Part of this decision stems from the idea that I look just enough like Wonder Woman to be able to pull her off. Over the past few years, I have tended to fall back on the same female heroes: Hermione from Harry Potter, Katniss from The Hunger Games, and Rainbow Brite, the symbol of my eighties youth. This year, I also plan to add Kayleigh from Firefly to my cosplay repertoire. When I have more money and time, I want to have a costume designed for me to be Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones.
As someone who is falling even more in love with the comic/graphica genre, I really wanted to cosplay as a female superhero. The good news is, I was able to find a Wonder Woman costume that is my size and that is attractive without being overly revealing. The bad news is, I could not think of any other female superheroes to emulate.
On a positive note, through the Red Clay Writing Project and through my Language and Literacy department, I am surrounded by critical thinkers who have also noticed this trend and who would like to see it changed. Last week, in the Graphic Literature Open Institute, Eric (the Instructor) told us about Kelly Sue Deconnick, a writer who Marvel recently hired and who is writing more superhero stories with female protagonists. I also learned that there's a Captain Marvel series that features a female Captain Marvel.
Therefore, strides are being made in the right direction, but I would like to see even more made. If I do have a daughter of my own one day, I want her to be able to choose from an assortment of strong female protagonists and heroes. Hermione and Katniss are a good beginning, but we need more, especially outside of the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre.
Also, on a positive note, the graphic novel Darkroom by Lila Quintero Weaver features a female protagonist who is both likable and strong. As more historical fiction graphic memoirs are published with strong female protagonists, perhaps this trend will continue to grow both in the graphica genre and the realistic fiction genre.
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