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I’m in the middle of press for No Mercy’s next arc (Issue #5 drops on 12/9/15, kids, give me your money) and by and large the interviews have been a lot of fun. Nice people asking smart questions. But then…

le sigh.

So, y’know, I dragged his ass to the curb like he was yesterday’s garbage.

Then I thought, maybe there are people out there who need a little refresher course on how to interview a woman. Friends, shall we offer some pointers? Please feel free to add in your own suggestions – I come to this as a cis white chick so there’s a whole bunch of stuff I know I’m going to miss. 

1. Do not treat her existence in her chosen industry, in which she is obviously quite successful (unsuccessful people don’t get interviewed, yo) as a novelty. Just because you don’t read / listen to / watch the work of women, PoC, queers, etc does not mean it doesn’t exist. She is not a woman in comics. She is a WRITER or ARTIST in comics. She is not a woman in music. She is a MUSICIAN in music. The fact that we are here, and are female, is! not! news!

Neko Case FTW

1b. Seriously, the “what’s it like to be a woman in ____?” question? NO. NOPE. DELETE. NEVER ASK THIS. After all, what’s it like to be a man in journalism? Is that an interesting question? 

1c. “How did you get into ___?” also needs to be retired, for everyone. C’mon, you can’t think of anything better? (Also when you follow it with the “what’s it like to be a woman in…” question, it takes on a nasty shade of “hey, little girl, what are you doing HERE in this MAN’s world”, even if you don’t mean it that way.) 

2. Of course feel free to ask us if we’ve experienced inequality in our profession / lives, but a) ask us directly; b) bear in mind we’re going to open up a lot more to someone of the same race / gender / orientation; and c) respect us if we say we don’t want to talk about it. 

3. Don’t ask us about our genitals, or our sex life. Basically, think to yourself, “is this a question I would ask The Rock?”

You want to know WHAT?!

3b. Golden rule: if you wouldn’t ask The Rock a question that you’re about to ask a woman, don’t ask it at all. 

4. Commenting on our fuckability, our clothes, or what we ate for lunch is generally discouraged. When you write an article about an extremely successful female cartoonist in your newspaper, and your lede is about how she seems too cute to be a cartoonist, or her elfin blonde hair, but nothing about HER ART, please know we are all making voodoo dolls of you and stabbing them with every available sharp object in our houses. “But what about women in entertainment, who market themselves on their looks? Aren’t they fair game?” Well, at this point I’d like to turn over to my esteemed colleague from Barbados:

We are not things to patronize and comment on. I know it burns you that we’re more successful than you are so you itch to put us down, but maaaybe if you hustled as hard as you hated, you’d get somewhere. Cheers!

5. If we call you on some questions that we prefer not to answer or feel are inappropriate or poorly phrased, this is not the way to respond: 

Because then you have to go explain to your editor-in-chief why your interview was cancelled.

And hey, women are half the population. We’re everywhere. We do everything. Always have. We’re also all really different and unique, so sure, some women may be fine with very intrusive questions into their sex lives and appearance, or OK with being treated like some exotic curiosity who has been led into the Royal Geographic Society by the Great Explorer. But some may just be too inexperienced or too embarrassed or too shocked to turn those questions down. The rest of us, though, we’ll drag you to filth.

If this is a lot to understand, please remember the golden rule: if you wouldn’t ask The Rock a question, don’t ask a woman.

I mean, most of the time being a woman in comics is pretty great, because I’m doing what I love and I’m good at it, and I work hard and got successful and can tell the stories I want, for the most part. When you ask me “what’s it like being a woman…” you reduce me to the prejudice against me and ignore what I’ve accomplished in my own right. I know the interviewers aren’t thinking this when they ask, but it’s the result nonetheless, and that’s why I won’t answer those questions.

Recently I was asked to do an interview that included a similar question, and I wrote back saying “I would prefer not to answer this” and was told that if I didn’t, a man from our team would. That’s a fucked up position to put me in. Answer a demeaning question or let a man answer for me? What joy. So, I answered, and tried to be as diplomatic as possible, but I felt gross about it.

HELLO ALL!! I BRING GOOD NEWS!!

Tonight is the night where I’m open up a brand new Etsy storefront! Not only that, but I’m finally opening up online preorders for stickers and prints of my Steven Universe gouache paintings! CHECK IT OUT HERE!!

I’m selling both individual stickers for $2 and postcard-size prints for $5, as well as a complete sticker set for $20 and complete print pack for $50! I’ve decided to run preorders until August 17th (11:59pm EST). After that date, all orders will be shipped out within another two weeks.

Kickstarter: The Angelica Doll: A Natural Hair Doll For Young Girls

BOOST AND SUPPORT!!

mah girl furiosa

i almost had max clutching her leg sexily like a girl from a conan the barbarian illustration

but i figured furiosa wouldn’t put up with that