On the morning of Tuesday, October 14th, Utah State University received an anonymous threat from someone claiming to be a student, who promised to engage in terrorist action if feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian spoke at a scheduled event on Wednesday, October 15th. Sarkeesian, and many other vocal feminist creators, have been targeted by the Gamergate…
GamerGate Rolls On — Does It Affect Your Personal Behaviour?
How it all started: Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian released her latest installment of Tropes vs Women in Video Games and was promptly deluged with threats of rape and violence. She had to leave her home and contact with the police. Zoe Quinn, developer of the game Depression Quest, had nude photos and personal information released…
Merch Fail: Training to be Batman’s Wife
DC licensing team? You’re stupid and I hate you. Yes, I am calling names. So juvenile. But so are they by proxy (by neglect), and they’re doing it in crueller, quieter ways.
Katherine Tanski’s Teaching Comics Part 2: The Amazing Spider-Man
This is part two of my retrospective/nostalgia journey through my time as a graduate student teaching comics in the “early days.” Part one, my love letter to Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics can be found here.
Ghost in the Shell: The Major’s Body (8)
The Major, or Motoko Kusanagi, is the protagonist of each incarnation of the Ghost in the Shell manga-anime-merchadise franchise. If you care to google, “Motoko Kusanagi is“ autocompletes to “a man” and “is hot,” then “in bed with a boy” and “in bed.” For a science-fiction philosophy character named for her military position, we (the audience — although I…
“Oh Japan”: Let’s Talk About Criminalising Anime
ITS DEAD NASTY BUT ITS LEGAL, DO YOU GET IT??? When I’d read Chobits in the Upper Sixth common room, my friends would call it “your porno”. I was like “uuh, NO”, because I was committed to being more beatnik than thou and knowing that, scoff, obviously not all (or even most or even nearly most or…
Ghost in the Shell: The Major’s Body (7) (NSFW)
The Major, or Motoko Kusanagi, is the protagonist of each incarnation of the Ghost in the Shell manga-anime-merchadise franchise. If you care to google, “Motoko Kusanagi is“ autocompletes to “a man” and “is hot,” then “in bed with a boy” and “in bed.” For a science-fiction philosophy character named for her military position, we (the audience — although I…
CHEW On This: The Transmisogyny in Layman and Guillory’s Indie Darling
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…
Ghost in the Shell: The Major’s Body (6) [Trigger warning: rape culture]
The Major, or Motoko Kusanagi, is the protagonist of each incarnation of the Ghost in the Shell manga-anime-merchadise franchise. If you care to google, Motoko Kusanagi is autocompletes to “a man” and “is hot,” then “in bed with a boy” and “in bed.” For a science-fiction philosophy character named for her military position, we (the audience — although I don’t…
Dear Milo Manara…
Dear Mr. Manara, You remember the Spider-Woman variant cover you drew that’s being discussed all over Twitter and the news sites, right? No? Here’s a refresher: This is the solo Spider-Woman comic that Marvel announced at the Women Of Marvel Panel at San Diego Comic Con and Marvel has been pushing female led titles lately to reflect their growing female audience. It’s…
(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.
Throwing Popcorn: Kim Possible
Kim Possible Disney Channel (2002-2007) Created By Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle The super catchy theme song tells you what you need to know about Kim: I’m your basic average girl/ And I’m here to save the world You can’t stop me ’cause I’m Kim Possible.
