I hang out in a lot of boys clubs. I guest on a few podcasts all comprised of male voices. I do stand up comedy in rooms full of dude comedians. I write for a few publications that feature articles written by men. I leave the house, bros galore.
That last sentence was a bit of a hyperbole. But I think you get the point.
What I’m trying to say is I often times feel displaced when I am doing stuff I love. I feel like a novelty. Like I don’t belong. A girl floating in a sea of boys. There are many aspects in my hobbies and extracurriculars that make me feel like there is so much more I can be doing to pave the way for other gals. It’s only been in the last year I’ve become aware of “gender gaps” and “misrepresentation” and “unfairness” in regards to women in our culture. I want nothing more than to smash the doors on all the boys clubs and make way for other women to come in and feel like they can come in and hang up their coat. But I’m not alone. My surprising companion in this endeavor? Salt Lake Comic Con.
The Daily Life of a Geek Girl Panel
I’ve been going to each Salt Lake Comic Con since its first appearance in 2013 and I have never felt outnumbered by men or felt there was a gender imbalance. Girls are no surprise at comic con. It has never occurred to me that maybe there was a slight under representation of the girl geeks until I looked at this year’s panel schedule. I will let you know that I plan the hell out of my cons. There are panels to go to and booths to patron and cosplayers to oogle at. It wasn’t until Fan X 2015 that I realized the lack of representation of “girl geeks” in years past. This year’s Fan X featured panels with titles like “Nerd Girls and the Rise of Girl Power,” “Utah Women in Film,” “The Daily Life of a Geek Girl,” “The Bechdel Test,” and “Gender in Comics Books – is There a Double Standard?” Hell, even the line for speed dating was mostly girls. I can only remember one panel from the most recent con in September: “The Bechdel Test.”
My surprising companion in this endeavor? Salt Lake Comic Con.
In years past, I didn’t notice a disparity in gendered panels because I didn’t have to. There were plenty of girls in attendance and that’s super cool – oh what’s this vintage poster brb shiny things (literally these are my thought processes while on the con floor, why would I care to notice the men/women ratio). What happened in 2014 that suddenly made 2015 the year we girl geeks rise to power? Probably #GamerGate, the fact that it was revealed that women outnumber men in the gaming community. Probably the rise (and fall) of such comics like Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Batgirl, and Lumberjanes. Maybe something like Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, taking the #1 position in Bleeding Cool’s Top 100 Power List. Something happened last year that brought the focus to not only girl geeks but women in general and I love it.
But what makes this spotlight even sweeter is the fact that the comic con in my own hometown in participating because they get it too. Maybe I don’t notice the girls who need to connect with others at a comic con, but SLCC does. They understand the need for resources that women need to grow and feel welcome and not alone in their geekdom. I mentioned that I noticed an increase in girl-related panels to my (male) friend who works for SLCC and he nodded, smiling. He thanked me for noticing. It was something he had been working on because he has two young girls and wants to create an environment they would be welcomed into and be surrounded by positive female role models. My heart swelled as I watched little girls in “The Daily Life of a Geek Girl” panel line up to the Q+A microphone to ask the female panelists what their favorite comic books are or what video games they were playing. These panels exist because not only are they suggested but actually scheduled and brought into existence for people to attend. The rooms are full of girls and boys, everyone eager to learn just what it is about women in geek culture we want to love, hate, defend, and argue. And I cannot wait to see what SLCC has in store for us in September.