This article is short but very sweet.
I’ve known Jill Pantozzi (her name is her twitter handle) since 2011, and she is one of those people who fill your spirit with delight every time you see them. Jill has spent her life writing about pop culture, mostly comics and sci-fi/fantasy media, for a variety of websites, and in everything she does, she brings the analytical insight of an expert and the passion of someone who loves even the most infinitesimal minutiae (yes, minutiae THAT small) of her chosen subjects. And she does it all from a motor scooter due to her muscular dystrophy. Every single time I read about the continuing misogyny against and harassment of female comics and genre fans (and you all know my reaction), I think of Jill. She is living proof of what idiots they are.
For the past two years, Jill has been Associate Editor of The Mary Sue: A Guide to Girl Geek Culture, a fantastic news site concentrating on genre entertainment from a feminist perspective. It’s one of the best and most readable sights on the web. And today it merges with Geekosystem: Your Geek Guide to Internet and Tech Culture, into one giant website covering every topic the two covered separately. And Jill will be Managing Editor of this new edition of The Mary Sue. I cannot fully express what a great decision this is: the result will be a source for everything important happening in the “nerd” culture that is informative, inclusive, and handled with the best of care…and, I believe, a force to help transform the culture in the ways people like we at the Addison Recorder long to see it transform, in a way that leaves prejudices and threats behind and embraces the viewpoints of all fandoms. And so I wish Jill Pantozzi and The Mary Sue nothing but the very best as this begins, and urge anyone who loves space, monsters, fairy tales, technological advancement, steampunk, and gender equality to make it a regular part of your online day.
Or the results won’t be pretty.