We've Seen The Future, And It's NSFW

[RavenTail]

The main problem with this strip is that any kind of specific commentary on fringe groups of tumblr are pretty obviously wasted on this community, who will see things like "sailing pronouns" and think it's some kind of widespread phenomenon or in any way representative of the issue. Tumblr at large actually makes fun of that list. But the wording on this comic and the lack of familiarity from the audience are going to result in this just being some kind of broad laugh at legitimate trans* issues.

Fine joke, misfire of an execution.

Where in this comic is transgender even mentioned? Seriously, where is it even hinted at?

Oh, cause Tumblr was mentioned?

Relax a bit, guy. It wasn't making light of the transgenders or the struggles they go through. It was an exaggerated joke based on an element online where some users of Tumblr make up new terms to personally go by and who are apparently serious about it.

Don't make this into something more than it is just because Tumblr was mentioned. If Tumblr was replaced by... Youtube, or Facebook, or just stating 'on a lot of forums' you wouldn't give it another thought.

 

[Ickorus]

I saw one person demanding everyone call her bun/buns/bunself, I think they meant as in bunny rabbits but I chose to make baking puns.

If they were murdered they'd be an iced bun, if they were angry and flustered they'd be a hot cross bun, that sort of thing.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

So the one about the ship parts was satire? Because that would be a classic example.

A classic example. That you can find on multiple web pages. Attributed to multiple people.

It may not be satire per se, but it looks from every appearance like it's not sincere.

Honestly, I don't know for a fact that this is the case, but it reminds me of the number of people who jumped all over that Kotaku author for a couple of fake articles attributed to her by /b/ or some such site that was butthurt that wimminz were invading the treehouse. People held these articles against both the alleged author and the website that supposedly hosted them, even though there wasn't a lick of truth.

Frankly, I find all the pronouns with the X's and the PH's to be equally ridiculous.

So it doesn't really matter to me whether the sailing thing was real. There's plenty of real silly word usage to make up for it.

 

[Revolutionary]

Haven't been the biggest fan of this comic over the past few months but I really do enjoy a good ol' tumblr bashing.

 

[BreakfastMan]

And has anybody in this thread come up with actual examples of this happening? Nope, no legitimate ones. The only time I ever see somebody mocking this idea is when its dealing with transgender people, or when they're mistaking satire for legitimacy. Today's comic strip is targeting transgender people.

Actually, the target of the joke is the small, but quite dangerous, culture of tumblr users who romanticize and appropriate the trappings of mental illness, as is quite clearly demonstrated in panel two.

It always annoys me when people on Tumblr do that kind of thing. "I've got problems, and that makes me special" is a really unhealthy attitude. Defining yourself by your pain is a miserable way to exist, and on top of that, people who actually have serious conditions don't act that way, they go seek help. Soldiers with PTSD don't brood on the internets about their traumatic flashbacks, they go to therapy so that they can function normally. That's the major issue with the Tumblr mental illness culture: admitting you have a problem is only the first step in solving it.

Pretty much. The extreme parts of Tumblr can be stupid but harmless most of the time, but this type of shit is dangerous and need to stop. The Tumblr community really needs to address this shit, because not seeking treatment really does hurt people. It is like the MRA communities; they provide a space for men to go and talk about how they have been hurt, but they don't actually provide anything to help men get over the hurt (in fact, they actively encourage the festering of said wounds). :\

OT: Brilliant. Just brilliant. One of my favorite strips in a while. 3rd panel had me in tears.

 

[nyysjan]

On the third panel the guy says "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers."
Why is he using a pronoun there?
The sentence structure does not work.
Just try replacing it with any other pronoun, it just sounds silly.

That's because ************ doesn't work as an actual pronoun in any proper sentence. Thus, characters who speak in complete sentences would need to use "that ************."

************ works perfectly well as a pronoun, the other character seems to have no problems using it as one.
And if the character saying "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers." just dropped "that" out of the sentence, it would work just fine, whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not.

 

[The Wooster]

On the third panel the guy says "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers."
Why is he using a pronoun there?
The sentence structure does not work.
Just try replacing it with any other pronoun, it just sounds silly.

That's because ************ doesn't work as an actual pronoun in any proper sentence. Thus, characters who speak in complete sentences would need to use "that ************."

************ works perfectly well as a pronoun, the other character seems to have no problems using it as one.
And if the character saying "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers." just dropped "that" out of the sentence, it would work just fine, whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not.

