I know. That’s why I’m mentioning it– I anticipate those sections in the textbook will be skipped.
lightsabermario
Just had an interesting thought: considering how sheltered she’d been brought up, who knows if Becky’s even seen a picture of a penis before. And already she has come to the conclusion that she’s a lesbian. What if she sees a picture of an erect penis, and she finds that does it for her? What if it turns out that Becky actually isn’t a lesbian at all, or at least is homoromantic but not homosexual?
Obviously Willis would never write it this way, considering his strong liberal attitude. I extremely doubt that Willis would ever write a character who claims to be gay but actually is going through “a phase” because such a plot twist would send the totally wrong message of that being applicable to other, confirmed gays and lesbians. Understandably, that “phase” word is so hurtful to the LGBT community that many convince everyone that it’s not simply a phase for anyone, ultimately repaying ignorance with ignorance.
I only bring it up because I find that direction to be a very promising twist, storytelling-wise, and would lead to a lot of character development and conflict.
Anybodies
Uh that’s not actually how sexuality works. Becky may not have seen penises but she’s seen enough men to know that she’s not attracted to them. Sexuality is more of a whole package deal- face, body and personality not just genitalia.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re straight and male. Did you realize you liked girls only after seeing a vagina?
Yup. It’s genuinely disgusting. And I’m sorry to speak brusquely there, but there is something deeply offputting viscerally with some cis dude sunglass avatar perving on how much “better” the story would be if the homeless lesbian saw the D and fell in love. It’s dismissive of orientation, is part and parcel of a long social tradition of assuming that all lesbians are liars about their life experiences and desires (which is why corrective rape is not only a thing, but a not uncommon thing), is reductionist of queer women, and just kinda gross. Like creepy straight man leering at the back of the Dyke Bar gross. It’s like cis straight male sexuality already dominates so much of society, does it really need to force itself on the tiny amount of queer girl representation we get?
And sorry for the brusque and visceral response on this one. I’m just kinda literally grossed out with this.
Leave your assumptions at the door.
I’m replying to this since I can’t reply directly to Cerberus. I think that What was meant was that it’d be cool if she didn’t know much but found out that sexual orientation didn’t have to match romantic and was actually homoromantic and heterosexual. It might be nice if there was a character who represented different sexual orientation than romantic orientation. There are a few problems with becky being homoromantic and heterosexual. She has shown enough signs of being sexually attracted to females that I would think heterosexuality would seem out of the blue. As for the point about queer girl representation. People with differing romantic and sexual interests get even less representation. I am not saying sunglasses is correct but People are too quick to jump at perceived offences. Please don’t jump at people while assuming the worst.
Lyaatd-
Not really, what was meant was that no one can really know they are gay until they get a good meaty eyeful of dick, which bothers me. And not in a oh noes, my lieberal bubble is melting bothers, but literally retching over the sink a little because that attitude if you are a queer person is downright oppressive. The vast majority of queer women’s events in the last year I have gone to have been invaded by gross cis straight dudes thinking their dick will make all the queer ladies straight. I’ve been through no end of gross cis dudes “jokingly” suggesting that every lesbian is bi at heart. And someone feeling that me being snuggly with my girlfriend was a personal come on to him very nearly got me murdered on a public street.
When I say this is gross. I mean, not only is it appalling and cliched, but also massively triggering*. In a really bad, day-destroying way (PTSD is fun, I recommend it for everyone, super awesome).
*And a pre-emptive Carla-style robotic third middle-finger for anyone who instinctively rolled their eyes there.
And it’s even worse when this “dick will cure her” type statements are made about someone who is literally homeless and in very near and present danger because her dad thinks she can be “cured”. Who is in VERY real danger of being sent to a place that will in fact try to “cure her with dick”. That is so many levels of not cool, I’m not entirely sure it can be bound by infinity.
So no, I do not believe we are failing to appreciate his “intention”.
But as far as your statement, yeah, it would be nice to have a character of mixed orientations between romantic and sexual. This is not the character to do it with. Doing it with this character and with this plotline would be really fucked.
Honestly, if Willis did go that plotline, I expect it to be with someone presumed to be straight in the other universe and them turning out to be homoromantic but heterosexual or something.
JustcallmeSoul
you know… i actually dislike the way you use cis. i know that you say it because you seem to think it means everyone who is straight… cis is short for cisgendered, which means a person who identifies with the gender they were born as… nowhere, not even on urban dictionary, does it define a person who is straight. i dont like being called cis when speaking to my sexuality. i am straight, not that i wouldnt be perfectly happy in a homosexual relationship if the right person came along, but as it stands ive found the person im going to spend the rest of my life with, as long as she’ll have me, and the relationship happens to be straight. im not bi, im not straight. frankly im not really even that attracted to women. i guess my closest thing is some kind of romantic sexuality… regardless, you’re using the word wrong, and id like you to stop.
