Comics Wrap-Up - So. Unnecessary.

It's Thursday, I am peak tired millennial, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Some Good(-ish)  News In The Fight Against Censorship

The legal action against Maia Kobabe (e/eir)'s graphic memoir Gender Queer has been thrown out!

This was a lawsuit brought by a politician in Virginia against both the author and eir publisher Oni Press, claiming that eir graphic memoir contravened obscenity laws.

A case was also brought against Sarah J Maas' novel A Court of Mist and Fury as part of the same action.

The judge was like (to highly, highly, paraphrase): Nah, brah, why would you waste my time with this sbwriel?

(I love how my brain has decided that this Virginia judge speaks some sort of hybrid of dude-bro speak and Wenglish! 😅)

BUT things are still not plain-sailing for Gender Queer.

It continues to be at the top of the censors' hit lists. Including an incredibly vague law recently passed in Missouri which bans 'sexually explicit' books from school. 

Unfortunately, most LGBTQ+ people will be aware that those two little words are often used as a blanket ban on Queer existence. (And yes, dearest nerdlets, this is what prejudice looks like in action.)

Gender Queer, unsurprisingly, is one of the books that has been removed.

She-Hulk Rage

OK, so I watched the first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and for the most part I loved it. 

I mean, I loved it. 

...But there is one goddamn thing that does my head in.

And yes, SPOILERS for episode 1 - please NO SPOILERS for other episodes. 

OK? OK.

...The stuff about whether or not Steve Rogers was a virgin. And the after-credits scene explaining he wasn't.

WTAF Marvel?!

Don't give me unnecessary Allocisheteronormative (i.e. assuming everyone is non-LGBTQ+,) toxic masculine b*llsh** with my She-Hulk show.

Via Giphy

Don't see my problem here? Lemme explain:

• Jen's literal crying when she thought he 'died a virgin' pi**ed me off - it's not an effing disease, and Asexual people who don't want sex, celibate people, and people who just haven't had sex yet, are all equally valuable human beings to those who have had sex

• Clear Allocisheteronormativity with only referring to Cisgender M/F relationships and traditional sex, when Marvel damn well know that the LGBTQ+ community are sick of their Queer-baiting with Steve and Bucky

• All of this for the sake of proving he was 'all man' is toxic masculinity all over

• Virginity is a social construct that does a tonne of damage in a variety of cultures all over the world

• Regardless of all that, Jen had no right to know. If Steve never made it public knowledge, Bruce shouldn't've said a damn thing

• It was So. Unnecessary.

As Rotem Rusak writes @ Nerdist (in a fantastic article which had much the same points as I do, and which you can see here) :

 'It’s great that She-Hulk is aiming for a sex-positive tone. But the concept of virginity is completely antiquated, as are the narrow frames the conversation about it are allowed to take in this She-Hulk post-credits scene.'

and also:

'She-Hulk’s deep, albeit drunk, initial sadness at the idea that Steve Rogers never got to experience sex and didn’t “deserve to die a virgin” also feels misplaced. It’s not a tragedy not to have sex.'

...basically, can we all just stop it with the virgin-shaming now? Thanks.

Shameless Self-Promo Time!

Last week's Friday Fics Fix featured sweet Lokius (Loki & TVA Agent Mobius) fluff 😊

Have you seen the first episode of She-Hulk?

What do you make of that aspect?

Talk to me! 😀💬

You can follow me on Twitter @CeeDoraReads, on Pinterest, and on Dora Reads @ BlogLovin. For more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page

Previous Comics Wrap-Up Posts:

• Comics Wrap-Up - The Biggest Target

• Comics Wrap-Up - Good-Natured, While Also Being Hilarious

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