At least she’s acknowledging Dorothy having a sex life, though I’m inclined to think Sarah’s probably closer to the mark. Even ones who don’t own dedicated toys still own fingers and pillows, so…
Was “Other Walky” in a slipshine or did I miss it in a strip that showed it off? Or are we guessing the size? Also I love this euphemism trend, it is hilarious to me, not entirely sure why.
Oh Joyce, you are so naive it is almost endearing. It isn’t endearing, but it almost is. I almost guarantee Dorothy has had one since before/near the time she started dating Danny. Sarah may not be 100% accurate, there may be 1 or 2 other people on your floor without one, but I’m willing to bet their reasons aren’t sexual repression. They might be asexual or just use a different kind of toy, but you are probably the only one in denial about sex at least on your floor, from what we’ve seen.
Carla’s also sex repulsed and that seems to go for anything sexual, based on a few things:
A) Established sexuality carries over from the Walkyverse (where Ultra Car was sex repulsed and only willing to engage in sex when she could use a spare extendable hand and didn’t have to be anywhere near it). Unlike Danny, who never actually stated he was straight in the Walkyverse, it was a plot point that Ultra Car found sex repulsive.
B) Carla’s made several comments that are leaning in that direction (“Billie – Ruth wants to die, you get in there and do GROSS things to your girlfriend!”)
And
C) Willis has said before that Carla wouldn’t be into being in the Fuckzone pin ups (which also included things like masturbation and posing).
It’s interesting how the needle has shifted on ace discourse–not with regards to Carla specifically, just in general. Asexuality is finally hitting the mainstream which means it’s developing a sect who have a vested interest in making assimilation clean and easy. It used to be that only sex-repulsed aces got any acknowledgement; now, they seem to be as much on the margins as aces who like sex once were.
I dunno how many of the people speculating Carla might not be sex-repulsed in this universe are coming in from the Walkyverse, but I’m going to speculate: people are speculating that Carla isn’t sex-repulsed even though Ultra Car was because they feel understandings of asexuality have changed, and Carla being okay with sex is somehow the more progressive option. It’s not. There’s no hierarchy at play here. Sex-repulsion is not a stereotype that needs to be evolved beyond in 2018. It’s how some people are.
(This is why just having one representitive of an entire social group is kinda not great)
(To clarify: aces who like/tolerate sex are real, it’s good that they’re getting more attention, but equally, this attention is being pushed by the same sorts of people who’re, like. Gay people who brag about how unflamboyant they are. It sucks that society can pit even people who share an identity against each other by dangling acceptance in front of them like a carrot on a stick.)
Yknow if I hadn’t had some insight to the context Joyce’s comment would just be some playful riffing. But yeah, there is an underlying judgement that’s pretty much uncalled for, and conveniently ignores her own sexual awakening in turn.
There’s nothing wrong with not being a very sexual person. I should know, I’m ace. But of course, we know from Audience Omniprescence, as well as just general understanding of her behavior, that Joyce is a horribly repressed sexual being, whose struggles with that repression are honest and understandable but also lead to some behaviors, from the pretty innocuous statements above to the horror show that is this arc with Jacob.
Mary is evil and has just as twisted of a viewset as some of the people from Joyce’s town but she also doesn’t seem repressed. As evidenced by her and her boyfriend all but dry humping in that one scene. Can’t remember which strip it was though.
I’m not a subscriber yet, but there is a Slipshine of Mary, solo, and I seem to recall that there was a preview panel. As best I remember, she was fantasizing about Ronald Reagan, but I don’t know if some sort of Other Ronnie was involved.
I wouldn’t put it past her to masturbate and have some religious excuse about it not being masturbation, but it’s more difficult for her to rationalize a dildo or vibrator.
At most, she has one of those neck massagers. I mean, the ones that aren’t dildo-shaped. Allows clitoral stimulation and plausible deniability at the same time.
Nah, my money’s on Mary’s being a Hello Kitty vibrator. The kind that looks like a Pocket Rocket with Hello Kitty on the end. It’s a pretty discreet model. Although technically it was sold as a ‘shoulder massager’, so it would meet your criteria too.
