Not gunna lie. I got some pretty awful second hand embarrassment from this strip. I imagine I’d feel the same if thousands of people read my old Facebook posts from when I was younger.
Is it transphobic? The alien is not making a judgement about whether Sal looks like a boy or a girl. It’s more trying to distract Jason by waffling on about how Sal is a gender neutral name.
Considering that lots of people who change genders also change names, there’s certainly an argument that names do carry connotations of gender.
(In any case, I’d be cutting some slack for the 20 year old religious fundamentalist who at the time believed the Earth was 4,000 years old and has spent the next 10 years making up for it every way he can by making some of the most open and progressive comics you can read.)
As someone with trans and gender fluid friends, and as someone who caught hell for having a neutralish name in high school, I really want to punch that alien right now.
It may devolve after the initial exchange of dialogue, but “Where’s Sal?” being interpreted as “Where’s Al?” phonetically makes sense. I liked that, in fact.
Though in a non-gag situation Jason would clarify the name and then want to get right to where she is instead of going into a discussion of how it could be short for Sally or Sarah and especially without the Head Alien making a gender crack :P.
It’s not H.A. He’s still in a jar back at SEMME. The Alien talking today doesn’t appear to have a name; upcoming strips indicate that Clyde is the other one.
(Is Clyde left-clawed? He appears to be in future strips. I thought it was just Dexter who was left-clawed.)
Sally is the diminuitive of Sarah, which I think means “some trendsetty asshat thought their kid was too good for the original version” and is how all these stupid kid names get invented
[not that I think Sal(ly) is particularly stupid, just that we’re removed enough from its origin to not really bat an eye at it, like Oprah]
Mike never loses sight of what great volleyballs the Aliens make. He’s just waiting for Jason to stop messing about with not-Clyde so that he can serve.
I mean, I’m not exactly mad, considering it’s a 21 year old comic that Willis has long since regretted making, and especially in light of how great both Jocelyne and Carla are as characters in Dumbing of Age… but this is definitely the worst moment in Roomies! thus far, and I’m really really hoping nothing tops this. I’m not trans myself, so I can’t truly speak as to the experiences of trans people, but this still felt like a gut punch.
Oh come on, it’s not like there’s a male character around here who’d look just like her with a wig and a couple of grapefruits down his shirt.
Yeah, I mean, it’s not like she has a TWIN or anything walking around the earth, amirite?
Yeah, not like he’s just walkying around in other strips…
Not gunna lie. I got some pretty awful second hand embarrassment from this strip. I imagine I’d feel the same if thousands of people read my old Facebook posts from when I was younger.
That alien sounds a little transphobic tbh
Yeah, come on, alien. Not cool.
Just a wee bit.
Is it transphobic? The alien is not making a judgement about whether Sal looks like a boy or a girl. It’s more trying to distract Jason by waffling on about how Sal is a gender neutral name.
Considering that lots of people who change genders also change names, there’s certainly an argument that names do carry connotations of gender.
(In any case, I’d be cutting some slack for the 20 year old religious fundamentalist who at the time believed the Earth was 4,000 years old and has spent the next 10 years making up for it every way he can by making some of the most open and progressive comics you can read.)
uhh I have a hard time coming up with a context where the use of “adam’s apple check” is pure and non-transphobic.
Looks like Jason has adopted the Christian Bale method of interrogation.
How can you tell that Jason is forcing a terrible gravelly voice?
If this strip was in color, Jason’s speech balloon would have gone blue.
…There’s always tomorrow’s strip.
As someone with trans and gender fluid friends, and as someone who caught hell for having a neutralish name in high school, I really want to punch that alien right now.
It may devolve after the initial exchange of dialogue, but “Where’s Sal?” being interpreted as “Where’s Al?” phonetically makes sense. I liked that, in fact.
Though in a non-gag situation Jason would clarify the name and then want to get right to where she is instead of going into a discussion of how it could be short for Sally or Sarah and especially without the Head Alien making a gender crack :P.
It’s not H.A. He’s still in a jar back at SEMME. The Alien talking today doesn’t appear to have a name; upcoming strips indicate that Clyde is the other one.
(Is Clyde left-clawed? He appears to be in future strips. I thought it was just Dexter who was left-clawed.)
Always wondered how Sal was short for Sarah. Sort of like Bill for William or Dick for Richard.
Sally is the diminuitive of Sarah, which I think means “some trendsetty asshat thought their kid was too good for the original version” and is how all these stupid kid names get invented
[not that I think Sal(ly) is particularly stupid, just that we’re removed enough from its origin to not really bat an eye at it, like Oprah]
While this particular strip might not be the best, I’ll be honest, the “Salvador” running gag is probably my favorite of It’s Walky.
Congrats on your transmisogyny there friend
ouch
Mike is impressed with the aliens doing what he does, though he will still claim credit for it after beating the crap out of them.
Bah humbug to you, Willis, this was amusing.
I like that Mike is just sitting there holding the alien passively.
Mike never loses sight of what great volleyballs the Aliens make. He’s just waiting for Jason to stop messing about with not-Clyde so that he can serve.
Oh, those silly sexist/transhobic Aliens. Also am I the only one who read Willis’ commentary as Jay from Modern Family?
Originally posted:
September 1, 1999
…Yep, that sure was a thing there. Ugh.
I mean, I’m not exactly mad, considering it’s a 21 year old comic that Willis has long since regretted making, and especially in light of how great both Jocelyne and Carla are as characters in Dumbing of Age… but this is definitely the worst moment in Roomies! thus far, and I’m really really hoping nothing tops this. I’m not trans myself, so I can’t truly speak as to the experiences of trans people, but this still felt like a gut punch.
Tldr; carla is great and clyde the alien is a bug