Remember, men: superheroes don’t do sexism, so leave Wonder Woman alone

AUS cinema chain will put on a handful of womenonly screenings of the new superhero film ‘Wonder Woman’. Now, the comic book world has waited forever for Wonder Woman to get her own film. She’s arguably one of the most iconic and well-known female heroines the comic industry has ever come up with – the ultimate badass feminist icon.

The Drafthouse wrote on Twitter: “Apologies gentlemen, but we’re embracing our girl power and saying ‘No Guys Allowed’ for one special night at the Alamo Ritz. And when we say ‘People Who Identify As Women Only’, we mean it. Everyone working at this screening – venue staff, projectionist, and culinary team – will be female.”

I wish I could say I was surprised that the announcement was like catnip for sexists, but, well, I’ve been online and I’ve seen the reaction to these kinds of things play out before. It was the misogynist backlash against last year’s ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot all over again. Not long after the first screening was announced, social media lit up. Tweets ranged from, “I hope someone sues, this is discrimination based on sex”, to “Great, let us know when you have guys-only screenings of ‘Thor’, ‘Spider-Man’, ‘Star Wars’, etc. Let’s see you walk the walk now that you set this precedence”.

There were men crying sexism. There were men suggesting suing for discrimination. There were men asking for men-only screenings of films like ‘Thor: Ragnarok’. Some men felt this infringed on their film viewing privileges, even though they can see the film at literally any other time. The main issue is that men whining about the events haven’t lived the life of a female comic book fan. Now to be fair, I haven’t myself, either.

You don’t have to search too long online to find stories of women in geek culture being sidelined because of their gender. Sometimes that’s sexual harassment. Other times, it’s the need to answer to constant accusations of being a “fake geek girl” who is just there to get male attention.

The assumption that women in the industry are sensitive or pathetic isn’t helped by the damsel-in-distress or sexy fembot-type roles most virtual females play in comic books. But new readers are being increasingly drawn into the Marvel universe by the onslaught of blockbuster movies. There is a growing number of female-orientated retailers. But the biggest factor behind these changes is the internet.

Twitter, Tumblr and sites like Comics Alliance and The Mary Sue have enabled a more inclusive type of comic book fandom. So, remember that Wonder Woman isn’t just a story about a lady crime fighter, it’s also a way to bring women into the comic book genre as fans, which means more money and business for everyone. This is surely a good thing.

It isn’t appropriate to get annoyed at hearing about a women-only screening for any film – much less one about a character as iconic as Wonder Woman. But sadly, those who desperately want to retain male privilege frequently do so by fighting

petty, often disingenuous, battles. We’ve seen it before with reaction to the ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot and we’ve seen it in the online #Gamergate campaign. In fact, female games developer Brianna Wu highlighted the intense misogyny still found in the gaming world, when a troll found her address, posted it publicly, and threatened to rape, kill and mutilate her body.

And while we’re at it, think about the men-only spaces that existed and still exist right in this country. Men congregated and networked in them while women were forced to find other ways to carve out a space for themselves. Women’s media – whether that is women’s magazines, websites or newspaper sections – allowed frank and open conversations about women’s issues, and talked about issues such as equal pay that were being ignored by the mainstream press. More recently, private Facebook groups allow women to talk without trolls interfering.

Last year, Glastonbury introduced a female-only area at the festival for the first time, called The Sisterhood. The organisers said “women-only spaces are necessary in a world that is still run by, and designed to benefit, mainly men”. At festivals, where line-ups are often dominated by male acts, and a growing number of women are reporting sexual harassment, it was a brave move. But women shouldn’t need a safe space at festivals. We should feel safe there anyway.

In an ideal world, too, there would be no need for a womenonly screening of ‘Wonder Woman’, because we all live in perfect harmony and sexism wouldn’t exist. That world isn’t our reality and the ‘Wonder Woman’ screenings are not the battle men should be fighting. Give it up, guys.