I-I mean my FRIEND! SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!! I mean, she’s a girl, and I’m her friend, but… she… might be attracted to girls… BUT NOT ME!! I’m just… I’m just here for my… *blush* could I just get some pamphlets, please?
Oh I know, it’s a long and difficult process, but it’s so worth it. It doesn’t retroactively erase stress but it prevents new stress.
fogel
New stress about old things! Yes, that’s the place to start; it’s not about the past, it’s about right now. The only time you can do anything is right now.
I really hope they teach him being gay doesnt have to define their life. But maybe it would be interesting for Ethan to meet one of those people who wears rainbows all the time and see how they interract
The problem is that Ethan would prefer that being gay didn’t define his life, but he also feels like that’s not something he can control. From his perspective, it’s everyone else that needs to learn this lesson.
I can see how being defined by being gay would be really freaking annoying to any homosexuals as it basically takes over how people see you. We don’t define straight people by their sexuality, so why do we do that with gay people?
Jason
As a transman, this is exactly why I don’t talk about being trans to people who didn’t know me previously. There’s this way of thinking that people often (not always, but too often) slip into- because I’m visually very male, deep voice, beard etc they don’t think of me as female but they often do think of me as “that guy who used to be a girl”. Not only is that inaccurate but it’s suddenly my defining characteristic- the idea that tends to come along is that I’m automatically “less of a man”.
Well, that’s kind of a thing about being queer. Even if you think it’s just an aspect of your life, there often is enough cultural bullshit, underlying bigotry, and negative impact on one’s life that even if you didn’t intend queerness to define you, it still ends up being a huge thing that affects a lot of things.
It’s not so much that people seek to define themselves by their marginalized identities but that they end up having to define themselves by their marginalization entirely because of the impact systemic bigotry and disparities in privilege work.
fogel
“Oh, you’re a gay superhero! Thats totes cool!”
“No. I’m a superhero. I’m gay.”
“Are you called Gay Guy? Rainbow Man? What are your gay powers for fighting bad guys? Why are you looking at me like that?”
CaptainBatson
I can name several homosexual superheroes. Batwoman (Kate Kane), Question (Renee Montoya), Green Arrow (Connor Hawke), Union Jack, etcetera.
Spencer
That’s the point. We define them as gay superheroes, because LGBT people have been so marginalized that minute inclusion suddenly becomes a defining characteristic.
The only exception I know of is Constantine, who, when they started making explicit references to his bisexuality in the recent runs, didn’t cause any outcry of “you’re ruining the character!” possibly because JC’s defining characteristic is that he screws over his friends accidentally while screwing over his antagonists intentionally, and this just made it a little more literal.
“It’s not so much that people seek to define themselves by their marginalized identities but that they end up having to define themselves by their marginalization entirely because of the impact systemic bigotry and disparities in privilege work.”
YES!! THIS!! Thank you for wording it so eloquently and quotably. This is one of the hardest things to get non-marginalized people to understand.
I’m waiting for some gigantic surprise during the meeting, like Joe showing up and everyone assuming he’s gay, when he’s really only there to look at lesbians.
I feel like Joe would find that counter-intuitive. Besides this being a clearly marked “dealing with other folks’ emotional baggage” zone, it’s not like he could actually make it with any of the lesbians. (I mean, he might be one of those “they just need to see how good being with a man is” assholes, but we’ve gotten no indication one way or another.)
He might reason though, this is a meeting for QUESTIONING after all, not for those already certain with themselves, so he might reason that there’s a certain percentages of women questioning their sexuality and discovering that their sexuality actually was straight. (This could apply to both straight women that believed they were suddenly gay, or to gay women that have started questioning if they really ARE gay) Still, it would be rather icky, as I doubt a single meeting like this is enough to instantly find out your sexuality, at least enough that hooking up with them wouldn’t count as emotionally predatory.
Or bi.
There’s lots of people in this strip who are definitely bi.
Still don’t think Joe would go there, because feelings zone, but bi people exist and the number of folks who go “CHOOSE ONE” loudly does sometimes mean longer spent questioning.
Spencer
I don’t think Willis is determined to make us hate Joe that much just yet.
I assume he’s being careful and consistently using protection, though. He may come across as rather single-minded, but he’s not irresponsible.
Willoughby Chase
How do you know he has?
IRL, The equation:
Young bloke + woman + sex + alcohol = possible mishap.
holds, and the longer anyone indulges, the higher the chances of a slip up.
It’s up to Willis to see if he lets Joe go down that route. Willis might let Joe find his One True Love and everyone will live happily ever after. Only der Willis knows these things.
There are more than four characters here, and yet the tags list only four. I see a chick with red hair and hat in the back, for example, and two white guys sitting in chairs. Someone is wearing jeans across from them. There are two shadows in the back, as well.
If you need some names before they actually say anything, I would recommend one of the men be named Archibald. There aren’t enough men named Archibald.
