Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for February 12, 2010

Joe, you seem to forget your facts when it comes to judging the women in this comic. Mel complains, it’s the other woman who has ‘five dates’ (if you believe it).

Anyway, interesting the way you don’t make a connection between your judgement and the story you tell afterwards. Was the guy judged by the others like you seem to judge this woman here? Or did the other guys think it was kind of cool and manly? Maybe you should meditate a little bit about double standards.

Joe, I just reviewed all the strips, and I don’t find a single one where she is complaining. On the contrary, she enjoys being leered at.

But even if it was like you said: Having a lot of dates is not an invitation for all the men to start ogling and making suggestive comments. How could it? Maybe there really are a lot of men she likes and likes to date, but that is still her choice, and it doesn’t extend to everyone else with a y chromosome.

Melissa’s buddy is Hackett cute, and sometimes that’s cute enough. It’s all in the inner aura.

One of the last posts yesterday was one in which the long anticipated ‘angry feminists’ argument cropped up. I’d like to answer to that in the words of the wonderful singer/songwriter Ani Difranco:

i am not an angry girl but it seems like i’ve got everyone fooled every time i say something they find hard to hear they chalk it up to my anger and never to their own fear

Maybe you should stop fearing us and start to try to understand. Some of you have already begun, I see.

and if we don’t feel a nagging responsibility to dig in and try to understand the problems of everyone else on the planet, is it okay if we politely move on and keep our own stress levels down?

Friends are where you find them, and friends don’t have to agree and suck up to each other all the time. Those kinds of friendships often work out the best.

Anywhay, Mel’s new friend is giving her valuable advice. I wish I knew her name… it’s harsh on Gary’s part to have his readers only identify her by her looks. Or pehaps that’s the message he’s trying to send….?

Orgelspieler, if YOU are the problem and are seriously impacting someone’s chances and enjoyment of life, no, then you can’t just turn away and keep your stress level down. If you have some sort of conscience.

Mel is a one man woman and he should be coming back through soon.

Five dates in a sandtrap? WTFO? Is she going to go from the px to the rec tent and then some romantic overlook? Or is she just going to go hopping form trailer to trailer (or tents0?

I am glad women are hanging in there in such difficult circumstances. Women have served in Israel and other places for many years. From what I have heard I don’t think it is worth it to go through what they go through. I don’t think Trudeau purposely left out the other woman’s name. He provides a lot of content in those little speech balloons and drawings. I don’t know how he does it. He is a treasure.

Wish I had five dates.

Yeah,but her dates are only twenty minutes long!

Man, I’ve got so much I want to say about this subject, having been in the desert as senior enlisted, and having to deal with the drama of making sure my folks got their jobs done and grrrrrrrrr…………………I’ll just shut up now before I offend everyone.

Susan001, I meant Hackett cute, like a camel.

Nagut, did someone have big bowl “Bitchy Flakes” for breakfast this morning? You’re getting phat on the condescension girl.

Ohhh, the ravages of estrogen poisoning.

If she’s having so many emotional problems with military life, she should consider trying to get a medical discharge. The male soldiers are not going to change their attitudes due to her whims.

Everything is a process. Mel knows this, she just forgets.

It’s coming up on Valentines Day, think Melissa will get another candy purple heart?

Any woman brave enough to enlist in the military and serve her country is hot.

I have a friend named Edgar. I also have a book by a man named Edgar Rice Burroughs - we didn’t go to the same church. Did he know good things about me? I don’t know, because he’s dead. I mean Edgar Rice Burroughs, not my friend, Ed.

I know its a cartoon, but must you really call her “the big girl?” What’s wrong with “the brunette?” Or, if you believe Melissa’s hair is light brown (I really can’t tell, but she may be a blonde), you could go with “the dark haired girl.” Why must even cartoon women be judged for their size?

It’s not judgment to call her a big girl; it’s a relative fact. It would be judgmental to call her something derogative.

The young lady described as “the big gal” appears to be shorter than the other “gal”.

What exactly is meant by the term “big gal”?

Oh give me a break

Susan you just called Buddy Hackett the UGLIEST man on the planet, and now you’re offended by the fat cartoon broad?

An inconsistent thing, this sexism.

Double standards indeed. According to Frisco Lou we need to have equal opportunity hatred based on appearance. What a great improvement.

Zappa said it best… what’s the ugliest part of your body…