Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3206 to 3210 (25 to 29 April 2016)
Is it cold in here?:
--- Quote from: creatureshock on 26 Apr 2016, 23:21 ---
--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 26 Apr 2016, 23:14 ---
Doesn't it make sense a priori that there's something insulting to women in general about, say, calling someone a "cunt"? Isn't that at least plausible? The moderators have heard from women we trust that things like that make them feel less welcome, and inclusiveness is a core value here.
--- End quote ---
Then are any insults talked about in the comic as something that could make people feel less welcome and included? And yes, I am serious about that and not just being a dick. If people have to worry about general insults, just where do you draw the line? Is even mentioning the insult going too far?
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It's a cromulent question.
A discussion of Clinton's emotional state and character legitimately includes quoting his insults and asking whether they're targeted at Claire's gender. Imagine if he'd used some insult specific to her assignment at birth. That would be a thing of total horror.
pwhodges:
--- Quote from: MrNumbers on 27 Apr 2016, 00:04 ---The original saying is; "The blood of brotherhood is thicker than the waters of the womb", which is to say, it means the exact opposite of how it's traditionally abbreviated.
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The talk page of the Wikipedia article on the saying argues that the only sources for this assertion are modern, and do not cite any sources in turn. They do bring up the Arabic version with milk as well.
QuestionableIntentions:
--- Quote --- Imagine if he'd used some insult specific to her assignment at birth. That would be a thing of total horror.
--- End quote ---
Yes, but he didn't. The people claiming insults have genders turn this insult into an attack on Claire's gender.
Analogy:
If someone in the comic had said "Faye is being an asshole," how would you have interpreted that? I don't think you would have leaped to "they're using a male insult because she's butch" or whatever, I think you would have accepted it as a non-gendered insult. The only reason you're wondering whether it's a gendered insult or not is because Claire has a "special" gender identity and so your impulse becomes to read all of her interactions in that light. I don't think that's how Jeph writes her, I don't think the interactions she has are "about" her gender identity unless it's explicitly given. I think Jeph is mostly interested in writing a human female who happens to be genetically XY, and in writing a world where there's been enough social progress that this isn't a big deal to anyone.
pwhodges:
--- Quote from: QuestionableIntentions on 27 Apr 2016, 02:25 --- The people claiming insults have genders
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Many insults have genders, and in this forum we care about that. However the one used in this case does not inherently have gender. Some people are reacting to the fact that in their perception it is mainly used against men, but this is not universal even in the US (and the US is not the whole world, remember!).
I believe that Jeph used a non-gendered insult precisely to try to avoid this kind of problem, but the forum illustrates that there are times when there is no answer that works exactly the same for everyone. In such instances it is important that we are understanding rather than critical of each others' reactions.
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