By Diana Price
It’s officially March, celebrating women’s history, and while you’ve “come a long way, baby,” you still have a long way to go. Especially in geek culture. Here are some ideas to celebrate and embrace women in horror, sci-fi, and gaming.
Support and Watch Women Filmmakers
Most people know Patty Jenkins for directing Wonder Woman and Monster, but a slew of other women are making their mark in film, especially horror and sci-fi. Haifaa Al-Mansour has broken ground in many ways. The first Saudi Arabian female director, she had to film her feature debut, the first feature shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, from a van because of rules regarding the segregation of men and women. She went on to direct the film about the Grand Dame of female science fiction writers, Mary Shelley.
Other female filmmakers to watch and support are Gina Hara, the filmmaker behind the documentary Geek Girls, a must-see for women and men. Especially men. Also check out Veronika Franz (The Lodge), Karyn Kusama (The Invitation and Destroyer), and Chloé Zhao (The Eternals).
Support and Read Women Writers
For fiction, Ursula LeGuin comes to mind first for female science fiction writers, but there are so many more you could be reading. Check out Ariel Djanikian (The Office of Mercy), Malka Older (Infomocracy), and N. K. Jemisin (The Fifth Season) for a couple of emerging writers and a modern favorite. Joanna Russ not only writes about topics that appeal to geek culture, but she writes feminist science fiction dealing with gender issues, specifically, such as the mind-bending work for The Female Man.
Having said that, we should choose very carefully the women we want to support and represent our gender. There is no room for bigotry against women just as there is no room for bigotry based on race, religion, or sexual orientation. We should not support any woman who does not represent our values of inclusivity, tolerance, and compassion.
Support Women at the Gaming Table
We get it. From the first beginnings of the culture with Star Trek, Captain Kirk was a ladies’ man and chick magnet. Women pretty much served as his love interests only. The one exception was Lieutenant Uhura.
Sorry, guys, but those days of women only being trophies are over.
Let’s talk about the gaming table and why you should welcome women. And why women are reluctant to show up.
You have to invite them first. I know that sounds pretty obvious, but it’s not. You should also invite more than one. Most women don’t want to sit alone in a room full of men, at least not at first. Invite them and make room for them, figuratively and literally.
If a friend or girlfriend expresses interest, listen and encourage her. If this is new to her, she has to learn the ropes like any guy. Be patient and helpful – just as you would be with any guy. No matter what their level of expertise, never treat anyone like a “plus one” outsider.
We are not here so you can get a super cool gaming girlfriend who won’t nag you about all your time spent on video games while making snacks for you in the kitchen. If a relationship develops? Great. But constantly hitting on a woman at your gaming table, at best, will likely make her very uncomfortable. At worst, she will feel harassed and leave.
We Are Fully-Fledged, Three-Dimensional Beings, Too
We aren’t brainless sex robots. We aren’t your enemies. But we aren’t just your sidekicks, either.
We are allies and equals.
We’re Princess Leia. Agent Scully. Wonder Woman and Hermione. We love Lieutenant Uhura, but we’re not sitting behind the captain of the ship any longer. We’re taking that captain’s chair for ourselves. Change is coming everywhere, not just geek culture, whether you help us are not. We’re not going to accept being on the outside of any culture anymore. You can help us and join us or you can keep fighting the inevitable.
And as Spock might say, “it’s most illogical to fight the inevitable.” So don’t be a Captain Kirk, be a Spock and support women in geek culture. And for god’s sake, give Scully a desk of her own.
Sources:
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/women-directors-you-should-know-about/
https://mashable.com/article/female-sci-fi-authors-you-need-to-read
