Welcome to part 2 of “What It Feels Like For a Girl (In Comics),” my sharing of anecdotes about how we ladies experience the industry. In Part 1 you heard about some of my experiences, and now it’s time for you to hear from other women in the industry. Some of these are pulled from the survey I did as part of my thesis while others I solicited from a variety of women in the industry. All of them are anonymous, which means in some cases, you’re hearing stories that these women wouldn’t ordinarily tell.
· I was a comics critic several years ago, and in a comic-book shop for an event. When I went up to the counter with my purchases, the clerk remarked that I had extraordinary taste for a girl. I didn't want to tell him anything about myself, so I took it as a compliment, although it was an extremely back-handed one, and deeply insulting. He continued, however, to remark, loudly that I had really good taste and that he knew how hard it was for girls in comics. Of course he was flirting, but he did not also realize that he was being pedantic, protective, and silencing in an attempt to be charming and supportive. Then he suggested I look up my own work, as a critic, if I were interested in women in comics.
· I worked in a comic book store for 7 years and there were many male customers who refused to listen to my suggestions and could not believe that I would know anything about comics.
· Once when my boyfriend and I were babysitting his 9-year old niece and two older nephews, we decided to take them to our LCS. We were pretty excited to share our interests with the kids and just maybe get them interested too. The boys wandered off to look at toys and the niece, an avid reader, made a beeline for the week's comics. But my excitement quickly turned to dismay, because we couldn't find a comic that was both interesting to her and safe for her to read. "What about this one?" she asked, holding up a comic with Little Red Riding Hood on the cover--she knows what she likes, and fantasy and fairy tales are her favorites. "Nooo," I said, "I don't think so." I flipped through and my impression from the cover--that this was a T&A comic--was confirmed by the interior pages. She asked why not, and I know she's a smart kid, so I explained that I could tell by the way the girls on the cover were drawn, with big boobs and broken backs and tiny clothes. Just in case she ever goes to a comics shop with her mom, I want her to know what to look for and what to avoid. We grabbed a copy of Batgirl instead.
