Sam Maggs on Wonder Women, Intersectional Feminism and More!
Being a woman in any industry can be filled with obstacles, but being a woman in geek culture and especially jobs focusing around that culture can be a mine field at times. Despite the obstacles that many face, true trailblazers never let anything stand in the way of their dreams. After revealing the cover of her new book Wonder Women, the one and only Sam Maggs sat down with us to discuss those very women, and the obstacles she’s faced in her own career.
Smart Girls: Your new book Wonder Women features an eclectic group of female trailblazers. What helped you decide who to write about?
Sam Maggs: This was really difficult because there are so many different women who have done so many cool things throughout history. There were a few that I felt were pretty well known — Ada Lovelace… and I think a lot of people know Betty LaMarr. There are some women who come up frequently, so I thought, “These can’t be the only women in history who ever did anything cool!” I really wanted to go out of my way to find women that we don’t talk about a lot, and in particular, I think for me, that meant women of color and queer women who are otherwise marginalized and don’t get a lot of attention.
SG: Were there any that got ‘left on the cutting room floor’ so to speak? Or any others that, looking back, you wish you would have included?
SM: There were actually a bunch, so at the end of every chapter we ended up putting in a little section of “and these women too.” They each get their own little paragraph so I could encourage people who were reading the book to check them out. You know, they read the ones who get the big write up and then there’s a ton more with little paragraphs. If any of them particularly interest the reader, they can go out and do some extra research about them on their own!
SG: What was the biggest hurdle you faced when you started down the path that got you where you are today, and how did you overcome it?
SM: I think that when you’re talking about being a woman in geek culture, especially coming up in the time that I did, you know, things aren’t easy, but things are getting a little more acceptable because there are so many awesome trailblazers like Felicia Day that we have to thank for making a trail for gals like us. When I was coming up, girls didn’t really go to comic books stores, or didn’t feel welcome in the spaces online in which you would discuss these things. I faced a significant amount of gatekeeping and just sort of having my ‘cred’ questioned and all that. That feeling of having to prove yourself all of the time because of your gender is really terrible. Facing that was difficult, and it took quite a while for me to realize that when people would treat me like that, I just didn’t have to talk to them anymore or work with them or associate with them in any way. When I finally came to that realization, it was just so wonderful. It was just like “I don’t have to care what these people think.” There are a million other people on the internet and in person who are really cool and believe me and know that I’m into this stuff and want to hear what I have to say, but it took me a while to get there.
It’s like this weird bonding experience that all of us geek women have, but I really do hope in the future that it won’t be a thing anymore.
SG: You’re no stranger to panels at conventions. Just recently at ECCC, you were a part of such panels as ‘Not Just a Trend: Female Protagonists in Video Games’ and ‘Moving Beyond the Strong Female Character’. Of all the panels you’ve done in your time as a professional, what has been your favorite?
SM: Oh my goodness! That’s such a tough question! Actually, it’s cool that you bring up the Emerald City one, because that convention is really, really great for talking about diversity in comics. I did one on intersectional feminism in comics, which is feminism that includes people of all different races, ethnicities, sexualities, classes, and abilities on top of gender as a consideration. We had all sorts of amazing creators on that panel! We ended up having such a good discussion about the state of the industry and where we’re headed and how we can do better. I love cons for that! Not only do you get all of these cool creator people in one place but then you get all of these awesome, really passionate and educated fans asking questions and getting to be heard by the people who make the things that they love, so they’re always such a good time!
Oh! And New York Comic Con last year I did an LGBTQ panel that was presented by the New York Times. That was a huge room! It was my first time being on a panel and identifying as queer, so that was a big moment for me and it was really cool. Everyone was really nice and even cheered for me! Often bisexual people don’t really feel super welcome in the LGBTQ community, so it was cool not to feel that stigma at all.
SG: You have two books under your belt, what’s next, career wise?
SM: The book is finished, but it’s not out yet, it comes out October 18th! I’m still very excited for people to get their hands on it, read it, and hopefully like it or at the very least find the women in the book interesting. It has historical women and I interviewed a lot of modern women in different STEM fields as well.
I just started a new job as an assistant video game writer with Bioware, who makes games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. I just started there and that’s been super exciting for me because Bioware is my favorite video game company. I think they’re the most progressive in terms of characters, representation, and diversity. It’s really cool to be able to go work at a place that prioritizes all of those things in their creative fiction, and just to know that I can show up at work and write about lesbians if I want to every day! They’re really cool and I feel very lucky to be learning how to make video games, so that’s all new and very exciting for me!
SG: If you could give one piece of advice to all of the Smarties out there, what would it be?
SM: The one piece of advice that I always give to girls or anyone who asks is just to be yourself and love the things that you love and do the things that you want to do as long as they’re not hurting anyone else. If you’re pretending to be something that you’re not, or to like things that you don’t, or being a different person than what you feel in your heart, it’s just going to make you miserable. I’ve tried, and it doesn’t work. You can’t be happy like that, so just be who you are and love what you love, that’s honestly the best way to be.
If the people around you at this current moment don’t happen to understand you or who you are it’s okay! There’re a ton of people on the internet just waiting for you to arrive and to be friends with you! There are a tons of amazing communities, comic book stores, tabletop gaming groups, and more! There are so many amazing resources for women right now! They’re there to support you and be there for you, so just be yourself. I know it’s kind of trite, but it’s true.
Featured Image via sam maggs dot com
