This, so much. Which is exactly how we noticed that when we were quiet “good girls” like some people here want us to be, we got nothing, but boys who threw tantrums got things. “But these boys buy our merchandise and go to our conventions” said the industry, ignoring the fact that a little girl might beg for a superhero and be given Barbie instead, because boys weren’t buying stuff, parents were. And maybe both parents weren’t geeks so they bought what they thought a little girl wanted or should have. Thus, all the little girls who made do with Barbie playing WW were assumed not really to be interested.
Then those girls grew up, got their own money and spent what they could on geek stuff for the short time that own money lasted, but “Mom’s things” were forced away over “kids needs” (though somehow Dad got to keep his toys). And their daughters grew up having to make do with Barbies, because aunts and uncles and grandparents didn’t understand and Mom didn’t have a lot of money she could budget towards a toy that no longer existed due to lack of sales. But the did have that one piece of wisdom to share: quiet “good girls” like some people here want us to be, we got nothing, but boys who threw tantrums got things. So those daughters and their daughters took advantage of shifting societal norms that said they didn’t have to get married and have kids so soon, that you didn’t have to give up your loves. And they began buying. They began showing up at the events in numbers, rather than just a lucky one or two who could be safely ignored. And suddenly the whiny boys got nervous because there were girls here, but they’d never consumed media with healthy relationships and unlike the girls, hadn’t learned for generations to roll their eyes at such depictions, couldn’t handle being called out on it.
So, yeah, we’re “chest thumping” because we figured out that’s the only thing that works. And don’t blame us, we learned it watching the boys.
