For the morning crowd: After a Twitter discussion about representation yesterday, I got to sketching. Check it out. pic.twitter.com/gWnRbKegtX
— Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
We talk a lot about representation in the media/art that we consume. And yet! And yet said media/art/presented world is still incredibly narrow. Frustratingly narrow. And so need to keep talking.
And so let us look this time around to Tess Fowler, comic illustrator, who laid out some things on Twitter the other day, including but not limited to: 1) What we need, and 2) Actual examples of how it’s really not that hard to represent a wider array of types. You can read all of her tweets over at her Twitter timeline. But here are the highlights.
You know what I’d like to see more of? Sexy butch girls. Not girls made to look uber feminine w/ make up and crop tops. I want- — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
-muscular forearms & 1950s hair cuts and suspenders and sportcoats. Why does that frighten people? Why does that “look” need to be softened? — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
Again, I have ZERO issue with conventionally sexy women. No problemo. You RAWK. I support you! There are just so many other types of women. — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
How about women over the age of 30? Where are they? And OLD ladies? In their 80s and 90s? I want more old ladies! — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
@TessFowler Practical armour and a figure that makes sense for a pro warrior doesn’t automatically exclude lip gloss and cute accessories. — Caelyn Ellis (@CaelynEllis) January 22, 2015
@TessFowler Yasss! I thought this Superboy cover was for Supergirl and got super excited :( pic.twitter.com/jszhto4xoT — Laura Sneddon (@thalestral) January 22, 2015
Can we also talk about representations of women who are outside the norm…but not given any kind of “appeal”? Big girls and WoC as UGLY… — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
For starters, I want to see big dark skinned black women portrayed as beautiful in the media I consume. Be it tv or movies or comics- — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
I live in LA. I am surrounded by WoC who are all sizes, all shapes, and all ages. I want to SEE that in comics and on screen. — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
Also? News flash: Really big women can be sexy. And yes, there are men who want to see them portrayed that way. — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
You know what? I’mma spend the day drawing lady types you don’t see enough of in media at large. — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 22, 2015
And then she did!
Sketch of Twitter user @CaelynEllis after our discussion about representation and armored ladies. :) pic.twitter.com/7co87cVpFm — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
Old lady, jr high robot enthusiast, adorable housewife & butch representing firefighter. Per request. All WoC. pic.twitter.com/0qJDPtLdyc — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
That whole Twitter discussion about representation may have set off a chain reaction. I can’t stop. pic.twitter.com/RaH6afRaOh — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
One last page of concept art. Representation, anyone? pic.twitter.com/egWpGZ0Fs0 — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
Closing arguments:
I could go on for days sketching like that and still not even scratch the surface of all the wonderful people variety out there. Women are- — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
a great place to start (WoC specifically). But there’s so much more to the spectrum. I wish we had more of this in comics, & media at large. — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
UNUSED 2014 concept art: Even when walking the line of “marketability” there’s still opportunity 4 a little diversity pic.twitter.com/pPsY9mHA4M — Tess Fowler (@TessFowler) January 23, 2015
Obviously Fowler’s comments do not cover everything, but I found it pretty cathartic and refreshing to read, and I love to see those illustrations. Now if only we could get television and film to reflect things like this.
Continue the discussion (and fill in even more blanks) in the comments below. Parties not represented above? Talk about them here! Other people who do a good job laying it all out there? Share! Got illustrations from yourself or other artists that do a good job illustrating the point? I’d love to see those, too.
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