This is a comic that we posted on Playhouse 1.0 a couple years ago that was picked up & tossed around by the internet for a few weeks, and brought by far the most attention to our website of anything we have drawn or will ever draw. At last count it had over 700 comments… but we might have lost them all when we switched databases.
REMEMBER: before you comment on this comic, you can avoid being a human cliche by checking this list first.
42 comments
Elaine says:
Jun 12, 2012
Amazing. I feel you.
Mathieu says:
Jun 27, 2012
men are judged by how productive their actions are, women are judged by how sexy their actions are. That’s why women are better “suited” to entry level customer service positions and men are better “suited” to entry level menial positions. And the differences only get more profound from there. I’m not saying it’s correct, I’m just saying pretty much the same thing your comic was.
Understanding womens studies rules, because it’s actually about the interaction of gender roles. I’m going off on a tangent. Either way calling someone pretty and calling someone talented are entirely different things. I wish other guys would figure that out too :(
coder says:
Jul 1, 2012
Meta as fuck.
Lizzy says:
Jul 1, 2012
This is delightful. I appreciate your hard work and intelligent insight, Gabby. Thank you for commicking. I also would be thrilled to live in a world where people aren’t judged by their sexual potential unless they and the judge are planning to engage in consensual sex.
Anonymous Male Coward says:
Jul 1, 2012
This comic is truly on point, to the point that it reminded me of my own web-based shame. I commit this error far too often when I’m commenting on works of females I follow on Twitter. Fortunately I’m aware of this already, but I do stray off the beaten path every now and then. Thank you for this piece of meta-awesomeness :)
Lindsey says:
Oct 13, 2012
One thing you might want to keep in mind, as you continue on this self-awareness journey, is that when you use “females” as a noun, as in “females I follow on Twitter”, it sounds clinical, like you’re running a lab experiment as opposed to conversing with actual human beings. Try “women” instead.
MisandryisMadeUpByIdiots says:
Jul 2, 2012
I’d just like to point out that anyone who disagrees with this comic and/or posts on /r/Mensrights has literally the tiniest penis in the galaxy.
Gracious Host says:
Jul 3, 2012
who wants jello?
Michael says:
Jul 3, 2012
I’m a guy, and I find this system pretty damn unfair. I feel sorry by proxy (in a non-partisan, strictly figurative sense of empathy) that you’ve expended so much effort trying to reach out to people to whom logic is totally lost.
I can appreciate the quality of your work, in the sense that these comics alone (which I assume aren’t indicative of your skill, in the sense that a single work cannot be extrapolated to an entire portfolio) are like an argumentative tour-de-force that perfectly conveys the point, in a way that many people couldn’t do even if given 1,000 words to do it.
I also empathize, to some fraction of a degree, with your sense of mental exhaustion: I moderate an online forum section, and encountering those that regularly scoff at well-formulated, logically-supported text and repeatedly answer with thoroughly fallacious material is something that, unfortunately, isn’t new to me.
With something as trivial as defining a game genre, it’s demoralizing, and I can’t imagine what it’s like when it involves something as existential as your identity as an individual in society. All I can say is that at least on my account, I apologize on behalf of my gender.
I feel ashamed to be a member of society, when constructive things like this and your other comics can go so totally unappreciated (or even ostracized) by the majority of the Internet.
If you think about it, anonymity of the Internet doesn’t mask your identity by making you adopt a ‘persona’; since putting your name to the text is optional, I suppose it shows people for who they really are.
That scares the hell out of me.
Anyway, thanks for making this and other comics. As a useless tidbit, I’ve been finding them reblogged on Tumblr.
Emma says:
Jul 9, 2012
i encounter ‘compliments’ like this an awful lot and while i appreciate that someone likes my work, i’d really, REALLY love it if my talents, interests or intelligence weren’t fetishised.
we’re all really tired of hearing ‘oh you’re a girl who games/draws/codes/writes, that’s really hot!’. i don’t mean to throw what is probably just a misguided compliment violently back in the guy’s face, but can’t our talents and hard work just be IMPRESSIVE? can’t we just be RESPECTED for what we’ve put so much time and effort into?
and why is it wrong for us to protest that we’re not doing this to be sexy? why is it that doing so makes us an ‘attention whore’ or a ‘bitch’ or ‘ungrateful’?
this comic just perfectly sums up how tired and fed up the whole system makes me. thank you so much for making this.
Katie says:
Jan 14, 2013
I originally wanted to point out that it’s sort of a step forward for attractiveness to be based on something other than just physical appearance, because it still places the emphasis on attractiveness being the important thing: as in “You do impressive things, therefore you are attractive, therefore you have worth,” and that is a whole lot of wrong.
And of course those compliments are often predicated on the opinion/assumption that you are physically attractive, because if you are a girl who games/draws/codes/writes/whatever, and do not fit into whoever’s formulation of hotness, then you are just a girl who games/draws/codes/writes/whatever.
zachary says:
Jul 10, 2012
I thought this was fantastic! The way some of these arguments online go makes you wonder why you even bother sometimes…
Amanda Quesada says:
Jul 10, 2012
Awesome! This is a struggle for women, but also for men; hence, anyone who undermines the potential human qualities in us all. And thus, limit themselves to stereotypical behaviour assigned to their gender. Ex: women have compassion, men are brave, etc. etc. etc… how about everyone can have compassion and everyone can be brave? How about both genders take care of their families? how about both genders see beyond sexes and qualify people they meet based on personality and experience? How about everyone go out there and try to achieve their dreams in a sustainable manner? Thanks for the insight. We ALL loose in a sexist society.
