Oh,wait. It has to actually be in the comic.
DOA 11: I Won’t Rip Out Your Neck Tendons with My Teeth.
RacingTurtle
DoA 11: “I Feel Like I Need To Be Less Socially Accessible”
The title 2020–21 earned
Geneseepaws
Ok. That wins, I don’t need to read any further. Plus 1 internets to you, a bouquet of flowers, the Maltese Dingus, a lifetime subscription to Disney +, a box of cookies of your choice. Best comment of the week, and it was only Monday.
Sunny
Isn’t it tuesday, though?
Lieutenant Dan
For me, it was. ?
Geneseepaws
I am, … in time,… but only very loosely connected to it. We have a antagoni…. it’s complicated.
Needfuldoer
I feel your pain, because I’ve also been broken by the Internet.
Reminds me of the “sexy snake” concept oglaf threw out a strip or two ago. Slap boobs on it and call it sexy or erotic, and pretend the whole rest of it just doesn’t exist.
If we were being more accurate about it, we’d call it “sexualized cannibalism” or “cannibalism fetish” or “pervy nomnoms”. I guess what I’m saying here is, a snake-fucker is still a snake-fucker, even if the snake has boobs. #YourLifeLessonForTheDay
I mean, vampires are heavily sexualized, and that’s erotic exsanguination, also in the neck region – not THAT different.
HeySo
To be fair, vampires seem to straight up inject their prey with an aphrodisiac as they bite in, with much the same mentality as the numbing agent certain insects (eg, mosquitos) apply with their injections- that is, it’s a method of ensuring the feeding isn’t interrupted.
So if we’re looking at the lore scientifically, then we’re either looking at a chemical interaction similar to drugs or, we’re looking at something along the lines of erotic asphyxiation, wherein the stray individual is really into the light-headed/etc aspects associated with either/both of asphyxiation or blood loss.
And then, on the other side of things, you just have perverts like Bella who have no real self-identity or personality of their own, and attach to an abusive older man and take pleasure in the abuse because it makes her feel desirable (or something).
Basically, what I’m saying is, it’s not really the vampires that are sexualized [in their nature as vampires], but the kind of humans they interact with and how they interact with humans.
And then of course you’ve got Anne Rice books and True Blood, but there it’s less them being vampires that’s sexualized, and more the fact that for some reason all vampires are hedonistic libertines in those settings.
That is to say, they’re not any more sexualized as a species or by their nature than the humans or werewolves or whatnot in their respective settings. They’re just treated as incredibly sexually indulgent humans, and everyone else just kinda gets caught up in their pace.
Or, put another way, Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris sexualize vampires by their writing but, the setting itself doesn’t sexualize them as a species. In other words, you could put it off as a chemical element, fetish, or cultural aspect of the vampires.. rather than “vampires (and being bitten) are inherently sexy”.
To tl;dr that whole thing, in summary:
The sexualization of vampires and the sexualization of exsanguination aren’t necessarily directly associable. Some people just like fucking really old corpses, without bleeding from the neck as they do it. #RespectSexualDifferences (?)
HeySo
As a tangental thought, now I’m wondering how many people sexualize being bitten by mosquitos. I mean, I’m curious, but not enough so to actually want to hear the answer. -.-;
jflb96
Modern vampires are all hedonists because they’re a) based on Lord Byron and b) a metaphor for the ruling classes.
Well, guro’d mean horrific, grotesque, or gore, depending on contextual usage. Cannibalism could fall under that but, isn’t a direct synonym for guro. In fact, vore, rape, scat, and most anything else that’s offensive in nature could be considered as guro as well.
In other words, “vore/guro and cannibalism/guro are two seperate things” would be better written as “vore and cannibalism are two seperate subcategories of guro”.
Do let me know if my interpretation of guro is off, but a quick google search across major info hubs like wikipedia seems to suggest it isn’t. Side-note, I hate the fact that I can associate the meaning of that word so clearly even before looking it up. Fucking internet..
there is a difference, even if both involve being eaten: one is slow death by pain and blood loss, the other is being devoured by another person’s body.
