sigelphoenix

I like Penny Arcade, I really do. Even though I'm a more of a tabletop gamer than a video gamer, I find them clever. This made me lol. This is one of my favorite webcomics of all time. I enjoy their con. I think their Child's Play charity is awesome - so yes, I know they do charity, and no, I don't think that means it's impossible for them to unwittingly act like assholes.*

And, okay, yeah, I don't expect them to be particularly progressive. I go to them for laughs and geekery - and, as with much of my geekery, I don my armor and hold my breath and hope to get through unscathed.

The misogynist insults? Made me roll my eyes, but the joke itself was funny - and, notably, would've been just as effective with non-sexist language - so I just tried to ignore it. (And please, no bullshitting about how the language isn't anti-woman just because it wasn't directed at a woman, or some such. "Bitch" and "pussy" are blatantly gendered insults, and are used to deride women, or "feminized" men - gay men, weak men, etc.)

Of course, it was easier to ignore before they made a T-shirt of it.

Then there's this. (And yes, it's an old strip, but I found it because it was linked in a recent newspost - without the slightest hint of apology or embarrassment.) It's always fun to be reminded that, if I commit the offense of being inebriated and annoying while female, I deserve to be reduced to "some bitch" or a "drunken whore." As a note of comparison, I doubt they would refer to me as "some chink." I wonder if they would refer to an inebriated and annoying gay man as "some fag." None of these forms of derogatory language are okay - not the homophobic language, not the racist language, not the sexist language.

And finally, ( there's today's strip )

*sigh* Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go apply Cerise like a balm to the soul.

*I really, really need to do that post on "niceness" and privilege.