Sam Maggs visits Guelph’s eBar as part of Girl Squads book tour
“I”m pretty sure the whole point of feminism is choice,” said Sam Maggs, in a Q+A about her latest book, Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History. Throughout the evening she drew attention to this important shared perspective with characteristic wit: “shockingly, women in fact are uniquely different people” — prompting knowing laughter in the audience, which was comprised of an engaged all-ages group.
After publishing two successful feminist books, Maggs’ now iconic role as a determined, female, comedic historian is a welcome, encouraging alternative to feminism as bra-burning, man-hating outrage. Girl Squads is a heavily researched compilation of lived experiences, supported by superb illustrations throughout by Jenn Woodall to bring these untold stories of everyday heroines to life.
“I want new stories, fresh voices,” stated Maggs when asked if stories of female superhero icons should be retold by women. “We all win with a new story [to identify with].”
Intersectional feminism, Maggs argues, is an emerging opportunity to be visible and heroic in everyday situations, and in pursuit of lifelong dreams for success often dismissed by stigma, policy, and tradition. In modern globalized reality especially, a headscarf, formal gown, baggy jeans, bikini, pant-suit, mini-skirt, and sports jersey can all be considered part of the feminist identity, if the female-identifying person chooses to wear it. Career and lifestyle decisions are similar. In some cultures portrayed in Maggs’ book, the pursuit to be a literate female is radical. Her process of researching was impacted by how little written documentation exists about many female role models throughout cultural trends of silencing women, purposefully, or in many cases simply not encouraging their biographies in the same way as prominent male figures.
When an audience member asked who her personal girl squad is, Maggs was quick to praise her own online nerd community. Through collaborative dialogue and creative gameplay, they welcome each other to express honestly about anxieties within the awesome moments of being a comic-con cosplayer, or fan fiction fantasy author, or in Maggs’ case, all this and a video game screenwriter eager to find a male character written from a woman’s perspective.
During the event, Maggs discussed how media intrinsically encourages girls to cross-identify with to appreciate male protagonists telling stories that could, perhaps, be written and portrayed by women. Many shows feature a sole female surrounded by men (a.k.a. the “Smurfette phenomenon”), encouraging women of all demographics to be competitive, looking for divisions rather than similarities, afraid another female might take the lead instead.
Paternalistic history has provided textbooks with token female examples (such as Marie Curie or Roberta Bondar) who are maintained as emblematic success stories, rather than seeking out diverse, perhaps more intricate examples of women pursuing complex dreams against all odds. While women often internalize successes of privileged men as they are credited with major events, such as writing the confederation or winning Nobel Prizes, this ‘independent woman’ expectation is an unrealistic burden when we learn that even legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg relied on camaraderie with fellow SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Regardless of their political differences, their friendship was valuable support in order to be effective, assertive leaders in a room otherwise filled with men.
Maggs’ impetus to write this third publication was fuelled by a discovery made while she wrote Wonder Women, a female-focused research-driven profile of impactful ladies blazing their own trail in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) careers. Through discovering two cross-Atlantic pen pals who became besties, Maggs was enamoured by how many exceptional stories of women rising up against expectations almost always had support from other exceptional females in their daily lives. According to Maggs, our best selves emerge when we collaborate with other gal pals to get things done.
So, the focus for this recent book moved from individually wonderful women, to supportive squads of empowered ladies — a reminder that all around the world there are examples of women helping women, in profoundly cool ways! For Maggs, the commitment to representation of diversity was crucial. Each squad is from a unique cultural context by literary design, with storytelling presenting profound examples of bravery rooted in struggle.
If this hour spent with Sam Maggs has granted any wisdom, it’s to support women pursuing big dreams rather than giving into any initial feelings of jealousy. It is also important to acknowledge privilege through intersectional issues of class and race, which will further strengthen your squad. Go forth and empower!
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Feature photo and article by Jude Keefe