Martha Thomases: Gender Bender

Martha Thomases

Martha Thomases brought more comics to the attention of more people than anyone else in the industry. Her work promoting The Death of Superman made an entire nation share in the tragedy of one of our most iconic American heroes. As a freelance journalist, she has been published in the Village Voice, High Times, Spy, the National Lampoon, Metropolitan Home, and more. For Marvel comics she created the series Dakota North. Martha worked as a researcher and assistant for the author Norman Mailer on several of his books, including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Executioner's Song, On Women and Their Elegance, Ancient Evenings, and Harlot's Ghost.

1 Response

  1. Mindy Newell says:

    Martha, there was a cover story in the New York TImes Sunday Magazine a few weeks back; it was by Maureen Dowd, and titled THE WOMEN OF HOLLYWOOD SPEAK OUT. She interviewed over 1000 women who work in the film industry and the “insidiuous sexism” that abounds. Here’s a few quotes from the article:

    “It’s kind of like the church. They don’t want us to be priests. They want us to be obedient nuns.”
    Anjelica Huston, actress, director and producer

    “I think it’s worse than 10 years ago, so we can’t even tell ourselves it’s slowly evolving.’’
    Helen Hunt, writer, director, producer
    ‘‘Then She Found Me,’’ ‘‘Ride’’

    “You’d have to go to forklifters to find a lower percentage of females — 99 percent of people on my crew have never worked with a female director. A woman who’d been working as an extra for 30 years was on my set and told me: ‘I just want to tell you, right on, sister. Do you know how nice it is just to see a woman in charge?’ I kind of got teary.”
    Denise Di Novi, producer and director
    ‘‘Heathers,’’ ‘‘Edward Scissorhands,’’ ‘‘Unforgettable’’

    ‘‘A big part of getting a ‘shot’ is about studio execs seeing themselves in you. As a woman and a black filmmaker, I’m often not that person.”
    Dee Rees, writer, director and producer
    “Pariah,” “Bessie”

    “Truly creative things happen when one thinks differently, yet nobody wants to think differently.”
    Shonda Rhimes, creator, founder and producer
    ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy,’’ ‘‘Scandal,’’ ShondaLand production company