Lindsay Small-Butera

 Lindsay Small-Butera is a 27 year old animator based in Boston, MA most known for her animated web-cartoon, Baman Piderman, which she writes and animates. She graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design at 23 years old majoring in animation and illustration. She animates, writes and designs and has worked for Cartoon Network, Nike/Converse, Hero4Hire animation, and Mondo Media. 
She's not exactly big or well known, so there isn't much more that I really know about her, and almost everything I do comes from her tumblr. Speaking of her tumblr, I sent her a message on there asking about her process and where she gets her ideas and what she thinks of all that stuff and whatever, but as of 2AM the Saturday this post is due, she hasn't responded...so I'm on my own through
 most of this. Because of this, I'm going to try and not assume to much about her, and only go off my personal experience with her work.
So, like, she's done these livestreams of the making of some episodes of Baman Piderman, and though I haven't seen all of them, I have been there for a few, and what I gathered is that a lot of what goes into the show is just passion and what she thinks is fun. For those who clicked the link above and watched some or all of the show, you can probably tell that it's not the type of thing that requires a lot of forethought in regards to story and plot and all that; though, if you have watched all of it, you've probably noticed that Lindsay and her husband Alex, the other half of Baman Piderman do manage to keep a constant continuity in the series. But overall, I don't think Baman Piderman is the type of art with an explicit point or message or lesson. It seems to me like a labor of love, a really cute and neat idea that the couple had and wanted to pull off.
However, none of that takes away from the show or what it can show people about how to create gendered characters without resorting to sexist stereotypes. In fact, I think that Baman Piderman proves that having a female perspective can have a tremendous effect and positive influence on every media, no matter the size.
For an example of this phenomenon, I'd like to point out and examine the relationship between Pumkin, an anthropomorphic pumpkin; and Squib, a mass of green tentacles. ( I swear I'm going somewhere with this).

So, in the show, there are these two characters, Pumkin and Squib, and through the episodes they develop a (very adorable) relationship (watch the two videos above for examples). Now, even though Pumkin is a Pumpkin, and Squib is a Squib, and those things aren't particularly gendered one way or the other; the show characterizes them enough where we can easily assume that Pumkin is male, and Squib is female. How the show does this is superb, in my opinion. Ok, they cheat a little with Pumkin by giving him (adorably sharp) outfits, but what they do with Squib is amazing. Squib is a mass of tentacles, she doesn't speak, or dress up, or have any immediate signs of femininity. She's also brash and strong, likes to eat and is kind of rude. However despite this, as well as the gender-breaking actions she does like save Pumkin and the other male characters a bunch, and start the relationship with Pumkin though they're both adorably awkward about it at first; she still strikes me, and a lot of other viewers of the show as a female character. And maybe it's just hetero-normativity filling in the gaps; if Pumkin is the dude, than Squib is probably female in order to complete that couple, after all, right? And even if it is the case of me and a bunch of other viewers filling in societal relationship norms with pumpkins and squibs- I think *that* we can still identify a strong, protecting and assertive character AS female says a lot about how Lindsay and Alex have made Baman Piderman. It's a show where anything can be any gender it wants to be and be in a relationship with anything else and it's perfectly adorable and happy and everything is okay with it.
Also, that she show is perfectly watchable by small children, and it gives them the idea that boys and girls and pumpkins and squibs and whatever can all be really cool characters and all have fun together is pretty awesome also.

But (and I almost can't believe I'm writing this) enough about Baman Piderman. Incidently, I'm sad to say that the next episode of the series, airing on December 12th will be the last, as of now, as Mondo can't afford to pay Lindsay and Alex for it anymore.

Lindsay-Butera Small has also worked for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media, which advocates for the equality of women in the animation industry and the portrayal of females in animated media.

 So, though Baman Piderman is coming to a close, I'll continue to follow and be a fan of Lindsay's. I believe she is a smart, funny, clever and passionate individual in the animation world, and one with a proven ability to create the type of nuanced and rounded characters, stories and worlds that I'm ought to enjoy.