Gail Simone's Blog, page 1184
May 29, 2011
Why the fuck would I want cranberries with chicken: Okay, I get it now.
'Chicken slut' is a stone's throw away from 'chicken head.' "Chicken head" was used a lot in the 80s/90s hip-hop circuit to describe women who gave sexual favors in order to fit into a male rapper's inner circle. I'm not sure if that the reference being used, but it's the only thing I can link…
Wow, that IS bad. I admit I hadn't heard that one.
I did do some searches at the time for 'chickensluts,' and at the time I couldn't find any DIRECT reference to it as being in anything like common usage. But that was several years back and now I do the same search and it comes up a lot, mostly a self-applied term, it looks like.
I do think the chicken thing is problematic. It's a chicken restaurant, but they're not as famous for fried chicken„ it's the chicken and dumplings that is the big deal. So the 'chicken' reference seemed more disconnected in context.
But yeah, there's enough shitty stuff out there about POCs and chicken that it would have been kinder and smarter to not mention chicken at all.
I apologize to anyone offended by this scene. Again, the statement here is parodying racist portrayals, not black men. But particularly out of context, shit, that line is pretty thin to see.
well but its not just the chicken thing, its also that… the only speaking black man in the scene is also saying something misogynist, which is a pretty common stereotype about black men; theyre trashy and sexist as opposed to white men who are innocent and sophisticated, which… this scene seems to portray with no satire
Okay, and I appreciate your comment here.
But I still have to say, the most heroic person in the room is also black, and she's also on the page. And 'innocent and sophisticated?' Honestly, the two other characters speaking, the two white guys?
SPOILER ALERT
They turn out to be the villains of the book, they're both scumbags. Emoticon turns out to be a hero, they turn out to be vile, murderous douchebags. And at least one of them is far less sophisticated than Emo, in any case. But the villains aren't Emoticon, they're the two sweet old white men sitting at the table.
This is the problem with going by one panel or one page. Emoticon DOES have a problem with women, but when one is threatened later in the series, HE becomes the hero who risks his life to save her.
x_x Okay I wasn't going to comment on this (and yes I guess that's what they all say) but
that doesn't change the fact that:
It is still a white woman who is writing a parody of a POC (even if that parody is of a "very specific" stereotype generated by other white writers)
The POC in question must go through a redemptive arc to begin with. That's a huge problem. That he starts off in this low, misogynistic place, and has to climb to the top. Because, you know, POC don't start off heroic. They have to work to become that way. Meanwhile there are all these white folks just sitting around being heroes because they were born to be heroes.It's a problem with a lot of layers. :\
That's an interesting point, too…Hmm.
Okay, that's fair. All I will say at the same time is, MOST of the characters I love the most have a redemptive arc. Canary, Huntress, Catman, Scandal, even Wonder Woman. And Emo isn't the only redemptive arc in the book, even, as Coyote Kid, Henry Hate, and Mayor Fury also have them, just off the top of my head.
I LIKE stories about survival and redemption.
Still, I take your point…I need to give that one some thought!
Why the fuck would I want cranberries with chicken: Okay, I get it now.
'Chicken slut' is a stone's throw away from 'chicken head.' "Chicken head" was used a lot in the 80s/90s hip-hop circuit to describe women who gave sexual favors in order to fit into a male rapper's inner circle. I'm not sure if that the reference being used, but it's the only thing I can link…
Wow, that IS bad. I admit I hadn't heard that one.
I did do some searches at the time for 'chickensluts,' and at the time I couldn't find any DIRECT reference to it as being in anything like common usage. But that was several years back and now I do the same search and it comes up a lot, mostly a self-applied term, it looks like.
I do think the chicken thing is problematic. It's a chicken restaurant, but they're not as famous for fried chicken„ it's the chicken and dumplings that is the big deal. So the 'chicken' reference seemed more disconnected in context.
But yeah, there's enough shitty stuff out there about POCs and chicken that it would have been kinder and smarter to not mention chicken at all.
I apologize to anyone offended by this scene. Again, the statement here is parodying racist portrayals, not black men. But particularly out of context, shit, that line is pretty thin to see.
It's not even about the racist stereotype of black people and chicken (I honestly hadn't thought of that and I don't think it fits, but people are welcome to disagree.) It's just that it's pretty terrible to have the black male character automatically use misogynist statements while ordering a piece of pie. There's a lot of backstory to the black male character being overly offensive because the black male character takes a lot of heat as it is, you know? There's a lot of ammunition when it comes to black men and misogyny (as in, black men are believed to be more misogynist, as seen by most critiques of rap/hip hop in the history of EVER) even if it's meant as slang. I cringed because I knew that the panel reflected a lot of thoughts and beliefs about black men and that some racist asshat out there was probably smirking and laughing at the funny black guy that hates women because don't all black dudes hate (their) women!!!!
Plus there's all those other little details that soft-intelligence pointed out that I didn't even notice, but that's my main thing.
Right, I totally agree. And IF he was the only black male in the book (and remember, he is BEING PAID TO START A FIGHT IN THIS RESTAURANT), it would be an even bigger problem. But the other black male, Thomasina Lindo's grandfather, the Black Glider, is the most pious, honest, and faithful guy in the book.