You know what I hate about Rule 34? ..I hate that ever since people started making porn and tagging it with that, I can’t ever find any Rule 34 porn anymore. ..y’know, porn about fucking Rule 34. I mean.. that’s where it was always going, to begin with.
Rule 34 is an Internet maxim which asserts that Internet pornography exists concerning every conceivable topic.
(but if it’s any consolation, i’m into soft vore without the chewing angle. though i shouldn’t really have to justify my fetishes lol)
HeySo
“though i shouldn’t really have to justify my fetishes”
Actually, that’s false. As soon as one’s fetishes (or general sexual outlook) are brought up for discussion by the fetish-holder or are directly infringing on someone else, then it’s something you need to justify.. if not in holding it as a fetish, then as being warranting of bringing it up in the first place.
Conversely, if it happens in private, and all parties involved are capable of giving consent and have sincerely, without exploitation or coercion, done so, then everyone else can just fuck right off and mind their own business.
..cause, frankly, wanting to give a fuck about anyone else’s private sexual activities is a bizarre fetish in and of itself. -.-;
But no, this isn’t the kind of context where justification really should be brought up without an instigating factor for such.
Doing such just gives the same impression as “I can talk about my misogny here, and I shouldn’t have to justify my fetishes”. Misogny doesn’t necessarily lack consent, either, after all, but it’s still uncomfortable for others to hear framed in a “this is my thing, I’m going to bring it up, but don’t try and go against it” manner.
Or, to reframe that: If you bring it up, others have just the same right to bring up their dissatisfaction with the concept [so long as they do so with a minimum of respectfulness].
Anyway, nitpicking on phrasing and presentation aside..
I’m of the opinion that vore is simply [hard] vore, given that basic biting and sucking has always been a part of “soft” sexualization from the start. Rather, I’d call yours “Mastication-free Vore”? Though that just makes me think of free-range chickens and the resulting hybridized conception is really.. unpleasant to think about. >.<
a/snow/mous/e
i’ll concede i didn’t need to bring it up, but it’s also not hurting anyone? so it’s not like it matters in particular one way or the other.
a little confused why you bring up sucking, maybe “chewing” wasn’t clear but i was only referring to like … bites that injure the prey? i don’t like maiming, which i guess was what i wanted to explain. i thought that would be considerate, but perhaps i was projecting my discomfort?
a/snow/mous/e
but yeah i don’t have a problem with people expressing discomfort, when it’s done with respect rather than a bullying/disparaging/kinkshaming reaction.
vore’s sort of come into the internet limelight as a meme/joke and it’s a bit weird. shrugs maybe i was feeling a bit defensive about that trend when i responded. i don’t think anyone here was being disrespectful. apologies if my initial comments were a bit snippy.
(i guess that’s assuming that “being eaten alive” means being eaten in a few bites and quickly swallowed rather than the more realistic and slower cannibalism angle. if you’re dispatched with the throat lunge and then systematically eaten a bit at a time, i guess that’s cannibalism as people have stated above. at that point, it’s not in the vore umbrella anymore so it’s out of my depth.)
HeySo
So, to sum that up.. you’ve got standard cannibalism, and then you’ve got Attack on Titan cannibalism? 😛 And I guess snake cannibalism’d be the last one, since it’s typically associated with being completely bite-free. :taps chin:
a/snow/mous/e
soft vore (at least what the furry community calls “soft vore”; from your other comment, it seems like you may have some other idea of what that term means?) is very much snakelike, yeah. (probably why there’s a fair amount of snake/naga/dragon preds.) of course i guess there’s also macro/micro which doesn’t require as much anatomical disproportionality, just size difference.
HeySo
” it seems like you may have some other idea of what that term means”
No. I was stating my belief that “soft vore” as a concept doesn’t really exist as a fetish, given that anything classifiable as “soft” vore would be fairly normal to begin with. Basically, you’re either tearing a chunk outta someone (or swallowing whole), or you’re not; Consumption as a concept isn’t overly complex in nuance, regardless of whether we’re discussing biting or swallowing. 😛
a/snow/mous/e
i think the difference between hard vore and cannibalism is whether it’s a mouthful.
