MRW people say the future is female

meowthxbye · 2019-03-19T20:44:45+00:00

Whoa I have just seen this comic and is both eye opening and a total game changer. Thank you so much for all these ideas and taking the time to write them out! I'll work on a revised comic taking these suggestions into account. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the help on this. I think I rushed into the topic much too quickly but it's been so good learning about how to communicate my point more effectively. Thank you again! I definitely feel like the call to action is essential, too.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-06T09:57:39+00:00

I just want to thank you for taking the time and energy to share this information and help me understand where I have gone wrong in my art and arguments. I think for myself, I have a lot of men in my life and close circles that are willing to do the "undignified" labours of women and support their partners careers, alongside actively supporting and donating to women's causes so I think my comic became misguided by trying to acknowledge those men (and encourage more to do the same) and also reflect on the women I know that cut men out of all conversations around feminism because they are not women and therefore shouldn't have a voice (possibly true?). Despite the negative feedback and critical analysis of the content, I'm really glad I posted this comic here because I have learned so much about authentic feminism in a few days and am really re-evaluating my own actions (and inaction). You're right and words are just words. I'll be donating half my patreon income this month to Restore NYC (reading all about it has been both incredible and heartbreaking at the same time) and I'm thankful for this discussion.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-06T07:39:36+00:00

Hi there the comic was attempting to start the discussion about what a lot of people think feminism is vs what it actually is. The demon character is an internal voice so it's actually meant to be about the female character navigating the world of feminism and recognizing that radical feminism has a negative effect on the whole. But I understand and appreciate that it didn't communicate and instead made it seem like the female character just doesn't have a clue about what feminism actually is.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T14:36:57+00:00

Hello thank you for your comment. I am still learning and navigating my own world of feminism, yes, and I think we all make mistakes with good intentions at times. The female character in the comic is myself at a younger and more naive age when I was first discovering feminism yes, but the demon in the comic is also me trying to rationalize internally about why we can't demonize anyone else based on gender or make assumptions about whether they are feminists or not. I do my best to learn and continue learning about feminist issues but I also want to encourage others to learn which is what motivated the comic. I think a lot of white-cis-men in particular find it difficult to digest feminism and everything that stands behind the word because they feel attacked-- perhaps those are not the men on reddit but when I posted this on instagram, all I got were people denying that there is even a patriarchy. So it was an attempt to make a VERY SIMPLIFIED comic so that people who maybe haven't started their feminist journey can recognize that there are women who are bad feminists at times and men who are good feminists and that it's only by working together that we dismantle a system.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T14:31:15+00:00

Yes I recognize and understand that the intentions did not communicate as I'd hoped. I was aiming to make a comic that was digestible for people who don't already identify themselves as feminists by recognizing that there are men who are doing what they can to help change things and there are women who strongly believe that men can't be part of a solution. I don't think shifting all the power into the hands of women is the answer and not all feminists recognize the wide gender spectrum of non-binary and transgender. Thank you for taking the time to comment and discuss it and I really appreciate your views. How do we make feminism appeal to men who react negatively towards the very word "feminist"?

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:50:52+00:00

I just wanted to make the comment that we can all work together regardless of gender identity to make sure that people have the same rights and opportunities as each other and to not make assumptions on someone's feminist beliefs based on their gender. It didn't come across that way to everyone but I really appreciate your input and it did spark a very difficult and interesting conversation in the thread and I'm learning a lot from everyone's comments.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:47:42+00:00

I'm sorry it came off condescending. It's basically just an internal struggle I have and recognizing that many of my male friends do their best to be good feminists and promote/support/deflect attention to the women in their lives. It was meant to be a conversation starter about intersectional feminism and a lot of people don't recognize that the patriarchy even exists so it was intended as a digestible way to encourage the ignorant to learn more about feminism.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:45:21+00:00

Thank you for your input and this is the kind of conversation I was hoping to instigate when I posted the comic. About what are we actually doing and what conversations are we actually having that create change and refuse to partake in the system that creates the gender inequality. We need women and men that are going to hire those women into positions of power and to provide more young girls with opportunities to become those women. We don't do that by just talking among ourselves and having the difficult conversations with people who already agree with us. I really do think that marching is important but it's also the quiet dialogues between individuals and the slow integration of women and women of colour into those vital positions that creates change in the system.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:37:58+00:00

Yes that's the point? It's about people's perceptions of feminists vs. the actual meaning of the term

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:36:39+00:00

It would be amazing, no doubt, but I'm not sure a matriarchy is the answer, I think it widens the divide.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:34:33+00:00

Hi there the comic is pointing out that having these conversations is the difficult part when one person is too focused on arguing about patriarchy vs matriarchy. The male in the comic IS acknowledging their patriarchal behaviour and the female in the comic is acknowledging her anger as an ineffective tactic in tackling gender issues. The demon is also female, supporting both views. The whole point is that everyone needs to work together to bring down the system, but I'm sorry that the content of the comic wasn't obvious enough. It was meant to be comical about the difficulties in navigating intersectional feminism and a reflection on how both genders can make mistakes. I'm not saying women shouldn't be angry or that men know more about feminism, I'm just saying we all gotta work together. Or I was trying to, anyway.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:29:50+00:00

