I’m sorry did you just tell me my favourite comicbook character from my childhood is also non-binary just like me? Is this like some kind of magical comic made just for me?
I love this immeasurably
I did not expect to see this facet of the C&H multiverse today.
Frankly I’m not sure I expected to see C&H today, let alone its multiverse, but I was at least aware of the former, and by analogy with other media, not surprised by the existence of the latter.
Calvin* becoming this particular brand of gender agnostic in one of those universes, on the other hand, is Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster levels of brainmelt and was not on my bingo card across a significant nearby swath of our own multiverse.
*Deadname used because Pantera didn’t become. Pantera is and perhaps, in this universe, always was. Calvin became.
Honestly, this doesn’t feel out of character for Calvin in the slightest and that’s the funniest part about it for me.
Calvin feels more gender antagonistic lol
Definitely want to see more of Panthera
I think we might need a Calvinball community (mainly because I’m too lazy to make a tumblr account and they limit how much you can read without being logged in)
Edit: the archive is also available on Neocities
You know… I’m kind of into grown-up, still a boy, but with boobs because ‘
hefae thought they’d be neat’ Calvin. And I’m willing to admit that. Faer pretty hot.This may have awoken something in me, and I’m holding you personally responsible for it, OP.
The strip with I just thought they would be neat took me too long. If I got it correctly it’s: Nah, I am cis?
Panthera is a nonbinary gender anarchist who doesn’t believe in gendering body parts. Boobs aren’t just for girls, they’re for anyone who likes boobs.
yeah, I got that part from the first strip.
Here is my analysis of my thoughts and explanation of my confusion: “Then you’re still…?” still what? “Nah, guys are stupid. I am not one of them anymore” one of who? “Then why do you have boobs now?!” oh so AMAB on estrogen
If “still what” is men then they are no longer one of men, which then doesn’t make sense for me why she would be confused about them having boobs.
If “still what” is trans then it made sense as in: You’re still trans? Nah, I’ve decided the label is not for me.
S: But… you’re a girl!
P: What gave you that idea? (Visibly having boobs)
S: Then you’re still… [a guy]?
P: Nah, guys are stupid. I’m not one of them anymore. [My transition isn’t about dysphoria or a desire for femininity, it’s about politics (namely, disdain for men).]
S: [Oh, you’re agender/gender-apathetic.] But then why do you have BOOBS now?
P: …I just thought they’d be neat!
Panthera is implying that fae doesn’t care about gender norms, identity, or expression, and has only adopted this body and language for reasons of ideology and values: Men and women are both gross and stupid, but boobs are neat. By the end of the comic, Susie is beginning to understand Panthera’s irreverant response to gender as a cultural construct and wants to experiment with doing the same. Gender can be a playground if you’re brave enough, and Panthera has never wanted for courage or obstinance.
thanks a lot. It turns out that I was reading it as a collection of 6 separate occasions with time in between rather than one consecutive ordered conversation. I shall accept embarrassing myself on Lemmy and I wish you will bless us with even more comics in the future.
I figured it was something like “still transitioning,” something like that. I agree that part’s a little difficult to parse, but I think Susie’s exasperation makes it work.
Not a boy/man anymore but not a girl/woman either.
I don’t care about their gender. I was confused about meaning behind their sentences.
Okay, let me break it down step by step.
- When Susie sees Panthera, she notices faer boobs and assumes Calvin has transitioned to being a girl.
- Panthera explains the band name which doesn’t fit Susie’s assumption so she remarks “But… you’re a girl!”, hoping to get an explanation.
- Panthera in typical Panthera/Calvin fashion doesn’t give a clear answer but a flippant “What gave you that idea?” which Susie interprets as a no.
- Being accustomed to binary genders, Susie sees only one other option and tries to confirm “Then you’re still [a boy]?” but gets cut off.
- Now, Susie is completely confused and apparently can’t think of a third option besides male and female. In her confusion she circles back to the one thing she can be sure about: the person in front of her has boobs. She asks about that.
- Panthera still doesn’t give a clear answer to what fae identifies as, prompting Susie to spell it out: “Well, what do I call you then?”
- When presented with the business card, Susie accepts the name and pronouns but still struggles with the concept.
So in short: Susie is familiar with the concept transgender people but still thinks in binary genders and can’t quite get her head around Panthera being non-binary. Hope that helps.
So you got the part from the first strip that boobs aren’t just for girls and dfyx just explained to you what the still what meant (as in “still a boy” “nah”) but then you just dismiss that and say you don’t care about the gender. Why?
Because their response doesn’t add anything. From the above conversation it’s above obvious that I’ve only explained my thought process, how I came to the conclusion that a word “them” in 1st panel likely doesn’t refer to men, and that my guess is that it refers to a word “trans”. I am asking for confirmation or different options.
My subject of question has from the start been what does a word “them” refer to, not their gender identity.
I don’t understand it.
This tumblr thread explains it
That doesn’t help very much unfortunately. I probably don’t understand transgender either. In this special case I don’t know who is (or was) who and why and what it means. There’s this band leader person saying some words mostly about physical appearance as I understand it and then this other person talking about school or career and then calls it’s mom and talks about pronouns. Just confuses the hell out of me. Is there a message about something happening in the world or social something or is there a joke?
Is there a message about something happening in the world or social something or is there a joke?
This is part of an ongoing fan comic, so you might be missing a bit of context. See this archive for a link to the post that inspired it and all 13 comic strips so far.
The characters are Calvin and Susie from the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, imagined as adults. Notice Hobbes in stuffed animal form in some of the panels. Calvin now uses the name Panthera and identifies as neither male nor female, using fae/faer pronouns, which are rather unusual, even for non-binary people. It started as a joke that Calvin hates being normal so much that if he ever transitioned, he wouldn’t just be a girl (whom he has always found gross) but something as far outside the norm as possible.
Thank you, that helped!