I’m not catching the reference and Google isn’t helping. Is it just that laughter is supposed to make you healthier, or is there some pop culture thing I don’t know about?
And why would Sarah object to adding years to her life?
Laughter supposedly making you healthier I think, as well as a stronger sense of living. As for Sarah’s objection – because she’s a grumpy curmudgeon who likes to talk about how much she hates people (while simultaneously doing things like taking Joyce as her honorary little sister).
She’s a grumpy person so more years is the opposite of what she wants. Sarah wants to take an example from that Rachel Bloom song, “Die When I’m Young.”
Warning: If you watch that song on youtube, do so at your own risk it may offend some people, not sure if I should link it so I’ll err on the side of caution and not do it.
There are plenty who find it offensive, what with the subject matter, even if I personally find it hilarious. But I also enjoy dark humor and Rachel Bloom’s music, so that song is great to me. Still, everyone has different tastes.
I took it to mean that making her laugh that hard was aging her prematurely, and therefore shortening her life.
It wasn’t adding years to the end of her life, but to her present.
The common saying is “taking years off my life” while referring to stress. Sarah is saying Joyce’s statement is so hilarious it’s having the opposite effect.
How does Sarah know everyone on the floor but Joyce has a vibrator? She doesn’t socialize with most of them, and even when she does deem to spend time with other women, I can’t see all of them being that… forthcoming about their private times.
I think Sarah is more making a point that having a vibrator, or sex toys/lube/etc, in general is perfectly normal and that Joyce’s reaction is the oddity. She may not be completely accurate, there may be some other women in the dorm who are either asexual or use something other than a vibrator, but her reasoning and overall point is solid.
I think it is because Catla is asexual(Or so some have said, I can’t confirm) not because she is trans. Though I can at least confirm from my friend, a trans woman and she owns several vibrators, so your point is still accurate in that regard.
Ace folks can also use vibrators. Asexual is a lack of sexual attraction to other people, and doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t enjoy the physical sensations.
Carla might specifically be sex-repulsed, but feelings of sex repulsion vary a lot, too. You might be repulsed just by other people’s bodies, for example — their bodily fluids, their smells — and consider vibrators to be an excellent solution to that particular problem! We just don’t know. 🙂
But yeah I’m sure Sarah isn’t right. I think she’s committing the same general sin everyone who’s in her age group does. The perception is often that either everyone or no one around you is having sex, when it’s really more of a mixture.
(I do think that masturbation is much more common than sex, for a lot of reasons — like sheer availability, lol — but I don’t think we have very reliable data on this sort of thing. The social pressure in all directions is simply too great.)
All completely fair. And I agree that, while I can’t speak from a place of claiming to know everyone’s opinion, masturbation is probably extremely common compared to sex for nearly everyone, as hormones cause unexpected libido for /almost/ everyone. Whether it is enough to warrant having a sex toy? Depends on the person I guess.
Since they’re mostly freshmen, I can definitely see some not realizing how easily available cheap vibrators generally are to buy and thus not having one. Or not having one because they, like, JUST got their own space and haven’t gotten to it yet. Or just not wanting one.
(To clarify: a lot of people wait to get A Sex Toy until they’ve left the house because of fear of parental disapproval, embarrassment, etc., but Dorothy’s parents seem like they would have made sure she knew that her privacy would always be absolutely respected and that this sort of thing is natural, so on and so forth.)
Yeah it’s definitely a deliberate exaggeration. Some kids straight out of their parents’ place wouldn’t even have a reasonable way to access money they can spend on things their parents wouldn’t immediately know about, but I get what Sarah means. Everyone who wanted to put any effort into getting a sex toy probably has, like, three.
I dunno. Joyce would be turned off to an adult video store, but one of those intimate wear shops that also sells sex toys? I could see her doing it, just to prove to Dorothy that she could. Becky would tag along and spend all her spare cash, especially if there was a sexy dinosaur costume.
Man… I’ve been really good about reminding myself that this is Joyce, her main problem with not doing sexual stuff is fucked-up morals, but… as someone with sexual trauma they’re still dealing with in their thirties, some of these “god, literally everyone at 18 does everything sexual, you’re just a freak” comments are hard to read.