This doesn’t mean much. I had a bf in high school and I am hella gay. Lots of us did.
King Daniel
Willis did some art a while back for Bisexual Awareness Day IIRC, very prominently featuring Danny, Jennifer, and Ruth – all of them confirmed to be bi per word of Willis.
King Daniel
(incidentally, Walkyverse!Billie dated both of them at different points in the timeline)
thejeff
And just to close the tight loop, Danny and Ruth also dated there.
RowenMorland
Did Danny and Ruth actually date, or did she just socially isolate him from his established friends and then hang out with him?
thejeff
It’s been awhile since I read those Roomies! strips, but I thought they did.
‘If you’ve never been with a boy, how are we sure that you’re bi?’ is a very tired take.
If people are bi, let them be bi instead of making them ‘prove’ it. She doesn’t have to express sexual interest or history in a guy or a girl to prove that she has the capacity to like them beyond platonic reasons.
Rowan
Has she ever claimed to be bi? I see King Daniels post now thay Willis has confirmed it, jusy saying the commenters above that might not have known, so would be guessing from the comic strip, in which case who a person has dated is relevant information (unless Ruth has stated her sexuality and I just forgot)
I don’t think she’s stated it specifically, but she’s known to have dated two people – Jennifer, and a boy named Ciaran, from Ontario. Her asshole grampa used the end of that relationship to stab at her.
Deanatay
Thought by many to be a link to this Ciaran, since there aren’t that many of them in webcomics.
RassilonTDavros
…So I guess Ruth’s type is “people with ponytails,” then?
I don’t know much about Avalon beyond a) the fact that It’s Walky! does a pseudo-crossover with it (currently reading it for the first time, haven’t gotten there yet), b) that its creator Josh Philips has seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth, and c) it ends with a text story where everyone is lesbians.
Geneseepaws
My personal thanks for stating this.
thejeff
No, but this is fiction and we can only rely on what we’ve seen or been told. In canon, the evidence for her being attracted to guys is pretty minimal – I think there’s one reference to a boyfriend back in Canada. Which is of course not proof, since it’s not uncommon for gay people to have a straight relationship or two before coming out. I don’t recall her explicitly claiming to be bi, though I could have forgotten.
We do have Word of Willis though and evidence from the Walkyverse as well. She is confirmed bi, but it’s not surprising that readers would wonder, given the minimal evidence in DoA itself.
Nono
Ruth had a boyfriend. She dated a girl. It seems like it’s easier to go ‘okay, you’re bi, cool’ than ‘hmmm but what if that boyfriend was just a PHASE and you’re actually a full-on lesbian now???’.
If Ruth dated one guy and then three girls, it doesn’t make her any less bi, it just means that she happened to date three women in a row. There’s no minimum ‘quota’ that needs to be filled to prove that you’re attracted to both genders. If Ruth decides to come out as lesbian later on, fine. But it’s honestly just rude to go ‘yeah but I know lesbians who dated guys before they come out’.
thejeff
It does happen. It’s not even uncommon among lesbians. If she was saying she was bi, then I certainly wouldn’t be saying that, but as far as I know, all we have to go on is a couple of reference to dating a boy in high school.
My argument here isn’t that she likely isn’t bi, just that 1) it’s easy to miss those references (or the Word of Willis) and 2) even those references aren’t actually proof.
BBCC
I’d argue that having dated a guy and now dating a girl and not having stated a label, the best guess is probably bi/pan/poly/some other sexuality into multiple genders. After all, she hasn’t called herself a lesbian either and her dating history has both. Assuming lesbian seems biphobic to me.
Nono
And my argument is that if I heard someone dated a guy and a girl, the polite thing to do is to assume bi unless proven otherwise.
Look, I’m not perfect about this either, I’d completely forgotten that Mandy/Grace/Sierra were all canonically bi because of the Walkyverse. But it’s serious bi erasure to assume that just because someone doesn’t outright say they’re bi, that dating a guy in the past is automatically suspect just because their most recent dating adventure was with a girl.
thejeff
I agree with both of you and never meant to say otherwise.
