There are so many different podcasts, blogs, and articles that talk specifically about women in fantasy. The following a is a list of some of my favorite ones. We’ll start with the podcasts.
The first podcast might be one of my favorite sources for my topic. What’s notable about Breaking the Glass Slipper is that it truly focuses on women in fantasy. It talks about different struggles women face in this genre, as well as just fun stuff that women can do in fantasy. A quote from the About section that sums the podcast up perfectly: “We are here to prove to all genre lovers that there is a place for female writers and great female characters amongst the men folk!”
Another podcast I listen to is Anomaly Greek Girl Podcasts which is two self identified geek-girls, talking about all things fantasy. This one is notable because it is for everyone, not just people who like the fantasy genre. It welcomes beginners, as well as die-hard fantasy fans, and talks about a lot of big movies/shows.
Moving on from podcasts to blogs, one of my favorites is Fangrrls, hosted on the SYFY website. This blog, written by a team of female writers, talks about all things fantasy, and women. What makes this blog so great is that it is not just about SYFY shows and characters, but includes a huge selection of different shows, movies, comics, and characters.
Credit: United Artists Releasing
Another blog I keep up with is a Doctor Who blog, called Blogtor Who, which fair warning, is not just about women. What makes this blog notable though, is that it is all things Doctor Who, which includes the female characters that are breaking ground in the Doctor Who universe. A quote from an article about the women involved in the show: “ it’s not just a female cast, there is a female production team that have all come together to write, direct and produce these series of stories.”
Yaz (MANDIP GILL) is quick to challenge the ‘mardy mood’ the Doctor (JODIE WHITTAKER) has been in lately. – (C) BBC – Photographer: Ben Blackall
One of the last sources I found was an article titled The Fantasy Genre Hates Women, and this article talks exactly about that. This article is incredible because it states everything wrong with the way this genre treats women. It takes examples from very famous fantasy shows and movies, and criticizes them for the lack of women. As the article states, “The grandfatherly books that defined the fantasy genre, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, are, unfortunately, the worst offenders.”
Looking back at the first blog post I made, and comparing my media use then, to my media use now, I would definitely say I have changed my routine a little bit. Both this assignment, and this class in general are to blame for that. This assignment changed the way I use media, because I am now listening to some new podcasts, or reading new blogs, that I would have never discovered a few months ago.
This class changed the way I use the media as well. I look at the news a lot more now. Most of the time I would just look at news as I came across it on my feed, but now I actively search for news. I start every morning by looking at my news app, and seeing what I can find. It is weird how much this class changed the way I use media, specifically view news, but I am glad it did. I am becoming a more aware person.
