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Guess Who Hates The New She-Ra Design

By Kristy Puchko | Streaming | July 16, 2018 |

By Kristy Puchko | Streaming | July 16, 2018 |


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The first image of Netflix’s She-Ra reboot have hit the web. And fans are divided. And by divided, I mean a lot of people are stoked, and some dudes have decided their boners matter more than the show’s intended demographic of young girls.

First up, a few pics of the redesign led by celebrated comic book artist/writer Noelle Stevenson.

Now, here are some of the responses that are inspiring headlines like “The Internet Hates the New She-Ra Design!”

Basically, their complaint is that this She-Ra isn’t a busty babe in skimpy clothes meant to appeal to the Male Gaze first, and maybe interest little girls second. These detractors have deemed this She-Ra too masculine, too queer, and not pretty enough. But they’re missing the point. This series isn’t for them, or at least not exclusively for them. It’s for girls who might better relate to a superheroine who doesn’t look like an ’80s music video vixen, but rather a cool kid who might actually go to their school. And despite what certain websites might have you believe, negative responses do not dominate the online conversation about She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Along with loads of tweets that express pure excitement, there’s also these:

Those surprised by the look of this She-Ra clearly have no familiarity with Stevenson’s work. With Nimona, she offered a queer love story and an unusual tale of self-acceptance in the fantasy-fueled adventure story named for a chubby, trouble-seeking girl with a buzzcut.

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Then, she co-wrote Lumberjanes, a comic book series about a bunch of adventure-seeking, monster-punching Girl Scouts. It doggedly showed a diversity in style, body shape, hair, race and sexual orientation. I suspect we’ll see a similar variety as more character designs for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are unveiled.

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Looking at these, doesn’t Stevenson’s She-Ra seem the natural next step? Speaking to EW, she said of her upcoming reboot, “She-Ra was ahead of its time. I’m so excited to bring these stories of female power and love and friendship back now when it seems like we need them more than ever.”

Forget the haters. We’re excited to see what else Stevenson has in store for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power when it hits Netflix later this year.