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arekuru ([info]arekuru) wrote in [info]fandom_wank,
@ 2012-08-09 23:44:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:fandom: sinfest, feminism: you're doing it right, feminism: you're doing it wrong, freezer upsets people, icky girls, misogyny soup, smush smush smush the boys are wanking, webcomics

Feminism? In a webcomic? It's more likely than you think.
For the last year and half or so, webcomic Sinfest has featured an intermittent storyline about feminism and "the sisterhood," with many of the characters being confronted with their anti-feministic views to varying reactions. As the comic started out with a lot of humor about drugs, sex, and stereotypes (and also a cute dog and cat, but that's not important right now), some readers have not been pleased with this change.

This comic pretty much sums up the background for you. For a quick overview of the complaints sans [much] wank, see the entries here for Base Breaker, Black Hole Sue, Double Standard, Jerk Sue, They Changed It Now It Sucks, and Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped. (Warning: link goes to TVTropes.)

The storyline's been going on long enough that wank has started to spill over a bit into many online "discussions" about comics and feminism (Shortpacked's comments section, for example), but is most conveniently observed right in Sinfest's own forums.

This is where the wank gets entertaining. You can easily see why in this first post to the feminism thread in the general chat section:
So. Feminism keeps popping up over the forums recently. We seem to have an interesting mix of guys that have studied gender theory, women who find it interesting and relevant to their lives (and maybe some that have also taken a few courses on it? I took one, eons ago.), and a smattering of the hopelessly ignorant we might be able to lure in and taunt mercilessly.

Taunt mercilessly, you say...?

Meanwhile, a poll is started by Delakando:
Are you tired of the feminist storyline in the comic?

This results in some Very Serious Responses, such as this one by Dogen:
I joined Sinfest 11 years ago in the hopes of one day being able to troll the forum. I had faith, those many years back, that Tat would eventually discover feminism and begin writing about it. People called me crazy! But I was right! I was wrong about the Kuma Bear becoming the big Christmas gift of 2006. Also about selling Apple stock in April of 2007. But I knew if I stuck it out long enough, my dreams of being an internet troll would come to fruition. Who's laughing now, suckers!?

and Sam the Eagle's simple
This poll lacks the option Delakando is a douche.

This makes Delakando sad.
My thread got hijacked from a simple answer of yes or no on whether they liked the feminist storyline being portrayed in the comic and turned into an argument and contest of name throwing.

Please bring your discussion some where else.


Unfortunately, he is still not taken seriously, and page 5 is largely devoted to a discussion of egg drop soup.

Crayven can't take it anymore:
Enough! Omg enough ! It's been ONE YEAR since this feminism idiocy keeps on and on and on and ON.

And i don't care what the forum's own "team rocket" ShadowCell and Money think, feminist PREACHING is not fun -whether we agree with it or not.

It's over fucking done. There's tons of other things to talk about - more IMPORTANT and much more fun potential.
I have been watching silently for over a year how this kept dragging but i just had to make myself heard this time.


While it's probably not what he wanted, another topic is indeed started, this time about secular humanism. The macros, however, suggest it might not be quite serious.

Things continue on in much the same vein, eventually resulting in this gem from tesseract18, notable for starting like a typical "hey, here's my opinion" piece before suddenly bringing mirror devils into things:
My personal opinion is though that I enjoyed the original comic very much. It was a safety place for the patriarchy pigs such as myself. I find it humorous how the feminist say men are controling everything and keeping women down and yet I feel completely shunned by the norm of U.S. society, completely unable to express myself. I am the devil in that mirror whom can only come out at night whilst you sleep. Would the devil be so hateful and bitter if he wasn't so mistreated? I don't know about the patriarchy programming done as a child. I can honestly remember moments of my life back to between the ages of 1-2 yrs old and I have always had a sense of nobility and honor to protect those weaker than myself. Whether they be male or female does not matter. It just so happens that women are the majority of the "weak". If you do not like being called weak then improve yourself instead of being a crutch on those around you.

ShadowCell offers a tribute in response:
he's the hero Sinfest deserves, but not the hero it needs right now

so we'll mock him, because he can take it

because he's not our hero

he's a silent troll

a watchful assclown

a dork knight


But in the end it's love all around - for the most part.



