El Goonish Shive

well, it's usually used in conjunction with another identifier, especially if they are nonbinary in some other way.

Got it.

A new ship rises

Dude, yesterday's sketchbook was kickass.

Sarah dating Sam would be great. She clearly has more in common with him than she did with Elliot, they could roleplay adorably, and she'd be in the unique position of not knowing whether to tell him about magic at all (Given that nobody has dated outside those in the know so far, with even Ashley having seen Elliot transform.)

Hrumm, only issue with that being is the gender issue. Though I don't know if it is still a plot point, part of the reason Sarah and Elliot broke apart was Elliot spent half of his time "with a uterus" (Susan has the best lines I swear)

...I REALLY hope that doesn't become an issue because that is a highly political and controversial area and not something Shive can remotely tackle. At all. Ever.

NP!

I don't think Shive is that bad.

Raichu: Look how much negative reaction he got for portraying something that is, for the most part, a true stereotype. Yeah. No. Stay away from the deep end of transgender politics.

Oh, good point.

He will do it just to spite you.

Man if I had that much power I would not be talking to a bunch of folks on an internet forum.

@17981 Correction; you mean it's a biology issue. Because if we are assuming correctly (I certainly agree with everyone that's suspecting that Sam is transmale), the issue would be that Sarah isn't into the biology that Sam was born with.

However, that's assuming that Susan is completely correct in that Sarah objected to Elliot's inability to stay male due to his power fluctuations. Sure, it's a reasonable theory... but what if it really was just that Sarah saw Elliot as a sibling, and she just used the sex changing as a dodge? There have been hints that Sarah doesn't mind so much what's in pants so long as she's allowed in them.

I personally wouldn't mind Shive exploring such a storyline, but I have the feeling, based on past storylines, that it'd be better to avoid labels within them.

And what you said alone could serve to piss people off (since whether genitalia should determine your attraction is a hotbutton issue). This is why Shive shouldn't even poke it.

Tedd's stare in that third panel seems like it's built to feed upon the theories here that Tedd harbor secret lustful feelings for Nanase. Are we sure Shive isn't reading this?

I don't see it.

Well, at least she remembered to pull her pants back up before she transformed them.

@17990 It's a bit of a moot point, in a way. Whether or not one should or should not have any particular element to attraction is immaterial, because people don't pick what they're attracted to. I could give you a rundown of the elements that I find attractive, but it's not like I chose any of them (there are a couple that, had I dispensed of them, would have made my life in high school much easier). I just happen to like them. I don't think anyone should feel bad about what they do like; I just think that nobody should be made to feel bad if they don't happen to match up in a given circumstance.

Honestly, I think Shive could pull it off if he approached it from that angle. That said, there's been enough suggestions that Sam would meet Sarah's interests (i.e., I don't think biology would be a barrier at all), which is part of why, I imagine, that shippers have gone to work already.

For the Tedd/Nanase thing (since I don't recall mentioning it before)... eh, I think people are reading too much into it. Cousins that see each other regularly growing up can develop a dynamic similar to siblings (I have seen it with the cousins on my dad's side of the family, my sister, and myself). Teasing someone with such a close familiar relationship with taunts of "ugly," regardless of whether you believe them or not, strikes me as simple sibling rivalry, except projected onto a cousin instead of a sibling. Sure, it's a sign that Tedd could stand to mature a bit more, but there's ample evidence of that all over the place. It fits his character.

I have never once got the impression that Tedd's "UGLY COUSIN" spiel was in any way intended as a taunt.

Except that there is a thing called society and it actually does alter our tastes to a certain extent. Hence why most men folk here will probably find breasts sexually attractive, despite the fact that there are other cultures where there is no such indication.

As a result, whether genital preference is societally induced or not is a point of debate.

And similarly to our tastes, we have no control over society at large. Whether or not it's fair if Sarah is or is not attracted (or actively disinterested, as the case may be) by any particular body part, it's not her choice. I don't think anyone should feel fault over what they're attracted by, regardless of the reasons for said attraction.

Except tastes CAN be harmful, and it IS something that should be addressed. Reconsidering and analyzing society's values is half the point of social movements and social justice. A good example of tastes being harmful? Race fetishes. They are used to dehumanize POC as a whole. Also another one is fetishizing sexualities, like bisexuality. And to a certain extent genitalia preferrance can ALSO be harmful, because it can imply that a trans man is not a real man unless he has a penis

This issue is more complicated than you're making it to be, hence why Shive shouldn't tackle it unless he's ready to dive head first into a LOT of stuff.

edited 22nd Oct '14 10:36:11 AM by MrAHR

Which should be kept as a different comic all together and this should keep with the alien/magic/sci-fi/whatever jumbled mess we have so far.

This is true, but still doesn't mean individuals can change what they are attracted to.

We can debate whether, for example, men should or shouldn't be attracted to breasts, but, at best, this will only effects the future generations. Even if society can be changed (and it can), the effects at large will be for the future. People today have already been raised by today's society and that can't be changed.

So, even if people shouldn't define what they are attracted to based on genitalia, that doesn't mean some people already are. Pretending otherwise is just silly. And this doesn't allow any judgment of value on those individuals (although it may do to the society).

Tastes may be harmful but those who have them are innocent. It is just not their fault. You can't expect to change them. You are right the issues can and should be addressed but not simply attacked. If one person/character exhibit genitalia/race preference it is something personal to them and likely can't be changed at all.

I do agree that I don't trust Shive to tackle on that issue, though. He is well meaning and is learning, but is mostly clueless. I empathize a lot with him (I am that way as well), but it would probably be for the best if he doesn't try to talk about what he doesn't understand.

edited 22nd Oct '14 11:32:10 AM by Heatth