Jodi Rives says:
Jan 20, 2013
@Amanda Quesada–There is not a balance here–women get punished for being women, men get punished for acting like women (nurturing, crying, whatever). Yes, everyone loses in a sexist society–eventually. But in the short-term, there are people–men–who benefit from it greatly and they aren’t going to give that up easily. When people–especially women, in my opinion–jump in first thing to say “EVERYONE has it bad and we should all just get along better,” it does a disservice to the discussion at hand. It IS worse/harder/more challenging for women in this society. It just is. No amount of equivocating is going to make that disappear. Every major system in the world is rigged in favor of men, if the men do nothing, they still win generally. The status quo is their friend in a way it never has been for women. And never will be unless we stop making the conversation “fair” for men.
Amber says:
Apr 9, 2013
^ THIS!!!
Madeleine says:
Jul 10, 2012
Your comic is so good it makes me want to respect you.
Mike Brendan says:
Jul 11, 2012
I dig it.
dani says:
Jul 16, 2012
brilliant. LOVE. you rock.
Rems says:
Aug 1, 2012
Well done, but fairly depressing.
Ru says:
Aug 11, 2012
At root we are all the same :3
Petra says:
Aug 29, 2012
O wow. Finally. The whole point condensed in pictures that even ‘those guys’ might at least try to understand.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Jessica says:
Sep 25, 2012
Oh hell ya. Thank you for this :)
taotsu says:
Oct 13, 2012
Greatly enjoyed reading your comic as well as the linked one!
Kate says:
Oct 17, 2012
Love love love LOVE.
FooooootballChiccka says:
Jan 14, 2013
Brilliant, I love it! All I get at school is sexist comments about me doing sport. If it’s not “Wow, are you a lesbian?” it’s things like “Oh you can’t run, you’re a girl” and “Get back in the kitchen”. Even worse is when I read teen magazines and there are detailed descriptions on how to look and be attractive to a boy. It makes me physically sick to see girls being encouraged to be into something they hate, just to make a boy happy. It’s like feminism never happened.
olabelle says:
Mar 21, 2013
Big time props to you for doing what you love and recognizing the idiocy that exists out there. I have major respect for you. :)
Public Serpent says:
Jan 16, 2013
This comic is the most awesome, scary, brilliant, true and depressing thing I have ever read. You have hit the nail on the head and perfectly encapsulated the issue in a nutshell. Thank you.
This is going stright to the Twittersphere. #Destroythejoint
Jodi Rives says:
Jan 20, 2013
The only thing missing from this comic is the contingent of women who will jump in to agree with the men and show how not like other girls they are and how much totally cool sense of humor they have. Ugh. I need a shower now.
Amber says:
Apr 9, 2013
^ This too!! <3
Enmat says:
Apr 10, 2013
Also the men who don’t behave like this and find the caveman mentality cringe-worthy, but who for the most part don’t speak up, either out of complacency or fear of controversy. I’m certainly guilty of that. The world would be a much nicer place if more men could step forward and say “Dude, just stop, you’re embarassing yourself.”
Katy says:
Apr 11, 2013
Yes please. :)
Kurt says:
Jan 26, 2013
Spot on.
Shannon says:
Mar 6, 2013
perfection.
J says:
Apr 9, 2013
Ah just fantastic! Yay! Love this. :)
Nik says:
Apr 10, 2013
WIN!
I <3 this. And I also <3ed the stereotypes in your link.
sinfest.net has become really feminist the past year or so :)
Matt says:
Apr 10, 2013
I don’t get it, but it may just be because I am a man and am dumb :3.
charliedontsurf says:
Apr 11, 2013
Awwww kitten :3
Kate says:
Apr 11, 2013
ROCK ON! I’m a cock-rocker, and I purposely dress like a dude rocker, not a chick rocker, on stage (no heels or makeup; instead, black jeans and black tee, choreography copied from Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant) because I want to avoid the politics surrounding femininity at all costs. Don’t want my beauty to get in the way of music. Don’t want people to be thinking about my clothes and boobs and missing out on all the fantastic music I’m making with my band. Just my little bit of gender politics for this delicious stew you’ve started on this page, Gabby. :)
alph says:
Apr 11, 2013
Yes, yes, yes, yes, thank you for this, yes!
falafal84 says:
Apr 13, 2013
Fabulous comic! Thankyou for sharing it.
Hampton says:
Apr 13, 2013
I’m a feminist, majored in Women’s Studies, and I’m a man.
Male allies exist. The patriarchal, heterosexual binary system will only fade away if all genders are invited to be a part of a new way – a way of open, authentic, respectful, loving and caring humans sharing in various kinds of relationships with one another with a balance of both appreciation of diversity AND desire to find common ground.
ClareAtk says:
Apr 13, 2013
YES!! Love love love this!!