Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

Tai's characterization

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RobbieOC:
Very problematic, but I think it makes it all the more interesting. Especially the last few strips have been interesting to me, with her dragging Marten to the piercing shop and all. It definitely shows that she's more open with herself sexually, but it also shows an extreme amount of confidence that most of the hetero characters (especially Marten, which maybe is why he's there with her?) do no show. Most of the drama in the strip is about characters' self-consiousness about their sexuality, and having a character that doesn't show those same hang-ups is good for the strip, I would argue. It gives something new and fun to pull us out of the doldrums occasionally. And, consider that in most places (in the states, anyway) gay people are still judged much harsher than heteros, and giving Tai this confidence really underscores a strength of hers, as opposed to stereotyping the gay community. Plus, it is a story, and often stereotypes (or, I suppose, archetypes) are necessary, because I would guess most people who read the strip are not homosexual, so this makes the storyline more accessible to them than it would be if she tried to downplay her homosexuality.

In fact, Neil Patrick Harris (how awesome is he?) has been getting a lot of heat from the gay community for playing too many straight characters, and not acting gay enough. If it's really gay rights that you are interested in, it should at least be comforting that Jeph is using gay characters as often as he is, and is definitely portraying them in a mostly positive way.

SleeperCylon:
Tai's character was originally this parody of hypersexual TV dramas, so I don't see her portrayal as general to other homosexuals.

The trouble with homosexuality being such a big politicized issue right now is that you can't have a gay character without people seeing them as representative of all gay people.

I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for some gay people that their sexual preferences are seen as the one defining thing about their identity.  You have the straight people on one side trying to pigeonhole you into some gay stereotype, then the gay people on the other side getting mad at you if you don't act like you owe them something.

Captfamous:
It's true that she is the only prominent gay character at the time. However, she isn't the only prominent hypersexualized character by a long shot. It's a positive thing that nobody calls her out on it while hypocritically accepting other people. It is, however, complicated, because being hypersexed and being gay are both aspects of her sexuality, so it makes sense to be concerned about them being inextricably linked.

You can say that it's bad that the only prominent gay character has this as her predominant character trait, but you could say the same thing about almost trait that she could've had (say, if she talked to people like Faye, then all lesbians are bitter and hateful). If you don't give her a dominant character trait, then she's just defined by her homosexuality. I suppose you could write in a bunch more LGBT characters, but then why haven't you done the same thing for other social and ethnic minorities?

Tai also hasn't had a storyline dedicated to her development, as most characters have, so her individual personality isn't quite as developed. Until she gets a chance to grow, she has to be a bit flanderized (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Flanderization) or else she has a hard time being entertaining. It's like trying to describe someone who you've only really met at parties, and haven't hung out with one-on-one a lot. "Hey, this is my friend Joe. He likes PBR and hooking up with girls on other peoples couches". I'm sure Joe has some other redeeming qualities, but until you get to know him better, this is about as much as you can say.

Freya:
to be honest I didn't think Jeph made her hypersexualized because she is bi/lesbian... it's more the other way around. :|

Surgoshan:
Why does everyone insist on a link?

A:  She's gay because she's sexual.
B:  She's sexual because she's gay.
C:  She's gay and she's sexual.

My money's on C.

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