(Post a new comment)


[info]redcoast
2012-08-10 07:53 am UTC (link)
I will insult whoever I want however I want when I'm here. And guess what? When it comes time to vote for gender equality, whether it be the Lily Ledbetter law or something similar in the states, I will. I voted for the fucking ERA because it was right. If any woman in my workplace that I actually have to work with needs me to moderate my language because she feels uncomfortable with me saying something objectionable, I will immediately admit wrong and change my habits - as I always have, even before the state-mandated moronic sensitivity classes. Why? Because that's right. I try to do what's right, always. And, having put my body on the front lines with my wife for CARAL and been bullied and manhandled and villified by Randall Terry and his assholes until we finally were able to drive them out of the state gives me a perspective that many here don't have, including, it seems to me, the author of this comic.

What does this guy want, a medal?

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]taktuk
2012-08-10 08:10 am UTC (link)
Probably a blowjob. And a complimentary cockbib, the cockbib.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]mmanurere
2012-08-10 01:07 pm UTC (link)
He wants cookies.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]napalmnacey, 2012-08-10 04:54 pm UTC

[info]yattara
2012-08-10 03:47 pm UTC (link)
Dunno what he wants, but he can get a slap upside the head for bragging.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]jupiterpluvius
2012-08-15 04:19 pm UTC (link)
"I voted for the ERA"? No, he didn't. Unless he was a member of a state legislature 40ish years ago.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]ekaterinv
2012-08-10 07:59 am UTC (link)
If you do not like being called weak then improve yourself instead of being a crutch on those around you.

Am I unable to understand this sentence because of my pain meds, or does it actually make no sense whatsoever?

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]seiberwing
2012-08-10 08:03 am UTC (link)
It really doesn't. I'm not sure they understand what a crutch is.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]apoplexia, 2012-08-10 08:53 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]tez, 2012-08-10 09:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2012-08-19 02:29 am UTC

[info]tez
2012-08-10 08:14 am UTC (link)
If you do not like being called weak then improve yourself instead of being a crutch on those around you

I just stared at this sentence for probably a solid ten minutes trying to make it parse.

I can't do it.

(Reply to this)


[info]kijikun
2012-08-10 10:32 am UTC (link)
I think Shortpacked is the only webcomic whose comments I'll dare read.

(Reply to this)


[info]puipui
2012-08-10 11:02 am UTC (link)
I am the devil in that mirror whom can only come out at night whilst you sleep.

WHO. WHO can only come out at night whilst you sleep. WHO. (And also WHAT but that's a different kind of thing.)


I can honestly remember moments of my life back to between the ages of 1-2 yrs old and I have always had a sense of nobility and honor to protect those weaker than myself.

This part, though, I can see nothing wrong with this part. It is obviously true and completely not made up. I like to picture it in my head, little baby tesseract18, nobly and honorably protecting all those weaker than himself using only his ninja-like baby powers of drool and spit-up, and also really smelly baby poo. That sounds like a perfectly genuine thing that actually happened! Yes!

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]napalmnacey
2012-08-10 04:56 pm UTC (link)
I am the terror that FLAPS in the night!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]yattara, 2012-08-10 05:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2012-08-12 02:33 am UTC

[info]the__ivorytower
2012-08-10 06:27 pm UTC (link)
It's a reference to a series of Slick comics wherein the evil in him goes walkies, and you only see it in the mirror.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]napalmnacey, 2012-08-12 12:13 am UTC

[info]iczer6
2012-08-11 01:06 am UTC (link)
Baby Geniuses was real?

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]dragonsong12
2012-08-10 03:05 pm UTC (link)
I'm pretty much here just to say that I've loved those Sinfest comics since the first time I saw them, and I still link people to them pretty regularly.

Never looked into any comments or discussion on them, though, since it's the internet and I figured I knew what the reaction would be, so I'm actually kind of surprised that it hasn't been far worse (especially after the recent blowup over Feminist Frequency).

I DID like the one POSTER who used very important CAPS to let us know that feminism isn't IMPORTANT so we should all stop TALKING about it, THOUGH. They have CHANGED my opinion with THE seriousness of their CAPS.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]come_love_sleep
2012-08-12 08:10 pm UTC (link)
Every time I read text like that, I hear this guy.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]queencallipygos
2012-08-10 03:21 pm UTC (link)
I've been reading Sinfest for a while now, and it's been kind of interesting to watch - you get the sense that the artist is kind of realizing he's needed to grow up.

Also, it's kind of adorable that the character who's sort of the "herald of feminism" in the strip is a girl riding a Big Wheel.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]yattara, 2012-08-10 03:49 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2012-08-11 04:06 am UTC

[info]napalmnacey
2012-08-10 04:58 pm UTC (link)
I've always been amazed that Tatsuya gets it. Even before his "awakening" as it were. It's such a relief. I hope he never gives it up.

