Thanks for the detailed reply Anna. I can see we probably actually agree on a lot on the end goal, even if we don't see eye to eye on how best to get there. But I was thinking what my response might be, then Tsukin came along and said a lot of it.
I would however like to expand on one point re: the whole changing up existing canons thing. I think it's actually worse than just arbitrarily shoehorning representations in, and you hit the nail on the head. Money. I imagine their yearly meeting going something like this, 'You know what's a real hot topic at the moment? Gender identity and social justice. So let's incorporate those issues into our most popular titles so we can bilk some money out of people who otherwise wouldn't ever buy a comic. Plus imagine all that free PR we'll get from the backlash and counterbacklash!'
Maybe I'm being overly cynical, but that's really how I see it. Like it's a very top-down approach, as oppose a more 'organic', ground-up thing (which is how I regard communities like this one). And in my opinion it's this quota-filling, mandated-diversity approach that actually ends up undermining the lesser known, authentically diverse stories. Because it leads to a 'Oh she's just there because she's a woman, or because she's gay, or because she's black' mentality. Then you've got a situation where all new female and minority main characters are regarded with a kind of blanket cynicism they don't deserve.
I also have to say that this argument...
... doesn't convince me either. If you're talking female characters, There are plenty of new one all the time who find huge popularity, often equal to and even surpassing the blokes. Just off the top of my head, Bayonetta, Katniss Everdeen, Furiosa.... However, I do concede though that non-white and non-straight main characters don't pop up in mainstream culture as much in the West, but even so, when they do, they're still well embraced, aren't they? At least that's my perception.
Further to that, I don't actually see the fact that minorities are not as heavily represented as a big deal. White people make up 75% of the population in the US, and I think straight people are like 95% or something, so I don't see the 'straight white default character' thing as an issue. I mean, I don't see a lack of white people in an Asian or African story as something that needs to addressed, so I see no point doing the reverse in majority white countries.
I do, however, take your point though with characters like Cap and maybe even Spider-man, although I still see it as a form of pandering. (I really am a total cynic, I know). But yeah, of course if they want to write a storyline where they hand the shield to a newcomer, that character should be any kind of person they like. The female Thor, on the other hand, does kinda get under my skin. Thor is a name, not a moniker. How do you just dress like someone and pick up their weapon and become that person? Or maybe I'm getting that storyline totally wrong.
Finally, I just wanted to comment on Tsukin's point.
I think that no matter what the intentions, as long as publishers continue to arbitrarily change existing canon, or introduce 'diversified' versions of existing characters for the sole purpose of keeping up with political correctness, it will be seen as tokenism. Because that's what tokenism is, isn't it? A shield to be held up against PC critics? As in, 'We care about all races, look, we made one of our biggest characters hispanic.' You know the deal.
I really believe the way out of this loop is just for people like us, in communities like these, to keep writing our stories. We're from all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of sexualities and worldviews. As our stories become more popular and more numerous, they will add to the groundswell of already atypical stories popping up all over the place. And at one point, that groundswell will reach critical mass and become the norm.