JustcallmeSoul
FURTHERMORE, willis will do whatever willis damn well pleases with his characters… if you’ve read the universe this far i should hope you understand that. your personal experience does not apply to a world in which the only thing that matters is the whim of a single man, no matter how liberal or conservative.
Indeed. Cis means cisgender and that is my intended usage as I feel it is important and critical distinction to make when talking about a particular type of negative behavior I regularly encounter. Gross entitled intrusion of the type that views lesbians as “prizes” that prove “virility” is not a behavior I have typically encountered from trans straight men. It is a behavior I have encountered regularly from those who are cis and identify their sexual orientation as straight. And that intrusion is a daily lived experience for out queer women that can get a bit hard to take after awhile even when they aren’t all fucked up like I am.
I apologize if I made it seem like I intended to use cis as a replacement for straight as that is not at all my intention and I apologize for any distress or confusion caused by this lack of clarity on this part.
As far as Willis doing what he pleases, I am very much in agreement. It’s his universe. I like what he’s doing with it. It wouldn’t matter if I didn’t. My approval matters not one squat to the stories he wants to tell. As it is, I rather like the stories he tells. They are very powerful and healing for me on multiple levels and has given me representations I was not expecting to encounter in fiction (trans aces for instance). But yeah, if that wasn’t the case, it wouldn’t matter a toss.
Which is aptly demonstrated by the giant mock fest Willis has been making on tumblr and his twitter about the gross statements by mario and the overall thrust of homophobic “idea men” who’ve been pitching “better twists” to him for the last few strips now.
And I apologize as well for whatever in my statement gave you the idea that I thought otherwise with regards to that.
I also want to make very clear that what I find gross and inappropriate is mario’s “suggestions” for the “improvement” of the comic owing to what they imply for actual real people in the real world owing to the type of story being told rather than anything in the comic or the actions of Willis.
I understand that this particular set of “suggestions” on the part of Mario has me considerably more raw than usual with regards to these types of “we swear we’re not homophobic, we’re just making a ‘writing’ suggestion” commenters, which is probably negatively impacting my clarity on this matter. So I want to just point that out in case that was not clear in my responses.
Um excuse me everyone what lightsabermario is saying is certainly gross but GUESS WHAT THERE ARE GIRLS WITH PENISES
tossing the word “cis” into comments on men doesn’t absolve you of being complicit in the erasure and shaming of trans women here, and it doesn’t stop the conversation from being revolting and dysphoric to a penis-having girl like myself.
Church
uhh well not always true, sexuality and romanticism are two different things and seeing other genitalia usually is a big part of sex. So while your sexuality isn’t entirely co-dependent on genitalia i’d say a big chunk of it is. Now i don’t doubt that Becky is a lesbian of course but just wanted to get that out there.
Anyway, I know plenty of lesbians who quite enjoy penises (or rather penis shaped objects) but aren’t the least bit interested in men sexually or romantically. (This isn’t even getting into the other orientation options, such as bisexuality or pansexuality.)
schwa schtick uh
To be fair, this is pretty much how I came to the conclusion I DON’T like girls? But then, you know, maybe I could be if I wanted. Gay seems to work for me so far, though
Halloween Jack
Willis would never write a character under the tragically wrong misconceptions about human sexuality that you seem to be laboring under. If a lesbian wants dick, she doesn’t go out to find a guy, she asks her girlfriend to strap one on. (Or just buys a dildo for herself.) Other information you may be unaware of: bisexuality exists.
Spencer
I think that might have been what he was getting at. That Becky could be bi instead of being gay, and on its own merits, a character coming to a second realization about their sexuality isn’t exactly unrealistic. I was convinced I was gay before I realized I was bi, as an example, though that was mostly due to my own personal bi-erasure.
It’s a moot point anyway. Even disregarding the awful word choices in his post, Becky’s gay. I can’t see it ever happening.
Random832
“…own personal bi-erasure.”
In your opinion, how likely is “You can’t like boys [i]and[/i] girls. Is there even a [i]word[/i] for that?” to have been something you might have said in the past?
Spencer
Basically it was a lot of casual homophobia. “No I can’t like guys, because I’m normal. I’m not gay, not there’s anything wrong with that.” That kind of thought process. Plus there was this really screwed up shaming period where I was all “the only reason you think you’re gay is because you want to be A Thing. You’re straight and normal and Not A Thing.”
When it started to clue in that I liked guys a lot more than a heterosexual dude would, then I decided that I had to be gay, but eventually I just kind of passively accepted that I liked both and liking both was perfectly valid. I never really had an active soul searching period where I had to figure things out, I just decided to stop berating myself and said, hey; I like both.
