The battle of the sexes hits geekdom

By Vaneta Rogers

updated 8:08 p.m. ET Sept. 17, 2009

As female fans stake their claim as a growing part of the “geek” audience, the previously male-dominated world of fan culture is struggling to get used to the idea.

While the differences between the sexes have been argued for years in barrooms and kitchens the world over, now it’s fandom that is dealing with the issue. As women are becoming more interested (part 1) in sci-fi and fantasy media, the idea that there might — or might not — be differences between how men and women approach fandom is a concept that everyone from Hollywood filmmakers (part 2) to comic book fans are trying to understand.

The growing pains that come from women embracing a once male-dominated realm were evident at this summer’s massive Comic-Con International: San Diego, where more than 40 percent of the attendees were female.

During the convention, internet fans argued male-female issues like the potential sexism of the event’s “booth babes” and claims that the show was “ruined” by the influx of female “Twilight” fans.

In one panel, filmmaker/comic shop owner Kevin Smith mentioned “Twilight,” and his throngs of fans responded with such loud boos and jeers that Smith chastised them.

“That’s the next generation of fans!” Smith said. “That’s what I love about a comic book convention. People will come to a convention, stand there in a Spock costume, look at someone in a Chewie costume, and say, ‘Look at that f--in’ geek. How dare you pass judgment on those 12-year-old girls who like vampires!”

Behind the backlash
But behind the backlash seems to be this idea that not only might female fans be attracted to different stories than men, but male and female reactions to fandom are sometimes at odds.

Joss Whedon, creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has ushered in a surprisingly large female audience for “Buffy” and other sci-fi projects like “Firefly,” “Serenity” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” Yet, despite his stories appealing to women, he sees no difference between his male and female fans.

“There’s not a difference. I do not think there’s a difference,” Whedon said. “What? Female fans are more nurturing? People are crazy, and fans are the best kind of crazy. And I speak as one of them. And I’ve never seen a difference in the way the men and women respond to things.”

Actor/writer Michael McMillian has seen more than one side of fandom, both in his role on the HBO vampire series “True Blood” and as part of the comics’ community while writing the upcoming magic-based comic “Lucid” for publisher Archaia.

McMillian pointed out that while female readers were the target of the Sookie Stackhouse book series on which “True Blood” is based, the television show has appealed to both sexes — something he tends to think is possible for any good story. But he recognizes that while men and women may like the same stories, their attraction and response may be a little different.

“When someone’s passionate about something, it tends to transcend gender lines. I loved Sean McKeever’s run on ‘Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane,’” the actor said of the teen-centered comic book, “but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t written with me in mind. I do think, however, from watching my niece and nephew play ‘Star Wars’ together, guys still tend to be a bit more violent in their role-play, while girls seem to be drawn into interpersonal relations between characters.”

That focus on relationships is something unique about the way women approach fandom, said Louise Krasniewicz, an anthropologist and lecturer for the University of Pennsylvania who studies fan culture.

“Men may have the same type of emotional investment in the characters, but their focus in social settings will be more about what they know,” she said. “I think girl fans talk a lot about the emotional investment they have. They love the characters, and when they become part of fan culture, they feel connected with the other women because of the emotions, so that’s what they concentrate on.”

The anthropologist, who is a long-time comic book fan but recently got involved in “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” fandom, made the comparison of a boy who studies the back of a football player’s rookie card while his sister couldn’t care less about those statistics, instead focusing on how seeing a touchdown made her feel. She said the same can be said about how most men and women communicate about properties like Pokemon or the X-Men.

“I’ve discovered at different comic book conventions that it’s more about ‘can you top this?’ The men know what superhero did this and in what issue he did it. It’s almost a competition game,” Krasniewicz said. “With women, there doesn’t tend be as much of a competition where they want to prove they know more. Their discussions are more likely to be about their emotional response to the characters. They want to talk about how the stories make them feel.”

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