Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT 25-29 Apr 2011 (1911-1915)

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SirDudley:
Well, this week ended....on an interesting note. The options for Monday are insane.

Will Faye go all-out Adon on Tai? Will Dora put a new shirt on? Will Marten walk in at the wrong time? Will Yelling Bird suddenly appear and make the whole situation even more awkward? Will Jeph finally make a appearance in his own webcomic?

LoveJaneAusten:

--- Quote from: tender on 29 Apr 2011, 15:43 ---And I think this is a great example of jumping to conclusions against an implication that doesn't exist in the comic. Today's comic is particularly egregious? I can't agree with that statement. Call it whatever you want, but Tai wants to undress while in the company of friends (something perfectly normal, considering the circumstances), and that doesn't turn her into some kind of slut who's one step away from a straight sex encounter. Nor does it mean she's trying to convert straight people. And I especially don't think the strip is speaking to a deeper case of homophobia in the media, or a fear of gay sexuality as a some kind of contagious disease.

If anything, I see your posts as a bizarre, well-intentioned (yet disingenuous) defense of sexuality. I say disingenuous because it seems like even the slightest hint of sexuality with Tai would be met with the same criticism from you. All she's done is take off her top, and it unsettled you to such a degree to provoke this criticism... I really don't know what else to say.

--- End quote ---
Thank you for not replying sarcastically. I disagree that stereotyped implications don't exist in the comic. Whether they are intentional (or not) or part of Tai's character arc (or not) is kind of immaterial to what this comic is symptomatic of. Namely, a larger trend of certain characterizations of lesbians and gays, a trend (or trope) that in this case actually is harmful to perceptions of lesbians and gays. There are absolutely ways to portray lesbians and gays as sexual that don't fall back onto stereotypes, and such would not be met with the same criticism from me, so no, I don't think I'm jumping at topless Tai disingenuously.


--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 29 Apr 2011, 15:45 ---Some of the strips are searchable via ohnorobot.com. For others, summaries (but not transcripts) are available in jwhouk's awesome article at http://questionablecontent.wikia.com/wiki/Questionable_Content_strip_by_strip .

--- End quote ---
Whoa, thanks for this!

Is it cold in here?:
(moderator)
Pat yourselves on the back, people! You're all handling a potentially fraught subject civilly.

Good work.
(/moderator)

Tergon:

--- Quote from: LoveJaneAusten on 29 Apr 2011, 15:44 ---This is a pretty good analysis! There is another way a stereotype can be harmful or seen as negative, however, and that is when stereotypes, even ones that appear innocuous, exist in a larger context of portrayals. That is what I've been trying to get across in this discussion. This particular comic is only one example or symptom of what are pretty thoughtless characterizations of lesbians and gays in the media. So to answer your "so what?", I would say that portrayals of sex-obsessed lesbians and gays are not helpful for efforts to deconstruct negative stereotyping of homosexuals in media. They reinforce these stereotypes and, writ large, reflect our current social values and prejudices. If we are going to work toward more a more equitable society, it's important that we recognize this for what it is and learn how to deconstruct it.

--- End quote ---
But at the same time that's the core of this discussion, no?  Considering the amount of positive characterisation Tai has undergone beyond the fact that she's uninhibited regarding sex, I'd consider this to be simply another facet of her personality and not at all a negative one.  Yet you're claiming that it is.
A character who exists for comedic purposes, who has been written into a form of comedic media in the shape of Questionable Content, is acting in a comedic manner as befits her character.  Yet, because other forms of media have done this, and some of those portrayals were done in a negative light, you choose to take the stance that this is a bad thing for QC to have done.  This despite the fact that the characterisation seen here is not negative and is done for two apparent reasons: One, to set up further development of Tai's character, and two, simply because it's humorous.

I could not agree more that the common portrayal in media of homosexuals in general is negative.  I further agree that this is a bad thing.  I just... don't agree that what we're seeing here is an example of that.  Tai's a well-written and fairly harmless character who took her top off.  She also happens to be a lesbian.  The two things don't have to be related, nor does a connection need to be drawn when that clearly wasn't the author's intent.

TheEvilDog:
The thing about stereotypes is that there are negative as well as positive aspects about a subgroup that are seen so often that they become the identifying ideas about a people.

For example, I'm a 26 year Irish male. Looking at the negative aspects of stereotyping, I should be a drunken, ignorant lout with about a dozen kids, all the while harping on about going to Mass while eating a mountain of potatoes. Well, straight off, if you went with that, you'd be completely wrong about me, I still have 11 bottles from a 24 box of Heineken in my front room, left over from Christmas. I just don't drink. I have two degrees in Applied Science and Quality Assurance, while serious contemplating on going back to college next year to try and work on an English Degree. I have a girlfriend, but there is no way I can see kids in my future before I'm 30-35. I haven't been to any church service since my best friend's father passed away in 2008. And my diet usually consists of salads, rice, the occasional sushi/Thai dish, supplemented by apples, bananas, grapes, pommegranites, etc.

So, no negative about the Irish people applies to me, or to the vast majority of the people I know, but what about the positive? Are we a people who go out and take the bull by the horns? Yeah, we'll probably be trampled into the dust, but we'll get up and try again. Will we have a 30 minute chat with some stranger we've literally met there and then? Definitely. Will we help someone in need even if we don't have much ourselves? Again, definitely. Are we a people who are always humourous, and willing to make people laugh? Well I definitely do.

The point is, there are two sides to every coin, and that the stereotype of the stereotype being a bad idea, is both pointless and useless. As its been said, there have obviously been people who have led to the creation and formation of a stereotype, but in the end, thats all it is, an idea. In regards to the comic, Tai has always been shown to be a sex mad student, quite willing to have her cake and eat it too ( :roll: as an aside, does anyone else feel this saying makes no sense whatsoever? I mean, why have cake but not eat it? Cake is meant to be eaten damnit!), who why is it now, when Tai is alone with Dora and another woman that sudden people are trying to call Jeph out on using a supposed negative stereotype? Jeph has used these archetypial characters before, building them up before tearing them down in an often brutal manner. Example, Sven the (former) manwhore, Faye, the tsundere who would pound someone into dust as soon as their stare stayed a second too long.

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