Gail Simone's Blog, page 459

Okay, The White House Speech Is ON

Okay, The White House Speech Is ON:

deducecanoe:

gailsimone:

scattergoriesofevil:

gailsimone:

I am completely stunned and amazed, but this is apparently happening!

I am giving a short speech about LGBTQ and PWD characters in the media at the White House on Thursday. I haven’t had much notice and I spent a full day imagining that it had to be a prank or a terrible mistake, but it is…

Just please be sure to mention that we still have a long way to go. That diversity matters because it’s still all too common for it to be absent. To see no one like yourself in media who isn’t a joke or a warning. To learn to identify with heroes who are nothing like you and think of yourself as carrying around this giant asterisk over your head. Until one day you see someone like yourself fighting back. It matters so much more than anyone who has always seen the themselves reflected back in the media can really empathize with.

And thanks for all that you do, Gail.

I would like to quote from this post, is that okay, scattergories?

This is amazing. They’re actually taking representation seriously enough to ask someone from the media to talk about representation in the media. My socks have been blown away. When I was a teen there was NO ONE like me in comics. NONE. And I loved comics so much and I loved the Bat-family so much I kept reading and reading, but I just never felt like part of the story, you know?? And if some chubby, myopic autistic 14 year old girl can avoid feeling alienated or like they’re “wrong” or don’t matter because of this, I will be so overjoyed. SO overjoyed.

Not to pimp something I have a thing in (as does Gail) but Chicks Dig Comics has a lot of tales of friendships and finding yourself, and GREAT things happening because of media for women. But there’re also hints of the darker side of being a unicorn in a sea of goats, y’know? Of being the ONLY woman at a panel or in a bar or having to fight back to see yourself. And this book is only about women’s struggling to see themselves in media. There are SO many other stories in ALL media. But even if you just focused on comics, you’d have hundreds, if not thousands of stories of alienation and not fitting in and not seeing yourself in something you love, andc being made to feel like you are built wrong are don’t matter… Sorry. hot-button topic. I hope people actually HEAR what Gail is saying. Actually hear it and internalize it and act on it. /feels

Thank you for this!

Maybe those people are worthless and undignified.

Black Canary says…oh, never mind. You suck.

Wow.

My inbox is FLOODED with notes from people. The main theme seems to be they would like to be seen as human beings with value and dignity.

Why is this so difficult to grasp?

As a poly queer person, it makes me really sad to see poly relationships played off as 'slutty' especially with bi women like myself if they are included at all. I can't think of one stable explicit and open poly relationship in any pop culture I've consu

Well, I don’t want to point to Secret Six, but certainly Scandal, Knockout and Liana were not played that way (and I also have to say, good for them if they are sexually active!).

I understand what you are saying, I think, we got a flood of mail from poly folk after that story appeared. I had no idea it was so poorly represented.

Gail, I love you and your work to death and I don't want to diminish the awesome work you've done, but maybe you could mention something about how the White House asked a heterosexual, able-bodied person to speak about LGBTQ and PWD representation?

No, believe me, that has never left my thoughts. I know how easy it is for ‘allies’ to take over the conversation.

My understanding is that there are several speakers, I am just one of a bunch, and I believe I am there in my capacity as someone who is in a medium that is just starting to acknowledge the need for diversity. The people who invited me are PWD and LGBTQ themselves and they are aware that I am not speaking as an authority on those topics, but as someone in the increasingly influential world of genre media.

If I felt that I was expected to speak FOR or OVER lgbtq or PWD groups, I would have to decline. My understanding is that that is not the case.

But I am hyper-aware of what you are saying, and will do my best to not make it about anything but the topic at hand. I hope that makes sense?

Friendly reminder that rates of disability are higher among POC and LGBT people in the US.

What?

I did not know that, do we know what the factors involved are?

Also the lack of diversity throughout the queer spectrum when it comes to comics. Because we're lucky to get a handful of gay characters officially out in stories, bisexuals and polysexuals just assume they'll get looked over. Or our sexuality will be used

Well said, thank you.

As someone with ocd, I almost feel selfish asking for more representation because at least we're talked about SOMETIMES, but it's almost always as a punch line or shorthand for "neat freak" or "someone who is uptight." But the reality is self-doubt, repeti

Thank you for this.

I have to learn more about this topic, but what you say here really brings it home that it’s not a damn comedy.

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for being here for me. You & your hubby were a joy to meet & it was an honor cosplaying as Katharsis. Wishing you all the best on your speech. -Eli. P.s. Thanks for the dedication in the womanthology book! ;)

Eli, I am proud to know you and it was an absolute delight to meet you after all these years of reading your posts. Your Katharsis was amazing!

I wish you all the luck and strength in the world and I am very proud of you for coming out as you did. Amazing! 

I think representation for the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities is especially important in a medium like comics, not only because so many people from so many different backgrounds have access to them, but also because superheroes have always be

This. This makes SO much sense to me.

There’s a whole weird vibe in comics among some pros, where they think if a character represents a marginalized group, that that group ‘owes’ that character support and gratitude, and it’s nonsense. Dwayne McDuffie’s favorite comics character was Spider-man.

What we need is LOT of diversity…we would never expect ALL white, straight, cis people to relate to one character, the idea is ridiculous. But we somehow think one lgbtq character or one WOC or whatever is some sort of gift to an entire group, it’s just absolute bullshit.

I agree. Lots of new heroes, lots of diverse heroes. Not only is it important for ethical reasons and for pure human decency, it’s also important for the industry, or we look absolutely ridiculous.