Sadly there was a distinct lack of glorious man chest in that time. That might have sped things up.
eyoko
While I understand your viewpoint, people can definitely go through a “phase”. For example, I personally have had sex with both females and males. I thought my awkwardness around the opposite sex stemmed from at least some amount of deep-seated homosexuality. Therefore, I fucked a dude. It didn’t do anything for me, so I dated a different dude. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I am fairly close to 100 percent straight and my awkwardness is merely me being a weird person. That several-month-long series of sexual/romantic interactions is best described as a homosexual “phase”. It is certainly not common, but a “phase” is definitely possible due to similar misguided sexuality or variable sexuality.
Kryss LaBryn
“Questioning” might be a better term for it. “I fucked a dude. It didn’t do anything for me” doesn’t sound like “Yeah, I really was into guys for a while, but now, meh,” which would be what a “phase” would look like.
We all went through a phase as kids of being really into [insert whichever pop culture kid’s show is relevant] that we grew out of (for my kids it was things like Bob the Builder and Go, Diego, Go, which they used to be super into but later grew out of). It doesn’t sound like that’s what happened to you here though, so I don’t think “phase” is the right term, unless you phrase it as, say, a phase of exploring your sexuality. “Questioning” would still be the better term, though; less dismissive. 🙂
Something something “fluidity of human sexuality”, something something “not attracted to vaginas, attracted to women”, something something if Becky sees a dong in a textbook and likes what she sees I do not care, something something Willis has creative license to do whatever the heck he pleases and I’m sure it will result in an enjoyable comic strip either way.
I get the whole “don’t say he/she’s just waiting for the right woman/man” mentality. It’s one that allows people peace with the way they feel rather than telling them they must feel a different way somehow.
But seriously, don’t dogpile on Lightsabermario. What he typed isn’t dismissal– it’s an honest question, honest speculation, and smackin’ him in the face isn’t going to be likely to get through to him. Penises and vaginas are weird, folks.
Random832
@Kryss doesn’t “questioning” imply a degree of in-the-moment uncertainty that excludes cases where someone is certain but mistaken?
Nobody ever asks straight people “But have you TRIED IT? Are you sure that you don’t like X?”
Also: women can have penises.
BB
Umm, Lin? – I’ve been present when exactly that occurred. And I’ve had it asked of me a couple of times as well. One of the times there was no fault to be forgiven – he was honestly that much of an optimist (and a cellist even! But it turns out that’s not enough). The others were just awful stereotyping.
Spencer
Well obviously there’s anecdotal evidence of occasions where a heterosexual person is called to “prove” their orientation, but it happens at a tremendously higher rate for non-hetero people. There’s always the need for “proof” that someone is gay/bi/ace/demi.
Yes. Always. And then they don’t believe you when you present the proof. It gets tiring. Yes, I’m sure I don’t experience sexual attraction. Yes, I’ve seen most every genitalia configuration and legal sex act possible. No it didn’t do it for me. No, your pant python is not going to change my mind. Yes, I’m sure. Now go away.
Yeah, it’s a dick move. I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone was constantly jammin’ someone of my sex in my own face every five minutes, going “But have you trieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed it?”
But I do work in hentai, so everyone’s pretty respectful of sexuality in my field.
Otherwise known as every queer woman’s experience on every dating site ever. Sure you saaaaaid you were gay/ace/not interested in cis dudes, but you haven’t tried new and improved MyPenis TM yet. Clearly this will magically cure you of your lesbianity, so I’m going to hit on you relentlessly even after you’ve told me to fuck off.
DarkVeghetta
^ That has pretty much nothing to do with being queer. From what I understand, there’s a LOT of those types of guys on dating sites, and every attractive female is targeted with such unwanted attention – gay, straight or otherwise.
I get why you’d feel singled-out, but it probably has little to nothing to do with your orientation and everything to do with them being uncouth horndogs that can’t accept a simple ‘no’ (or a even more glaring ‘fuck
off’).
Also note not every cis-guy is like that.
Oh, speaking of which – you seem to have this habit of only using cis as a pejorative, and it makes your statements seem discriminatory. Because you never seem to use it in a positive way, it sound like you HATE anyone that’s cis… I’m not sure you’re aware of that, but it’s how you come off.
Think of how it would look if someone would only use the term ‘black’ in regards to negative traits or acts – eventually, they’d be labeled as a racist, even if they’re not necessarily such. Perhaps something to consider.
JQuire
I think ‘that’s not how this works’ has been pretty thoroughly covered.
I’m anticipating that Becky’s first glimpse will/did go like it does for most that don’t have ’em. Going ew! and then giggling and looking then quickly looking away and then looking again in a renewed fit of giggles for longer than seems reasonable or possible.
inqntrol
I really don’t understand why some people have something against the gay ones(not only because of religious motives,but also of stupid things). Just like the straight,they are people as well and should be respected no matter what.
Lord Stoneheart
A: Why are they so many people saying “Becky must be wrong! That would be the greatest plot twist ever!” Especially when they frame this in a way that would be really stupid from a narrative perspective too. (Not to mention the social message implications of how they phrase how these twists should happen).
