Meanwhile, on Twitter...

• 01:28 Just watched the first episode of Ashes to Ashes. Very ropey. Keeley Hawes' performance lamentable. It sure ain't no Life on Mars so far. #
• 12:04 Stephen Gately. What? Never a big Boyzone fan, but he's suddenly died? At the same age as me? That's absolutely tragic. #
• 13:59 What was Dannii doing on last night's X-Factor trying to forcibly "out" Danyl? What does his sexuality have to do with his performance? #
• 14:02 I like to think that we're past being skittish of gay performers. A calculating attempt to "nobble" the favourite though? Definitely. #
• 14:08 Coming from someone who's a self-proclaimed "gay icon", mindboggling. Simon Cowell right to be angry and accusing her of "playing games". Oy #
• 20:00 So, is it going to be the Double Take Brothers or the Strippers/Not Strippers departing tonight on X-Factor? Has to be one of them, surely? #
• 23:47 Okay, the second episode of Ashes to Ashes was better. Although Alex hugely annoying at the beginning. Glad to see the wind blow out of her. #

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"It’s a slight progress."

Kevin Smith was on the BBC's Newsnight Review on Friday, along with Mark Millar on film talking about geek culture and pushing his upcoming Kick Ass movie. Other guests included Jeanette Winterson, the novelist (writer of "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" for one) and Natalie Hynes, comedian and author and Kirsty Wark, the host.



Millar did a little piece proclaiming that Hollywood has changed its hero stories to reflect the geek and how the female audience is rising to the fore.

Strange to hear Millar talking about the female audience, but there then followed this exchange:

Kirsty Wark: Mr Millar.. may say the geeks are all powerful now… but he’s still doing a lonely boy revenge fantasy.

Jeanette Winterson: It’s misogynist, it’s homophobic, everyone’s a fag or a cocksucker, there’s absolutely no place for women except as cardboard cut outs, and the thing is just full of the worst kind of dripping violence, which is a kind of adrenaline injection which means you’ll utterly dead to life in its subtlety, its complexity, its possibilities of expansion of relationships. This is the kind of thing that’s the product of human emptiness

Kevin Smith: I just thought it was a comic book.

Natalie Hynes: Misogynist is a bit unfair, and also inaccurate, it’s the comic book world.

Jeanette Winterson: The comic book world is misogynist! It wipes women out.

Natalie Hynes: I don’t think that’s true any more.

Jeanette Winterson: It is in Kick Arse

I think this little exchange pretty much summed up why I get constantly frustrated with the comics industry when they deal with women. You get Kevin Smith's trite "It's only a comic book!" throwaway and the response to pointing out that the women only exist as cardboard cutouts again there's the "It's the comic book world" response. Honestly, nothing will ever change as long as that attitude is prevalent.

It also provided this exchange:

Jeanette Winterson: You cannot swap a stereotype of sexual proclivity for a stereotype of violence and call that progressive.

Natalie Hynes: It’s a slight progress.

I think the thing that depresses me most is seeing this on BleedingCool and reading the "HAHA WHAT A BITTER LESBO AMIRITE?!" comments.

I think I'll go hide in Scans_Daily for a few weeks again.

EDIT: And yes, I am aware of the irony of using an icon from a Dave Sim book for this post.