Why Are Men Intent on Keeping Women Away from Marvel and Star Wars?

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Alright...I have thoughts on this. Gather round, everyone: it's storytime (and it will be well worth it)! Without getting into too much detail about my awkward youth (stunted by a severe stutter and undiagnosed autism), I found my escapism in comic books, cartoons, and movies. One morning, when I got up extra early in the morning, I discovered a cartoon at 5:30 am called Sailor Moon. There was something about the characters, the animation, and, yes, even the music (conversations about dub music and original music will be saved for another day) that stood out to me as unique and different. Yes, the show had action in it, but it also had characters with wonderful relationships. It didn't feature many male characters. Instead, it had a mostly female cast. I won't hesitate to say that I didn't like girls much at that age. That was partially because I didn't like many people in general back then, but girls I found especially perplexing. I just didn't relate to them. Yet I found Serena, Amy, Lita, Raye, and Mina to be very likable in their own way, and I was wondering if maybe girls in real life weren't as scary as I built them up to be. Sailor Moon became an instant favorite of mine, and it remains something that is very personal to me to this day. Now, here's where I make my big point. I didn't share my love of Sailor Moon with too many guys. I tried a couple of times, but they laughed at the idea that I would enjoy this show (all while professing a love for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, ironically enough). I also loved Star Wars, DC, and Marvel, but I found myself loving anime as well. Here's the thing: ironically, I started to become popular with several girls at school because they found out I loved Sailor Moon. It was rare for a boy to admit to liking a show primarily about girls, and they were happy...no, EXCITED to share their love of the show with me! They introduced me to other shows I might enjoy, like Cardcaptor Sakura and InuYasha, later on. In high school and college, when females found out I loved shows like Sailor Moon, they welcomed me into clubs with open arms, happy to talk about their favorite series. They didn't laugh that I was a boy, or ridicule me for discussing whether Mamoru should be Usagi's true love when pretty boy Seiya came into the picture; they just loved sharing their hobby with me. Sailor Moon undoubtedly was made for a female audience, yet female fans were always welcoming to me. Which brings us to this quote, and this #MakeMarvelMaleAgain hashtag.

I think it's clear that many of the original Marvel comics were written with young male boys in mind. The writers were good at writing those stories, and there is nothing wrong with that. I don't believe everything was male-centered. Peter Parker's romance (and eventual marriage) to Mary Jane was the kind of storyline that would interest more women than boys, and several stories in X-Men were written from the female perspective. But, yes, overall, these stories were primarily geared toward boys. With that fact established, I find it curious that the Sailor Moon community, which is mainly made up of women, is so welcoming towards men when they want to partake in their favorite show, while men are hostile when women want to partake in our favorite shows. And it's not just Sailor Moon. Why is it female fans of InuYasha - who ARE the main target audience for that show - so happy to have discussions of it with their male fans of the series, all while Star Wars fans still have a "eww...girls are GROSS" attitude?! Why doesn't the male sex embrace female fans who are interested in Marvel, Star Trek, Star Wars, DC, and Dragon Ball Z? I don't know if you've noticed, but women are kind, fun, and (if I may say so) a lot more attractive than we are. Why WOULDN'T we want them to partake in something that makes us so happy?! Why wouldn't we want to share what we love with them? They seem more than happy to share what makes them happy with us. Why do we feel that it is bad when it comes to stuff that was made with us in mind first? Women are...amazing. Truthfully, girls were a lot kinder to a lonely boy with a stutter when I was growing up than my male counterparts. They were happy to share what they loved with me. Why can't we be happy to share what we love with them?

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