I’m writing this essay because I feel disgusted and betrayed. My name is Rachel Stevens, and I am a transwoman. I live my life in fear because of it, and I have a devil of a time finding fictional works to take in that aren’t actively hateful towards people like me. Unfortunately, I have to…
Hey, Be A Buddy & Don’t Do That: The Surprise Dick Pic
Dudes, a tip (pun definitely intended): It is exceedingly unlikely that someone will enjoy a surprise picture of your penis. It is a rarity that one hears their phone buzz, picks it up, sees a photo of just some junk (usually not even artfully staged—give me a decorative fern, a pedestal, a velvet curtain!), and…
(Before GamerGate Was Called GamerGate) My Ex Broke My Heart (and Also She’s a Vampire So Let’s Form a Mob)
Okay! Personal vs Institutional. The difference between hurting someone personally, and hurting them institutionally. This is an important aspect of interpersonal relations which is hard to begin to understand, but if you try…! It actually becomes fairly easy. It’s a matter of practice. Let’s start immediately.
What Is Geek Culture? Redux
Geek culture is a term that gets thrown around a lot. But what does it meeean? Interestingly, “what is geek culture?” is usually one of our top incoming searches. And, hey! My 2013 post What Is Geek Culture is still being read, and read a lot, so I thought I’d supplement it with a brief…
Cartoon Brew and Skyler Page (and Then the Carrion Birds Flock)
On the evening on July the second, an artist working on Adventure Time sent out some tweets about having been unwelcomely touched by the creator of Cartoon Network’s Clarence. Cartoon Network were investigating the report (Skyler Page, said creator, has now been fired), and the artist felt it was necessary to spread word. She believes in knowledge…
Heroes Con Posts Harassment Policy
Con Season is well upon us. Cosplayers are finalizing their designs, creators are flirting with carpal tunnel from signings, and con staff are trying to make sure they won’t be faceplanting into accusations of harrassment, and more importantly, that everyone who attends will feel safe and comfortable — as comfortable as you can be in…
Harassment and Cons: Problems First, Solutions Second
Whenever you mix lots of people from various backgrounds, interests, and geographic locations in a not-my-real-life experience, there’s bound to be friction. Most women, and some men, have sexual harassment stories from attending parties, or bars, or even professional development conferences. Harassment isn’t limited to comic cons.
The Making of ‘She Makes Comics’
With several months to go until its estimated January 2015 delivery date, production for the documentary She Makes Comics is well underway, and director Marisa Stotter has spent the last little while staring at hours of raw footage. After rounds of interviews at the recent Emerald City Comic Con and with the San Diego Comic…
Emerald City Comicon: Smashing Con Harassment
I spent last weekend in Seattle as an attendee of Emerald City Comicon, and honestly, I’m still coming down from the whole experience. It was awesome. While it was my third time attending ECCC, it this was my first time cosplaying. It was my first time cosplaying EVER. I had no idea what to expect,…
Holy Inadvertently Marketing Rape Culture!
Marketing can be a tricky thing; I get it. There has been no shortage of ad campaigns, especially those directed primarily toward men, that have represented women in, let’s just say, questionable ways. Unfortunately, despite the fact that comic book readers and fans are—and always have been—comprised of a large portion of women, comic-books and…
Master Post: Harassment in the Geek Blogosphere
The ongoing harassment of Anita Sarkeesian is getting lots of press and pushback, and that’s wonderful. It was the misogynistic response to her Tropes vs Women In Video Games Kickstarter video, that pushed me to host a carnival on harassment. I was of course hoping for more entries, but I understand why many regular contributors…
Online Harassment of Women: some links
Round four of the carnival goes live tomorrow. For terminal procrastinators (like me!) I’ve gathered some links to articles and essays about online harassment of women, in hopes that it’ll help you along in your post-crafting. Good luck with your writing/drawing/vlogging!