The Correllation Between Lesbians and Comic Popularity

Collapse · Post by **Collapse** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 11:07 pm

I probably spelled that second word wrong...

Anyways, looking through a few Top 100 sites, I noticed that, in general, the more lesbian content a comic contains, the higher it ranks. I also noticed that, for the most part, lesbians are implemented specifically to get more votes (with a few notable exceptions, such as Angels 2200, which does not advertise the lesbian themes of its content at all).

So I was wondering, what do other people think about this? Does it bother you or not? Now answer the poll (which is really sort of two polls crammed into one). Note that when I say lesbian content, I just mean the presence of lesbians, not necessarily sex or anything.

(P.S. If Shades of Burgandy was put on a Top 100 list, I bet it would hit #1 in like three days)

CJBurgandy · Post by **CJBurgandy** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 11:39 pm

I certinly hope this thread is not negitivly posted towards me.

Toxic · Post by **Toxic** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 11:59 pm

I wouldn't find this thread to be against lesbians, but more about "lesbian-sploitation"

I find the whole lesbian-sploitation thing annoying and childish. I know lesbians, and they find the whole concept gross and demeaning towards homosexuality in general, and no different from objectifying heterosexual women.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 12:22 am

cjburgandy wrote:I certinly hope this thread is not negitivly posted towards me.

Nah...we love ya any way...just a pity the only Spacer who actively cracks onto other Spacers is a lesbian and therefore would make me feel a little wierd if she cracked onto me...

Ah well, that's my cross to bear, eh?

Mr Ekshin · Post by **Mr Ekshin** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 2:52 am

Plants are asexual right? Just needed to check. They have both qualities of male and female in the flower? Technically hermaphroditic?

What about non-flowering plants? What are they?

I kinda need to know, if I'm going to properly pander to my target demographic....

Then again, maybe... Maybe I shouldn't mention that...

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:16 am

TOXIC AVENGER! wrote:I wouldn't find this thread to be against lesbians, but more about "lesbian-sploitation"

I find the whole lesbian-sploitation thing annoying and childish. I know lesbians, and they find the whole concept gross and demeaning towards homosexuality in general, and no different from objectifying heterosexual women.

Yeah, I agree. But I don't think it's about lesbians only, more a deal about homosexuality in general. There's a whole deal of gaysploatation. Look at recent tv-sitcoms: each one has to have a homosexual as a side character. It's fashionable now and it has nothing to do with sexual freedon: it's just a way tv stations cling onto what may be popular.
Of course, same fashion translates to webcomics. You won't believe how many webcomics I've read where you have one macho guy who is all rough and stuff, but then he accidentally realizes that he's actually gay. Most of those comics (If not all) were made by female artists.

But there wasn't right answer for me in that poll. I don't think of it particulary positive, but I don't really think it's gross.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:02 am

Mr Ekshin wrote:Plants are asexual right? Just needed to check. They have both qualities of male and female in the flower? Technically hermaphroditic?

What about non-flowering plants? What are they?

I kinda need to know, if I'm going to properly pander to my target demographic....

Then again, maybe... Maybe I shouldn't mention that...

An Asexual plant would be a plant that could fertilize itself.

So your demographic would be clones. The plant thing works particularly well since the word 'clone' is based off klon', which in greek times meant, a twig.

Warren · Post by **Warren** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:23 am

I'd vote for impartiatl, but that's too strong a term. I simply don't care about the orientation of the characters at all.

BloodKnight · Post by **BloodKnight** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:57 am

I find it totally offensive to the homosexual lifestyle. While it is true there are some hot sexy ladies out there who do not like the cock (but they use dildos, bah!) who are kinky as hell, they are a minority. The problem isn't necessary that they fact they put in homosexuals, because I really don't care about someone's sexual preference (and I do have one gay minor character), but most artists tend to use the homosexuality or sex as the only means of advertising for their webcomic. In fact, it's the only they *have* in their own comic and people seem ot cheer on that shit.

