Women: Let Men Have Stuff. It's Not All About You.

I grew up in a future-oriented household. When it came to personal computers, gaming systems, and the internet, my brother and I were early - and enthusiastic - adopters. But how we each chose to use these new technologies diverged substantially -- in a gender-linked way. Who, for example, were the Usenet junkies? My (female) friends and I. And who spent hours on the SNES? My brother and his (male) friends. 

If my TL this week is anything to go by, merely observing that some hobbies appeal more to boys risks running afoul of the screaming harpies of tolerance. But a thousand accusations of misogyny can't change what's demonstrably true: girls, on average, aren't that interested in gaming, Star Wars, or superhero comics -- and boys, on average, aren't that interested in reading Harlequin romance novels.

(Notice I said on average. I'm well aware that there are exceptions. As I mention below, I happen to be one!)   

Now are these general trends evidence of a problem that cries out for a solution? According to the aforementioned harpies, yes: if a particular cultural product is not currently landing with most of the female audience, they say, it's insufficiently inclusive and must be reshaped. But my reply to such blather is really quite simple: why? Why does everything on Earth have to be rendered "friendly to women"? Why does everything have to cleave to your preferences? Why, exactly, are you entitled to be catered to no matter where you go?

That's certainly not how I entered Marvel comics fandom. I've gobbled up a ton of old Iron Man and Avengers comics because I like them as they are. I care not a whit that they were written for someone who is not me (i.e. the middle-American teenaged boy). As a matter of fact, I have so far been deeply unimpressed with Marvel's recent attempts to pivot in what the company assumes is my direction. No: I felt welcome already -- even if I am one woman in a crowd of men. And I suspect this is because I haven't asked for the entire fandom to revolve around me.

I honestly don't understand the self-centered insecurity that drives SJW feminists to colonize male-dominated fandoms and then demand they change. If you really like these "boy things," why are you trying to make them something they manifestly are not? To my mind, it would be much healthier - and far less annoying - if you simply owned your own gender nonconformity and relaxed with your bad selves. "Yep," you should say. "I'm a chick who reads male power fantasies/watches pew-pew movies/plays first-person shooter games. You got a problem with that?" Based on my personal experience, most of the men you'll be hanging with will respond with a hearty "no, ma'am!"

/my $.02.