B: I realized I was gay well before I ever saw a vagina. Why are we doubting that Becky is gay just because she may not have seen a dick before? (I mean, I’ve only heard very few people who say what they find most attractive about the people they are attracted to is their genitalia. I mean disembodied sex parts just sounds disturbing)
C: I mean, Becky realizing that she’s not into just girls could happen. (I mean she even admits now that maybe some people are into both. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/item/ ) There’s even another character in this comic who thought they were just into women, but then realized that guys are pretty hot too. But she doesn’t seem to think that’s the case, and I have no idea why we would assume she’s lying.
Because the idea that lesbians don’t exist and every lesbian will be bi for you and you alone is a popular porn myth that ends up snaking its way through hetero society in really dehumanizing and infuriating ways. Every lesbian I have known has had their sexuality questioned aggressively by some asshole cis dude who thinks lesbian equals threesome. Hell, the last Dyke March I went to was infested with cis straight dudes creepily perving on every lesbian they saw and trying to angle for threesomes, because apparently one look at some backwards hat wearing brotastrophe’s genitals will drive any woman mad with lust.
It’s all related to viewing lesbian identity as “hard mode” rather than a legitimate identity. So a lesbian is just a prize that proves how virile and manly you are rather than a sexual orientation that usually comes free with a lot of societal garbage.
It’s honestly quite infuriating and downright dangerous as a lot of men see rejection by a lesbian as an attack on their masculinity, which can lead to violence, sexual assault, and corrective rape.
Random832
> It’s all related to viewing lesbian identity as “hard mode” rather than a legitimate identity.
Why does everything have to relate to how straight men see someone?
The fact that people – with almost all the accumulated wisdom and life experience of a 19-year-old – don’t always instantly know everything, even about themselves, on the first try, shouldn’t even really be controversial.
But in this one case it’s apparently more important what it means for one demographic that Becky is with absolute certainty not a part of (i.e. straight cis men), than what it means for her. Which I don’t think is really a defensible characterization of what lightsabermario actually said.
Clearly she was ace until she researched dongs so as to defer suspicion as the Whiteboard Ding-dong Bandit! It’s biotruth!(/thatmademefeelsogrossyouhavenoidea)
ExplorerRowan
Penises are magic! Just an image of one can cure the gay!
ninja_jesus
What the fuck were you thinking when you wrote this? This is disgusting.
David M Willis
JetstreamGW
Oh that’s silly. Even if you don’t want to play with dongs, dongs are HILarious.
True fact: The episode in which Vgeta said that memorable phrase,he actually said over 8000 when it was dubbed.But they cahnged it later to 9000,because it sounded better.And thus a famous phrase was created,heh,even Oprah was tricked into saying it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7liYfhRgXGk
I’m sure this is after the dinosaur-hand-holding, inkblot. Now, they’ve clearly moved on to ‘reading forbidden science textbooks in bed together’ – you know, fifteenth base.
I find moderation is typically very fast around update time. I assume Willis is usually on and actively keeping an eye on the comments section when his comic updates.
319 thoughts on “Biology”
Ana Chronistic
The entire comments section today:
OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!
Inkblot
Secular biology also includes lotsa dongs.
AgentKeen
Unfortunately, that won’t do much to get Becky’s attention.
Inkblot
I know. That’s why I’m mentioning it– I anticipate those sections in the textbook will be skipped.
lightsabermario
Just had an interesting thought: considering how sheltered she’d been brought up, who knows if Becky’s even seen a picture of a penis before. And already she has come to the conclusion that she’s a lesbian. What if she sees a picture of an erect penis, and she finds that does it for her? What if it turns out that Becky actually isn’t a lesbian at all, or at least is homoromantic but not homosexual?
Obviously Willis would never write it this way, considering his strong liberal attitude. I extremely doubt that Willis would ever write a character who claims to be gay but actually is going through “a phase” because such a plot twist would send the totally wrong message of that being applicable to other, confirmed gays and lesbians. Understandably, that “phase” word is so hurtful to the LGBT community that many convince everyone that it’s not simply a phase for anyone, ultimately repaying ignorance with ignorance.
I only bring it up because I find that direction to be a very promising twist, storytelling-wise, and would lead to a lot of character development and conflict.
Anybodies
Uh that’s not actually how sexuality works. Becky may not have seen penises but she’s seen enough men to know that she’s not attracted to them. Sexuality is more of a whole package deal- face, body and personality not just genitalia.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re straight and male. Did you realize you liked girls only after seeing a vagina?
Fawndolyn
^For real! Lightsabermario is pretty much saying “sure, she’s a lesbian, until the right dick comes along.”
