Drawing conclusions about sexism in comic culture
“Emily Expo” may be the cartoon face of the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo, but the reallife person behind the iconic logo — Lindsay Thomas — just had a very bad morning.
A recent comment on social media about Emily Expo’s appearance and weight showed that, like most ecosystems, the world of so-called “nerd fandom” is still a work in progress when it comes to gender equality. The jab also proves the continuing existence of what Thomas labelled with a sad laugh “formal sexism” — as opposed to casual sexism — on a Sunday panel hosted by Alberta Minister of the Status of Women Stephanie McLean.
Thomas is both spokeswoman and a major organizer of the Expo family of entertainment celebrations in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon.
The only public response by Thomas’s alter ego, Emily Expo, to the comment was a Tweet with an upset Ugly Betty GIF reading, “When you’re determined not to let the haters get to you.”
But on the Status of Women in Fandom and Industry panel, she noted when it comes to her appearance, “I have a lot of anxiety around that stuff.
“But I decided not to address that guy, to continue to be respectful and competent and loving.”
She also said with some relief that at least “nobody was supporting what this person was saying.”
In the last couple of years, Edmonton Expo has posted signs throughout the multi-hall complex about cosplay, or dressing up as a character. The signs read: “Cosplay does not equal consent. The Expo has a zero-tolerance policy on harassment of any kind.”
But hyper-sexualization — most- ly via images of cartoon women with preposterous body proportions — is a fact of life in genre entertainment like comics, manga and even fan art in the artist alley, never mind Hollywood. It’s a complicated issue — many women feel empowered and have fun roleplaying their icons, no matter what they wear. The number of movie Harley Quinns over the weekend had to have been in the dozens. But that cosplay policy showed up for a reason.
One poster on display in amid the artist vendors depicted Wonder Woman on her knees in a Connor McDavid jersey, rolled up so we could see her behind.
Another drawing, made by 32-year-old Edmonton artist Angela ben Ephraim, has She-Hulk in an action pose between the words “Smash patriarchy.” Besides policy warnings by Expo, this was one of the most direct confrontations with sexism seen on-site over the weekend.
“She’s strong, independent and doesn’t let men get her down,” ben Ephraim explained of She-Hulk, lawyer cousin to the Hulk. “Women aren’t always taken seriously in leadership roles. For men, it’s career. Women, it’s our appearance. Are we keeping young? I could go on and on.”
Remember the comments after The Force Awakens came out about Carrie Fisher’s looks? Smiling under sunglasses and a flat cap, the 59-year-old was tremendously accessible during her media guest role at Expo this year — walking through the rows of merchandise booths with her unflappable French bulldog Gary Fisher, buying anything that caught her eye.
During Fisher’s Saturday panel, in which she cursed Donald Trump “for treating his daughter like a piece of ass,” Fisher — considered the most inspirationally kick-ass female role model since 1977 — noted that in modern Hollywood productions, “the crews are pretty much mostly men.”
Fisher also discussed the pros and cons of her most revealing Star Wars outfit. “I thought George (Lucas) was kidding,” she said of the golden bikini she wore in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. “It’s great to murder large creatures in a metal bikini. I looked good in (it), it may as well be (my favourite).”
Even Thomas has to laugh at that. “Boobs are great!” she said. “It’s just that there’s more to women than that.”
Thomas’s co-panellist, Winnipeg comic historian and publisher Hope Nicholson, noted that in the 1940s, women were reading comic books as much as men. “We’re not joining the club, we’ve been part of the club all along.”
But when comics moved from newsstands to niche comic book shops in the 1980s, the market became almost singly fuelled by the desires of adolescent males, an era which subsequently sparked dozens of Hollywood superhero films.
Yet something is definitely changing in the modern comics industry when it comes to women being depicted as other than victims, girlfriends and grandmothers. Wonder Woman, Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl all stand out as examples.
Because comics are increasingly being read online by women, Nicholson explains, “technology gives us access to the content, but also to each other.”
Marvel recently hired its first black female writer. Nicholson said that while she applauds the move, she was enraged it took this long.
“I want to see an end to women in comics panels in my lifetime,” Nicholson said to cheers from the audience, saying she just wants to talk about comics.
“And remember,” said Thomas, “if you weren’t a woman, the haters would find something to go off on. Because that’s what they do.”