If you have a book with eight black characters in it, and all of them are noble but one, and that one starts off as a troubled kid, it seems unfair to focus on that one kid and make it seem like he represents all black men or all black characters, doesn't it? Especially since he later risks his life to save others.
I kinda wish it was possible to put a bunch of the pages of Thomasina or Seresa or the other POC characters up to get a better sense of what the book is about.
But I really appreciate your comments, I am giving them a lot of thought.
May 28, 2011
spectralradiance:
plathgirl:
I literally cannot deal with all...
I literally cannot deal with all the manly chest hair and ass Secret Six has.
#these two just need to have rough angry sex already
legitimately nodding my head in agreement
I Do Not Apologize
ealperin:
shestval:
drawn for thenakedlibrarianontheroof… how...
drawn for thenakedlibrarianontheroof… how the hell do I link to someone on tumblr? :/
Aww…this is awesome!
May 26, 2011
bagandboardreviewstbats:
Short notice Cosplay!
Sometimes we...
Short notice Cosplay!
Sometimes we find ourselves having last minute events to go to that become the perfect opportunity to dress up. This can be incredibly nerve wracking if you're like me and demand perfection out of every costume you make. I mean I get disappointed that when I don a cape and Batgirl suit I can't leap from building to building and not get hurt. So when you find yourself a few days before a party or event without the perfect costume, just turn to your comic collection for some ideas!
We always want to dress up as the super heroes, or villains, with the crazy awesome costumes. What about those in just spruced up clothes? Ever noticed how iconic Superboy's jeans and tee shirt look is or even Jason Todd's bike jacket and jeans? Look at Tifa from Final Fantasy VII; who knew a white tank top and black skirt could be so badass? Some super hero costumes can easily be achieved if you just go out and do some shopping!
For Free Comic Book Day I really wanted to dress up, but with a budget of about $50 and no drive to wear my Jedi costume, I needed something easy and quick. Black Alice was an obvious choice for me, as I adore the Birds of Prey and knew there would be a Misfit I could bother at the event, so she was simply perfect. Two quick trips to a Forever 21 and a cheap jewelry store landed me with a fun costume for the day! I didn't spend much money or time either. It was also perfect for not wanting to spend hours hunched over my sewing machine. A quick trace of the Wonder Woman symbol, a little painting, and then sewing it on my shirt was al it took. After shopping, this Black Alice costume only took me two hours to put together.
Super hero costumes can be fun, quick, and easy. You don't need to sew up a spandex onesie, you just need to raid your closet sometimes.
You and Misfit looked SO amazing, and I love the drama and fun of the photos you guys have shared.
These pictures made me really, really happy. You guys "get" the characters right down the bone. LOVE YOU BOTH!
May 25, 2011
capncarrot:
Secret Six Tribute
The creativity of readers...
"It's weird, but I was reading old emails from Dwayne McDuffie, and I hadn't really put it together,..."
-
Gail Simone
Dammit. Why did this never come to fruition?!
(via fyeahlilbitoeverything)
Well, to be honest, part of it was that I really felt Static was created by people who were still in the industry, and who I felt would do a better job than I could.
He's one of my favorite characters. As I've said many times, there's been a lot of love for Dwayne lately from people who I never heard even mention his name when he was still with us and that still is very irksome to me. Dwayne knew how I felt about him. He was kind and supportive to me before I was a pro, kind and supportive my entire career, and he remains one of my guiding lights in many ways still. It's intimidating to think of taking over one of his characters knowing he is still alive and could do it better himself, I know that was in my mind at the time.
I remain a Static fan. Not everyone knows this, but I love the character so much our beloved Shetland Sheepdog is named Static, after the character. We got the puppy just after I'd started writing pro work for the Simpsons. When I wrote to Dwayne to tell him that, he sent me a signed STATIC tpb just out of sheer kindness.
I'd better stop or I'm going to cry again. Dwayne was the man, he just was, and the fact that he wasn't appreciated like he deserved, in comics anyway, still stings badly. If you knew him, you had to like him. If you read his work, you admired and/or envied him.
Now I think it would make me too sad to write Static, at this point. But I am definitely looking forward to the character's appearances, he's too good not to have comics of his own.
Cool
Very cool bit of news…it turns out that the latest Secret Six tpb is the number one gn one this week's New York Times bestseller list for tpb gns.
It makes me happy. S6 is a book that does not play it safe. There aren't a lot of books out there like it. It's very nice to see how much people have cared about it. It's never going to be BLACKEST NIGHT or FEAR ITSELF, but I think it's a special book nonetheless. Thank you very much for supporting it all this time!
Who're you supposed to be, T-Shirt And Jeans Girl?: I am done with people saying stripper or prostitute when discussing Wonder Woman's costume
Last week Entertainment Weekly called it "a stripper outfit". Yesterday on the Beat someone said it made her look like a "prostitute." I've also heard hooker, slut, streetwalker and plenty of other descriptors.
So much fail.
What Wonder Woman wears…
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