The headline reads, “Transgender Creator of Assigned Male webcomics Facing Death Threats from Online Trolls”
~ article by Charles Pulliam-Moore (Charles.pulliam-moore@gizmodo.com)
Are people so insecure about who that are that they feel so threatened by Montreal-based artist Sophie Labelle and her weekly webcomic Assigned Male? It amazes me that an online comic strip would be at the heart of personal attacks and death threats. Is the material so ghastly and abhorrent to warrant such a reaction? The webcomic follows the thoughts and adventures of an 11-year-old transgender girl named Stephanie… not the typical breeding ground for such contempt.
Of course, some may still remember the United States government at the center of the witch hunt against comic books in the 1950s. Because of the publication of psychiatrist Fredric Wertham’s book Seduction of the Innocent that claimed that boys were becoming juvenile delinquents as a result of reading the comic books of the day, the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency “…banned graphic depictions of violence and gore in crime and horror comics, as well as the sexual innuendo of what aficionados refer to as “good girl art”.
I have never found myself in such a negative place that I thought destroying the work of an individual, publicized their home address, or sending threatening social media messages was the answer. That jumps over the lines of the disagreement of values and lands on the grounds of hate. There is nothing wrong with peaceful demonstrations, having an opposite opinion where you can find a forum to debate your points, or simply avoiding the offending materials. There is certainly something wrong with attacking someone on a psychological and physical level. As we would tell those who complain about the content of what they were reading, “if you don’t like it, don’t read it.”
At least the negative responses to the article by Charles Pulliam-Moore were written out in a constructive way, getting their points out there for the readership. If you want to be heard, make a stand and voice your opinion. State your case. Make your points. Cyber-bullying and cyber-terrorism do nothing but hold on to the hope that enough threat of violence toward the targets will force the target to give up hope.
But hope in the face of fear is a tricky thing. Sometimes it galvanizes a person, leading on to better things, more important things. For the opposition, try to understand why you are so adamantly against the TG-community. What is it you have such anger in your heart and malice in your hands? A comic is just graphics with words, you take what you want from it and leave the rest. Or, don’t read it at all. There is plenty of Garfield, Monday mornings and lasagnas out there to go around.
Check out Sophie Labelle’s comics here @ https://www.facebook.com/assignedmale/