Could be named for Archibald Cox. He was a civic hero within the living memory of some people, possibly of the parents of a college student if they had kids not early.
148 thoughts on “Meetup”
Jen Aside
New ship begins yesterday if not sooner =3
Dean
BRYAN + JIM 4 EVA
Jen Aside
(forgot to specify which one but I don’t think it matters tbh)
Versera
New Guy for Sarah? Jen Aside how are you so damn fast? The new comic didn’t even load for me until 12:03
Jen Aside
fix your clock
(12:02 for me actually)
Kathleen
So it wasnt just me! I couldnt see it til 9:02 these last few days as well.
Doctor_Who
Gost you both beat. It loaded in my inbox at 12:01 yesterday.
Plasma Mongoose
It has been 13:02’30” Adelaide Time for me in the last few weeks.
fogel
It’s not at the half hour? Dur, confused again by TIME
Plasma Mongoose
Woops I meant to say 13:32’30”
Disloyal Subject
Isn’t that how it usually is? I don’t have the best memory of time.
GlaceEx
I didn’t get it until 9:27 p.m. PT
Tacos
Jen can control time.
Darkoneko
Eh, I think he’s too skinny for Sarah’s tastes.
Doctor_Who
“Her school in in Canada.”
Ailorn
Joyce be cool. You know what they say about protesting too much.
insomniac
“I’m not protesting too much!”
Haven
This got a solid chuckle out of me.
Leorale
Her name is Vancouver, she lives in Alberta– no her name is Alberta she lives in Vancouver, my girlfriend, in Canada!
Deanatay
I-I mean my FRIEND! SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!! I mean, she’s a girl, and I’m her friend, but… she… might be attracted to girls… BUT NOT ME!! I’m just… I’m just here for my… *blush* could I just get some pamphlets, please?
timemonkey
Oh Joyce, life becomes so much less stressful once you stop caring what random people think of you and your passing comments.
Kirby
As someone who still gets panic attacks about things people said about me, online, when I was 12, it’s not really that easy. <.<
timemonkey
Oh I know, it’s a long and difficult process, but it’s so worth it. It doesn’t retroactively erase stress but it prevents new stress.
fogel
New stress about old things! Yes, that’s the place to start; it’s not about the past, it’s about right now. The only time you can do anything is right now.
Rycan
How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Facepalm
otusasio451
Sure it is, Joyce. Suuuuuure it is.
…Wait, it actually is, isn’t it?
Leorale
It actually is! Plus it’s Becky, so it’s not even that Joyce is a Friend Of Dorothy.
Leorale
Joyce is so kind to calm Bryan’s nerves, by proving that he’s not the most awkward person in the room. She’s a giver like that.
Rycan
And Ethan, too – she’s already drawing away the awkward like a magnet.
Kathleen
I really hope they teach him being gay doesnt have to define their life. But maybe it would be interesting for Ethan to meet one of those people who wears rainbows all the time and see how they interract
Wack'd
The problem is that Ethan would prefer that being gay didn’t define his life, but he also feels like that’s not something he can control. From his perspective, it’s everyone else that needs to learn this lesson.
Someone
I can see how being defined by being gay would be really freaking annoying to any homosexuals as it basically takes over how people see you. We don’t define straight people by their sexuality, so why do we do that with gay people?
Jason
As a transman, this is exactly why I don’t talk about being trans to people who didn’t know me previously. There’s this way of thinking that people often (not always, but too often) slip into- because I’m visually very male, deep voice, beard etc they don’t think of me as female but they often do think of me as “that guy who used to be a girl”. Not only is that inaccurate but it’s suddenly my defining characteristic- the idea that tends to come along is that I’m automatically “less of a man”.
Cerberus
Well, that’s kind of a thing about being queer. Even if you think it’s just an aspect of your life, there often is enough cultural bullshit, underlying bigotry, and negative impact on one’s life that even if you didn’t intend queerness to define you, it still ends up being a huge thing that affects a lot of things.
It’s not so much that people seek to define themselves by their marginalized identities but that they end up having to define themselves by their marginalization entirely because of the impact systemic bigotry and disparities in privilege work.
fogel
“Oh, you’re a gay superhero! Thats totes cool!”
“No. I’m a superhero. I’m gay.”
“Are you called Gay Guy? Rainbow Man? What are your gay powers for fighting bad guys? Why are you looking at me like that?”
CaptainBatson
I can name several homosexual superheroes. Batwoman (Kate Kane), Question (Renee Montoya), Green Arrow (Connor Hawke), Union Jack, etcetera.
Spencer
That’s the point. We define them as gay superheroes, because LGBT people have been so marginalized that minute inclusion suddenly becomes a defining characteristic.
