Guess Who Hates The New She-Ra Design

By Kristy Puchko | Streaming | July 16, 2018 |

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.

HERE YA GO FELLAS, IT'S OUR NEW SHE-RA pic.twitter.com/OtSSloGgeJ — Peg (@pearlhouzuki) July 14, 2018

This was done by Rae Geiger, a character designer on the new She-Ra cartoon.



Don’t let a grainy phone-camera picture be the end-all-be-all of your opinion. I have faith in this series. pic.twitter.com/7bM5gJQc6b — Thomas (@LioConvoy85) July 15, 2018

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

Boyish lesbian re-imagines SHE-RA as a boyish lesbian.



The utter selfishness and egotism of this is astounding. pic.twitter.com/PXIcoNkpaF — Diversity & Comics (@DiversityAndCmx) July 15, 2018

I don't see the problem. I think Hank Venture looks awesome in his She-Ra cosplay. — Just Some Guy (@justsomeguycc) July 15, 2018

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:

it’s a kids show for kids. I have a daughter who loves this kinda stuff and I’m cool with the characters look not just being a walking a tit-job with a sword. — Matt Scaccia (@mattystouts) July 15, 2018

The She-Ra announcement is great because

1) It looks really awesome

2) I get to see actual adult men complain that a drawing of a lady made for children isn't making their pee pee go hard like that's a valid criticism and something totally normal to admit on social media — Rachael Stott (@RachaelAtWork) July 16, 2018

Besides, these people clearly don't watch kids shows of today, like Star vs The Forces of Evil or even Voltron (which the style of She-Ra reminds me of) — LucyFurr (@Dr_Squee) July 16, 2018

THEY FINALLY GAVE SHE-RA KICKASS MUSCULAR ARMS?! 😍😍😍 https://t.co/mdLiLJtRui — C.L. Ogilvie 📚🍩 (@CLOgilvie) July 16, 2018

There are few red flags as large and bleak as that of adult men whining that a children's fictional character isn't "sexy" enough for them.



She-Ra is not for you. She was never for you.



It's fucking terrifying how many of these men have children themselves. — Thal (@thalestral) July 16, 2018

She-Ra is a children’s cartoon. If you’re complaining that it’s not sexy enough for you..rethink your lives. pic.twitter.com/qr23SOXlyf — Jamal Igle™ (@JAMALIGLE) July 15, 2018

I was around when the first She-Ra appeared on the scene. And now, I’m very excited to see the new version of her! #SheRa pic.twitter.com/6hjDlKpkCj — StrangeLore (@StrangeLore) July 15, 2018

So here's my problem with the "She-Ra should be sexy!" thing. It's basically saying that young girls can't have anything for themselves. Media aimed at them must first appeal to grown men. And that's insidious. — Annalee (@leeflower) July 15, 2018

It's easy for me to roll my eyes and say "She-Ra's not for you." But claiming girls' heroes should be sexually attractive to adult men is saying that girls should be taught to prioritize being attractive to adult men. And that's way, way worse than being weird about a cartoon. — Annalee (@leeflower) July 15, 2018

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.

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.

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.

Kristy Puchko is the managing editor of Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter.