this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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See, I actually dislike this a lot, because while it should be poking fun at far right chuds, it just generalizes to straight men on the internet instead.
Congrats to the author, the only thing this has done is fuel the gender divide and turned a few more young men to far right politics, and this is the sort of thing used as proof to make them feel under attack as straight men.
If insecure people are pushed to the far right because of this, I'm not sure it's the comic that's at fault. You're asking everyone to walk on egg shells so we don't hurt people's feelings and I just don't think that's realistic. It's not too much to ask for people to not be shitty.
If you are told all day that you are under attack, then go onto a supposedly more tolerant space and what you see if people attacking you, then it's naïve to think it will not affect you.
This is just a massive own goal, and is entirely avoidable by targeting the right butt of the joke, rather than aiming large, having collateral damage and saying "you're only offended if you feel targeted". That's not fighting the good fight, that's just being a hateful shithead on the internet.
So... Sorry, third party butting in, but this seems to be what you're implying and clarification would be appreciated - You're saying you believe that men's primary romantic allure to women is to be large, muscled, have chiseled square features and that their personality is largely irrelevant? Like the man being featured in the cartoon?
Kind of a thing I've noticed about folks who feel targeted by these things is they assume a way more objective framework than others. A subjective framework, which is slightly more common amongst minority groups, looks at what the man in the picture is doing and sorts by behaviour. In this framework, if you do not believe or assert the conceit of the character in the comic, it does not apply to you. An objective framework, on the other hand, usually looks at what the represented character is and seeks to expand that to whole groups - in this case they see the character is a straight man (because that is mentioned as the vector by the comic text) and expands the brush to be a commentary on all straight men.
This often causes groups to have friction because objective frameworks demand something is more universally true whereas a subjective one allows for focus on groups inside other groups based on individual action allowing something to be situationally true.
When someone with an objective framework meets a subjective one the point subjective person finds relevant about a satire is entirely different and the calls of it being a broad attack against a large group nonsensical. Your emotional reactions to something are going to be - no one controls that but you - but in a subjective framework satire, if you are aligning yourself with the strict veiws of the target of the comic then upsetting you is intentional because it is a behaviour the writer of the comic hopes to change. Assume an objective framework your call to align yourself with the character because you are a also a straight man on the internet becomes a request to never discuss the behaviour of all straight men on the Internet or to strictly label what specific sub group the text applies to remove your personal self identitfiers from being applied in the text. A call to put in the text of the comic "leftists" or "right wingers" or "alpha chuds" ignores the fact that those are groups and the category sort implied by the comic is behaviour. Behaviours that can be exhibited by some men regardless of their grouping by political alignment.
Subjective framework speaking it's a all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares situation. Text gives you the minimum you need to know - The character featured is not attracted to men and is trying to assert what people who are should be attracted to. That is the only reason why the label "straight man" is important. Because otherwise the behaviour being dumb would make no sense.
Straight men are the least targeted group. If any of them feel targeted, it's because they are exactly the type of guy in the comic. I say this as a straight guy. Compared to my queer and women friends, I'm cruising through life. I might catch the occasional stray from a comic while they have to fear legislation limiting their rights.
My best friend of 15 years is the guy in this comic. I tried for years give him another perspective and keep him from going far right but it didn't work and now I've completely cut him off. I have no sympathy for somebody who is self victimizing. The actual victim is not the one that needs to change their behavior to protect the fragility of the wannabe victim.
By all means, keep scoring massive own goals and wondering why more and more young men and turning to the far right.
"Here, let me describe you. If you feel targeted, it's that you are the irredeemable scum this comic describes"
Meanwhile, the comic describes men on the internet.
Super easy fix to the comic: add political leaning to the description. Literally one word to make fun of the people who need to be made fun of. Meanwhile, everyone here is bending over backwards to explain how collateral damage is perfectly fine, and isn't totally playing into the alt right's pipeline in the most avoidable way ever.
My point is that your strategy wouldn't work to relieve the tension. The alt right influencers and propagandists are manufacturing outrage. The feeling of being targeted is made up. It doesn't matter if anybody plays into it. Insecure young men feel that way regardless of what anybody on the left will say. It's a natural consequence of a patriarchal, atomized society where everyone is told that they're supposed to conform to gender ideals while being socially isolated.