Fred
The only exception I know of is Constantine, who, when they started making explicit references to his bisexuality in the recent runs, didn’t cause any outcry of “you’re ruining the character!” possibly because JC’s defining characteristic is that he screws over his friends accidentally while screwing over his antagonists intentionally, and this just made it a little more literal.
SonicBlueRanger
Rainbow Man’s my favorite Robot Master.
Kitty O'Possum
“It’s not so much that people seek to define themselves by their marginalized identities but that they end up having to define themselves by their marginalization entirely because of the impact systemic bigotry and disparities in privilege work.”
YES!! THIS!! Thank you for wording it so eloquently and quotably. This is one of the hardest things to get non-marginalized people to understand.
Plasma Mongoose
That’s the problem with using the “it’s for a friend” line as a euphemism, it tends not to be treated as a literal fact.
Nono
I’m waiting for some gigantic surprise during the meeting, like Joe showing up and everyone assuming he’s gay, when he’s really only there to look at lesbians.
Wack'd
I feel like Joe would find that counter-intuitive. Besides this being a clearly marked “dealing with other folks’ emotional baggage” zone, it’s not like he could actually make it with any of the lesbians. (I mean, he might be one of those “they just need to see how good being with a man is” assholes, but we’ve gotten no indication one way or another.)
Plasma Mongoose
Joe prefers to watch lesbians in their “natural” environment; on video.
Nono
He doesn’t even have to do anything, he can just watch them make out.
Paradoxius
Honestly, Joe would not set foot in the feelings-zone even if he was questioning.
Mindlink
He might reason though, this is a meeting for QUESTIONING after all, not for those already certain with themselves, so he might reason that there’s a certain percentages of women questioning their sexuality and discovering that their sexuality actually was straight. (This could apply to both straight women that believed they were suddenly gay, or to gay women that have started questioning if they really ARE gay) Still, it would be rather icky, as I doubt a single meeting like this is enough to instantly find out your sexuality, at least enough that hooking up with them wouldn’t count as emotionally predatory.
Alyssa
Or bi.
There’s lots of people in this strip who are definitely bi.
Still don’t think Joe would go there, because feelings zone, but bi people exist and the number of folks who go “CHOOSE ONE” loudly does sometimes mean longer spent questioning.
Spencer
I don’t think Willis is determined to make us hate Joe that much just yet.
Tacos
As much as Joe isn’t girls, I don’t think even he’d be enough of a jackass to go to a meeting to look and/or leer at lesbians.
Tacos
*is
Tacos
*is into
(I must be having an off day.)
Willoughby Chase
I’m waiting for Joe to show up at an STD clinic. Only a matter of time …
Disloyal Subject
How do you know he hasn’t already?
I assume he’s being careful and consistently using protection, though. He may come across as rather single-minded, but he’s not irresponsible.
Willoughby Chase
How do you know he has?
IRL, The equation:
Young bloke + woman + sex + alcohol = possible mishap.
holds, and the longer anyone indulges, the higher the chances of a slip up.
It’s up to Willis to see if he lets Joe go down that route. Willis might let Joe find his One True Love and everyone will live happily ever after. Only der Willis knows these things.
Sunny
If Joe show’s up, it’ll be for the pizza.
Wack'd
If only Jim had super-speed so he could get Bryan out of this conversation sooner!
Rycan
This meeting needs Robin. The other universe’s Robin, to be precise.
Wack'd
Or the other universe’s Jim!
(I have now explained the joke)
A Hapless Newbie
There are more than four characters here, and yet the tags list only four. I see a chick with red hair and hat in the back, for example, and two white guys sitting in chairs. Someone is wearing jeans across from them. There are two shadows in the back, as well.
If you need some names before they actually say anything, I would recommend one of the men be named Archibald. There aren’t enough men named Archibald.
Wack'd
I am hoping they get retroactively tagged once introduced. I’ve been excited for this plotline since it potentially introduces more queer characters.
JessWitt
Right on!
169134
Let’sbe careful here! We don’t want no soggies invasion!
fogel
Could be named for Archibald Cox. He was a civic hero within the living memory of some people, possibly of the parents of a college student if they had kids not early.
Aislashu
I want to see Danny show up!
Leorale
So much hope.
Detective Boomwolf
This is what I used to be like buying Pokemon games.
“Um yeah, I just wanna get this for my little cousin.”
“K, sure that’ll be $39.40.”
“Hey look man, I just said it was for my little cousin.”
“I know, I didn’t say anythi-”
“HEY LOOK BUDDY, I DON’T APPRECIATE YOU JUDGING ME! I SAID IT WAS FOR MY LITTLE COUSIN ALRIGHT?!”
m2iCodeJockey
“…There’s a free t-shirts with this one… Will that be a large?”
“…Yes, please…”
Stephen R. Bierce
*looks around for a Styx album*
Willoughby Chase
You’re looking for a Johnny Cash boom-chicka-boom-chicka type song.
Ring of Fire or I Walk the Line?