It's embrassing for someone who is doing a webcomic because when you trying to nab people to get into the world of webcomics (which are free, at least most of them) but when they see something like Bigger then Cheese or Sexy Lounge being a top rated comic, it shows that webcomics are nothing more then something for loney geeks. It's hard for people to take webcomics seriously when they see something 'popular' involving poorly drawn bikini-clad women fighting.

At least they are comics like Bad Blood, Chronicles of Garas (bias, I know), and Better Days that don't revel in fanboy horn-dogs and just want to tell a story.

/end rants.

EDIT: Shitty spelling. I know. I just woke up.

EDIT AGAIN: Forgot to mention that recently, someone emailed me saying that Red should be a lez. Should I give up now?

JexKerome · Post by **JexKerome** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:07 am

BloodKnight wrote: It's hard for people to take webcomics seriously when they see something 'popular' involving poorly drawn bikini-clad women fighting.

Lady Death, anyone? or Dawn, Wonder Woman, Wytchblade, Catwoman, Kekko Kamen, et al? It's not just webcomics, you know.

The cheapest way to attract the attention of the human animal is SEX. No big suprise there. So, to me, exploitation of homosexuality is an idea whose time time has come, what with it being now accepted more than before and all. In the end, it's the same as the exploitation of hetero sex: it will be done to death, and it will be done both tastefully and horribly. Whatever will bring them swarming and get them to buy.

Collapse · Post by **Collapse** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:50 am

Ahhh, gonna be late for school...

No CJ, this certainly wasn't supposed to be a knock against you. I've got no problems with lesbians (or anyone based on their sexual preference). I was just wondering how people felt about the obvious explotation of lesbians for more votes.

Sorry there aren't enough options, I kept thinking of more after I posted it but then it was too late.

The ones with slashes are supposed to be seperate. i.e., you think it's gross or you try to avoid it. And impartial means you don't care either way! How can impartial be strong or weak?

K-Dawg · Post by **K-Dawg** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:10 am

How I feel about it: Oh well.

Warren · Post by **Warren** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:13 am

collapse wrote:And impartial means you don't care either way! How can impartial be strong or weak?

Impartial implies a concious attempt to be nonjudgemental. I'm more apathetic on the whole deal. Getting all hot and bothered over lesbians (unless you yourself are a lesbian) is so 1995.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:29 am

JexKerome wrote:[
The cheapest way to attract the attention of the human animal is SEX. No big suprise there. So, to me, exploitation of homosexuality is an idea whose time time has come, what with it being now accepted more than before and all. In the end, it's the same as the exploitation of hetero sex: it will be done to death, and it will be done both tastefully and horribly. Whatever will bring them swarming and get them to buy.

I second this quote without reservation.

TheLoserHero · Post by **TheLoserHero** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:09 am

I cannot earnestly comment on the usage of homosexuality in webcomics, as practically the only experience I have on that matter is from the media and a two friends who are experimenting. I'd be a real prick if I just degrade homsexuality to "omg hawt girl on girl". (Shoot. All my nudity pictures have people with no naughty bits. I just can't bring myself to do it.) I have no first-hand experience on homosexuality, so I will not write/draw anything about it. That's just me, though.

It bothers me as a single person that people would use homosexuality like that. However, if one were to dilute the situation to simple usage of sex appeal to pull viewers, then I too, am guilty. Terrilby so. I try to keep all that sort of "story related" in a sense (i.e. One of my characters got engulfed by magic spell and had her clothes burned off, but she came out unscathed.)

In closing: sex sells, people like, other people don't, we can't tell 'em what to do, but we sure can show the subject in another (more positive) light.

I third JexKerome.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:43 am

JexKerome wrote:
BloodKnight wrote: It's hard for people to take webcomics seriously when they see something 'popular' involving poorly drawn bikini-clad women fighting.
Lady Death, anyone? or Dawn, Wonder Woman, Wytchblade, Catwoman, Kekko Kamen, et al? It's not just webcomics, you know.

The cheapest way to attract the attention of the human animal is SEX. No big suprise there. So, to me, exploitation of homosexuality is an idea whose time time has come, what with it being now accepted more than before and all. In the end, it's the same as the exploitation of hetero sex: it will be done to death, and it will be done both tastefully and horribly. Whatever will bring them swarming and get them to buy.

