What Makes A Real Man??

I just got done reading the latest "What A Girl Wants" column by Ronee Garcia Bourgeois over at Buzzscope. Sigh. Please go read this piece and come back...

A woman creator has stepped forward and addressed a specific issue of sexual inappropriateness. She is having a tough time moving forward, but is pressing that justice be done. I applaud her for that. I will be joining up with Friends of Lulu to give my support to women creators and women fans in general. Let me quote their announcement...

"Friends of Lulu, the national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote and encourage female readership and participation in the comic book industry, is launching a new fund and will be jumpstarting it at CAPE this year!

The fund will be for women in the industry who wish to pursue legal action in sexual assault cases, by helping to provide money for representation and also emotional support when needed.

“I think it is only natural to add this to our focus,” said FOL’s National Vice President Ronée Garcia Bourgeois. “In order for us to truly be an organization aiding women, we need to recognize the fact that this IS a problem and work toward education and the elimination of such treatment.”

As the official jumpstart to this fund, Friends of Lulu will be holding a raffle at CAPE on May 6th in Dallas. Gotham City Limits (http://gothamcitylimits.com/) in Jacksonville, Florida, has donated a Sin City Prize pack consisting of a Sin City Black Death Icelandic Schnapps Ashtray, Cerveza Cango Ashtray, Sin City: Magnet Set, Fuzzy Dice, DF Miho Litho and The Girls of Sin City Action Figure 5 Pack Black and White Version, all of which add up to an approximate retail value of $130!

“The purpose of the raffle is two-fold,” explains Bourgeois. “First, to get exposure to the cause and also to solicit for donations to our upcoming auctions, the biggest of which will be held at HeroesCon this year. So far, the response has been great. Creators, retailers and private collectors are donating everything from original art to memorabilia but we can never have enough for such a cause.

”Make sure to stop by the Friends of Lulu booth at Cape to learn more!

Donation inquiries can be sent to ronee@friends-lulu.org
For more information go to: http://www.zeuscomics.com/cape"

End of said announcement.

I consider myself an open person. I love the "teaser" Black Cat sketch my husband got me (see previous entry). I think it is clever, and it fits my sense of humor. I even laugh at bawdy jokes and drink a few beers. BUT what happened to that woman is inexcusable. There is NEVER a time or a place that a woman should have to go through what she did. What a bunch of bullsh*t. I am glad that she had a male friend who helped her out and is standing by her to make sure justice is done, but what if he HADN'T been there???

Coming to my point, a real man would never do anything like that. A real man is kind and patient. A real man makes his intentions known with romance and courting. A real man can WAIT for it to be right. A real man knows that it is NEVER okay to touch a woman without her consent. A real man would never have done this.

Thanks for making comic conventions less safe for women, Dickhead. If we want to encourage new female readers and the progression and talents of female creators, groping them is not the way to go.

I am furious about this. This is the 21st century, for God's sake. It isn't Barbarian time where you knock a chick in the head and take her back to your cave. This is a time when we can verbally communicate. Don't use your powers of social connection to make a girl feel like she has to let you touch her. This is ridiculous.

There are many genuine, nice men in the industry. What does that do for them?? I just got back from a fantastic convention experience where I made some great new male friends. I really appreciated their time and opinions. To read something like this unsettles me something fierce.

Kudos to Friends of Lulu to taking steps to support women that have experienced harassment. A big bouquet of respect to the woman who was brave enough to step forward.

I am going to seethe about this for a long time.