Fangirls Around the Web: August 17, 2014

Elsa Anna CosplayCatch up time on Fangirls Around the Web. Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting weekly to get back up to speed after a busy month. Not that anyone is complaining that there are so many awesome examples of fangirls and their real and fictional heroines spotted around the web. Where to start?

FANgirl contributor Priya Chhaya sent along the link to a Washington Post op-ed by former deputy White House chief of staff for operations Alyssa Mastromonaco, “Being informed and fashionable is natural for women.” The Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego proved this point. Have you checked out the profiles on the designers over at Her Universe? Or how about these real life sisters Christie and Robyn cosplaying/Disney-bounding Frozen‘s Elsa and Anna that were spotted at Neatorama?

At Coffee With Kenobi Melinda Wolf interviewed Star Wars Insider editor Jonathan Wilkins. They discuss the Lego Yoda Chronicles, Episode VII, Celebration, and more.

From this conversation started by Gail Z. Martin on Facebook, I saw a link to this great blog post pointing out many of the problems with the allegation that character is “Mary Sue” and with online “litmus tests” for such traits in particular.

Rob Bricken at io9 writes about the movie deal for Kelly Thompson’s novel The Girl Who Would Be King.

Three cheers for Frozen:

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At TheMarySue, Zoe Chevat wrote a fantastic two-part series, “Excuse Me, Princess“: The Princess Type, for Good or Ill. Her analyses of princess tropes in Part One and Part Two are definitely worth the read. Rebecca Pahle highlights “50 Female-Directed Movies You Should Watch.”

Princesses, despite what we may think of their relevance, seem to be everywhere we look. In movies, in television, in products aimed at young girls, the trope of the princess is going as strong as ever, often as an old type wearing a new costume. Though progress appears to have been made, the new, feisty princess simply pays lip service to longstanding feminist concerns, mollifying women’s issues in popular culture, and giving an appearance of change where there is still much work to be done. Yet, classical princesses began to share the field around the time of this noticeable shift in values, begetting first one major additional kind of princess, and then another that seemed to combine the two. Each came with its own problems, and remains with us today, as sometimes token examples of an attempt to break barriers, but also as troubled answers to the complicated (or is it?) question of representing women.

Lisa Granshaw at The Daily Dot reports that “Comics Survival Kit is Gail Simone’s new Tumblr resource for artists.” Aja Romano explains “What Ms Marvel’s rare 6th printing means for diversity in comics.”

On Facebook via Dan Madsen I saw A Mighty Girl’s post about the Night Witches pilots during World War II, a real-life tale we’ve featured previously in FGATW.

Fangirls of the Day are Kristyn, Jaina, Mallory, Ricarda, Dani’, Mara, Brittanie, Dyan, Christina, Ann Catrin, Kit, Kiley, Liz, Alice, Sadie, Andrea, Sara, Mandy, Victoria, Talena, Cassidy, Krystle, Taylor, Jenn, Kristy, Ariel, Angela, Jenny, Karolina, and Lisa.

Back with more next week.


Tricia Barr’s novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library’s successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena’s Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.

For updates on all things FANgirl follow @FANgirlcantina on Twitter or like FANgirl Zone on Facebook. At times she tries the Tumblr.

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Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and the intersection of women within Star Wars fandom. She is co-author of Ultimate Star Wars and Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia from DK Publishing, a featured writer for Star Wars Insider magazine with numerous articles on the Hero's Journey. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Hyperspace Theories and Fangirls Going Rogue. Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.