The words used to describe Mary Jane range from vaguely sexist to downright derogatory. She is shallow, selfish, bitchy, winey, and, yes, the old time favourite, she’s a slut. If you need a feminist translation, Mary Jane is independent, opinionated, caring, confident, self-sufficient, and has been in a relationship with more than one person (the latter should not be relevant, but until slut-shaming dies a fiery death, it sadly is). Mary Jane and Gwen are so firmly trapped in the virgin/whore dichotomy, that it should be no surprise that one character is currently experiencing a renaissance, while the other is either written out of character to serve a plot, or not written at all. Mary Jane is just a little bit too loud. A little bit too messy. A little bit too…non compliant (a little bit too on the nose? I apologize).