(I’m also seriously wondering how the Ryan thing doesn’t seem to have contributed at all, honestly? I mean, she was clearly traumatized enough to get panic attacks over being left alone, it’s not impossible she would be consciously or subconsciously scared in part because of that. Some of the people who were literally there that night not too long ago should probably be at least asking her if that’s something they should keep in mind, y’know? Even if we’re pretty sure she got lucky and it isn’t contributing?)
Like if nothing else I’d really feel better if even Joyce thought to consider that, or even tossed it out as a possibility before realizing that wasn’t it… I dunno. It just seems like everyone in the comic has pre-decided Joyce’s feelings based on the most immediately obvious issues even when they shouldn’t be 100% certain it’s that simple. I know that’s what the author has decided the sole issue is, and that the way it’s most healthy for Joyce to deal with the problem is to just go get laid already, in part because of the self-insert thing, but… in-universe I’m not sure I can get completely behind that?
I can totally understand being made uncomfortable by the comment section right now, and I’m sorry for both what happened to you and that suckiness. 🙁
That said, I’ve been reminding myself that no one is actually pressuring Joyce to go get laid, that both Dorothy’s joke a few strips back and Sarah’s comment here are about masturbation, and it makes me feel better. Because pressuring Joyce to get laid would be really awful. Pushily suggesting she masturbate is more of a general boundary issue. (Which could easily verge into sexual harassment, depending on context, don’t get me wrong.)
also too, Joyce kind of started it here (I know that’s a very kindergarten defense), and implicitly has made teasing comments about Sarah’s vibrator a lot, so I think Sarah felt it was fair game.
That said, I also agree that it’s a bit jarring that Ryan hasn’t come up at all… but maybe he will. I kind of think Joyce deliberately “naming” Sarah’s vibrator here (Sarah comments on it) is her attempt to push her own boundaries, on the impetus of both Dorothy and Walky’s comments. (With Walky, she might be trying to expand her comfort zone so that he can’t get to her like that so easily.)
If she continues down that path of trying to force herself to be more comfortable with this, having Ryan come back up as a big ole mental cold shower could be really powerful.
Makes sense to me. I think Sarah is thinking of it more in terms of “quit slut-shaming me, this is perfectly normal” but whether it comes out that way (to Joyce or to us) is another matter.
Sarah in this strip in particular is definitely pissed at Joyce for being a twit, yeah. The “this feels hurtful without very intentionally contextualizing it” bit isn’t quite the same as the “come to think o it, why are we really that sure Joyce only has the one problem” thing.
The thing is, it is possible – the last time Joyce had a sexual urge pre-Jacob, it was the Really Weird Dream where she first saw her parents’ disapproving faces, but then saw Ryan’s. So I’ve been assuming she has compound issues. I’m rationalizing this whole thing by thinking the cultural shame one is primary, and everyone else hasn’t fully realized how deep the trauma goes. Because yeah, it’s shitty. Even Roz referred Joyce to a counselor knowing very little of how the party went and barely knowing Joyce at all.
As someone who dealt with sexual trauma and sexual repression combo and still is unconfortable with the subject in their 30s, I’m a little annoyed by the statement too. I mean, of course Sarah would say that, but also, she’s wrong. And I mean I know the times have changed and this stuff is probably way simpler in the US but most of my friends who have vibrators bought their first ones well into their 20s.
It might not be contributing because Joyce might not have processed anything that’s actually sexual out of the encounter – she was drugged and assaulted but Ryan doesn’t get the chance to attempt anything sexual. Joyce glasssmashes his face and then Sarah becomes Batwoman.
Yeah, I’m not at all impressed by this. Dorothy’s attitude to Joyce and everyone else is pretty revolting given Joyce is a victim of sexual assault. Also, plenty of people are uncomfortable with sex and sexuality even at her age without a fundamentalist upbrining.
Perhaps, but every indication we have is that her repression is tied to her upbringing, not to the sexual assault – possibly for the reasons JBento suggests above.
Her reactions are all tied to shame, not to fear.
Joyce has no issue slut shaming people, telling Roz that her purity was stripped to the roots, because she engages in safe, casual sex, giving Sarah endless grief about her vibrator, screaming PRE-MATURNAL HANKY PANK.
Everyone seems to be more “get over it, and stop shaming people about sex just because you’re repressed and don’t want to have it”
She can be uncomfortable with sex, nobody is pushing her to have sex, she DOES However need to stop harassing oTHER PEOPLE about it.
She’s gotten a lot better about it. Even here it was more snarky than slut-shaming. I can’t actually remember when she last freaked out about someone having sex. Or masturbating. Or anything like that.
She’s still freaked out about her own sexual desires.
Sarah is not taking it as her being snarky, she’s flat out telling her to back off, because Joyce keeps making fun of her for having a vibrator, it’s not really getting better.
ANd not long ago she freaked out about a WEENUS and i do believe just recently she said “everyone is smooth formless ken dolls down there before marriage” so
Man, I really like the lighting in this scene. It feels very sun-setty, although I assume it’s just the hue of the indoor lights in their dorm room since it looked later than that when Ethan was talking to Amber, I thought.
But seriously the art for this comic has gotten amazing, and it consistently raises the bar. Two thumbs way up. 🙂
I am thinking of a comic where everyone’s batteries die at the same time and nobody has spares. The only happy person is the one with a plug in vibrator.
My bet is Danny post-development (and therefore post-needing a relationship for fulfillment because he was going nowhere or whatever shit had been instilled in him) would be fine with it, but start of comic Danny may just have thought the only thing he had to offer was sex. Walky I can’t say with any confidence.
Psah… That’s when you need to sit them down and tell them that sometimes, the other partner is just not going to be in the mood. Maybe they’re sick. Maybe they’re trying to finish studying/work/taxes. Maybe sometimes they’ll even be too busy exploring their latest video game and as nice as it is, sex is a secondary consideration right now. That’s when you break out the vibrator/fleshlight and lube and put on your favourite porno.
This is perfectly normal in a healthy relationship. You should only start to be concerned if the other partner declines sex for a long period of time. (And even so, it’s best to talk to them about it before jumping to conclusions.)
To be fair, Other Jacob looks expensive. I’d say most college students don’t necessarily have vibrators, and many have ones that die quickly. There are cheaper ways to masturbate. Sarah’s grandmother is just awesome.
Yeah, reading this comment section and all the talk about how to have sex toys quietly in a shared dorm room or a shared shower space is like, did you all forget you have FINGERS? And they’re very nearly DEAD SILENT? And FREE? And there’s nothing to smuggle around so they’re good anywhere? I never bought a vibrator in college because I didn’t need one compared to that. People act like vibrators or even dildos are necessary when they’re definitely not.
Yeah fingers never worked for me. But I like strong vibes with my toys (all the ones with different vibrating patterns can take a hike, I want strong and STRONGER) so my fingers never had a chance
I didn’t know any girls in college who kept vibes.
-How are you supposed to hide it from your roommate/guests in a tiny dorm?
-They’re kind of expensive
-Maybe everyone was being stealthy and I had no idea?
I accidentally found my roommate’s one day. It was designed to look like a lipstick tube. So that is potentially how you get around people finding them. You do, of course, not have to leave it out on the floor regardless.
I had a single room when I got my first one in…I think my sophomore year in about 2002. First was a couple cheap ‘novelty items’ from Spencer’s at the mall, then I discovered online vibe shopping. Never got anything over $25, but over three years, I bought 3 more, and not because the others broke, but because I wanted to try different ones. I just kept them in a drawer if I was having someone over.
I didn’t have a vibrator at uni (from uk so I call it uni not college). Didn’t share my room either just didn’t want one? I still don’t have one and have a husband to provide my with pleasure. I didn’t think masturbation was gross for religious reasons and wasn’t a virgin. Just not massively into self pleasuring. I find it odd to assume all the other women would have them? Maybe I’m the odd one out! I knew some friends had them
Yeah I didn’t get into toys until my 20s and freshman year in general, half the ladies on my floor were just embracing their newfound freedom and only just starting to lose their virginity (as well as cook and eat when and whatever they wanted and choosing to go to class when they felt like it). I’m sure a couple had some, but the close quarters just seems awkward to me (we did not live on the walkable side of campus and relied on buses that didn’t run over the weekend. So you saw your roommate a lot)
stopped following this comic like a year and a half ago around the time i moved, just binged to catch up so here we are a week later? just in time for Joyce to start examining her own sexual repression. now i gotta wait again…
Finally got caught up again. I don’t think I’ve ever commented,
But this reminded me of a… family friend…I think? On facebook who posts strange Bible-related things from time to time. One was “The orgasm is God’s gift, from the man to the woman.” I normally just screenshot her posts for funsies, but I had to reply to that one. I made it clear that I give them to myself WAY more than any man has given them to me. She said something along the lines of that being a sin. She’s what I imagine Joyce would be like if she hadn’t escaped her upbringing. Hell, I was Joyce for a long time. Wouldn’t even go swimming on a Saturday and plugged my ears if someone played rock.
Loading ...
okay TECHNICALLY she has a “massager” (that looks suspiciously phallic)
It’s a Bibrating Back Massager ™
No its an obscure weight loss machine. The thrust master 5000
I thought that was a joystick . . . . Ok, I see the joke now.
It’s called The Twister. Because it takes Dorothy “over the rainbow”.
You win.
Aww, Joyce. Already awkward to think about how far you’ve come since starting college, huh?
College is educational. Who’d of thought?
Except she picked the wrong knowledge tree to allocate her points into!
Statistically only 50% of college women own a vibrator if you only count the two standing in the room.
I’m not sure about that sample size…
I dunno, that sample size seems pretty well spelled-out. It’s the
deviationvariance that I’m not sure about.It’s not the size that matters, it’s how you
use itlabel the axis.I didn’t realized Joyce could be so unintentionally naughty.
Unintentionally?
*plays Barry Manilow’s “Read ‘Em & Weep” on the hacked Muzak*
The Meat Loaf version is a little better.
But that may be the point….
At least she’s acknowledging Dorothy having a sex life, though I’m inclined to think Sarah’s probably closer to the mark. Even ones who don’t own dedicated toys still own fingers and pillows, so…
Have you seen Other Walky? It’s… impressive.
Was “Other Walky” in a slipshine or did I miss it in a strip that showed it off? Or are we guessing the size? Also I love this euphemism trend, it is hilarious to me, not entirely sure why.
It is and it’s glorious.
Wait, I know I’ve seen the slipshine/regular strips where Other Jacob shows up, where does Other Walky come in?
…I swear that pun was unintentional, but you know what, I’m gonna own it.
Just please don’t objectify other Rachel.
…Goddamn Joyce in a white button-down.
Also holy shit, yes, Joyce needs to stop slutshaming.
She’s getting better. I think. A little.
The change is clear as day once you use a magnifying glass!
Honestly, that came across less as “slut-shaming” and more playful – the original version of “thrust you to hell” would be slut-shaming :P.
That’s how I read it, too.
Next she will be going sockless! the end is nigh lol
Joyce is not wearing a sweatervest! What is the world coming to?
Other Jacob, mostly.
Oh Joyce, you are so naive it is almost endearing. It isn’t endearing, but it almost is. I almost guarantee Dorothy has had one since before/near the time she started dating Danny. Sarah may not be 100% accurate, there may be 1 or 2 other people on your floor without one, but I’m willing to bet their reasons aren’t sexual repression. They might be asexual or just use a different kind of toy, but you are probably the only one in denial about sex at least on your floor, from what we’ve seen.
Yeah I think we can rule out Agatha as a vibrator owner. Carla too since she’s asexual (I think?)
Maybe? Some ace people do masturbate for various reasons. So she might have one too.
Some asexual people have a sex drive, they just don’t exprience sexual attraction. So… I don’t know that would rule her out.
