Posted by Leah Singerman
The Internet is flipping a shit about Thor being a girl. And that's great, we have no problem with Thor being a girl (although it is kind of confusing- like, the actual guy who was Thor, what do we call him now? Thor Emeritus?). But the thing is... it shouldn't be that big of a deal. And here's why.
For one thing, this happens ALL THE TIME. Okay, not exactly this, and not all the time, but we all know that summer is when all the crazy shit goes down in comics. Superheroes would be boring if all they did was chill at home in between fighting crimes. Stuff has to happen to them- like being killed, or being taken over by another person, or changing genders, or whatever. How else do you keep a character interesting for 75 years? Obviously this strategy works because comic books are wildly popular, today maybe more than ever. Hell, half the movies in the past few years have come from comic book characters. The point is, real fans know that this is just a ploy to keep us paying for and tweeting about these comics. And it's totally working.
But there's another reason we shouldn't be freaking out so much about the new Thor. And it's a little deeper, so sorry if you're not into that, but if there's a door open for me to rant about society imma walk right in. Also I'm the only female member of the DweebCast team (except for Chad, let's be real) so I've been given the authority to do this. Let's break it down.
Thor is a girl now. Everyone is so excited, because yay, girl power. And yes, if you want more gender equality, you should probably put more females in positions of power and also in positions that give them a lot of publicity and credibility. But the fact that we're so damn proud of ourselves for making Thor a girl just shows how far we are from legit gender equality. If males and females were actually equal, a guy being replaced by a girl wouldn't make news. It wouldn't be the huge thing Marvel does in the summer to keep fans' attention. Yes, I know that it's a big deal for anybody new to wield the hammer, but we'd all be lying if we said half the hype isn't just people being excited about what it means for a girl to replace a guy as a superhero. (Or a god.) But, of course, the fact that we are excited is a step. So bravo for that.
And speaking of societal equality, Captain America is about to be black. Get ready for the Internet to explode again, and check out the announcement on the Colbert Report tonight.
What do you think of all this Marvel craziness? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @DweebCast.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
