Greetings and welcome to Harpy, your new home for all things fandom!
“But wait, what exactly is Harpy?” I hear you ask, and we”ll just ignore the fact that you”re talking out loud to a screen because in this age, who doesn”t? Harpy is a place where, instead of women taking a seat at the fandom table, we have the entire geeky table to ourselves. That”s not to say dudes aren”t welcome at our table – we”re no Plastics – but Harpy is one corner of the geekosphere where the ladies drive the bus.
As more and more women discover the wonders of superheroes and wizards, blasters and phasers, we need a place to call our own. In 2013, women made up 41% of New York Comic-Con attendees, a jump of 62% since 2010. We're 46% of comic book readers, and 52% of gamers. Yet, most coverage of sci-fi/fantasy entertainment remains squarely aimed at the coveted 18-49 year old man.
Harpy wants to close that gap:
Harpy will be the premiere destination for women to share and discuss their fandom loves from across the entertainment spectrum! Harpy will be a place where dedication to a show/movie/comic doesn”t mean we shouldn”t poke at troubling parts of the things we love, in the hopes of making media a better, more well-represented medium. Being a fangirl is the best thing in the world. It”s time for a site that reflects that!
To that end, a typical day at Harpy could include any (or all!) of the following things:
• a guest blog out the burning questions of geekdom by a comic book writer, a director, or even one of you!
• interviews with creators and performers
• a deep dive into gender roles in sci-fi/fantasy
• spotlights on amazing cosplay, fan art, and geeky swag
• a cheat sheet for a fandom to help ease in newbies
• recaps of some of your favorite geeky shows…
…and much, much more! It's gonna be awesome.