Carla’s also sex repulsed and that seems to go for anything sexual, based on a few things:
A) Established sexuality carries over from the Walkyverse (where Ultra Car was sex repulsed and only willing to engage in sex when she could use a spare extendable hand and didn’t have to be anywhere near it). Unlike Danny, who never actually stated he was straight in the Walkyverse, it was a plot point that Ultra Car found sex repulsive.
B) Carla’s made several comments that are leaning in that direction (“Billie – Ruth wants to die, you get in there and do GROSS things to your girlfriend!”)
And
C) Willis has said before that Carla wouldn’t be into being in the Fuckzone pin ups (which also included things like masturbation and posing).
(oh god please let this one go through)
It’s interesting how the needle has shifted on ace discourse–not with regards to Carla specifically, just in general. Asexuality is finally hitting the mainstream which means it’s developing a sect who have a vested interest in making assimilation clean and easy. It used to be that only sex-repulsed aces got any acknowledgement; now, they seem to be as much on the margins as aces who like sex once were.
I dunno how many of the people speculating Carla might not be sex-repulsed in this universe are coming in from the Walkyverse, but I’m going to speculate: people are speculating that Carla isn’t sex-repulsed even though Ultra Car was because they feel understandings of asexuality have changed, and Carla being okay with sex is somehow the more progressive option. It’s not. There’s no hierarchy at play here. Sex-repulsion is not a stereotype that needs to be evolved beyond in 2018. It’s how some people are.
(This is why just having one representitive of an entire social group is kinda not great)
(To clarify: aces who like/tolerate sex are real, it’s good that they’re getting more attention, but equally, this attention is being pushed by the same sorts of people who’re, like. Gay people who brag about how unflamboyant they are. It sucks that society can pit even people who share an identity against each other by dangling acceptance in front of them like a carrot on a stick.)
Granted that Mary’s a huge hypocrite, but I can’t see her having one either …
Whoops, already addressed below. Hard to follow these threads …
Yknow if I hadn’t had some insight to the context Joyce’s comment would just be some playful riffing. But yeah, there is an underlying judgement that’s pretty much uncalled for, and conveniently ignores her own sexual awakening in turn.
There’s nothing wrong with not being a very sexual person. I should know, I’m ace. But of course, we know from Audience Omniprescence, as well as just general understanding of her behavior, that Joyce is a horribly repressed sexual being, whose struggles with that repression are honest and understandable but also lead to some behaviors, from the pretty innocuous statements above to the horror show that is this arc with Jacob.
Sidebar, some great Sarah faces today.
To be clear the innocuous statements are about Dorothy and Walky not the slut shaming
What about Mary?
Oh you know Mary’s got one of those anime vibrators
Mary is evil and has just as twisted of a viewset as some of the people from Joyce’s town but she also doesn’t seem repressed. As evidenced by her and her boyfriend all but dry humping in that one scene. Can’t remember which strip it was though.
Mary’s got this one
OMG does Jesus have an erection
No, I think that’s the top layer of his loincloth.
It’s really hard to tell. Maybe it was left intentionally vague for extra heresy.
that’ll teach me not to check links before I click…
Oh my God that is exactly what I was hoping it was! Lmao
I’m not a subscriber yet, but there is a Slipshine of Mary, solo, and I seem to recall that there was a preview panel. As best I remember, she was fantasizing about Ronald Reagan, but I don’t know if some sort of Other Ronnie was involved.
Yes and spoiler alert… She was using her hands.
I wouldn’t put it past her to masturbate and have some religious excuse about it not being masturbation, but it’s more difficult for her to rationalize a dildo or vibrator.
More to the point, I think she’s paranoid enough to not own a vibe, because if found, it would constitute evidence of her hypocrisy.
At most, she has one of those neck massagers. I mean, the ones that aren’t dildo-shaped. Allows clitoral stimulation and plausible deniability at the same time.
Nah, my money’s on Mary’s being a Hello Kitty vibrator. The kind that looks like a Pocket Rocket with Hello Kitty on the end. It’s a pretty discreet model. Although technically it was sold as a ‘shoulder massager’, so it would meet your criteria too.
Sounds like Sarah had a better afternoon than Joyce.
