looking for feminist comics

NotoriousMEQ · Post by **NotoriousMEQ** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:43 pm

Hey folks!

Is anyone doing comics with a feminist (or, heck, anti-feminist for fun?) bent? Or knows of any? My reading list has gotten smaller in the past years, while webcomics as a whole are multiplying, so I could really use some help finding some comics to review and talk about for WAFU.

(Mods, I considered putting this in "pitching", since I'm asking for pitches, but also recommendations as well, and not pitching anything of my own, but move if you feel it's better there.)

CSchaefer · Post by **CSchaefer** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:08 pm

Are you looking for comics with storylines or themes that directly address feminism, or just ones with notably feminist characters? I can't think of many in the first category at all, but I'm sure someone knows of a few...

NotoriousMEQ · Post by **NotoriousMEQ** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:10 pm

Either would be interesting to see! If there's feminist characters, could you point me at certain moments or storyarcs that show that?

-megs

Warofwinds · Post by **Warofwinds** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:20 pm

C'est la Vie strikes me as such a little.

You may also want to check out the comics on Girlamatic.

CJBurgandy · Post by **CJBurgandy** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:23 pm

in a few months I'll point you to a comic, but since the feminist character hasn't been introduced it would be pointless to do so.

EDIT: oh I so Thought of one suddenly!

A. Hunt · Post by **A. Hunt** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:26 pm

Mine is not explicitly feminist (given the time and historical setting, it would be anachronistic), but I am hosted on Girl-Wonder.org, and Notable Interweb Feminists like Karen Healey seem to like May, the hooker with a heart of cyanide. Plus, as a Communist, the hero is sensitive to women's issues, though maybe not very good at understanding them:

http://www.goodbyechains.com

Dunno if that's what you're looking for, but it couldn't hurt?

Mo · Post by Mo » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:40 pm

I don't know, um... What's your definition of feminism?

My comic <a href="http://imo.comicgenesis.com" target="new">IMO</a> is (and always will be) largely dominated by women, and the main character is very, hmm, independent-minded. But I wouldn't neccessarily call her a feminist by many modern day definitions because I find them a bit extreme. And other women in the comic are quite non-feminist.
Apart from that, the comic's still too young and fresh to give great insight on the characters. It doesn't help that I haven't updated in, um... a while.

[geoduck] · Post by **[geoduck]** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:41 pm

I second what Mo said: "feminism" has long become one of those words which means whatever the user wants it to mean. I'd like to think I have several strong female characters in my strip, but almost none of their time is spend discussing gender relations. You need to be a great deal more specific.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:48 pm

I agree pretty well with what geoduck said. Feminists are a dying breed Down Here at the moment. There's a few battleaxes

around still, but they're mainly grizzling that Australian women seem to be returning to actually wanting a family instead of a career better than the next bloke's.

Sorcery101 · Post by **Sorcery101** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm

And I shall thrid the feminism can mean different things. I consider myself a feminist but wouldn't consider Sorcery 101 a feminist comic because while it has some feminist aspects (like a married couple who has reversed traditional gender roles), but at the same time the main character is dirty minded and easily distracted breasts. And there is a lot of fan service for both genders.

Americangothic · Post by **Americangothic** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:14 pm

We feminists aren't a dying breed...we just figured out that we can have our cake AND eat it too.

There are plenty of career moms out there who seem to be juggling everything just fine. They got the cake, they are eating it..and have some ice cream too.

And there are plenty of us who are not settling down with just one guy either, hoping he will pay our way though life.

Mo · Post by Mo » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:24 pm

So, feminist = career woman? Woman who insists on being independent of man? Or what?

There are many different definitions of feminism out there... Let's not get into a heated debate about feminism in general. I'd just like to know what would classify as a "feminist comic" in Meq's eyes, 's all.

NotoriousMEQ · Post by **NotoriousMEQ** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:24 pm

[geoduck] wrote:I second what Mo said: "feminism" has long become one of those words which means whatever the user wants it to mean. I'd like to think I have several strong female characters in my strip, but almost none of their time is spend discussing gender relations. You need to be a great deal more specific.

Then you'll absolutely loooove me, I'm of this definition of feminism. The "what ISN'T feminism?" stripe that assumes that anyone for equal rights is a feminist, but some people want to achieve it in different ways (your legislative feminists and "fight the patriarchy" feminists) or ifeminists like me who just want women to be able to choose to do whatever they want. But since I'm asking for recs, I'd ask you to abide by your own definition. Because, yeah, it's really easy to have a comic that's feminist by my definition. So you could list anything. But I want stuff that strike YOU as feminist.

