Moving Beyond “Strong Female Lead”

A surprising headline jumped out at me today: “Emily Blunt Rails Against ‘Strong Female Lead’ Label.” Initially I was taken aback… Wait, but why? Strong female leads are what saved me from… needing to be saved. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena Warrior Princess, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, the Paper Bag Princess. These strong female characters […]

The Gender Bandit

Why do I write? This was WordPress’ Writing 101 question of the day. I write to break moulds, to write about the moulds that need breaking and the people who are breaking them. One of the moulds that I feel most passionately about breaking are those related to gender. What it means to be male […]

Breaking Moulds Comic Debut: “I.T. Girl”

Welcome to the debut of the “Breaking Moulds” comic! This is something I’ve been meaning to start for awhile, and finally got the time/motivation to buckle down and do it! Also the inspiration, thanks to “I.T. Guy” – this is a real thing that happened this week. I’m used to the micro-aggressors that occur when […]

Rejected Princesses and Other Mould Breakers of the Month

Welcome to the first edition of “Mould Breakers of the Month.” Each month I come across loads of interesting things about people who are breaking all sorts of moulds, and I’m going to start compiling some of the best bits to share with you all here each month. So without further adieu, I give you […]

Cutting Off My Womanhood

I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again. The other day, after no small amount of anticipation and deliberation, I cut off my womanhood. Thankfully, while the cutting off of one’s manhood likely conjures images of a gruesome and likely incredibly painful procedure, the cutting off of one’s womanhood is far more enjoyable, often […]

To Be Male Or To Be Female, That Is The Question

If you could start over, start from the very beginning, recreate yourself in entirety, which would you choose: male or female? Part of what I love so much about video games, RPGs in particular, is the opportunity to take on a new persona. Become someone new. Someone different. Someone bolder, braver, more heroic… or less […]

Is “Nerd Girl” An Oxymoron?

It has recently come to my attention that my status as a nerd may be in question. Apparently, according to some of my fellow humans, my inherent female-ness exempts me from certifiable nerddom. Where were these authority figures while I was withering away in nerdy, socially-awkward seventh-grade misery? Where were they in high school while I was desperately […]

A Year of Biblical Womanhood – Book Review and Banning Controversy

Nothing makes me want to read a book like a little controversy. Even better if the controversy involves fundamentalist religious types who DON’T want something to be read. So when I heard an interview with author Rachel Held Evans, whose new book A Year of Biblical Womanhood had actually been refused by a number of […]

On Breaking Moulds

“God made me and broke the mould.” –Jean-Jacques Rousseau Pink. Everything was pink. My walls, carpet, clothes, bedding – even the boxes on the abominable Barbie dolls I received in droves. And so, as soon as I was old enough to decide anything, I decided to hate pink. In retrospect, it wasn’t that I had […]