Love the way Sarah looks in the last couple of panels. Too bad she doesn’t have more reasons to laugh.
“Adding years onto my life.”
I’m not catching the reference and Google isn’t helping. Is it just that laughter is supposed to make you healthier, or is there some pop culture thing I don’t know about?
And why would Sarah object to adding years to her life?
Laughter supposedly making you healthier I think, as well as a stronger sense of living. As for Sarah’s objection – because she’s a grumpy curmudgeon who likes to talk about how much she hates people (while simultaneously doing things like taking Joyce as her honorary little sister).
There used to be a TV show called “Laughter is the Best Medicine”, started by a guy who cured himself of something by reading joke books.
She’s a grumpy person so more years is the opposite of what she wants. Sarah wants to take an example from that Rachel Bloom song, “Die When I’m Young.”
Warning: If you watch that song on youtube, do so at your own risk it may offend some people, not sure if I should link it so I’ll err on the side of caution and not do it.
There’should a moral obligation in such cases to Rick Roll people instead.
I don’t see how that video could possibly be offensive, unless you have no sense of humor.
There are plenty who find it offensive, what with the subject matter, even if I personally find it hilarious. But I also enjoy dark humor and Rachel Bloom’s music, so that song is great to me. Still, everyone has different tastes.
I took it to mean that making her laugh that hard was aging her prematurely, and therefore shortening her life.
It wasn’t adding years to the end of her life, but to her present.
The common saying is “taking years off my life” while referring to stress. Sarah is saying Joyce’s statement is so hilarious it’s having the opposite effect.
I’m assuming that since Sarah doesn’t like people, “adding years to her life” would mean more years that she’d have to deal with people.
If Joyce being naive adds years to Sarah’s life, then she is functionally immortal.
So, is this the storyline now? Joyce is going to go around to everyone and find out if they have a vibrator?
Is that what we’re doing? Not complaining, this will be great. Just wondering.
The Whiteboard Ding-Dong Bandit 2: This Time It’s Vibrators
“Well, okay, technically she doesn’t have A vibrator…”
How does Sarah know everyone on the floor but Joyce has a vibrator? She doesn’t socialize with most of them, and even when she does deem to spend time with other women, I can’t see all of them being that… forthcoming about their private times.
I think Sarah is more making a point that having a vibrator, or sex toys/lube/etc, in general is perfectly normal and that Joyce’s reaction is the oddity. She may not be completely accurate, there may be some other women in the dorm who are either asexual or use something other than a vibrator, but her reasoning and overall point is solid.
Carla, for instance, almost certainly doesn’t have a vibrator.
Carla might have one. Trans women can use vibrators too, just in different ways than cis women.
I think it is because Catla is asexual(Or so some have said, I can’t confirm) not because she is trans. Though I can at least confirm from my friend, a trans woman and she owns several vibrators, so your point is still accurate in that regard.
Ace folks can also use vibrators. Asexual is a lack of sexual attraction to other people, and doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t enjoy the physical sensations.
Carla might specifically be sex-repulsed, but feelings of sex repulsion vary a lot, too. You might be repulsed just by other people’s bodies, for example — their bodily fluids, their smells — and consider vibrators to be an excellent solution to that particular problem! We just don’t know. 🙂
But yeah I’m sure Sarah isn’t right. I think she’s committing the same general sin everyone who’s in her age group does. The perception is often that either everyone or no one around you is having sex, when it’s really more of a mixture.
(I do think that masturbation is much more common than sex, for a lot of reasons — like sheer availability, lol — but I don’t think we have very reliable data on this sort of thing. The social pressure in all directions is simply too great.)
Carla is sex repulsed and that seems to go for anything sexual (hence why Willis has said he won’t put her in a slip shine pin up).
All completely fair. And I agree that, while I can’t speak from a place of claiming to know everyone’s opinion, masturbation is probably extremely common compared to sex for nearly everyone, as hormones cause unexpected libido for /almost/ everyone. Whether it is enough to warrant having a sex toy? Depends on the person I guess.
They absolutely can, but Carla’s sex repulsed and unlikely to want to.
