FEELING VERTIGO

I recommend all comic fans to read this 2014 article by Janelle Asselin about the oversexualization of women in regards to a cover of DC's Teen Titans (2014) #1 drawn by Kenneth Rocafort. I use the word women here but the subjects of the cover in question are girls, they are underaged teenagers. Janelle Asselin is known for her work as an editor on Batman, Birds of Prey v2, Gotham City Sirens and Red Robin, as well as creation of the "Hire This Woman" initiative as a writer for ComicsAlliance, spotlighting up-and-coming comics creatives.

The backlash to this article was so severe that Asselin received rape threats, death threats, called slurs, and received misogyny sentiment so vitriolic that the almost 2 decade long running CBR forums had to be shut down, wiped clean of all history, and rebooted.

The article itself is... not particularly intense. It's a straightforward critique, and Asselin goes for a meaningful but pointed tone while making her point in a factual way, perhaps because she could predict what the response would be. She says is that DC needs to take a second look at their demographic and maybe, just maybe, don't sexualize teenagers! She even praises Rocafort for his art.

Former Teen Titans artist Brett Booth accused Asselin for having a hidden agenda behind her criticism as she had left DC, and calling her out for being "sexist to men."

Janelle Asselin later worked as an editor for Rosy Press, which published "Fresh Romance," an anthology of romance comics. She later left the comics industry as a whole in 2016, the same year she came out as a lesbian. In 2017, she explained in an interview the reason she'd left DC in 2011, after she, along with many other women, reported editor Eddie Berganza for sexual harassment and sexual assault (making multiple unwanted advances like kissing), and no significant action was taken until 2017 when Buzzfeed made these allegations public and Berganza was fired.

Rocafort was later a part of the alt-right Comicsgate movement. Brett Booth has a long running history of discriminatory comments but continues to work as a comic artist, notably on several X-Men comics in recent years.

My main motivation for writing this post is for people to understand that misogyny in the superhero fandom is not in our rearview mirror. It is present and prevalent to this day in artwork, writing, as well as the comic industry and culture as a whole.

Links for further reading:

Janelle Asselin's website

Let's Talk About How Some Men Talk to Women In Comics by Janelle Asselin (archived Tumblr post where Asselin discusses firsthand the backlash she received)

Fake Geek Guys: A Message to Men About Sexual Harassment by Andy Khouri (documenting the misogynistic backlash Asselin faced over her article)

The Comics Giant Behind Wonder Woman Is Accused Of Promoting An Editor After Women Accused Him Of Sexual Harassment by Jessica Testa, Tyler Kingkade, Jay Edidin (this is the 2017 article only after which DC fired Berganza)