Girlamatic I know all too well. C'est la Vie looks pretty darn cool just as a comic.
A. Hunt, I already have your comic bookmarked to check out! =D Double rec then!
cjburgundy, I really, really like the look of yours anyway, so it's going on the list.
Mo, I feel you on the updating and definitely like the pages I've seen and I'm interested by the other women being "non-feminist".
And hey Kel, I checked out your comic when it hopped over to keenspot and it's pretty darn well done, but didn't grab me. I'm curious why you think you're feminist but your comic isn't. Equal opportunity fanservice is where it's at!

-megs

Mo · Post by Mo » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:30 pm

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

NotoriousMEQ · Post by **NotoriousMEQ** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:30 pm

Mo wrote:So, feminist = career woman? Woman who insists on being independent of man? Or what?

There are many different definitions of feminism out there... Let's not get into a heated debate about feminism in general. I'd just like to know what would classify as a "feminist comic" in Meq's eyes, 's all.

This is why I try to write bunches on feminism in webcomics. Because so many people have different ideas about what it means and I keep running into people for whom feminism = man-hating feminazis or something. I don't want to tell people what they have to do to be "good feminists", but I do want to point out where stereotypes against women pop up in comics, or talk about why girls beating up guys is funny when the reverse isn't, and stuff like that. To generate some discussion and open minds about feminism, really.

-megs

Americangothic · Post by **Americangothic** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:37 pm

he he...then my main character would be a feminist by that definition.

She's a single school teacher, looking for romance...getting way more than she's bargained for and has just recently told her date that she's not into playing head games. She lives alone with two dogs and is big on midwifery. I think she's more a feminist by accident, not a card carrying member of NOW...it's just that she's always had to take care of herself.

Gothia

Sorcery101 · Post by **Sorcery101** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:15 pm

NotoriousMEQ wrote: And hey Kel, I checked out your comic when it hopped over to keenspot and it's pretty darn well done, but didn't grab me. I'm curious why you think you're feminist but your comic isn't. Equal opportunity fanservice is where it's at!

-megs

Well, I think I'm a feminist because I'm pretty much what you described as an ifeminist and I get at least annoyed with the stuff pointed out on Girl-Wonder.org. Now my comic I don't really try to write a feminist comic. I focus more on the characters then any themes or overall idealogy. So there are some moments that comes off as feminist (Like when Ally saved her husband Brad and the main character Danny). But at the same time you have characters like Seth be using sexual harassment to win a fight and pretty much being incuraged. Then to ad to that Ally is pretty much the only adult female character out of the main six.

Levi-chan · Post by **Levi-chan** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:34 pm

I like, megs.

Well, mine's on the other side of the spectrum - my comic's protagonist is a closet misogynist. He's not aware of it, and thinks he is quite the opposite. In his mind, the woman he loves (or will love) is someone he needs to put on a pedestal. Someone he will shower with adoration, and attention. One of those "I need someone to complete me" types.

As time passes by, that facade falls, and his love turns into an obsession that's not entirely unlike love, but is not based on emotion either. It's a mechanical sort of thing. yaddi-yadda....

Note: I'm a feminist.

Rcmonroe · Post by **Rcmonroe** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:41 pm

I would generally not consider myself a feminist because it's a word that polarizes people. It's a label that raises—like many labels do—more questions than it answers. However, the dictionary definition you provided would indeed cast me as a feminist, and I'm fine with that for the purposes of this discussion.

Which brings me to my comic strip, which I would also not classify as feminist, but I will submit it for your approval anyway.

The main character is a woman who certainly has her share of issues and, at this point in the story, would probably not be considered a strong role model for women (or for any other people). The secondary female character (who was a background character for the first few months but is now rather prominently in the foreground) on the other hand is considerably less neurotic, definitely independent, and running a business all by herself.

My strip avoids politics like the plague, but immerses itself in human interaction. If one looks at feminism as a social issue rather than a political one, feminist themes crop up all over my strip. The main male character, in fact, has feminist written all over him.

Okay, so maybe I'm just trying to get you to look at my strip. I'll shut up now.

LibertyCabbage · Post by **LibertyCabbage** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:57 pm

Eh, there's a feminist lesbian biker chick in Deep, if that counts. Well, at least her dialogue was fun to write.