At Wondercon in Anaheim, CA, somebody sold this shirt.

I don’t understand why people say comics are hostile to female fans with rad shirts like this for sale at Wondercon. pic.twitter.com/Fo6JJBfqzT

— Landry Quinn Walker (@LandryQWalker) April 20, 2025

For the record: it’s a stupid shirt, and cruel, dressed up in elbow-nudging humor. A joke is being attempted, but it fails, and leaves sexism in its wake. Those fake-geek girls am I right guys? Har har. It’s just a shirt, though, right? What’s the big deal?

Selling this shirt is a clear example of how defensive males want to keep comic culture insulated. For whatever reason, some holier than thous decide who is considered unworthy, and create a hostile environment towards that group. Generally, that group is female.

Anyway. The comic-book writer Greg Rucka was at Wondercon. And he saw this shirt. And, being a father and a decent human person, was angered by it. Rucka wrote at length on his blog about “that bullshit piece of shit ‘joke’ t-shirt.”

“I am the father of a daughter, and she is my light,” Rucka begins. I tear-up reading his piece. I hope to emulate his fire when/if needed. In his article Rucka tells the story of his daughter attending a school where boys outnumber girls 2 to 1. How it’s hard for her. How she escapes. It’s a warm story from a loving father.

“I want for her every-fucking-thing she desires, and I want those things for her earned, not given; I want for her the reward of effort. I want for her inclusion. I want for her validation. I want for her a world that recognizes her worth as a human being.”

Reading this angry letter moved me deeply this morning. There are real dangers in the world that our children face; dangers we cannot do much to solve. But what we can do is raise our voices when we see people, who for no reason other than their own benefit, make the lives of our children more difficult.

Rucka’s daughter, by his own account, is a fangirl, and “she doesn’t fit in.” Here, for the world to see, is a simple thing that make’s her life harder. It encourages people to exclude her from what she loves. So he’s angry. I appreciate Mr. Rucka saying so publicly and hope he doesn’t mind me quoting him at length.

Some asshole thinks selling a shirt that, essentially, says, GURLS STAY OUT is funny. He’s talking to my wife. He’s talking to my daughter. He’s talking to my friends. He’s talking to my fans. He’s talking to some of the best writers in the industry, some of the most gifted artists, some of the most talented creators in the arts.
GURLS STAY OUT. Heh heh heh.
Fucking mouthbreather.
…
What in the name of everlovingfuck is the matter with you? Are you simply stupid? Are you just ignorant? Are you broken? Newsflash: you are owed NOTHING. Not a thing. Not a goddamn thing. This fandom, that fandom, guess what? It doesn’t belong to you.
You don’t own it. You partake in it. It’s called community.
You want something to be your thing, make a club, build a tree-fort, and do us a favor. Don’t come down.
Next time you think of opening your damn mouth to talk about “the women” or “their agenda” or fake geek anything, if nothing else, know this: I am listening, and I am taking names, because you are, in part, talking about my daughter.
You are talking about my friends.
You are talking about my colleagues.
You are talking about those people I am fortunate enough to count as fans of my work.
And you do not get to talk about them that way.
Especially my daughter.

The time is long past for such behavior to go unremarked upon in our culture. Exclusion based on sexism hides behind a “double standards” defense, and claims of authority on “what should be done with the things we love.” As though the excluders are the one who decide these things.

Whatever one’s cultural interest are, they are better off shared with love than hoarded with greed. Gender or race or age do not determine who loves comic-books, sci-fi, fantasy, cosplay, any fandom. A person who thinks keeping people out is the best way forward should stay home until he or she (but probably he) learns: Inclusion is better than exclusion.

Stories of exclusion in comics and genre, and there are too many, always remind me of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s comments about girls and women being “driven out” of comics. There used to be an huge female audience for comic books, Kelly Sue said, but there was an active hostility towards women and girls that created a male-dominated comic-book culture.

That active hostility remains and it is here, again, on display for the world to see. Thankfully, fan-cultures now push back, forcefully, when hostility and exclusion rear their heads. Rucka, DeConnick, all number of artists and writers and journalists, are listening, and taking names.

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