And this is one of the many, MANY reasons I heart Joss Whedon

Others include his kickass cameo on Veronica Mars and, oh, that little show he thunk up about the blonde teenager who sticks wooden things in the hearts of people who are allergic to the sunlight.

Joss Whedon talking about Equality, like, right now:

Thank you, Joss. You know, as a woman, and as a woman who writes what is called “women’s fiction” (Maureen, you’re okay with that but not chick lit? Don’t you think that once you’re ghettoized, it doesn’t matter what term they use to do it?), I love that you make the whole debate sound as ridiculous as it is. Some have said that my protagonist’s struggle is unrealistic in this day and age. Others have said that’s bullshit and that there are plenty of times when people, including, say, presidents of Ivy League Universities, forget that we don’t hold truck with the notion that women are a “weaker sex.” Institutionalized sexism may be going the way of the dodo, but that doesn’t mean we have equality now.

Recently, I was asked (not by him!) not to refer to Sailor Boy as a feminist, because it made him sound unmasculine. Um, the hell?

Like Joss, I write strong women. But I don’t think about doing it.