Nono
Alright, but ‘oh I know lots of lesbians who went through a dating a boy phase so maybe this is like that’ has a sense of ‘well yeah, but my experience is different, so maybe yours is less valid’ and bisexuals have had to deal with that for too much. Heck, change the terms around and ‘I know it seems likely that it’s X, but I’ve heard Y, so it’s not like it’s that unbelievable people think it’s Y’ can apply to any number of LGBTQ+ categories.
thejeff
I really should just let it go, but the main point of the “it’s not surprising readers think she’s a lesbian” is that there are only a couple of references to the boy over ten years of comics that they could easily have missed or forgotten.
BBCC
She mentioned a boyfriend to Billie and then later Dickbag Grandpa brought him up and she seemed pretty protective of remembering that relationship and reminded Dickbag Grandpa of his name.
215 thoughts on “Spooky voice”
Ana Chronistic
of COURSE Joe’s into vore
…
*never looked up and spontaneously wonders if there’s a difference between “fetish for being eaten alive” and “fetish for being swallowed whole”*
foamy
Fetishes are fractal, infinitely divisible yet retaining always the fundamental essence.
Needfuldoer
That must be why DeviantArt is still so popular.
butts
yeah vore and erotic cannibalism are different
don’t ask why i know this i am Cursed with Knowledge
Clif
DOA 11: Cursed with Knowledge.
Oh,wait. It has to actually be in the comic.
DOA 11: I Won’t Rip Out Your Neck Tendons with My Teeth.
RacingTurtle
DoA 11: “I Feel Like I Need To Be Less Socially Accessible”
The title 2020–21 earned
Geneseepaws
Ok. That wins, I don’t need to read any further. Plus 1 internets to you, a bouquet of flowers, the Maltese Dingus, a lifetime subscription to Disney +, a box of cookies of your choice. Best comment of the week, and it was only Monday.
Sunny
Isn’t it tuesday, though?
Lieutenant Dan
For me, it was. ?
Geneseepaws
I am, … in time,… but only very loosely connected to it. We have a antagoni…. it’s complicated.
Needfuldoer
I feel your pain, because I’ve also been broken by the Internet.
HeySo
“erotic cannibalism”
Reminds me of the “sexy snake” concept oglaf threw out a strip or two ago. Slap boobs on it and call it sexy or erotic, and pretend the whole rest of it just doesn’t exist.
If we were being more accurate about it, we’d call it “sexualized cannibalism” or “cannibalism fetish” or “pervy nomnoms”. I guess what I’m saying here is, a snake-fucker is still a snake-fucker, even if the snake has boobs. #YourLifeLessonForTheDay
Thag Simmons
I don’t think having your throat ripped out counts for either of those
butts
technically it’s just extremely heavy necking
Deanatay
I mean, vampires are heavily sexualized, and that’s erotic exsanguination, also in the neck region – not THAT different.
HeySo
To be fair, vampires seem to straight up inject their prey with an aphrodisiac as they bite in, with much the same mentality as the numbing agent certain insects (eg, mosquitos) apply with their injections- that is, it’s a method of ensuring the feeding isn’t interrupted.
So if we’re looking at the lore scientifically, then we’re either looking at a chemical interaction similar to drugs or, we’re looking at something along the lines of erotic asphyxiation, wherein the stray individual is really into the light-headed/etc aspects associated with either/both of asphyxiation or blood loss.
And then, on the other side of things, you just have perverts like Bella who have no real self-identity or personality of their own, and attach to an abusive older man and take pleasure in the abuse because it makes her feel desirable (or something).
Basically, what I’m saying is, it’s not really the vampires that are sexualized [in their nature as vampires], but the kind of humans they interact with and how they interact with humans.
And then of course you’ve got Anne Rice books and True Blood, but there it’s less them being vampires that’s sexualized, and more the fact that for some reason all vampires are hedonistic libertines in those settings.
That is to say, they’re not any more sexualized as a species or by their nature than the humans or werewolves or whatnot in their respective settings. They’re just treated as incredibly sexually indulgent humans, and everyone else just kinda gets caught up in their pace.
