bravegirlswant

Little Girls Paint the Super Bowl Pink

February 3, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

I first heard about GoldieBlox last year at NYCC while talking to the women running the Brave Girls Alliance booth. You’ve probably heard of them as well, seeing as they had a very popular (and controversial) ad a while back parodying a Beastie Boys song. They more recently won a free commercial spot which aired during the Super Bowl yesterday.

(Image via PopSugar)

Watch the full ad on Youtube here.

In a separate video on Youtube the CEO and designer of GoldieBlox, Debbie, stated that she is trying to increase the number of women in the engineering field with her new product. She feels as though the answer is to engage girls at a young age with toys designed with them in mind. The hope is to get them excited about building, science, and math.

Debbie designed the toys keeping in mind that girls are very attracted to reading. She uses storytelling in a book that comes with the set as a gateway to building with the toys.

(Image via Wired)

While I agree that there aren’t enough women in science and engineering, I’m not too convinced that making building toys pink and purple will help attract girls to those fields. In general I take issue with making toys pink and purple to brand them for girls, but I understand that our society has built those stereotypes.

The real concern for me is that there are plenty of toys out there to help kids become interested in the more scientific fields. As a little girl my best friend had an erector set, I had K’nex and we both had LEGOs and Lincoln Logs. Our creations were usually massive and took up all of my bedroom, and sometimes most of the living room. I still play with LEGOs, and love stealing the sets my nephews get for their birthdays in order to build them first.

(Image via Pink Dandy Chatter)

Somewhere along the line, I decided that science and math were not for me. I, like many other women, chose a mostly verbal and social field for my career. I think the key is not necessarily to just engage girls with the toys, but to keep them engaged during whatever period it is that kids begin to play with toys less.

If incorporating the storytelling and reading into the process helps keep girls engaged long enough for it to transfer into more women in science and technology fields, then this would definitely be a victory. Regardless of my feelings on the color of the toys, GoldieBlox is a innovative step in the right direction.

In the end is the bigger early childhood development challenge more about gender stereotypes and aethetics or gender stereotypes around fields of interest like engineering?

Female Superheroes: Not Just for Girls

January 16, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Ever get that feeling like, “Aw man, I should’ve said that! It would have sounded so awesome!” once an argument, interview, or important discussion is over?

Yeah…that happens to me a lot.

Luckily, blogging allows me to go back and expand on ideas that come up during or after the conversation. I can clarify things, or bring up new and exciting things that are related. Since my brain is all over the place most of the time, the opportunity to fine tune what I want to say is much appreciated. A perfect example of this struck me in the past couple of days:

Can you name more than 3 of these women?

Recently on the Geek Therapy podcast I was part of a discussion about female superheroes. We discussed who they are, what they mean to us, what they mean to society, and what they mean to our work as mental health professionals. While the under representation of women (and other groups) as superheroes is a topic I’ve discussed before, this was the first time I’ve been able to talk about it with others in the mental health field. I’ve heard “there aren’t enough women in comics” and “the men always take the spotlight” comments hundreds of times before. What struck me about the conversation this time was the commentary on what it means for our work with clients.

When Josué Cardona asked me how the role of female superheroes and strong female roles in geek culture impacts my work with youth… I threw out a short answer about working mostly with teenage boys, so it doesn’t matter as much.

That was a huge mistake.

We all know that girls need strong women (fictional or not) to look up to in order to be able to see themselves in those roles. But the truth is, boys need female superheroes just as much as girls do.

Boys need strong females too!

Boys need to know that women can be strong, intelligent and influential. They need to know that it’s okay for women to be all of those things. That it’s okay for them to be stronger, smarter, and more powerful than men from time to time. They need to be able to picture their mothers in these roles, their sisters in these roles, and their future wives and daughters in these roles.

Many of the teenage boys I work with talk about women as things to be used. They see them as stupid and weak. An object to use for sex, money, drugs, food, laundry, etc. Not all of the boys I work with feel this way, but many of them do. When they see a blockbuster comic book movie in the theaters and the women (even the heroes) need to be saved, they see just some sexy, weak girl who needs a man to take care of the problem. They don’t see their mother, grandmother or sister in front of them.

