It’s hardly new news, but Thor has recently had a rather drastic gender change. Henceforth, the Asgardian shall no longer bear any resemblance to Chris Hemsworth, instead representing (arguably) the first major Marvel character to be a woman (we’re talking top five characters here). It’s another substantial move by the comic giants to diversify their top flight of characters from the all-white, all male cast we have sadly grown a little too comfortable with. And in terms of their intentions, I highly commend Marvel for acting in this manner. Many of the world’s best loved comic super heroes, were, frankly, born in another age, several generations ago. When the first Thor issue was released in 1966, women had no legal rights against discrimination in the work place, were unable to get mortgages on their own (except in very rare circumstances), had no access to the contraceptive pill, had no legal right to earn equal pay to men… the list goes on. I’m not trying to suggest in 2014 that the goals of 20th Century feminists have all been realised (they most certainly have not). But, in many areas, women are far closer to achieving total equality with men than they have ever been before.
By Sam Hurcom
It’s hardly new news, but Thor has recently had a rather drastic gender change. Henceforth, the Asgardian shall no longer bear any resemblance to Chris Hemsworth, instead representing (arguably) the first major Marvel character to be a woman (we’re talking top five characters here). It’s another substantial move by the comic giants to diversify their top flight of characters from the all-white, all male cast we have sadly grown a little too comfortable with. And in terms of their intentions, I highly commend Marvel for acting in this manner. Many of the world’s best loved comic super heroes, were, frankly, born in another age, several generations ago. When the first Thor issue was released in 1966, women had no legal rights against discrimination in the work place, were unable to get mortgages on their own (except in very rare circumstances), had no access to the contraceptive pill, had no legal right to earn equal pay to men… the list goes on. I’m not trying to suggest in 2014 that the goals of 20th Century feminists have all been realised (they most certainly have not). But, in many areas, women are far closer to achieving total equality with men than they have ever been before. |
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