I think people who freak out over Laura’s early appearances don’t actually understand her.

She’s dark and deep and complex and I roll my eyes when people clutch their pearls at her mini skirts.

Did you know hypersexuality is a symptom of sex abuse, which is something Laura went through?

Did you know hypersexuality doesn’t always mean having a lot of sex, but can also be things like wearing revealing clothing?

YOU call it sexualizing.

I call it representation.

As the girl IN REAL LIFE (I’m not a FICTIONAL SUPER HERO) who dressed like a whore underaged, stop saying people are weird for drawing Laura like she was in her early days. I like seeing myself in her. I like feeling like I can overcome things because of a cute little dark haired green eyed slut shamed mutant.

If you don’t like what she represents, then you don’t actually like her. Call it being “woke” or whatever you call it these days, it’s actually just being sensitive and trying to pretend to identify with something you actually know nothing about.

Find another character.

I’m incredibly disappointed that Kyle himself is one of those slut shamers. He can not like the direction Marvel chose for her first appearance, that’s fine. But then he had to go and act like being “made a whore” diminishes her as a character by connecting female value to perceptions of her sexuality.

It’s inherently misogynistic, and worse, trivializes a VERY REAL PROBLEM that thousands of women and girls experience as victims of human trafficking. Society sees them as “ruined” because of the misguided attitude that women only have value if they’re “pure” or “innocent” that’s STILL pervasive in the West.

Laura would be a perfect means of addressing what’s wrong with this if Marvel wasn’t too chicken shit to confront it.

(It should be noted, though, that in-universe Laura picked up her manner of dress from Megan, not because of her own experiences with abuse)