Ashley has no problem using it because he doesn't use it in a grammatically correct sentence. "************ is x" would only work if ************ is a proper name. The reason I use "that ************" as a pronoun phrase is because in the sentence, "I need X to X," it would sound more like a proper name than a pronoun.

 

[loa]

Yes those pronouns are an actual thing and they make trans peoples plight which often times doesn't get taken seriously to begin with seem ridiculous and are approriative as fuck so you shouldn't do that.

 

[Fsyco]

Yes those pronouns are an actual thing and they make trans peoples plight which often times doesn't get taken seriously to begin with seem ridiculous and are approriative as fuck so you shouldn't do that.

I have no idea what you're trying to communicate with this post. Also 'approriative' is not a word. Would you like to try again? I'm sensing it has something to do with trans people, although you could be trying to parody tumblr users. Poe's law and all.

 

[nyysjan]

On the third panel the guy says "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers."
Why is he using a pronoun there?
The sentence structure does not work.
Just try replacing it with any other pronoun, it just sounds silly.

That's because ************ doesn't work as an actual pronoun in any proper sentence. Thus, characters who speak in complete sentences would need to use "that ************."

************ works perfectly well as a pronoun, the other character seems to have no problems using it as one.
And if the character saying "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers." just dropped "that" out of the sentence, it would work just fine, whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not.

Ashley has no problem using it because he doesn't use it in a grammatically correct sentence. "************ is x" would only work if ************ is a proper name. The reason I use "that ************" as a pronoun phrase is because in the sentence, "I need X to X," it would sound more like a proper name than a pronoun.

But if we accept ************ as a pronoun (and if they don't, why use it?), then "************ is X", is grammatically correct just like "she is X" would be.

And while the second guy might be grammatically incorrect in his statement of "************ is X" if ************ is not a pronoun, it is still not an awkward statement, and works is conversational usage whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not, while the first guy is only not awkward if ************ is not a pronoun.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Listen, guys, I'm sure it's all meant in good fun and you're mostly targeting the people who do ridiculous stuff, but you're lumping the assholes and lunatics in with actual transgender people. Even if you've decided to just assume that tumblr is full of nonsense, you should at least appreciate that you're punching down.

We like to think we punch in every direction. Like a starfish.

A starfish made of fists.

:/ I looked but couldn't find any Fist Starfish. Which is kind of sad to me...

Grey, it's up to you and Cory to rectify this. Birth this creation into the world.

Anyway, fun comic, I like the little touches. Like the McDick's logo, and the Escapist being on one of the computers.

 

[MrBaskerville]

Listen, guys, I'm sure it's all meant in good fun and you're mostly targeting the people who do ridiculous stuff, but you're lumping the assholes and lunatics in with actual transgender people. Even if you've decided to just assume that tumblr is full of nonsense, you should at least appreciate that you're punching down.

We like to think we punch in every direction. Like a starfish.

A starfish made of fists.

:/ I looked but couldn't find any Fist Starfish. Which is kind of sad to me...

Grey, it's up to you and Cory to rectify this. Birth this creation into the world.

Anyway, fun comic, I like the little touches. Like the McDick's logo, and the Escapist being on one of the computers.

Wouldn't it be a Starfist then?

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Listen, guys, I'm sure it's all meant in good fun and you're mostly targeting the people who do ridiculous stuff, but you're lumping the assholes and lunatics in with actual transgender people. Even if you've decided to just assume that tumblr is full of nonsense, you should at least appreciate that you're punching down.

We like to think we punch in every direction. Like a starfish.

A starfish made of fists.

:/ I looked but couldn't find any Fist Starfish. Which is kind of sad to me...

Grey, it's up to you and Cory to rectify this. Birth this creation into the world.

Anyway, fun comic, I like the little touches. Like the McDick's logo, and the Escapist being on one of the computers.

Wouldn't it be a Starfist then?

Not really sure. I guess whoever makes/finds it first gets to decide.

Even more incentive to find or make it.

 

[Fsyco]

On the third panel the guy says "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers."
Why is he using a pronoun there?
The sentence structure does not work.
Just try replacing it with any other pronoun, it just sounds silly.

That's because ************ doesn't work as an actual pronoun in any proper sentence. Thus, characters who speak in complete sentences would need to use "that ************."

************ works perfectly well as a pronoun, the other character seems to have no problems using it as one.
And if the character saying "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers." just dropped "that" out of the sentence, it would work just fine, whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not.

