Awesome.
So this is a comic that I think is a mixture for me. When other men in the realm of technology recognize the way women are treated in the field and in RPGs online, and stick up for them it is awesome. And then the fact that the woman is not the one who is spouting all the complaints throughout the comic is great too. The “normal” conceptions of the roles men and women should play are juxtaposed. Here the man is the one who presents the complaints (as something that all people and not just all women should be concerned with) and then the woman is the one who lays down the law with force in the end.
However, the argument that the male “good-guy” gives ultimately becomes male centric again. Instead of saying “you shouldn’t do this because inherently it is wrong,” he says “you shouldn’t do this because then there won’t be as many women that I like around.” I also would have liked it more if this character and the female character were presented as more of a united front. “WE’RE here to ban you from the internet.”
But still the girl gets the cannon. Awesome.
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I love xkcd mostly because so much of it is accurate/spot-on. I do agree that the male’s defense reeks of the “do this so more girls show up,” but at the same time, I like the fact that the conflict over women on the internet is brought about through conversation between the two males. It shows an “attempt,” not necessarily successful, to bridge the divide between the genders by the creator, and I appreciate that.
I do adore this comic, though. “Joanna, fire.”
Question:
Does liking geeky women disqualify the male in this comic from being able to stand up for his friends? Must a man either show apathy or dislike towards women in order to be truly feminist?
–R
I’m glad you brought this up Ryan. When I was writing my reaction to the comic I grappled with this same issue. Ultimately, I felt that it wouldn’t do to not address it. Your right, liking geeky women does not and should not disqualify him from being able to stand up for his friends. But in the comic one might feel that Joanna is not being presented necessarily as a “Friend,” rather as more of a subordinate. However, I think if the line “I’m here to ban you from the internet” were more inclusive as I mentioned above, the issue I take with comic would no longer apply.
To address your second more general question, I would hope that men who consider themselves to be feminist do like women. But they should like women as equals for equality’s sake rather than “stoop” to allow women equality for their own personal gain. Which I feel is what is the issue with the language of this comic.
In the original (http://xkcd.com/322/), the mouseover says “But one of the regulars is a girl.”) How does this complicate things? There’s always another joke or comment in the mouseovers.
I’m conflicted. I like that the guy is standing up for/supporting his female friend. I don’t like that she’s not standing up for herself. “Joanna, fire” is still a command made by a man to a woman… Then there are questions about violence/radical responses vs. non-violent responses to issues — and the technology/gender of the gun Joanna holds. I suppose the comic wouldn’t be as funny if it didn’t incorporate the exaggeration of violent response though. I do want to mention that in general I love XKCD.
Laura: I’ve been thinking about your comment since I saw it earlier today and I am still not completely decided on how it complicates things.
Currently, I’m thinking it makes things worse from my perspective. If in fact there is a woman who is a regular on the very same IRC channel as the unenlightened male character and he still treats women that way it would be worse. But this is supposing that he is aware of her presence, and of course he probably is not. Which leads me one annoying truth about women on the internet in the tech world: If you don’t want to be harassed, make sure no one finds out your a woman.