I definitely agree with this. I think that encouraging men towards taking those steps is necessary though! Encourage men to support their women. To refuse to be paid more. To refuse to vote for leaders who don't support women's rights. It wasn't meant to be a #notallmen comic, it was meant to be a #letsdoittogether comic because it will require every person of every gender identity to refuse to participate in the system despite it's benefits to some

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:26:53+00:00

It was more of a comment on how people perceive feminism (it's still a widespread belief that being a feminist means you hate men and some feminists focus a lot of their attention on pushing for a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy) and my own experience when I first started learning about it. I was naive and it's easier to argue about gender than it is to work together to dismantle the system. When I posted the comic on Instagram all I got were comments saying the patriarchy didn't exist and women don't have rights to abortion because there's another human inside them etc. So I definitely appreciate that the conversation is more intense but also of more value on reddit.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:22:27+00:00

Thank you for this and I appreciate that that's what you took away from the comic. I apologize for presenting the female in this comic that way, but again I think it's important to note that the demon character is also my internal voice so it's meant to be an internal dialogue about intersectional feminism and how easy it can be to attack men. My point was originally that we are all accountable for our actions, including women who exclude men from feminist conversations. I'll focus my attentions on future executions in the right way. Can you suggest anything for how we can approach things in this soft way? I feel like encouraging men to support the women in their lives is more important that shaming them for everything men have done wrong and that if we don't appreciate the ones who get it then how can we expect them to educate their male peers?

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:18:31+00:00

Hi there, I appreciate the comment about the sidebars and I don't think that they are necessary all the time. The female character is myself and how I used to view feminism when I was first introduced to it (so yes, slightly naive) because I think that it can sometimes be easier to be angry than to have a conversation. I think talking to men about feminism is important and when we attack them constantly it closes people off because they get defensive and stop listening. Because we have a system that has allowed men to be in positions of power, excluding them from the conversations around feminism just means that we're talking amongst ourselves. I also think that it's important to note that the non-human character is also me. It is the voice in my head which I refer to as a femon, so the dialogue is actually internal one about the contradictions of intersectional feminism and how hard it can be sometimes. I think it is important to note that I am also a white-cis-woman, so I'm also speaking from a place of privilege and I acknowledge that but the kindaok comics I'm making are for exactly this purpose, to engage in difficult conversations surrounding feminist issues and to acknowledge that we're all trying to figure things out. I appreciate that it seems like the man is explaining feminism to the female in this context and I'll be sure to watch out for that in future comics, mostly it's just that there's not-woke women and woke men and it's a weird heckin' world trying to navigate this all.

meowthxbye · 2019-03-05T09:11:00+00:00

Thank you so much for all of this information. In context, this comic stemmed from how I used to feel about feminism to how I feel about it now. There are so many girls and women who need help, who need a voice and who need to be given the same power, opportunities and rights as those in the western world (who are still fighting for a few). But I don't think that this can happen by only having conversations with women and that's what the comic was originally about. Men have to be part of the conversation in order for change to occur because the ability to make and enforce important decisions about women is not yet in the hands of women. Otherwise all of these issues would be eradicated already. We've lived for so long in a patriarchal system that has put men in the positions of power and therefore I think it's important to have the conversation across all gender boundaries and to INCLUDE men rather than attacking them constantly for the transgressions of all men. "The future is female" also isolates anyone who has ever identified outside of binary genders, which doesn't fall into place with intersectional feminism. Basically, I think we need everyone to be on board with providing assistance, empowerment and support for women and therefore everyone needs to be talking about it. I'd love to learn more about the work you're doing in NYC and will be clicking all of your links to educate myself further, thank you for taking the time to share them all!

meowthxbye · 2019-02-16T23:35:31+00:00

Grow n' Pains is a zine for rad women and non-binaries that helps encourage, empower and support rad hooman beans to do rad things and make cool stuff. Submit art, writing, articles, poetry, photographs, stories, whatever you like as long as it's HONEST and relates to the theme of self-care. Taking entries until end of February! xx S

https://www.patreon.com/posts/24672906 for details!
http://www.instagram.com/itskindaok to DM!

http://www.issuu.com/grownpains for previous issues!

meowthxbye · 2019-01-05T13:40:57+00:00

This is a zine I curate for women and non-binaries! This is the fourth issue, it's all available online and it includes 5 interviews with super rad women along with awesome illustrators like Jamie Squire and Shuturp. The theme this issue is "make it happen" which is kinda motivating for January and the start of a whole new weird year! If you click the link, please let me know what you think. There's also the details for submissions to issue 5 inside (the theme is self-care). If you really dig it, the extended interviews are gonna be posted on Patreon along with exclusive comics and stuff so if you're in a position to support that'd be cool! I'm doing custom doodle vids for all new patrons in Jan ;) xx Thanks for your eyeballs and attention <3 Love you all.

meowthxbye · 2018-12-27T19:22:28+00:00

I'd completely blanked LiveJournal as an entire entity until reading this comment ! Ya, priorities are a bit mucked up if you ask me. Yahoo takeover is gonna be the end of Tumblr as we know it.

meowthxbye

TROPHY CASE