Ashley has no problem using it because he doesn't use it in a grammatically correct sentence. "************ is x" would only work if ************ is a proper name. The reason I use "that ************" as a pronoun phrase is because in the sentence, "I need X to X," it would sound more like a proper name than a pronoun.

But if we accept ************ as a pronoun (and if they don't, why use it?), then "************ is X", is grammatically correct just like "she is X" would be.

And while the second guy might be grammatically incorrect in his statement of "************ is X" if ************ is not a pronoun, it is still not an awkward statement, and works is conversational usage whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not, while the first guy is only not awkward if ************ is not a pronoun.

I think you're over analyzing the joke. Trying to use "************" as a pronoun is like trying to fit the square peg in the round hole. You -could- do it but it looks really awkward. It feels fundamentally wrong. The word is not meant to be used that way, and isn't built in such a way that is conducive to pronoun useage. Pronouns are short and snappy, while "************" is large and draws attention to itself. It's like if the one of the guys from Assassin's Creed replaced the dagger of his hidden blade with a full-sized claymore.

 

[loa]

Yes those pronouns are an actual thing and they make trans peoples plight which often times doesn't get taken seriously to begin with seem ridiculous and are approriative as fuck so you shouldn't do that.

I have no idea what you're trying to communicate with this post. Also 'approriative' is not a word. Would you like to try again? I'm sensing it has something to do with trans people, although you could be trying to parody tumblr users. Poe's law and all.

If you treat pronouns like fashion statements, you're appropriating [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation] what trans people are going through as just a fashion statement.

 

[Seydaman]

I get that people want to be all inclusive and accepting

But, can we stick with three pronoun types for now? That's easier to remember....

 

[VanQ]

I hear that Erin's one bad mother....

This is not satire. I repeat. This person is 100% legitimate.

You sure? Looking at the feed, it would appear to be quite tongue in cheek. Looking at the pic itself, I found this same thing posted several times attributed to different people. It just looks like copypasta to me, and deserving of little more than a "cool story, bro," rather than complaints that it's a legit phenomena.

Erin is never safe for work. She doesn't need her own pronouns for that.

I don't know, maybe if she worked for al Qaeda.

The feed itself is just someone taking ridiculous tumblr posts and collecting them in one place for people to gawk at. I remember quite a while ago finding the actual tumblr where the person who posted it was from and they were serious about it. This is just somewhere that it resurfaced recently.

 

[Fsyco]

Yes those pronouns are an actual thing and they make trans peoples plight which often times doesn't get taken seriously to begin with seem ridiculous and are approriative as fuck so you shouldn't do that.

I have no idea what you're trying to communicate with this post. Also 'approriative' is not a word. Would you like to try again? I'm sensing it has something to do with trans people, although you could be trying to parody tumblr users. Poe's law and all.

If you treat pronouns like fashion statements, you're appropriating [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation] what trans people are going through as just a fashion statement.

You know, that page you linked to says that many see Cultural Appropriation as a sign of acceptance, so maybe it isn't so bad. Although seriously, don't most trans people use 'he' or 'she', just not the one that they were born with? And what's wrong with using 'it' for people that don't want to use those two?

 

[Eamar]

Actually, the target of the joke is the small, but quite dangerous, culture of tumblr users who romanticize and appropriate the trappings of mental illness, as is quite clearly demonstrated in panel two.

Who are these people?

Mostly teenagers who don't know what they're talking about, but not exclusively.

I've met plenty, and not just on the interwebs.

For a while, bipolar disorder became trendy for some reason. So many people would claim to have it, or openly wish they had it, or express envy at my diagnosis. As someone who actually is bipolar, I cannot tell you how angry that made me or how dangerous that behaviour is.

The romanticisation of mental illness is nothing new though - just look at the stereotype of the "tortured artist", who's either bipolar or clinically depressed. Look at how often suicide is portrayed as some beautifully tragic, "romantic" thing.

 

[BreakfastMan]

For a while, bipolar disorder became trendy for some reason. So many people would claim to have it, or openly wish they had it, or express envy at my diagnosis. As someone who actually is bipolar, I cannot tell you how angry that made me or how dangerous that behaviour is.

The romanticisation of mental illness is nothing new though - just look at the stereotype of the "tortured artist", who's either bipolar or clinically depressed. Look at how often suicide is portrayed as some beautifully tragic, "romantic" thing.

Don't forget the autistic genius. That one was actually really popular in the gaming community for a while. Seriously, like half of the people on gaming forums would claim to be autistic. It was terrible, and quite possibly marginalized actual autistic individuals. :\