Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCT: 7-11 June 2010 (1681-1685)
Dliessmgg:
Saying that big boobs are big is misogynistic? :laugh:
Also, do you remember the strip where Faye stared at Sven's ass? That's obviously misandry!
pwhodges:
"Hey Jeph, angle the strip more towards my prejudices rather than your own!"
--- Quote from: stevelore on 10 Jun 2010, 01:47 ---the territory of objectifying women.
--- End quote ---
Maybe it objectifies men, too (those photos of Steve, for instance).
--- Quote ---also, ditch the heteronormativity a smidge. and nobody bring up Tai, because that's pure tokenism.
--- End quote ---
Tokenism? How? Also, consider Marten's dad, Faye's sister, and Dora, for that matter.
snubnose:
OMG QC characters fantasize about breasts ?
That never ever happends in reallife !!!
stevelore:
Saying it over and over and over again, to a point that drowns out the character's other features, and actual, you know, personality, is a way of reinforcing the way in which women are judged to an absurd degree on their looks.
As for Faye staring at Sven's ass, 1) no I don't remember that strip (maybe because it wasn't 5 of the last 10 strips where it happened), and 2) which actions count as sexist/inappropriate depend on the power structures in place. Women ogling men is not at all like men ogling women, because, in general, men do not inhabit a world in which they are viewed as objects rather than persons, and are rarely told that their worth is based directly on their appearance. And I don't mean "told" in the sense that people sit women down and say "now, listen, you are only as valuable as you are pretty". I mean the subtle ways in which society and culture and media (including, yes, allegedly "indie" comics that don't _try_ to be part of that system) present a particular picture of what the appropriate gender roles are.
Let me put it this way: women are expected to wear makeup, men are not. But it's not like men have magically smoother skin or more blushed cheeks. It's just that society doesn't put pressure on men to prioritize "looking pretty", because, in society, men are not devalued into mere objects of sexual conquest/interest.*
There is something empowering (in terms of challenging patriarchal ideals) about having female characters that speak frankly about sex, and do not consider their own bodies to be off-limits for discussion. But, in the comic, Marten, Faye, Dora, Tai, tall-dorky-guy and Penelope are all participating in the process of objectifying women through their constant discussion of Marigold's chest, and, as an author, Jeph is not employing this as a means of drawing attention to, or otherwise combatting harmful tendencies in culture (nor even as a way of commenting on them), but is also promoting the harmful social norms.
*I'm definitely not saying that social and gender norms benefit men in all ways. There are a lot of significant constraints on whether men can be open emotionally, and there is a lot of pressure to consider men more valuable if they are more aggressive and sexually virile/active. However, a) this also compounds the problems facing women, b) it is pretty clear which gender faces greater disadvantage from current gender norms, and c) the system is enforced and perpetuated, primarily, by men, who hold most or all of the major positions of power in government, industry, and media.
JackFaerie:
--- Quote from: Akima on 10 Jun 2010, 00:30 ---Kudos to Jeph for making a big-boob joke that's actually rather touching, and working in Dora's "up front" pun too. As someone said above, the Marigold-drawing is excellent.
--- Quote from: JackFaerie on 10 Jun 2010, 00:12 ---Lol. You're a guy, right? That's REALLY not how women with insecurity issues see themselves.
--- End quote ---
I'm astounded to find myself agreeing with Jack :laugh:, but yeah. And actually we all have insecurity issues.
--- End quote ---
Hey, I'm not that evil. :-P Plus I only remember that one time we've disagreed! Snubnose is my nemesis on these boards.
As for the poster above--wow. And I thought I was the angry feminist on these here boards. :-p I gotta say, in comparison to most webcomic cartoonists (male and female)? Jeph's focus on breasts is minimal.
Girls with Slingshots (c)
Wapsi Square (c)
I dunno, I do not really think QC focuses on boobs all that much. It focuses on Dora's love for boobs... but uh... I'm a bi girl and that's pretty much how I feel about boobs too. And the way she interacts with Faye and Marigold is pretty much the way I interact with my well-endowed friends (and in both cases, part of the "omg boobs!" thing is because we're less-pneumatic and have felt insecure about it in the past). And I am not sure Tai can count as tokenism here considering she's well integrated into the cast and has had several storylines of her own. She's not one of the major characters, but her romantic and sex life has been well explored (and shown!), more than just politely alluded to, as you get in tokenism.
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