May 20, 2021: Character 23

[Tired Mama]

Can I just say that if we *must* mock the ever-expanding sexuality/gender acronym and it's most fringe aspects... can we at least be accurate in what's what?

This unsavory looking individual in panel three is not representing a gender identity, nor even a sexuality. They are (very poorly) representing a kink lifestyle. AB/DL to be exact... a subset of kink that to my knowledge has no flag, nor do they publicly demand *anything* as that would involve pulling the unwitting public into your "scene" without consent, and *that* is something highly frowned upon and generally considered entirely unacceptable in the vast majority of kink circles.

Not to mention no self-respecting AB/DL is going to have that much visible body hair. Rather destroys the idea they're trying to play with.

Tl;Dr I don't know who you were *trying* to mock today, Tats? But that's a swing and a miss right there. lol

[Russly]

I got to be honest that with all the talk of original characters going on lately, in this strip my genuine reaction was "aw, Vainglorious lost his lunch...." But I see what you're getting at. Like Uncle Sam in today's strip being questioned about racism is like the opposite from the original Uncle Sam political commentary where a lot got started. Guess Tat can't win all of them?

-Russly

[RikkiTikkiTavi]

If we place the concept of humor into the picture - because after all, this is a comic...

That 'baby man' is representing an absurd extreme demanding to be accepted as 'normal'. It is parody, comically extreme and humorously drawn - often things found in comics. Contrast that with Vainglorius' reaction as he is about to nom into a rainbow sprinkled doughnut and we have the punchline.

So, Tat found a concept that is so far outside the mainstream that almost everyone would have a 'surprised' reaction to. You are making a critique focused on his choice of non-mainstream LGBQT character, and also more importantly - that this non-mainstream depiction would not 'pass' in the AB/DL universe due to body hair - and most charmingly you used 'self-respecting' in reference to AB/DL.

Congratulations. Your comment is even more gloriously funny than the strip.

[RKA]

What you're missing OP, is that Tat's (and others on this forum) don't see Trans as a valid identity at all, they think it's a "kink". And an anti-feminist one at that, hence their portrayal as "Johnbies" in the strip. And since it's a kink, the joke/comment here is how ridiculous it is for them to demand public acceptance or to be treated (as Rikki puts it above) as "normal". So that makes it ok to kink shame them and others and portray them as subhuman with grotesque forms. That AB/DL fetish is used here as a stand-in (and more general kink shaming) because Tat's wants to highlight his view of Trans people and their "woke" allies as immature "babies" who are throwing a tantrum and not worthy of respect, but rather deserving of derision and disgust

[RikkiTikkiTavi]

Nope, not for me RKA. The idea here is what is humorous. Humor is about juxtaposing the ordinary with the out of ordinary or outlandish.

Outlandish is a term that conveys something that is not run or the mill or normal. What I see as 'normal' is the usual, or run of the mill. Not being normal is not a negative - it is a state of being that is out of the ordinary.

I think we can agree that the 'baby man' depicted is not usual or run of the mill and is thus not 'normal'. It would be outlandish for a person with that 'kink' to demand that we think of them as 'normal' or run of the mill. That AB/DL people exist is a fact. They are as a person worthy of dignity and respect - as a person. But is their kink? Even Tired Mama considers them not a valid 'gender identity or even sexuality'.

Would a person with that 'kink' consider themselves a certified part of the LGBQT? Probably in this cultural climate they would. If they don't have a flag yet I am sure one is coming. And given that we have seen plenty of people who call themselves trans not making much effort or even any effort at all to pass - perhaps deliberately co-opting the trans movement in order to usurp power - the idea of an AB/DL person not going to the effort of 'passing' is not beyond the pale.

Thus comes the idea of an AB/DL person who is not bothering to hold to the aesthetic of that 'kink' (as defined by Tired Mama) promoting themselves to the forefront of the LGBQT line and waving the flag and saying we must accept them along with everyone else.

That is just as valid an interpretation of the comic as anyones and what I find humorous about it. It is making fun of how the LGBQT movement has been run amok by just - everyone - co-opted by just - everything a person can 'like'. How many flags are there? I have lost count. How many sexualities are there? I have lost count.

What I do know is that we are losing sight of humor because everything has to be so dreadfully serious and nobody can make fun of anything anymore because to do so is to 'disrespect' some aspect of a person.

I made an earlier post about how humor is hard because it is supposed to 'turn the world on its side' and thus we find it humorous - Man bites dog... ha ha ha. But now the world is turned on its side - everything is sacred and making fun of anything is 'violence'. No doubt soon will come a 'department of humor' that will let us know what humor is allowed and what is outlawed.

[Russly]

Tavi's take is on point in this. I admittedly laughed at the "even more gloriously funny than the strip" line. Kind of like how cops do get to quit whereas blacks don't get to quit being black, I do admit that kinks are widespread these days. I once attended a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting just to see (also AA once, NA once, etc.), and what was most fascinating to me was hearing of what they did to recover as much as possible, with some success.... So, sex addicts are in a weird in between zone, they can reign it in or something perhaps, but they can't quite quit like cops can either. Giving even somewhat of a reaction does clue us in to Mama's attitude, sure. However, keep in mind this is perhaps more about the trends than the people representing them. Sources versus remedies of toxicity.

I was thinking about how I'm not so much the feminist part of radfem as I am the radical part. As in I often describe myself as a radical to people, that's the word I use. But... it almost seems to be that Celina is the only one to actually favor that old school real life brand of feminism Tat's probably looking for. So then, did we defeat the point of the forum if like 4/5s of us aren't radical? And for that matter is there even a scale in the first place if I'm radical specifically, a bunch of us are feminist specifically, and then then rest are an assortment of forms of radfem? I just think about the considerations we want to take into account when addressing topics with complexities such as these. Mama definitely makes some points yet I can see how they might go partly unheard....

Now, to be fair, according to Rule 34 the specific hair part of the kink here likely does exist. And, if not, Tat's the one who just birthed it so there's that, pun intended? Surely this is one of the strips that was meant to be more lighthearted. (Tat making a small jab at Mama perhaps? Hehe.)

Again Tavi's point is clear, the idea of what's humorous and what isn't doesn't end up that murky, which is nice. Again I do think there's a brand of legitimate points Mama is indicating, but not all of them are reconcilable.

-Russly