Or, put another way, Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris sexualize vampires by their writing but, the setting itself doesn’t sexualize them as a species. In other words, you could put it off as a chemical element, fetish, or cultural aspect of the vampires.. rather than “vampires (and being bitten) are inherently sexy”.
To tl;dr that whole thing, in summary:
The sexualization of vampires and the sexualization of exsanguination aren’t necessarily directly associable. Some people just like fucking really old corpses, without bleeding from the neck as they do it. #RespectSexualDifferences (?)
HeySo
As a tangental thought, now I’m wondering how many people sexualize being bitten by mosquitos. I mean, I’m curious, but not enough so to actually want to hear the answer. -.-;
jflb96
Modern vampires are all hedonists because they’re a) based on Lord Byron and b) a metaphor for the ruling classes.
Bicycle Bill
Does it really matter? Either way, you’re gonna be dead.
Spencer
I dunno it worked out fine for Mario and Luigi in that game where they got vored by Bowser.
HeySo
Introducing bizarre fetishes to the children? Classic Nintendo.
Kyrik Michalowski
Yes, vore and cannibalism/guro are two separate things.
Rose by Any Other Name
TheMoreYouKnow.gif
Dara
TheLessYouWantTo.gif
HeySo
Well, guro’d mean horrific, grotesque, or gore, depending on contextual usage. Cannibalism could fall under that but, isn’t a direct synonym for guro. In fact, vore, rape, scat, and most anything else that’s offensive in nature could be considered as guro as well.
In other words, “vore/guro and cannibalism/guro are two seperate things” would be better written as “vore and cannibalism are two seperate subcategories of guro”.
Do let me know if my interpretation of guro is off, but a quick google search across major info hubs like wikipedia seems to suggest it isn’t. Side-note, I hate the fact that I can associate the meaning of that word so clearly even before looking it up. Fucking internet..
Blindness
there is a difference, even if both involve being eaten: one is slow death by pain and blood loss, the other is being devoured by another person’s body.
Rule 34 at its finest!
BarerMender
Bunch of sickos. What am I doing here? Oh, right, I’m a sicko. Just not that kind.
HeySo
You know what I hate about Rule 34? ..I hate that ever since people started making porn and tagging it with that, I can’t ever find any Rule 34 porn anymore. ..y’know, porn about fucking Rule 34. I mean.. that’s where it was always going, to begin with.
a/snow/mous/e
that’d be hard vore.
a/snow/mous/e
source: i am unironically into furry vore.
a/snow/mous/e
(but if it’s any consolation, i’m into soft vore without the chewing angle. though i shouldn’t really have to justify my fetishes lol)
HeySo
“though i shouldn’t really have to justify my fetishes”
Actually, that’s false. As soon as one’s fetishes (or general sexual outlook) are brought up for discussion by the fetish-holder or are directly infringing on someone else, then it’s something you need to justify.. if not in holding it as a fetish, then as being warranting of bringing it up in the first place.
Conversely, if it happens in private, and all parties involved are capable of giving consent and have sincerely, without exploitation or coercion, done so, then everyone else can just fuck right off and mind their own business.
..cause, frankly, wanting to give a fuck about anyone else’s private sexual activities is a bizarre fetish in and of itself. -.-;
But no, this isn’t the kind of context where justification really should be brought up without an instigating factor for such.
Doing such just gives the same impression as “I can talk about my misogny here, and I shouldn’t have to justify my fetishes”. Misogny doesn’t necessarily lack consent, either, after all, but it’s still uncomfortable for others to hear framed in a “this is my thing, I’m going to bring it up, but don’t try and go against it” manner.
Or, to reframe that: If you bring it up, others have just the same right to bring up their dissatisfaction with the concept [so long as they do so with a minimum of respectfulness].
Anyway, nitpicking on phrasing and presentation aside..
