SYFY commits to creating more content for women, by women and about women
By Lacy Baugher
In honor of Women’s History Month this March, SYFY is celebrating all the women who have helped make genre great – from horror to sci-fi to fantasy.
March is Women’s History Month, a time in which we should all celebrate the downright heroic efforts of the many trailblazing ladies who’ve come before us.
Cable network SYFY is taking this challenge very literally, building a month of programming, specials and multi-platform content aimed at highlighting the women who’ve helped make genre the fandom force it is today – from horror to science fiction to fantasy and more.
The female-focused vertical SYFY Fangrrls is spearheading this initiative and will present new original content every day this month on linear, digital and social channels. Entitled the “We Are Her(oes)” campaign, it will feature everything from original programming and podcasts, to on-air marathons and stunts, as well as editorial content and lots more.
These include the launch of the second season of the network’s “Forgotten Women of Genre” podcast, which will launch on March 2 and continue throughout the month, featuring 20 new episodes spotlighting various women whose work has been instrumental in several forms of genre entertainment. March will also see the premiere of new SYFY series Vagrant Queen and original documentary 20 Women to Watch in 2020, as well as on-air spots celebrating various female characters from shows like The Magicians and Wynonna Earp, and a movie marathon dedicated to female heroes.
Entitled “MAN-sel in Distress” and airing on International Women’s Day (March 8), it will serve up a bonanza of action films featuring strong female characters who are not just the heroine of their own stories, but end up saving the men along the way too. (Insert arm flex emoji here.) Think Mad Max: Fury Road, Zombieland , Tomb Raider and more.
This sort of initiative is always gratifying to see, particularly in a space that can far too often be dominating by gatekeepers who insist that female fans have no place in genre.
Far too women have had their fandom bona fides questioned or even outright dismissed, simply because of their gender, so here’s for reminding everyone that we’ve always been here. And we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
Next. 2019 was a record-breaking year for women directors behind top-grossing movies. dark
How are you planning to celebrate Women’s History Month?