I’ve been a female all my life and I’ve always taken gender equality, at least in Singapore, as a given. I never really questioned this before. In fact, I have always been more concerned with racial equality.
Then I started really reading comics and getting involved in the comic scene online. One of the first comic blogs I read was the Occasional Superheroine and from there I learnt about When Fangirls Attack. The latter especially was an eye-opener. Through the various links all around the blogosphere, I learnt a lot about feminist issues through comics, issues I had never even thought about. I may not agree with everything I read but I am very thankful for the ideas I have been exposed to. I rather form my own opinions after thinking about these issues than be railroaded into values imposed on me by society.
So if anyone tells you comics have no educational value, tell them to stuff it.
This is also probably why you might find a bit more gender issues stuff on my blog. I simply never noticed them before.
2 comments
beka says:
April 25, 2009 at 1:51 pm (UTC 8)
I found this blog through googling the AWARE ongoings.
I had never imagined before that there would be other liberal Singaporean superhero fangirls.
I love WFA toooo! I encountered Girl Wonder first (to be accurate, Karen Healey’s Girls Read Comics (And They’re Pissed) blog), and thence WFA.
I’m sooo sorry for ranting. I’ve been omg-ing at comics-analysing feminism for a coupla years (since I was twelve or thirteen, so around three years) and I’ve never found a local blog like this – not one so neat and well-organised and pretty either – and I’m currently virtually jumping-up-and-down, squeeing at a similarly-minded friend over IM.
In summary: I learnt feminism through superhero comics too and I’m so happy to have discovered this blog. ^^;
Piper says:
April 25, 2009 at 4:30 pm (UTC 8)
Hi! :D
Haha! I never knew any other either. None of my IRL friends are interested in comics and/or feminism. And WFA is a brilliant site. I’ve learnt so much from visiting it.