Women We Love: Ivory Madison

Having posted on the topic of comic books, superheroes and feminism before, it will be no secret to readers of The Dawn Chorus (and even less of a secret to those who know me personally) that I am a massive, massive geek.

But through my time spent reading comic books I felt there was something missing; I wanted a superhero to call my own, a kickass woman who didn’t have to be, well, “boobs up, ass out” to get things done. How fortunate, then, that I recently stumbled upon Huntress: Year One, DC’s six-part series introducing readers to the second woman to wear the Huntress mantle, Helena Bertinelli. Helena/Huntress is a no-nonsense, strong and independent woman with a wicked right hook and an even more wicked wit – she even takes a break, in Huntress: Year One, from beating up Batman to discuss anarcho-feminism with Catwoman. But I was delighted to discover that so, too, was the writer behind Huntress: Year One, Ivory Madison, a writer, feminist, activist and businesswoman.

Ivory is something of a superhero herself – when she’s not writing (and even when she is), she is the CEO and founder of Red Room, an online community for writers (and editors, and publishers, and readers!) that has been hailed as “MySpace for writers” and counts luminaries like Maya Angelou, Amy Tan and Barack Obama amongst its many members. All this, and she is just 29.

With the final issue of Huntress: Year One having just hit the stands this past week, I asked Ivory how she manages to be so unfailingly awesome across so many fields, without so much as a cape or superpowers to assist her.

* * *

When you were growing up, were there particular women in your life who had a major influence on you?
“In real life, no, I don’t think so. But in the world of pop culture and history, that’s where I found my heroes. I’ll never forget the moment in Star Wars, when I was little, seeing Princess Leia roll her eyes at Han Solo’s rescue attempt, grab the gun from him, and start shooting storm troopers. A moment like that, you store those up as a little girl as proof the dominant culture is wrong, and women can be strong.”

Women On The Line Fundraiser

If you’ll be in Melbourne on Tuesday 26 August, how about catching a cool movie and raising funds for feminist community radio? “Yeah!” I hear you chorus.

Persepolis is an award-winning animated film based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel about growing up against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. Through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine-year-old Marjane, we see a people’s hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power — forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable.

The movie fundraiser supports Women On The Line, a women’s current affairs program on Melbourne community radio station 3CR. Since 1986, it has featured women’s voices, issues and commentary. The show provides a gender analysis of contemporary issues, as well as in-depth analysis by a range of women around Australia and internationally.

Cinema Nova, Lygon St, Carlton
Tuesday 26 August at 7pm
Tickets are $20.

For bookings or more info, email womenontheline [at] hotmail [dot] com. There’s also a Facebook event for this, because truly the age of over-information is upon us.