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pileofmonkeys:

lemonsweetie:

Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man named Patrick Stewart

I went to Comicpalooza this weekend and I was full of nervous energy as I was standing in line to ask Sir Patrick Stewart a question at his panel. I first had to thank him for a speech he had given at amnesty international about domestic violence towards women . I had only seen it a few months ago but I was still dealing with my own personal experience with a similar issue, and I didn’t know what to call it. After seeing Patrick talk so personally about it I finally was able to correctly call it abuse, in my case sexual abuse that was going to quickly turn into physical abuse as well. I didn’t feel guilty or disgusting anymore. I finally didn’t feel responsible for the abuse that was put upon me. I was finally able to start my healing process and to put that part of my life behind me.

After thanking him I asked him “Besides acting, what are you most proud of that you have done in you life (that you are willing to share with us)?”. Sir Patrick told us about how he couldn’t protect his mother from abuse in his household growing up and so in her name works with an organization called Refuge for safe houses for women and children to escape from abusive house holds. Sir Patrick Stewart learned only last year that his father had actually been suffering from PTSD after he returned from the military and was never properly treated. In his father’s name he works with an organization called Combat Stress to help those soldiers who are suffering from PTSD.

They were about to move onto the next question when Sir Patrick looked at me and asked me “My Dear, are you okay?” I said yes, and that I was finally able to move on from that part of my life. He then passionately said that it is never the woman’s fault in domestic violence, and how wrong to think that it ever is. That it is in the power of men to stop violence towards women. The moderator then asked “Do you want a hug?”

Sir Patrick didn’t even hesitate, he smiled, hopped off the stage and came over to embrace me in a hug. Which he held me there for a long while. He told me “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.” I couldn’t stop thanking him. His embrace was so warm and genuine. It was two people, two strangers, supporting and giving love. And when we pulled away he looked strait in my eyes, like he was promising that. He told me to take care. And I will.

Sir Patrick Stewart is an absolute roll model for men. He is an amazing man and was so kind and full of heart. I want to let everyone know to please find help if you are in a violent or abusive house hold or relationship. There are organizations and people ready to help. I had countless people after the panel thanking me for sharing the story and asking him those questions. Many said they went through similar things. You are not alone.

X

^ Here is the video of my question to Sir Patrick Stewart

Perfect human being.

feministdisney:

friendlyangryfeminist:

anniesghost:

friendlyangryfeminist:

  • when you see a male character, we’re meant to view the world through his perspective
  • when you see a woman, we’re meant to view the woman

I love broad generalizations like this.

Whose perspective you’re supposed to see through is entirely dependent on the story you’re reading/ show you’re viewing. When the story/movie features a female protagonist, you’re going to see the world through her perspective.

Media aimed at girls focuses on female characters, media aimed at boys focuses on male characters. Secondary or supporting characters are there to complement the main protagonist, not usually to provide a different perspective as the story is not about them.

In comparable stereotypes, the male love interest that the female protagonist is trying to win over is usually desirable simply because they are attractive, just like the female love interest is for male protagonists  Their personal stories are usually treated as irrelevant and unimportant to the main story line, which is about the main protagonist.

And if there is some media in which female characters are unimportant, or the media directed at girls that is about dressing up or make-up, that by itself is not necessarily an issue. It’s when it’s the only options that are an issue.

Not quite, actually.

Most media aimed at both boys and girls has a male protagonist. The male is considered a gender-neutral hero. Girls are seen as having more gender.

Or are you saying that girls aren’t also targeted by Pixar (arguably the most influential studio for childrens movies, certainly the most profitable) because I have to say, I’m quite certain they are watching those movies at an equal rate to boys.

Till the release of Brave in 2012, the studio hadn’t released a single film with a woman as the main character. You’ve got more Pixar movies with cars (but coded male) as leads than women. 

The problem is that while some media exists with female protagonists, the vast majority does not. So girls identity and empathize with boys. Boys are not encouraged to in quite the same way, since most of girl-oriented media.

Boys AND girls watch stories with men as the subject. According to a list of the most popular cartoons of 2012, out of the ten most popular cartoons - none of them have a woman as a lead character. None. 

This media-learning at a young age is heavily influenced by parents and society.

According to Isabelle Cherney, when young boys are put into a room with a “girl” or “boy” toy, if they think they’re not being watched the boys will play with the “girl” toy about equally. If they are being watched, they’ll play more with the “boy” toy. When asked why, they said things like “daddy would be mad”. So - boys are told that the feminine is bad and they avoid it. 

The top ten grossing films of 2012 - overwhelmingly male. Only two (Twilight, The Hunger Games) had a female protagonist. 

Girls don’t have the option to not consume media that stars and features boys as the protagonists. Boys do. That’s a huge problem right there.

And when boys and men get to be the protagonists, that means girls and women become the love interests and the objects of desire VIEWED by the protagonist. Everyone sees women through the male gaze, which is compounded by the lack of women getting their own stories. They are perpetually reduced to the stories of men. 

a good rundown by FAF

Dear Catwoman (Or Rather Those Responsible For Her)

albinwonderland:

thebatsandthecatskitten:

dcwomenkickingass:

Dear Catwoman or rather those of you who are responsible for her appearances in comics. I want to bring a problem to your attention. This week in Justice League of America #2 Catwoman’s costume was broken. No really, the zipper just didn’t work. See:

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I am sure you are more than aware that Catwoman is a professional thief. She is supposed to be stealthy and runs with a dangerous crowd. Guns, knives, magical mumbo jumbo, you name it, can come flying at her at any minute.

In this role it is incredibly important for the zipper to work. For one thing, her costume, much like that of her “friend” Batman acts to protect her from all those items I named above. While it may not prevent a bullet it could prevent road burn, an errant knife or other dangers. This is particularly important because Catwoman does not have powers and thus could be seriously hurt or killed given the zipper is open where her heart is. You may remember that at one time a villain named Hush removed Selina’s heart and almost killed her. It therefore makes sense for her to cover up for many readers remember that. 

Secondly, Catwoman’s skin stands in dramatic contrast to the rest of her costume. The black costume makes her less visible at night. It’s why most of the folks wearing tights and kevlar in Gotham wear black. The problem is when Selina is unzipped her skin makes her less stealthy and easier to spot. 

That’s not good.

I’m sure Catwoman is very comfortable with her her body and may like to show some cleavage. Hey, a lot of women do. No one wants to stop that. 

But really the level to which the broken zipper had her showing cleavage was distracting. And not just for the readers.

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Poor Vibe!

And I understand that being stealthy and stealing stuff can make one hot. But it doesn’t seem to bother her in own book where she has a working zipper … finally.

So please fix that zipper. She will still be sexy. When Anne Hathaway portrayed Catwoman she was zipped and it was fine.

See?

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So far the JLA book has been a fun read. I’ll have more fun not worrying about that broken zipper.

Yours,

Sue

Please and Thank you!

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