Cerberus
Yup. It’s genuinely disgusting. And I’m sorry to speak brusquely there, but there is something deeply offputting viscerally with some cis dude sunglass avatar perving on how much “better” the story would be if the homeless lesbian saw the D and fell in love. It’s dismissive of orientation, is part and parcel of a long social tradition of assuming that all lesbians are liars about their life experiences and desires (which is why corrective rape is not only a thing, but a not uncommon thing), is reductionist of queer women, and just kinda gross. Like creepy straight man leering at the back of the Dyke Bar gross. It’s like cis straight male sexuality already dominates so much of society, does it really need to force itself on the tiny amount of queer girl representation we get?
And sorry for the brusque and visceral response on this one. I’m just kinda literally grossed out with this.
Leave your assumptions at the door.
I’m replying to this since I can’t reply directly to Cerberus. I think that What was meant was that it’d be cool if she didn’t know much but found out that sexual orientation didn’t have to match romantic and was actually homoromantic and heterosexual. It might be nice if there was a character who represented different sexual orientation than romantic orientation. There are a few problems with becky being homoromantic and heterosexual. She has shown enough signs of being sexually attracted to females that I would think heterosexuality would seem out of the blue. As for the point about queer girl representation. People with differing romantic and sexual interests get even less representation. I am not saying sunglasses is correct but People are too quick to jump at perceived offences. Please don’t jump at people while assuming the worst.
Cerberus
Lyaatd-
Not really, what was meant was that no one can really know they are gay until they get a good meaty eyeful of dick, which bothers me. And not in a oh noes, my lieberal bubble is melting bothers, but literally retching over the sink a little because that attitude if you are a queer person is downright oppressive. The vast majority of queer women’s events in the last year I have gone to have been invaded by gross cis straight dudes thinking their dick will make all the queer ladies straight. I’ve been through no end of gross cis dudes “jokingly” suggesting that every lesbian is bi at heart. And someone feeling that me being snuggly with my girlfriend was a personal come on to him very nearly got me murdered on a public street.
When I say this is gross. I mean, not only is it appalling and cliched, but also massively triggering*. In a really bad, day-destroying way (PTSD is fun, I recommend it for everyone, super awesome).
*And a pre-emptive Carla-style robotic third middle-finger for anyone who instinctively rolled their eyes there.
And it’s even worse when this “dick will cure her” type statements are made about someone who is literally homeless and in very near and present danger because her dad thinks she can be “cured”. Who is in VERY real danger of being sent to a place that will in fact try to “cure her with dick”. That is so many levels of not cool, I’m not entirely sure it can be bound by infinity.
So no, I do not believe we are failing to appreciate his “intention”.
But as far as your statement, yeah, it would be nice to have a character of mixed orientations between romantic and sexual. This is not the character to do it with. Doing it with this character and with this plotline would be really fucked.
Honestly, if Willis did go that plotline, I expect it to be with someone presumed to be straight in the other universe and them turning out to be homoromantic but heterosexual or something.
JustcallmeSoul
you know… i actually dislike the way you use cis. i know that you say it because you seem to think it means everyone who is straight… cis is short for cisgendered, which means a person who identifies with the gender they were born as… nowhere, not even on urban dictionary, does it define a person who is straight. i dont like being called cis when speaking to my sexuality. i am straight, not that i wouldnt be perfectly happy in a homosexual relationship if the right person came along, but as it stands ive found the person im going to spend the rest of my life with, as long as she’ll have me, and the relationship happens to be straight. im not bi, im not straight. frankly im not really even that attracted to women. i guess my closest thing is some kind of romantic sexuality… regardless, you’re using the word wrong, and id like you to stop.
JustcallmeSoul
FURTHERMORE, willis will do whatever willis damn well pleases with his characters… if you’ve read the universe this far i should hope you understand that. your personal experience does not apply to a world in which the only thing that matters is the whim of a single man, no matter how liberal or conservative.
Cerberus
JustcallmeSoul-
Indeed. Cis means cisgender and that is my intended usage as I feel it is important and critical distinction to make when talking about a particular type of negative behavior I regularly encounter. Gross entitled intrusion of the type that views lesbians as “prizes” that prove “virility” is not a behavior I have typically encountered from trans straight men. It is a behavior I have encountered regularly from those who are cis and identify their sexual orientation as straight. And that intrusion is a daily lived experience for out queer women that can get a bit hard to take after awhile even when they aren’t all fucked up like I am.
I apologize if I made it seem like I intended to use cis as a replacement for straight as that is not at all my intention and I apologize for any distress or confusion caused by this lack of clarity on this part.
As far as Willis doing what he pleases, I am very much in agreement. It’s his universe. I like what he’s doing with it. It wouldn’t matter if I didn’t. My approval matters not one squat to the stories he wants to tell. As it is, I rather like the stories he tells. They are very powerful and healing for me on multiple levels and has given me representations I was not expecting to encounter in fiction (trans aces for instance). But yeah, if that wasn’t the case, it wouldn’t matter a toss.