It is partly for that reason that I believe, more than ever, we need a stand alone movie for a female superhero… now. Something for girls (and boys) to look to when they think of strong women. I think we’re getting close to it, but the studios don’t seem quite there yet. DC is ready for Wonder Woman to be in a movie… but not her own movie. She takes a backseat to Superman/Batman in what everyone has been calling the “Superman vs. Batman movie.”

Wonder Woman is so secondary that her name isn’t even in the working title. The boys I work with have already pegged her as someone who will need to be saved by the “real” heroes (a.k.a. the men). I hope they’re wrong.

Where is Wonder Woman?

(Image via Nerd Bastards)

There’s also some concerning speculation about possible changes to Wonder Woman’s origin story. If you haven’t heard, the basic concept is that in the movie, Wonder Woman might be descended from ancient Kryptonians. As far as continuity and story goes, it makes sense. The Kryptonians went and explored other planets a long time ago, and they have the technology to create an all female society. These powerful beings came to Earth, and because humans had no other explanation for their existence…they adopted them as gods and mythical icons. (This is a lot like what Marvel has done with the Asgardians being aliens/Norse gods).

The problem with this possible change in origin lies in what it means for her as a stand alone hero. Wonder Woman would no longer have her own history. She would just be another part of Superman’s history. Her powers are supposedly going to be weaker, because she’s been living on Earth for so long. That means she would no longer be a hero who could stand up next to Superman as an equal. She would basically become his sidekick. And we have enough images of women as sidekicks.

For girls everywhere, they would lose an icon of strength and hope. They would now be looking up to a woman who is strong, but not as strong as the men who save the world. They would have no one as their champion to show them what women can be.

And boys would no longer have a place to look to see what their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives can be.

Is this the Wonder Woman we’ll see? Or someone else?

I’m going to hold out judgment until the movie comes out, because I know there is SO much hype and criticism about everything having to do with it. I can only hope that they portray women’s greatest comic book role model as precisely that.

A role model.

This article was originally posted on the Geek Therapy Blog.

NYCC – A Mental Health Professional’s Take (Part 2)

October 24, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Time to recap some of the awesome groups I saw making a difference at NYCC!

GLSEN/Antibullying Coalition

I knew that the Antibullying Coalition would have a space at NYCC, but I was excited to see GLSEN making a presence. Having a space for youth to talk to professionals (and their peers) about being bullied and resources they can turn to is definitely new to the convention world.

With the rise of bullying, and the added difficulties of cyber bullying, this topic is becoming more and more prevalent. I’m surprised that it hasn’t been seen as a bigger issue in this population yet, but I’ glad it’s receiving attention now.

While GLSEN and NOH8 were involved in the booth, and had a strong presence, the emphasis was not necessarily on LGBT youth, but on youth and bullying in general. The goal was to provide safe spaces for kids who are having a hard time to find help. While the open seating area provided to give them that space was empty (and looked like a ghost town) many of the times I walked by, it was also full of youth much of the time. Hopefully with time the word will get out that this is something provided at conventions and it will be more busy.

(Although…it would be better if we didn’t need it. Hmm…let me rephrase.)

Hopefully it will be more busy to get the word out until a time where it is something that is no longer needed.

Brave Girls Alliance

At the Antibullying Coalition booth was a group called the Brave Girls Alliance. Their goal is to bring attention to the fact that girls need appropriate, relatable role models in media.

They have brought a campaign to Times Square in which they have people tweet #BraveGirlsWant. Those tweets are up on a screen in Times Square for all to see and to promote what brave girls really want.

At NYCC, they went old school and had people who stopped by the booth put their tweets on a sticky note, which they would later tweet to the screen at Times Square.

Empowering young girls in a community where girls are mis/underrepresented is a wonderful idea. The fact that it is in such a populated space like Times Square makes it even better. So many people will see that girls need good role models, they are strong, and that they can do the same things boys can.

#BraveGirlsWant a good superhero movie with a standalone female lead! (Elektra doesn’t count,)

Geeks OUT

What would a convention be without a some scantily clad cosplayers?