I’m of the opinion that vore is simply [hard] vore, given that basic biting and sucking has always been a part of “soft” sexualization from the start. Rather, I’d call yours “Mastication-free Vore”? Though that just makes me think of free-range chickens and the resulting hybridized conception is really.. unpleasant to think about. >.<
a/snow/mous/e
i’ll concede i didn’t need to bring it up, but it’s also not hurting anyone? so it’s not like it matters in particular one way or the other.
a little confused why you bring up sucking, maybe “chewing” wasn’t clear but i was only referring to like … bites that injure the prey? i don’t like maiming, which i guess was what i wanted to explain. i thought that would be considerate, but perhaps i was projecting my discomfort?
a/snow/mous/e
but yeah i don’t have a problem with people expressing discomfort, when it’s done with respect rather than a bullying/disparaging/kinkshaming reaction.
vore’s sort of come into the internet limelight as a meme/joke and it’s a bit weird. shrugs maybe i was feeling a bit defensive about that trend when i responded. i don’t think anyone here was being disrespectful. apologies if my initial comments were a bit snippy.
a/snow/mous/e
(i guess that’s assuming that “being eaten alive” means being eaten in a few bites and quickly swallowed rather than the more realistic and slower cannibalism angle. if you’re dispatched with the throat lunge and then systematically eaten a bit at a time, i guess that’s cannibalism as people have stated above. at that point, it’s not in the vore umbrella anymore so it’s out of my depth.)
HeySo
So, to sum that up.. you’ve got standard cannibalism, and then you’ve got Attack on Titan cannibalism? 😛 And I guess snake cannibalism’d be the last one, since it’s typically associated with being completely bite-free. :taps chin:
a/snow/mous/e
soft vore (at least what the furry community calls “soft vore”; from your other comment, it seems like you may have some other idea of what that term means?) is very much snakelike, yeah. (probably why there’s a fair amount of snake/naga/dragon preds.) of course i guess there’s also macro/micro which doesn’t require as much anatomical disproportionality, just size difference.
HeySo
” it seems like you may have some other idea of what that term means”
No. I was stating my belief that “soft vore” as a concept doesn’t really exist as a fetish, given that anything classifiable as “soft” vore would be fairly normal to begin with. Basically, you’re either tearing a chunk outta someone (or swallowing whole), or you’re not; Consumption as a concept isn’t overly complex in nuance, regardless of whether we’re discussing biting or swallowing. 😛
a/snow/mous/e
i think the difference between hard vore and cannibalism is whether it’s a mouthful.
Doctor_Who
It will never happen, but if it did they might dethrone Walkyverse Amber and Mike for “Most Epic of Hatefucks”.
Stephen Bierce
Welcome to Rutjoevia. Currency: POUNDS.
Undrave
Population: Your bloody femurs?
Blindness
is she into guys at all? she has been only with Billie/Jennifer so are we even sure that she has a thing for guys alongside girls?
BarerMender
She had a boyfriend back home named Ciaran, IIRC.
Skater Girl
This doesn’t mean much. I had a bf in high school and I am hella gay. Lots of us did.
King Daniel
Willis did some art a while back for Bisexual Awareness Day IIRC, very prominently featuring Danny, Jennifer, and Ruth – all of them confirmed to be bi per word of Willis.
King Daniel
(incidentally, Walkyverse!Billie dated both of them at different points in the timeline)
thejeff
And just to close the tight loop, Danny and Ruth also dated there.
RowenMorland
Did Danny and Ruth actually date, or did she just socially isolate him from his established friends and then hang out with him?
thejeff
It’s been awhile since I read those Roomies! strips, but I thought they did.
BBCC
Ruth and Danny never dated. They were friends.
Nono
‘If you’ve never been with a boy, how are we sure that you’re bi?’ is a very tired take.
If people are bi, let them be bi instead of making them ‘prove’ it. She doesn’t have to express sexual interest or history in a guy or a girl to prove that she has the capacity to like them beyond platonic reasons.
Rowan
Has she ever claimed to be bi? I see King Daniels post now thay Willis has confirmed it, jusy saying the commenters above that might not have known, so would be guessing from the comic strip, in which case who a person has dated is relevant information (unless Ruth has stated her sexuality and I just forgot)
Kamino Neko
I don’t think she’s stated it specifically, but she’s known to have dated two people – Jennifer, and a boy named Ciaran, from Ontario. Her asshole grampa used the end of that relationship to stab at her.