Which is aptly demonstrated by the giant mock fest Willis has been making on tumblr and his twitter about the gross statements by mario and the overall thrust of homophobic “idea men” who’ve been pitching “better twists” to him for the last few strips now.
And I apologize as well for whatever in my statement gave you the idea that I thought otherwise with regards to that.
Cerberus
JustCallMeSoul-
I also want to make very clear that what I find gross and inappropriate is mario’s “suggestions” for the “improvement” of the comic owing to what they imply for actual real people in the real world owing to the type of story being told rather than anything in the comic or the actions of Willis.
I understand that this particular set of “suggestions” on the part of Mario has me considerably more raw than usual with regards to these types of “we swear we’re not homophobic, we’re just making a ‘writing’ suggestion” commenters, which is probably negatively impacting my clarity on this matter. So I want to just point that out in case that was not clear in my responses.
Joli
Um excuse me everyone what lightsabermario is saying is certainly gross but GUESS WHAT THERE ARE GIRLS WITH PENISES
tossing the word “cis” into comments on men doesn’t absolve you of being complicit in the erasure and shaming of trans women here, and it doesn’t stop the conversation from being revolting and dysphoric to a penis-having girl like myself.
Church
uhh well not always true, sexuality and romanticism are two different things and seeing other genitalia usually is a big part of sex. So while your sexuality isn’t entirely co-dependent on genitalia i’d say a big chunk of it is. Now i don’t doubt that Becky is a lesbian of course but just wanted to get that out there.
Fred
Anyway, I know plenty of lesbians who quite enjoy penises (or rather penis shaped objects) but aren’t the least bit interested in men sexually or romantically. (This isn’t even getting into the other orientation options, such as bisexuality or pansexuality.)
schwa schtick uh
To be fair, this is pretty much how I came to the conclusion I DON’T like girls? But then, you know, maybe I could be if I wanted. Gay seems to work for me so far, though
Halloween Jack
Willis would never write a character under the tragically wrong misconceptions about human sexuality that you seem to be laboring under. If a lesbian wants dick, she doesn’t go out to find a guy, she asks her girlfriend to strap one on. (Or just buys a dildo for herself.) Other information you may be unaware of: bisexuality exists.
Spencer
I think that might have been what he was getting at. That Becky could be bi instead of being gay, and on its own merits, a character coming to a second realization about their sexuality isn’t exactly unrealistic. I was convinced I was gay before I realized I was bi, as an example, though that was mostly due to my own personal bi-erasure.
It’s a moot point anyway. Even disregarding the awful word choices in his post, Becky’s gay. I can’t see it ever happening.
Random832
“…own personal bi-erasure.”
In your opinion, how likely is “You can’t like boys [i]and[/i] girls. Is there even a [i]word[/i] for that?” to have been something you might have said in the past?
Spencer
Basically it was a lot of casual homophobia. “No I can’t like guys, because I’m normal. I’m not gay, not there’s anything wrong with that.” That kind of thought process. Plus there was this really screwed up shaming period where I was all “the only reason you think you’re gay is because you want to be A Thing. You’re straight and normal and Not A Thing.”
When it started to clue in that I liked guys a lot more than a heterosexual dude would, then I decided that I had to be gay, but eventually I just kind of passively accepted that I liked both and liking both was perfectly valid. I never really had an active soul searching period where I had to figure things out, I just decided to stop berating myself and said, hey; I like both.
Sadly there was a distinct lack of glorious man chest in that time. That might have sped things up.
eyoko
While I understand your viewpoint, people can definitely go through a “phase”. For example, I personally have had sex with both females and males. I thought my awkwardness around the opposite sex stemmed from at least some amount of deep-seated homosexuality. Therefore, I fucked a dude. It didn’t do anything for me, so I dated a different dude. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I am fairly close to 100 percent straight and my awkwardness is merely me being a weird person. That several-month-long series of sexual/romantic interactions is best described as a homosexual “phase”. It is certainly not common, but a “phase” is definitely possible due to similar misguided sexuality or variable sexuality.
Kryss LaBryn
“Questioning” might be a better term for it. “I fucked a dude. It didn’t do anything for me” doesn’t sound like “Yeah, I really was into guys for a while, but now, meh,” which would be what a “phase” would look like.
We all went through a phase as kids of being really into [insert whichever pop culture kid’s show is relevant] that we grew out of (for my kids it was things like Bob the Builder and Go, Diego, Go, which they used to be super into but later grew out of). It doesn’t sound like that’s what happened to you here though, so I don’t think “phase” is the right term, unless you phrase it as, say, a phase of exploring your sexuality. “Questioning” would still be the better term, though; less dismissive. 🙂
Inkblot
Something something “fluidity of human sexuality”, something something “not attracted to vaginas, attracted to women”, something something if Becky sees a dong in a textbook and likes what she sees I do not care, something something Willis has creative license to do whatever the heck he pleases and I’m sure it will result in an enjoyable comic strip either way.