I think you missed the point. Of course sex sells, in any form and any quality, and hardly anyone's gonna ever change it. But the point is that lately, due to trends, homosexual sex sells even more than heterosexual.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:18 am

mcDuffies wrote:
I think you missed the point. Of course sex sells, in any form and any quality, and hardly anyone's gonna ever change it. But the point is that lately, due to trends, homosexual sex sells even more than heterosexual.

I don't think that's true.

Whatever people are noticing now will naturally seem more important than what is below their attention.

Heterosexual sex sells everything. Homosexual sex, commodified (is this a word?) is new.

Example: Nobody gives the FLU it's just dues. It kills 36,000 people or so a year, and hospitalizes 115,000 (in the US alone). When you get the flu, do you panic? Do you rush to your doctor? Do you write a will? Of course not. Many people simply work through the flu, taking over the counter drugs and shrugging it off in a couple weeks.

The West Nile Virus has caused a huge concern. It's the biggest thing out there - cans of pesticide sell like free money so long as they say 'DEET' on them. The tally? Under 5000 hospitalized; under 500 dead. More people were hospitalized last year for improperly using bug repellent than for the virus they were seeking to avoid.

It's just something new. Eventually the public will get tired of it's new toy and homosexual sex will fall into the same catagory of heterosexual sex - just another tool that sells.

CJBurgandy · Post by **CJBurgandy** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:36 am

collapse wrote:
No CJ, this certainly wasn't supposed to be a knock against you. I've got no problems with lesbians (or anyone based on their sexual preference). I was just wondering how people felt about the obvious explotation of lesbians for more votes.

Ok, just wanted you to clairfy that before I commented.

Personally I hate the idea of a comic becomming popular just because it has a homosexual main character. I'm personally trying to achive a goal to making comic books that are aimed at a GLBT audiance. Shades of Burgundy is my practice story. I play with what I already know (lesbianism, Thailand, etc...) and try to add things that I really didn't have any personal experence with (such as a villian). I don't heavily advertise it outside of my other comic and on the forums. I personally don't think the story is good enough to ever put on a top 100 list. That and I just don't really want people reading it just because it has sex in it. It makes me happy though that the fan mail I recive for Shades of Burgundy always tells me they read it because they want to know what happens in the story and that the sex has little to do with how they feel about the comic.

Burgundy Comics Inc also deals with a lesbian, but on a much smaller scale. She makes lewd comments and lets it be known that she has a libido, but the comic is about a lot more too... any yeah, I'm guilty of the sex sells concept, but I do tend to explot my hetrosexual characters more so than my homosexual ones in this comic.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:50 am

rkolter wrote: It's just something new. Eventually the public will get tired of it's new toy and homosexual sex will fall into the same catagory of heterosexual sex - just another tool that sells.

Actually, that's what I was saying too, maybe I didn't word it well.

Burgundy Comics Inc also deals with a lesbian, but on a much smaller scale. She makes lewd comments and lets it be known that she has a libido, but the comic is about a lot more too... any yeah, I'm guilty of the sex sells concept, but I do tend to explot my hetrosexual characters more so than my homosexual ones in this comic.

But that's a lot different case, after all, you're talking about what you know. I mean, I am making a comic about college students, and I think that's ok because I am one, and not only that I talk about what I know, but also I talk about problems that are most of my concearn lately - my problems presented in, maybe, a bit awkward way. Still, I'm guilty of adding yet another college comic to the endless line of college comics, and I can't say that I'm particulary happy about it, but somehow it seems much more logical that if I was talking about, say, working in the office, even though I never had an office job.

Alaina · Post by **Alaina** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:03 am

I also find it demeaning to lesbians and wouldn't read a comic that states blatantly "GIRLz!! LESBIANS!!! EEEEE!!!". But I was talking to a lesbian friend of mine and she says she likes that comics promote homosexuality as a good thing, as something that might attract others. She says commercializing homosexuality is the first step to acceptance by the general masses.

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