4:30p.m. – 5:30p.m. Female superheroes are finally getting their due on screen – and reigning at the box office. Star Wars centers a female Jedi, Black Panther brought a dynamic array of female characters to the MCU, and we have the first female Doctor since the character’s 1963 debut. Women-owned companies like Jordandené and subscription boxes like FanMail provide female-fan-forward fashion and merchandising opportunities that didn’t exist a decade ago. Online commentary from sites like SyFyFangrrls, fangirl-run podcasts, and events like GeekGirlCon continue to successfully challenge the notion that fandom is a male-dominated space. So why are women still having to prove themselves as consumers and community members, as well as pop culture enthusiasts and producers? Why has the “fake geek girl” myth persisted? Join Jennifer K. Stuller (Ink-Stained Amazon; Co-founder GeekGirlCon), Suzanne Scott (UT Austin; Fake Geek Girls), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex; Shadow of the Batgirl), Britta Lundin (SHIP IT; Riverdale), Rose Del Vecchio (FanMail), Rebecca M. Davis (NW POC Geeks; Nerdlesque MC; GeekGirlCon), CB Lee (Not Your Sidekick; Not Your Villain), as they punch holes in the sky with a dynamic, inquisitive, compassionate, community-building discussion exploring how far we’ve come culturally as female fans, struggles we still face as cultural critics and culture makers – and ways for us all to go higher, further, and much much faster. Room: 26AB