I get the whole “don’t say he/she’s just waiting for the right woman/man” mentality. It’s one that allows people peace with the way they feel rather than telling them they must feel a different way somehow.
But seriously, don’t dogpile on Lightsabermario. What he typed isn’t dismissal– it’s an honest question, honest speculation, and smackin’ him in the face isn’t going to be likely to get through to him. Penises and vaginas are weird, folks.
Random832
@Kryss doesn’t “questioning” imply a degree of in-the-moment uncertainty that excludes cases where someone is certain but mistaken?
darkoneko
…there is no word.
Lin
Nobody ever asks straight people “But have you TRIED IT? Are you sure that you don’t like X?”
Also: women can have penises.
BB
Umm, Lin? – I’ve been present when exactly that occurred. And I’ve had it asked of me a couple of times as well. One of the times there was no fault to be forgiven – he was honestly that much of an optimist (and a cellist even! But it turns out that’s not enough). The others were just awful stereotyping.
Spencer
Well obviously there’s anecdotal evidence of occasions where a heterosexual person is called to “prove” their orientation, but it happens at a tremendously higher rate for non-hetero people. There’s always the need for “proof” that someone is gay/bi/ace/demi.
Cerberus
Spencer-
Yes. Always. And then they don’t believe you when you present the proof. It gets tiring. Yes, I’m sure I don’t experience sexual attraction. Yes, I’ve seen most every genitalia configuration and legal sex act possible. No it didn’t do it for me. No, your pant python is not going to change my mind. Yes, I’m sure. Now go away.
Inkblot
Yeah, it’s a dick move. I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone was constantly jammin’ someone of my sex in my own face every five minutes, going “But have you trieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed it?”
But I do work in hentai, so everyone’s pretty respectful of sexuality in my field.
Cerberus
Otherwise known as every queer woman’s experience on every dating site ever. Sure you saaaaaid you were gay/ace/not interested in cis dudes, but you haven’t tried new and improved MyPenis TM yet. Clearly this will magically cure you of your lesbianity, so I’m going to hit on you relentlessly even after you’ve told me to fuck off.
DarkVeghetta
^ That has pretty much nothing to do with being queer. From what I understand, there’s a LOT of those types of guys on dating sites, and every attractive female is targeted with such unwanted attention – gay, straight or otherwise.
I get why you’d feel singled-out, but it probably has little to nothing to do with your orientation and everything to do with them being uncouth horndogs that can’t accept a simple ‘no’ (or a even more glaring ‘fuck
off’).
Also note not every cis-guy is like that.
Oh, speaking of which – you seem to have this habit of only using cis as a pejorative, and it makes your statements seem discriminatory. Because you never seem to use it in a positive way, it sound like you HATE anyone that’s cis… I’m not sure you’re aware of that, but it’s how you come off.
Think of how it would look if someone would only use the term ‘black’ in regards to negative traits or acts – eventually, they’d be labeled as a racist, even if they’re not necessarily such. Perhaps something to consider.
JQuire
I think ‘that’s not how this works’ has been pretty thoroughly covered.
I’m anticipating that Becky’s first glimpse will/did go like it does for most that don’t have ’em. Going ew! and then giggling and looking then quickly looking away and then looking again in a renewed fit of giggles for longer than seems reasonable or possible.
inqntrol
I really don’t understand why some people have something against the gay ones(not only because of religious motives,but also of stupid things). Just like the straight,they are people as well and should be respected no matter what.
Lord Stoneheart
A: Why are they so many people saying “Becky must be wrong! That would be the greatest plot twist ever!” Especially when they frame this in a way that would be really stupid from a narrative perspective too. (Not to mention the social message implications of how they phrase how these twists should happen).
B: I realized I was gay well before I ever saw a vagina. Why are we doubting that Becky is gay just because she may not have seen a dick before? (I mean, I’ve only heard very few people who say what they find most attractive about the people they are attracted to is their genitalia. I mean disembodied sex parts just sounds disturbing)
C: I mean, Becky realizing that she’s not into just girls could happen. (I mean she even admits now that maybe some people are into both. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/item/ ) There’s even another character in this comic who thought they were just into women, but then realized that guys are pretty hot too. But she doesn’t seem to think that’s the case, and I have no idea why we would assume she’s lying.
Cerberus
Because the idea that lesbians don’t exist and every lesbian will be bi for you and you alone is a popular porn myth that ends up snaking its way through hetero society in really dehumanizing and infuriating ways. Every lesbian I have known has had their sexuality questioned aggressively by some asshole cis dude who thinks lesbian equals threesome. Hell, the last Dyke March I went to was infested with cis straight dudes creepily perving on every lesbian they saw and trying to angle for threesomes, because apparently one look at some backwards hat wearing brotastrophe’s genitals will drive any woman mad with lust.
