James Robinson to Issue Statement on "Airboy" #2 Controversy

[CBR News]

As the controversy over the treatment of the transgender community in "Airboy" rises, Robinson took to Twitter to acknowledge the complaints.


Full article here.

[gurkle]

I'm not fond of the idea that if a comic has hurtful words or even reinforces stereotypes, it's contributing to real-world harm. For one thing, it's not necessarily true (whether art contributes to violence is a long-standing question that doesn't have a clear answer). For another thing, it assumes that the critic is smart enough not to be influenced by these attitudes, but the other readers out there are not.

It also assumes that even if the characters would realistically say these things or think these things, they shouldn't. That's not a wrong attitude to take per se - some stories use the n-word where it would realistically be used, some don't; it depends on the story - but I think it matters that "Robinson" as he portrays himself would realistically not use any other word but the word he uses here.

Robinson presumably wrote this scene knowing and expecting he'd get this kind of reaction, so I'm not playing a violin for him. I just think a lot of the responses have been based on the idea that only bad people say bad things, or that if a character has a hurtful attitude he should be punished for it or learn a lesson.

[JayBee]

Honestly... I thought the issue was fantastic and the thought of it being a problem never occurred to me.

[Ragdoll]

I totally support the creative team here. But the article says "the comments of the characters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the writers" but fails to mention that this series is a 4th wall breaker and that the characters and the writers are in fact one in the same lol.
The comic was funny. This reeks of forcing an issue where there is none, like all the phoney outrage against the Age Of Ultron movie.

[HellHere]

I liked #1, and I liked #2 right up until they went over... I honestly don't think they meant to cause offense, and actually think they thought they were being progressive (see the panel about gendering), but when you're using this to highlight that we're in a world that's so awful Airboy thinks the Nazi's have won, and then use it as a device to push him over the edge... it does not come off so well and I can see how people would be hurt by it.

[Rene Narciso]

I didn't read the comic, but it's my impression that writer James Robinson is purposefully writing character "James Robinson" as a bit of a jerk. The character is not supposed to be an example or a role model. We're not supposed to agree with the character's views or words.

As for Airboy himself, he is supposed to have been transported from some idealized 1940s world, correct? It makes sense that he would be transphobic. Actually, it would have been pretty strange if he weren't. Yes, there were crossdressers and such in the 1930s and 1940s, and it's not impossible that a soldier would have experience with them in some nightclub (Berlin in the pre-Nazi years had a pretty lively gay nightclub scene, for instance) but Airboy is supposed to be an stereotype of the clean-cut old-times hero, right?

I'm supportive of the rights of gay and trans people, but it rings strange when fiction depicts stories that are supposed to be based on the real world and there is this complete acceptance of LGBT people going on, even in time travel/historic scenes. Even in our modern, liberated world, I'd say plenty of men have a degree of transphobia. If you take men of the past, chances are the feeling was much more intense. A realistic story would reflect that. As long as the transphobic folks aren't depicted as heroic for being transphobic (I don't think this is what's happening in this comic), then it's cool with me.

[JayBee]

I liked #1, and I liked #2 right up until they went over... I honestly don't think they meant to cause offense, and actually think they thought they were being progressive (see the panel about gendering), but when you're using this to highlight that we're in a world that's so awful Airboy thinks the Nazi's have won, and then use it as a device to push him over the edge... it does not come off so well and I can see how people would be hurt by it.

A character who's entire world vanished was drugged and taken to a place where he engaged in sexual activity with a person who's gender identity clearly did not reflect his preference unbeknownst to him for obvious reasons. I think him being pushed over the edge makes perfect sense.

The depiction of people with behavior or viewpoints that are not ideal is not an endorsement of those viewpoints or actions.

[HellHere]

The depiction of people with behavior or viewpoints that are not ideal is not an endorsement of those viewpoints or actions.

I know, which is why I said that I thought the writers had very different intentions to what actually happened. This is a gross out comic, no one in it is coming off as a particularly together person, and they're obviously not being held up as good examples in either word or deed.
But trans people get murdered over this, suffer violence from people claiming they lied to them, are treated like perverts and rapists in waiting in today's world and that is something you should take into account when using them as a device like this.

[JayBee]

I know, which is why I said that I thought the writers had very different intentions to what actually happened. This is a gross out comic, no one in it is coming off as a particularly together person, and they're obviously not being held up as good examples in either word or deed.
But trans people get murdered over this, suffer violence from people claiming they lied to them, are treated like perverts and rapists in waiting in today's world and that is something you should take into account when using them as a device like this.

So don't depict certain situations because people people suffer in the real world? Should we avoid showing black or gay characters be harassed because in the real world people get killed over such situations? It's always horrible when something offends or hurts someone, without a doubt, but I don't think censuring depictions of fictional characters or events is the solution.

Edit: That being said, I may just not "get it" and I may not be seeing the gravity of the situation.

[HellHere]

Please show me where I said they shouldn't depict certain things or called for censorship. I was saying that you need to make sure thatl when you do it you hit the right targets (it's obvious that the intended targets of the joke are the protags, but intent is not always outcome).

And he wasn't showing trans people being harrassed. He was showing a straight person being "duped" (albeit by his friends rather than the trans lady), which is actually something that is used against trans people in some pretty awful ways.

[JayBee]

Please show me where I said they shouldn't depict certain things or called for censorship. I was saying that you need to make sure thatl when you do it you hit the right targets (it's obvious that the intended targets of the joke are the protags, but intent is not always outcome).

And he wasn't showing trans people being harrassed. He was showing a straight person being "duped" (albeit by his friends rather than the trans lady), which is actually something that is used against trans people in some pretty awful ways.

To me, telling a writer to hit the right targets is censoring their story. If you don't mean it that way then I misunderstood you.

So the issue is that Airboy was put into a situation in which people have held against them in bad ways?

[TotalSnorefest]

Moderator warning here: due to the sensitive nature of this topic, this thread will be monitored extra strictly. Any user leaving transphobic posts, or making dismissive statements about those who feel offended by the content of this comic, will be punished severely.

Civil discussion is encouraged of course, in fact I'd like to praise the exchange above for the mutual respect and introspection on display. Let's keep it that way!

Many transgender people still face unequal treatment in parts of their lives; CBR will not be one of those places.

[Iluvitloud1976]

Whatever happened to freedom of speech?? If you don't agree with what the writers doing or saying, stop reading it. It's like what happened to Orson Scott Card a few years back on the Superman series. He's a veteran writer who's got his own viewpoints & because some don't agree, they want to excommunicate anyone who feels differently. Seriously, get a grip.

[JayBee]

Whatever happened to freedom of speech?? If you don't agree with what the writers doing or saying, stop reading it. It's like what happened to Orson Scott Card a few years back on the Superman series. He's a veteran writer who's got his own viewpoints & because some don't agree, they want to excommunicate anyone who feels differently. Seriously, get a grip.

I actually feel like that was a different situation. Orson Scott Card actively spoke against a demographic of people and in doing so he showed off his less than ideal viewpoint where as people are upset about the fictional events in a fictional setting where the characters that have made the controversial actions are not even portrayed in a positive or heroic light.

[Hi-Fi]

Freedom of speech goes both ways. Writers are free to write what they want, people are free to react as they see fit and be vocal about it.