söndag 4 december 2011

The Sci-fi fair and shirts cut for women

I recently returned from the glorious event that was the Science Fiction Fair here in Stockholm. Dragging my father along with me I entered the amazing world of fictional science and to be honest I was secretly hoping for more superhero related stuff and Star Trek TOS as far as the eye could reach. Instead I was served as much Star Wars as I could stomach, which isn't all that much since I never really saw the charm in those movies, and a whole lot of cheap dvds. I ended up buying Cloverfield and Ironman 2 as well as two really cool shirts.
Actually, the main reason I am writing this post is because I want to tell you about said shirts. One has a picture of Harvey Dent as Two Face in the typical uncle Sam position with the words "We Want You" below. The other one has the Starfleet Academy logo (no one will ever question my knowledge again) so yeah I'm happy.

This is only here to make it seem less wall of text-ish and to make you want to buy the awesome Arkham City merchandise. 

The best part about buying said shirts was the fact that the company selling them had bothered to get female shirts too, as in; they were cut to fit the female body. This nice discovery neatly brings us into the subject of women and geek culture. Because, as hard as it may be to believe, it isn't always all that fun being a teenage girl and genuinely interested in Batman's adventures. Mostly because of the harsh comments being made on the internet by people who get some sort of satisfaction out of calling people they don't know "sluts" and "posers".
I am aware that most fandoms can be somewhat exclusive, but I don't think I have ever been a part of a more elitistic one than the one centered around Superheroes. Of course there are open minded people in it too who respect if you haven't got all the knowledge of all the heroes. But I have honestly never seen so much drama and so many angry posts concerning "lesser fans" in any other forum.
I honestly don't see the problem in someone wearing a Batman shirt because they think the logo looks neat. Mostly because it is a cool logo and if someone looks good in it, I don't see why they shouldn't wear it. I also don't understand why some people seem to consider it impossible to enjoy both makeup and heroes. So if a girl is wearing a Superman shirt, she is obviously just a vain slut who is trying to pick up geeks. If the girl, however, manages to prove herself an actual fan, the most important thing is suddenly to find out why on earth she is a fan. Does she like the hot guys? The gay undertones? Yes, that must be it! She couldn't possibly like it for the same reason anyone else does because she is an attractive female they only care about looks and boys.
What seems to be forgotten is that everyone has a different reason why they enjoy something. It can be anything from liking the artwork to loving the personality of a specific character and no reason is better than the other, because at the end of the day we are all fans. So why are the stereotypically "female" reasons for liking something seen as less good than the "ordinary" ones? (Because once again, male is the default and girl is the alteration from the default.)
Whatever the reason for this attitude among fans is, the point I am trying to make is simply:
Not all girls read comics to stare at Dick Grayson's ass. But even if they do, they still enjoy the comics and it doesn't make them lesser fans in any way. Just because the reason isn't something a straight guy can relate to, it doesn't make it less legitimate.

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