Deanatay
Thought by many to be a link to this Ciaran, since there aren’t that many of them in webcomics.
RassilonTDavros
…So I guess Ruth’s type is “people with ponytails,” then?
I don’t know much about Avalon beyond a) the fact that It’s Walky! does a pseudo-crossover with it (currently reading it for the first time, haven’t gotten there yet), b) that its creator Josh Philips has seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth, and c) it ends with a text story where everyone is lesbians.
Geneseepaws
My personal thanks for stating this.
thejeff
No, but this is fiction and we can only rely on what we’ve seen or been told. In canon, the evidence for her being attracted to guys is pretty minimal – I think there’s one reference to a boyfriend back in Canada. Which is of course not proof, since it’s not uncommon for gay people to have a straight relationship or two before coming out. I don’t recall her explicitly claiming to be bi, though I could have forgotten.
We do have Word of Willis though and evidence from the Walkyverse as well. She is confirmed bi, but it’s not surprising that readers would wonder, given the minimal evidence in DoA itself.
Nono
Ruth had a boyfriend. She dated a girl. It seems like it’s easier to go ‘okay, you’re bi, cool’ than ‘hmmm but what if that boyfriend was just a PHASE and you’re actually a full-on lesbian now???’.
If Ruth dated one guy and then three girls, it doesn’t make her any less bi, it just means that she happened to date three women in a row. There’s no minimum ‘quota’ that needs to be filled to prove that you’re attracted to both genders. If Ruth decides to come out as lesbian later on, fine. But it’s honestly just rude to go ‘yeah but I know lesbians who dated guys before they come out’.
thejeff
It does happen. It’s not even uncommon among lesbians. If she was saying she was bi, then I certainly wouldn’t be saying that, but as far as I know, all we have to go on is a couple of reference to dating a boy in high school.
My argument here isn’t that she likely isn’t bi, just that 1) it’s easy to miss those references (or the Word of Willis) and 2) even those references aren’t actually proof.
BBCC
I’d argue that having dated a guy and now dating a girl and not having stated a label, the best guess is probably bi/pan/poly/some other sexuality into multiple genders. After all, she hasn’t called herself a lesbian either and her dating history has both. Assuming lesbian seems biphobic to me.
Nono
And my argument is that if I heard someone dated a guy and a girl, the polite thing to do is to assume bi unless proven otherwise.
Look, I’m not perfect about this either, I’d completely forgotten that Mandy/Grace/Sierra were all canonically bi because of the Walkyverse. But it’s serious bi erasure to assume that just because someone doesn’t outright say they’re bi, that dating a guy in the past is automatically suspect just because their most recent dating adventure was with a girl.
thejeff
I agree with both of you and never meant to say otherwise.
Nono
Alright, but ‘oh I know lots of lesbians who went through a dating a boy phase so maybe this is like that’ has a sense of ‘well yeah, but my experience is different, so maybe yours is less valid’ and bisexuals have had to deal with that for too much. Heck, change the terms around and ‘I know it seems likely that it’s X, but I’ve heard Y, so it’s not like it’s that unbelievable people think it’s Y’ can apply to any number of LGBTQ+ categories.
thejeff
I really should just let it go, but the main point of the “it’s not surprising readers think she’s a lesbian” is that there are only a couple of references to the boy over ten years of comics that they could easily have missed or forgotten.
BBCC
She mentioned a boyfriend to Billie and then later Dickbag Grandpa brought him up and she seemed pretty protective of remembering that relationship and reminded Dickbag Grandpa of his name.
Bogeywoman
You’re into /not/ having your neck tendons ripped out?
Doctor_Who
Honestly, who isn’t?
Alexander Hammil
honestly who isn’t
Clif
Captain Jack, however …
Nono
How do uh, overweight people gel with that? Like, ooh, I’m going to rip out your, um… okay, there’s too much neck in the way.
RacingTurtle
They survive it in style, like the fictional badass Wyman Manderly
Geneseepaws
Thank you for that.