The Mario in the photo was there representing Geeks OUT, and organization promoting LGBT equality in geek media. They had information about their dance party, LGBT comic creators, and also about their Skip Ender’s Game movement.

They’re essentially asking people to not pay to go see Ender’s Game when it comes out in theaters. Many cities (with Geeks OUT groups) are holding parties to give people somewhere to go other than the Ender’s Game movie. Another option they suggested were to buy a ticket to another movie, and then go watch Ender’s game.

The basic idea is to not give any money to movie because it will go to Orson Scott Card, who has previously given a lot of money to anti-gay hate groups. The fear is that giving money to Card will then give him more money to give to these anti-LGBT groups.

These guys were sweet and fabulous, and I love running into them whenever I’m at a convention!

Nerd Lounge

The Nerd Machine hosted a booth called the Nerd Lounge where you could go and charge your phone. (Brilliant, right? Captive audience!) While you were charging your phone, someone usually came by to ask you to participate in their photo booth.

The idea here was that you let the take your photo (which was free) and for every photo taken, Intel would donate $1 to Operation Smile. Operation Smile provides free surgeries for children to repair cleft lips and cleft palates.

With the photos being no cost to my fiance and I, there was no downside. The girl at the booth convinced us to take 5 photos. So in less than 5 minutes, we were able to give $5 (at no cost to us) to a good cause, and have some decent (and goofy) pictures of us together.

(I’m on the left)

Family Room

An awesome (and adorable) part of the convention was the Family Room. This was a space for parents to take their children and be free from the less family friendly aspects of a large convention.

Kid friendly activities such as coloring and other arts and crafts were provided, along with signings from all ages comic artists. The room was filled with laughter as children played and watched a Batman stage production put on by community college students.

Comics may not be just for kids, but those of us in the geek community tend to forget that there are still kids in the comics world. A safe haven from profanity, skimpy costumes, and being trampled by grown ups must be a welcome sight for children and parents alike.

The brilliance of it was that it was during the entire convention, rather than just on kids day (Sunday). I wish the signage telling people where it was had been better, and that it was maybe somewhat larger. I still think it was a success and that other conventions should take it into consideration.

Who doesn’t like little kids in cosplay? Anything to promote more of that, please!

Geek Therapy!

One of the most exciting parts of the weekend for me was hanging out with these guys!

Embedded image permalink

From left to right: Josué Cardona, Ali Mattu, Ph.D., Dr. Travis Langley, Steve Kuniak

(Image via @AliMattu)

The geek therapy movement was at NYCC in full force. The booth was full of geeky therapists and psychologists, ready to spread the word of how geek culture is saving the world.

Steve Kuniak was the one who decided to have a booth at the convention, and I think all of us can agree that it was brilliant. Steve brought along his PAX East research study (a current work in progress) as well as information about his planned Gamer Wellness Program.

Josué Cardona of geektherapy.com and the Geek Therapy Podcast was there as well, bringing information to the masses, and constantly rearranging the bookmarks and business cards on the table.

Also making appearances at the booth were myself, Ali Mattu, of Brain Knows Better, and Dr. Travis Langley.

Brain Knows Better is an intriguing science fiction psychology blog. (I’m particularly fond of Mattu’s breakdown of Spock’s psychology, which made me see the character in a whole new light.)

Dr. Langley wrote a book on Batman and Psychology, which he had for sale at the booth, and he was available for signings.

All of the books I have previously mentioned in this blog were there to peruse, along with many more. They even had a research journal available to look at. Anyone and everyone was welcome to come by and listen to the positive change that geek culture can provide

Many educators, therapists, and other helping professionals came by and were excited about a chance to use something they love to connect with the people they serve. It was also great to see parents, children, and big children (like myself) interested in geek therapy.

Many adults said that they wished something like this was around when they were growing up. That maybe they would have had a better experience with therapy. That alone shows that the geek therapy movement is something that is needed.

From what I saw, the booth was a big hit, and I hope it becomes a regular sight at conventions in the future.

NYCC was a blast, and I hope it’s even better next year!