lady who is giving up on her duties and trying to look sexy again.’” (emphasis mine)
Giving up her duties and trying to look sexy? For whom, exactly? According to the artist (and the patriarchy), men. In other words, quit your job, look hot, find a man, gb2 the kitchen, and make me a sandwich, bitch. Also known as THE SAME TIRED-ASS SHIT WOMEN HEAR EVERY. FUCKING. DAY.
The new poster is not “progress.” It is not about women being “feminine and successful.” It’s about the exact opposite: women being reduced to their appearance and their sex appeal according to the standards imposed by the male gaze. She is pretty, but that’s all she is, because that’s all women are supposed to be. The real Rosie (you know, the feminist icon?) is beautiful, and feminine, and strong enough to do the work necessary to keep her country safe, just the same as any man. Her worth is not in her appeal as a decorative object, but in the product of her labor and her own awareness of her abilities.
Rosie the Riveter. Accept NO substitutes.
In a sense, the makeover version represents what men tried to do when they came back: they were utterly terrified that women could handle men’s hard labour jobs, which had previously been off limits to women. They wanted women to get back in the house, look pretty, and let’s not forget the “Baby Boom” generation started pretty much directly after the war. After about a decade of this, which flung back to Victorian era ideals (which was seriously not a fun place to be a woman), women finally snapped and feminism started to take root.
Also, notice how Rosie the Riveter isn’t buff. There’s hardly any muscle tone on her. Ask a girl who works out to show you her arm, and you will see muscle, even when it’s at rest. Rosie’s arms are smooth. Not as delicate as a housewife’s, but it’s more an “in between” stage of just starting to work with heavy machinery. Compare other ads of that era and you’ll see what I mean. The “masculinity” of her actually isn’t all that masculine, because her arm isn’t all that defined. It’s still pretty soft, reflecting her femininity.
The only substitute I accept is Michelle Obama
(via greenchestnuts)
Filed under Rosie the Riveter
the-white-hole:
gailsimone:
A sudden huge leap in the number of insulting anonymous private messages to my inbox here.
Hmmm!
Think it’s a coincidence? :)
Keep trying, guys, I could not possibly be bothered less.
:)
You created a secondary character who admits to be transsexual. A character whose only character trait is transsexualism. A character who will probably be forgotten by the vast majority of the comic-reading populace within a few years. You have, essentially, taken a prop, slapped a label onto it, and presented it to the world as special. With this action, you have presented yourself to your fanbase as some sort of shining hope, battling an evil anti-LGBT comic industry. You also used similar tactics in order to keep your position on Batgirl, regardless of your actual performance with the title. The manner in which you responded to various sites’ claims that this character is the first transsexual to ever appear in comics was very manipulative. You wag your finger at them, saying that they misunderstood what you said, making you appear humble. However, addressing this character as “the first non-fantasy-based, non-mature title trans character in a mainstream superhero book that we are aware of” does away with all the inconvenient transsexual characters who predate yours, some by decades, which would take away from her status as a special transsexual prop. Even your very response to criticism, in the above post, is very underhanded. You give the impression to your fanbase that every single one of these messages is negative, completely disregarding the idea that some people might have actual, legitimate questions about your character. You have trivialized not just the idea of transsexualism itself, but all transsexuals, everywhere, by turning transsexualism into a platform for yourself, to improve your standing in the eyes of others. You do not care about transsexuals, or their plight, at all. You do not care about shedding light onto this issue and educating other about it, only mentioning it when it seems to benefit you. I could go on, but I’ve already given you more of my time than you deserve. So, I shall end with this: you disgust me. I can only hope for a day and age when most people will see this act for what it is: a shameless, shallow grab at awards and accolades using the facade of progressivism.
“Gail Simone is not the saint you think she is.”
She’s also not the demon you seem to think she is.
Saying Alysia’s only character trait is transsexualism is flat-out untrue. For the limited number of panels we’ve seen Alysia in throughout the series, we’ve learned far more about her character than just her gender identity. She’s an aspiring chef who left Singapore to pursue her dreams with her parents’ support. She is a political activist who believes that someone must work with a community in order to effectively change it rather than swooping in and saving the day. She protests the destruction of historic buildings in favor of new business offices. She does not tolerate domestic abuse, knows first aid, and is willing and able to defend herself. Her greatest fear is paralysis. She cares about Barbara deeply despite her roommate’s tendency to disappear, evade questions, or chain up criminals in the kitchen. If she were a character whose sole trait was her gender identity, then “Barbara, I’m transgender” would have been her first line and that’s all she would have talked about since.
Gail also never made the interviews about herself. Here’s a direct quote from the Wired.com interview:
“I looked out into the audience, saw dozens of faces I knew well — LGBTQ folks, mostly — all avid comics readers and superhero fans and DC supporters,” said Simone. “And it just hit me: Why was this so impossible? Why in the world can we not do a better job of representation of not just humanity, but also our own loyal audience?”
I’m not seeing “Look at me, I’m Gail Simone, I’m so amazing and progressive and everyone should worship at my feet!” Because it’s not there. What is there is a writer wondering why mainstream comics cannot be more inclusive and taking steps to change it.
If you don’t like the way that the media handled this story or even the way Gail spoke about the news, or you don’t like the way Alysia’s character arc was dealt with, all of those are valid criticisms and worth discussing. But saying Gail has made this all about herself and doesn’t care about the community is absolutely untrue, just as saying Alysia is only transsexual and nothing else at all is also false.
Filed under Gail Simone Batgirl Alysia Yeoh gender identity transgender