Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT 2897 - 2901 (16-20 February 2015)
Aziraphale:
--- Quote from: cesariojpn on 19 Feb 2015, 14:27 ---The strip before the current one is the perfect example of what i'm trying to get at: I am seriously wondering why Marten gave Claire that bland response when she asked in it's most distilled form: "Hey, don't you feel kinda weird dating someone who is trans?" Now I know someone is gonna point out "wait, you broached the genitalia issue!!" when I didn't; the question is open ended and I never even guessed or implied either way.
The response is like I said too bland; there doesn't even appear to be some pang of apprehension or even him admitting that "Oh, I had reservations at first, but then...." and go on about how he's okay with it. Add some damn friction. It doesn't have to be earth shattering; people have faults. Your no better than the next person. Claire should at least be reassured that Marten had some sort of "quandary" of some sort, be told about it, and then told he's now okay with her.
--- End quote ---
Marten gave a bland response because his responses to most anything shy of a gunshot wound to the chest tend to be pretty chill. It's usually his own uncertainty that sets him off. And it's that uncertainty that leads to why people think you're talking about genitals even though you keep saying you're not talking about genitals (which, in turn, makes several of us think that you doth protest too much about genitals -- which, incidentally, is probably the most times I've written "genitals" in a single sentence. But I digress).
Back on track: why would Marten's uncertainty lead people to think that (heaven forfend) you're talking about someone's bits? Because Marten is, by nature, a creature beset by apprehension, uncertainty, and quandaries galore. But it's not like you said, "Given Marten's usual tendency to analyze things to death unnecessarily,* I wonder how he's going to freak out over this?" You said, in effect, "So, everybody. How long do you think before Marten second-guesses dating a trans* woman?"
See the difference?
There's plenty to be apprehensive over in ANY relationship. But given that rather long list, and if we're going to prioritize the list properly (e.g., worrying about stuff like, "Am I being attentive enough? Are we communicating well? Does (significant other) need a hug right about now? Am I, in short, being the person that this other person deserves?") then worrying over your S.O.'s gender falls pretty far down the list.
*Which I think he was on the verge of doing before being accosted by Mrs. A on the way to pancakes
ReindeerFlotilla:
--- Quote from: cesariojpn on 19 Feb 2015, 14:27 ---Like I said, the comic can't have both; they can't approach a topic, yet say certain things are off limits. It hurts the entire topic as a whole, and it needs to be better managed.
--- End quote ---
I hesitate to touch this again, but as it is comic related:
You are absolutely incorrect. The comic can, if Jeph so chooses, have it both ways. My previous analogy about walls and markers applies. This is Jeph's house. He's paying the bills. If he wants to do X, he can do that. Because he's in his house. YOU (and I and even the Mods) need permission. From Jeph. If he says no, that's it. End of line.
You either accept it, or you exercise your freedom of choice and leave. You could vote with you wallet in hopes that that impacts Jeph's income, because you believe he should see consequences for his choice. But he can still have it both ways until the money runs out, and he is perfectly free to do that in his house with his stuff.
But there's another point.
You see, Jeph never brought up Claire's genitals in the comic. Claire got naked. End of line.
As snarkyone says, getting naked is putting everything out there. Hoping that the person you are trying to connect to--on whatever level--doesn't see you the way you see yourself.
Maybe Claire was saying what a lot of people think she was saying. Maybe. But the comic is just as open to the interpretation that Claire has the same body image issues as most other young women and she was saying "Hi. I've never been intimate before, like this. This is me." Or maybe Claire was saying something else. I'd be more specific, but this isn't the place. I'm trying to address your false equivalence about the comic.
Specifically, just because you think something was brought up by the author, it doesn't mean it was. Jeph's a responsible author. He does recognize that intent doesn't always equal content. But that doesn't mean he has to bend his intent to fit your reading.
People--trans and not--have taken several instances to mean that their preferred interpretation is the truth. That's their head canon. That's all it is. Just as the idea that comic has addressed the items you want to address is yours. Nothing more or less.
So while Jeph can, in fact, have it both ways if he so chooses, that's not what's going on here. You are injecting your interpretation and trying to hang it on Jeph. You aren't the only person doing that. Not all of the people doing that share your interpretation. Since the issue is not clear, the forum policy remains the best available option, considering that the negatives are deemed to outweigh other considerations.
And that's all I have to say about that. /Gump
valkygrrl:
--- Quote from: kent_eh on 19 Feb 2015, 06:29 ---
--- Quote ---...with a cis guy
--- End quote ---
Excuse me for being clueless about such things, but can someone define the term "cis" for me?
I assume from the context that it has something to do with having a traditional gender identity, or something like that.
--- End quote ---
All things considered, being accused of following either traditional masculinity or femininity is pretty damn insulting.
I tend to agree with Elizabeth Hungerford about the C-word. https://liberationcollective.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/a-feminist-critique-of-cisgender/
Edit: I should be more clear. Hungerford's reasoning goes beyond the simple who's really 100% conformable with gender roles but it is the suggestion, along with the idea that trans people get to apply a label to another group that people are just expect to accept. They don't care for a lot of words people have applied to them after all.
jwhouk:
10 pages by Thursday. We're slipping a bit. :clairedoge:
The last two pages are actually very typical QC; it's just we haven't seen it for so long.
And who knows how long Claire & Marten (unrelated note: that sounds like an upscale clothing store at a shopping mall, for some reason) will last, but we'll be along for the ride.
We've come a long way from "indie boy hates his job and life and his anthroPC isn't helping."
ReindeerFlotilla:
There may have been some surgical removals.
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