It’s all related to viewing lesbian identity as “hard mode” rather than a legitimate identity. So a lesbian is just a prize that proves how virile and manly you are rather than a sexual orientation that usually comes free with a lot of societal garbage.
It’s honestly quite infuriating and downright dangerous as a lot of men see rejection by a lesbian as an attack on their masculinity, which can lead to violence, sexual assault, and corrective rape.
Random832
> It’s all related to viewing lesbian identity as “hard mode” rather than a legitimate identity.
Why does everything have to relate to how straight men see someone?
The fact that people – with almost all the accumulated wisdom and life experience of a 19-year-old – don’t always instantly know everything, even about themselves, on the first try, shouldn’t even really be controversial.
But in this one case it’s apparently more important what it means for one demographic that Becky is with absolute certainty not a part of (i.e. straight cis men), than what it means for her. Which I don’t think is really a defensible characterization of what lightsabermario actually said.
BeckyHop
By your logic, did Joyce see an erect penis before college? And did you realize your own sexual orientation strictly from seeing aroused genitalia.
Cerberus
Clearly she was ace until she researched dongs so as to defer suspicion as the Whiteboard Ding-dong Bandit! It’s biotruth!(/thatmademefeelsogrossyouhavenoidea)
ExplorerRowan
Penises are magic! Just an image of one can cure the gay!
ninja_jesus
What the fuck were you thinking when you wrote this? This is disgusting.
David M Willis
JetstreamGW
Oh that’s silly. Even if you don’t want to play with dongs, dongs are HILarious.
Freezer
Art History has way more dongs than any medical textbook!
Bagge
There are enough neolithic giblets to catch her attention too.
Cerberus
Yeah, based on her assessment of the campus:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/hectic/
I’m pretty sure her response to ancient art history will be more along the lines of Venus of Wilendorf is hot.
Darkoneko
Oh.
…
Actually, it didn’t even cross my mind.
Probably because of the emphasises.
Tacos
But technically it’s exactly 9000 ~_~
inqntrol
True fact: The episode in which Vgeta said that memorable phrase,he actually said over 8000 when it was dubbed.But they cahnged it later to 9000,because it sounded better.And thus a famous phrase was created,heh,even Oprah was tricked into saying it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7liYfhRgXGk
TheZachariah
Exactly nine thousand? There’s no way that can be right.
Tacos
Sure it can. Through the magic of rounding up or down @_@
Shade
No, approximate would be the correct term
Saru
You can round to the nearest thousand you know…Trust me, I’m a science engineer.
RedFloyd
Yes, but if you’ve rounded, it’s not exact. That’s what approximate means.
Roborat
What is a science engineer?
Clif
Someone who engineers science to make it mean what they want it to mean.
DarkVeghetta
^ Basically a hack then? 😛
Inkblot
I suddenly realize that they are not holding hands. I feel betrayed.
Darkoneko
You and me both.
airyu
I mean to be fair, they’re not looking at dinosaurs. (Well Dina mig might be, but Becky’s looking at corn.)
Mr. Bawkbagawk
dinosaur corn, your argument is invalid.
N0083rP00F
I tried looking up dinosaur corn and all I found were corncob holders and corn chips.
Looking at the history of corn, it was developed 7000 years ago and its precursor was Teosinte which looked more like a herbaceous bush.
Palamdrone
Their relationship reminds me of Ethan and Joyce. ‘Her hands, and their proximity to Dina never.’
Nightsbridge
…I still don’t understand this. They hold each other pretty often, considering they got together like, an hour ago?
Deanatay
I’m sure this is after the dinosaur-hand-holding, inkblot. Now, they’ve clearly moved on to ‘reading forbidden science textbooks in bed together’ – you know, fifteenth base.
Inkblot
And Willis didn’t show us!? Perhaps we’ve been onto something about a Slipshine of them holding hands…
darkoneko
You don’t just ask people to show their Willis.
Inkblot
YOU DON’T KNOW MY LIFE
Vincent
What’s that in Base-4?
sjmcc13
9 millennium is a long time, lets she how Becky reacts to looking at some Renaissance Paintings to see how fast these changes can take place. Or finding out what Tomatoes tasted like even 80 year ago.
Or even how Dogs have changed over the last century
Darkoneko
Uh, I’m impressed you bypassed the moderation filter with so many links in your message 😮
Gangler
I’m pretty sure if you post more than two then Willis has to give it the pass. He must’ve just gotten on that quickly.
Darkoneko
Most than one, last I tried.
…maybe that changed since, maybe our great Author was lightning fast (or has helpers)
John
I find moderation is typically very fast around update time. I assume Willis is usually on and actively keeping an eye on the comments section when his comic updates.