#WheresBlackWidow is the awesome (important!) campaign to get a girl on ‘Avengers’ merch
If you’re an Avengers fan, and you’re super pumped for the latest film, Avengers: Age of Ultron, coming out May 1st, you may have checked out the selection of merchandise. And sure, it looks super cool, but there’s one problem . . . Black Widow cannot be found on quite a few items that feature the rest of the entire Avengers gang.
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is the only woman out of the team of six, so it seems a little pointed — okay, a LOT pointed — that she’s not on several items in the online Marvel shop, such as this t-shirt for men:
Or this t-shirt for boys:
There’s also this giclée on canvas. . . hmm, no Black Widow!
There ARE *some* Black Widow items for sale . . . but only for women, which is even worse. Is she, a kickass female warrior, not good enough for the boys? What sort of message is that teaching kids?
One thing’s for sure: it’s certainly not for a lack of demand. The Twitter-verse is up in arms:
When Buzzfeed reached out to Disney about the severe lack of Black Widow representation, a representative got back to them . . . with a very PC, formulaic response, IMO. “Black Widow is featured across diverse product categories — from toys and apparel to costumes and collectibles,” the representative said. “Specifically you will see multiple t-shirts for girls that feature Black Widow (available at Children’s Place), a Black Widow Hot Wheels car, a role play costume and she is featured in Lego sets. I have also provided attachments which show some of the product slate for Black Widow and Scarlet Witch. The ‘Her Universe’ fashion line also launched this morning connected to the movie.”
Whatever you say, Disney. This isn’t the only problem that Marvel has had with the lack of female representation. In fact, back in August of last year, there was an extreme lack of Gamora in their Guardians of the Galaxy merch . . . which is pretty bonkers considering Guardians of the Galaxy‘s audience was approximately 44% women, as Buzzfeed points out. This sparked a hashtag movement, #wheresGamora. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to change much, since Marvel actively only used Black Widow for women’s merch, as if her status as a woman is the only thing that defines her, but that hasn’t stopped people from expressing their (understandable) feelings of disappointment.
For the record, we are totally in favor of the Twitter campaign that’s forming to put Black Widow back on the merch — for men, boys, and ladies alike. #WheresBlackWidow? Let’s bring her front and center where she belongs.
Photos via