(Reply to this)


[info]catmoran
2012-08-10 05:22 pm UTC (link)
I'm hooked on Sinfest because I love some of the characters. But some of the feminist strips make me feel uncomfortable because I can't shake the feeling that the writer/artist is manspaining.

Does anyone else get that feeling, or do I just need to get over it?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]the__ivorytower, 2012-08-10 06:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]queencallipygos, 2012-08-10 07:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ekaterinv, 2012-08-11 01:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]evanwaters, 2012-09-04 01:15 am UTC
Forget the wank, this is awesome
[info]issendai
2012-08-10 05:24 pm UTC (link)
Whoa wait what? I read Sinfest aeons ago, when it was cute and occasionally thoughtful but largely a guyfest, but gave up because it was two-dimensional and, well, a guyfest, and now it... what?

*brain explodes*

'Scuse please, off to catch up on approximately a million back episodes on Sinfest.

(Reply to this)


[info]amaresu
2012-08-10 05:38 pm UTC (link)
I used to read Sinfest just for the dog and the cat. But the past few years have been steadily getting better and better and the feminism storyline is a big part of that.

I also really like the second part of the contract comic. I like the message of just because you were an asshat about these things in the past it doesn't mean you have to be an asshat for forever. It's nice.

(Reply to this)


[info]the__ivorytower
2012-08-10 06:29 pm UTC (link)
I really like the direction that the way the Sinfest comics have gone. Honestly, there are tons of places where men can still feel free to be disgusting like the MMO-Champion forums. I think it's great that this comic is bringing to life some of the issues.

Some of them can be a little wince-worthy, but they got better over time too.

(Reply to this)


[info]freezer
2012-08-10 07:24 pm UTC (link)
Personally, I do hate the Sisterhood storyline. Not for the rather anvillicious change of tone it brings, but because it's been going on forever, no end in sight, and no real sense of "Where This Is Going."

Not to mention it takes away from other, frankly more interesting storylines, like Fuchsia and Criminy, Lil' E, and Monique's ongoing personal growth (Which puts forth a feminist angle far less obtrusively, IMHO).

It feels less like Ishida has a story to tell and more like he's showing how ENLIGHTENED he is.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]seiberwing, 2012-08-10 07:52 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]beccastareyes, 2012-08-11 03:54 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]quinctia, 2012-08-12 01:33 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mcity, 2012-08-16 06:39 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mcity, 2012-08-16 06:39 am UTC

[info]iczer6
2012-08-11 01:38 am UTC (link)
I stopped reading Sinfest ages ago and I really don't want to go trawling through thousands of comics. So is anyone willing to post links to the offending strips?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2012-08-11 04:09 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2012-08-11 04:10 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2012-08-11 04:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2012-08-11 04:36 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2012-08-11 05:14 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2012-08-11 05:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]freezer, 2012-08-11 09:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2012-08-11 11:43 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mneiai, 2012-08-11 08:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2012-08-12 02:44 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ekaterinv, 2012-08-12 04:35 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2012-08-12 02:28 pm UTC

[info]notjo
2012-08-11 04:08 am UTC (link)
Egg drop soup: like Doctor Who, in a way.

(Reply to this)


[info]mcity
2012-08-16 06:35 am UTC (link)
Oh, look, a wanky discussion about gender issues.

I really can't find these sorts of things amusing anymore, I really can't. Mostly because I've seen the social justice crowd on Tumblr. I've gazed into that dark abyss, and it's stared right back.

Then it reblogged with "I CAN'T" and insisted I Just Didn't Get It.

Jokes aside, I would like to sincerely warn just about everyone away from ever trying to discuss social justice matters on Tumblr. Do so at your own risk. It is not a place conducive to reasoned discussion. Reasoned discussion occurs, but then so do meteor strikes.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2012-08-16 11:36 pm UTC
At least it's better thanShortpacked. - [info]mcity, 2012-08-17 09:50 pm UTC
Re: At least it's better thanShortpacked. - [info]freezer, 2012-08-18 10:14 am UTC
Re: At least it's better thanShortpacked. - [info]mcity, 2012-08-18 03:04 pm UTC
Re: At least it's better thanShortpacked. - [info]nevermore, 2012-08-22 09:55 pm UTC
Re: At least it's better thanShortpacked. - [info]mcity, 2012-08-24 06:29 am UTC
Re: At least it's better thanShortpacked. - [info]nevermore, 2012-08-25 06:16 pm UTC

 
   
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