Line #15 Headscratchers/GirlsWithSlingshots


1	* Hazel acts like she has absolutely no income after the ''Tribune'' shuts down, but wasn't she writing for a magazine and a blog, as well? They could at least mention that she got fired or downsized, or that those jobs don't supply enough income, but no, these jobs are never even mentioned again. What happened?
2	** It's explained in the newer strips. She was freelancing for the magazine and they stopped calling, and there's nothing in the strip that said she was making money from the blog in the first place.
3	* Does anyone else feel this comic is sexist as hell? Every male character other than Zack, Darren or Jameson is presented in an unflattering light - Chris is "a noob" when it comes to sex, Tucker and Jim are stalkers (with Tucker resorting to blackmail to even get a date), and Tyler is a one-note "boobies" joke. Meanwhile, Maureen is apparently so turned off by Jameson's hair she hires someone to forcibly shave it (in an act reminiscent of rape), Candy tries to rape Chris, and Hazel tries to mess with Jameson's and Chris' dating life even though she actually does not feel anything romantic towards them--but none of them are called out on their behaviour or anything of the sort.
4	** Okay, taking this one point at a time:
5	###Why is Chris being a "noob" unflattering? He is portrayed in a sympathetic light, being overall well-intentioned and nice. This isn't a character flaw, and I don't think anyone's saying (or ''should'' say, if we apply your "called on their behavior" comment) that he's a bad person for not being good at sex.
6	###[[http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/comic/gws-1219/ Tucker is called on his behavior.]] If I recall correctly, so was Jim. And while it does make them creepy as fuck, it does not make them inherently bad people. Just misguided as to how to act on their intentions, and said intentions weren't violent or deranged. Neither of them came off as mentally damaged, "I'm-going-to-kill-you-because-''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye''-said-to"-type stalkers, and both stopped when told to knock it off. They are currently being taught how to talk to women without resorting to stalking.
7	###Tyler rarely shows up these days. And in case you haven't noticed, everyone thinks he's a twisted little weirdo. I'd call that being "called on his behavior." To say nothing of the fact that he was roundly humiliated for his part in the batterypocolypse.
8	###I think Jameson's reaction is what makes this a problem. He acts as though he's been violated and yet sticks with Maureen afterwards. I actually have nothing for this. Getting him shaved like that was a bitch move, sure--he could've just kept the bandana like he wanted--but I don't think it's a relationship-ender.(Later note: Maureen had very little to do with the forcible shave. That was mostly Clarice and Hazel. All Maureen knew is that they were going to talk to a professional barber)
9	###I think the rape is retgone, but you're not alone, if that helps. It pissed the hell out of me that everyone kept playing nice with her afterwards, and reading the YMMV page it seems like a good amount of readers agree.
10	###I think the implication was that Hazel was in denial about her affections for Jameson and Chris, and took for granted that they'd remain single and she wouldn't have to worry about it. Doesn't make it any less of a bitch move, but then it was supposed to be. Pretty sure she was called on that, too.
11	** Overall, though, I don't know what you're expecting, and moreover how does this tie into sexism? Characters on both sides are equally flawed in fairly gender-neutral ways. The fact that their flaws are related to sexual and romantic relationships wouldn't make them any ''less'' flawed if the genders were switched.
12	** The "called out on their behaviour" comment was about the women, not the men. My point was that nearly all characters are equally flawed in terms of relationship issues - but only the MEN are either punished for their mistakes or treated as comedy fuel, not the women.
13	** This troper honestly thought it came across as sexist in the other direction. The women feel very real, note bitchy, while the guys all seem kind of idolized. None of them have any real flaws and none of them are actually mean or cruel. The "stalking" is depicted as pretty innocent. Chris, the self confessed consummate liar, lies about how he got his eye patch and pretty much nothing else. It also doesn't really cause any trouble. Tylor is depicted more as a kid than a guy, and even then he's more annoying than flawed. The women act bitchy and do get flak/lampshade hangings for it while the men are all just super nice guys. Not that most people aren't like that, it just came across as a little jarring for the girls to be depicted so...unflattering in comparison.
14	*** No, Hazel has been getting a lot of flack lately for her behaviour. Thea got beaten up for making assumptions about her relationship with Angel, and got an STD from her as well. Erin peed her pants trying to hide her relationship with Jamie. So it's not just dudes who have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Also, Maureen never shaved Jameson's head, that was Hazel and Clarice.
15	* RLS is a neurological condition, why is it treated like a venereal disease?
16	** WordOfGod is that it's a light-and-silly comic strip equivalent of herpes, if I recall correctly, and intended to defang the shame associated with such diseases.
17	* Towards the (current) arc of the comic Hazel starts going through a bit of a crisis when she realizes she's nearly 30. This comic ran ten years, in universe too since every year they had a Halloween/New Years party, does this mean she was 19 when it started? Art evolution aside, she had already graduated from college by that side. This troper was under the impression 19 was more a starting college age than a finishing college one. And she's not even the youngest by any significant measure since Jamie is said to be eight months younger. Just a continuity error or is there some explanation I'm missing?
18	** WordOfGod is that a year in the the comic is roughly a year and a half in the real world, putting Hazel at about 22 when the comic started. How this works with the holiday specials is probably better left ignored.

Context Headscratchers / GirlsWithSlingshots