My proposed solution: Carla owns a vibrator, but it’s only because she needed one for a mechanical component in a Rube Goldberg device.
I like it!
Or back massages, etc. Those are nice too (although that would be a different kind of vibrator – are those just called massagers?)
I mean, the “magic wand” is marketed as a muscle massager… lol
I’m definitely with 3oranges on this one.
Since they’re mostly freshmen, I can definitely see some not realizing how easily available cheap vibrators generally are to buy and thus not having one. Or not having one because they, like, JUST got their own space and haven’t gotten to it yet. Or just not wanting one.
Dorothy def has one, though.
Dorothy has “Other Walky” time scheduled on her calendar.
*I am undecided if Other Walky used to be named Other Danny or if a new one was bought.*
You’re also assuming that the hypothetical vibrator doesn’t predate Danny, and I think that’s prooooobably not true.
(To clarify: a lot of people wait to get A Sex Toy until they’ve left the house because of fear of parental disapproval, embarrassment, etc., but Dorothy’s parents seem like they would have made sure she knew that her privacy would always be absolutely respected and that this sort of thing is natural, so on and so forth.)
Except none of them actually have their own space, they’re all sharing. Well, apart from Carla.
Ah, the fun of masturbating around a roommate.
That’s what the showers are for.
And/or having a different class schedule.
The showers are also shared. Even if there’s stall doors, the risk of getting caught could be distracting.
Unless you’re into that, in which case it’s your best option.
True. By “their own space,” I meant space that their parents specifically wouldn’t be rummaging around in their absence.
Yeah it’s definitely a deliberate exaggeration. Some kids straight out of their parents’ place wouldn’t even have a reasonable way to access money they can spend on things their parents wouldn’t immediately know about, but I get what Sarah means. Everyone who wanted to put any effort into getting a sex toy probably has, like, three.
When I was that age, if you wanted a vibrator you had to go into a sex shop, and the ones I knew of wouldn’t let in anyone under 19.
These days, you can just get a disposable vibrating toothbrush at the drug store.
Joyce would never take Gosh’s name in vain.
+1 I laughed.
+2 would laugh again
It’s unlikely they’ll take a field trip to the nearest sex store but I can always hope.
I dunno. Joyce would be turned off to an adult video store, but one of those intimate wear shops that also sells sex toys? I could see her doing it, just to prove to Dorothy that she could. Becky would tag along and spend all her spare cash, especially if there was a sexy dinosaur costume.
Man… I’ve been really good about reminding myself that this is Joyce, her main problem with not doing sexual stuff is fucked-up morals, but… as someone with sexual trauma they’re still dealing with in their thirties, some of these “god, literally everyone at 18 does everything sexual, you’re just a freak” comments are hard to read.
(I’m also seriously wondering how the Ryan thing doesn’t seem to have contributed at all, honestly? I mean, she was clearly traumatized enough to get panic attacks over being left alone, it’s not impossible she would be consciously or subconsciously scared in part because of that. Some of the people who were literally there that night not too long ago should probably be at least asking her if that’s something they should keep in mind, y’know? Even if we’re pretty sure she got lucky and it isn’t contributing?)
Like if nothing else I’d really feel better if even Joyce thought to consider that, or even tossed it out as a possibility before realizing that wasn’t it… I dunno. It just seems like everyone in the comic has pre-decided Joyce’s feelings based on the most immediately obvious issues even when they shouldn’t be 100% certain it’s that simple. I know that’s what the author has decided the sole issue is, and that the way it’s most healthy for Joyce to deal with the problem is to just go get laid already, in part because of the self-insert thing, but… in-universe I’m not sure I can get completely behind that?
Does that make any sense?
I can totally understand being made uncomfortable by the comment section right now, and I’m sorry for both what happened to you and that suckiness. 🙁
That said, I’ve been reminding myself that no one is actually pressuring Joyce to go get laid, that both Dorothy’s joke a few strips back and Sarah’s comment here are about masturbation, and it makes me feel better. Because pressuring Joyce to get laid would be really awful. Pushily suggesting she masturbate is more of a general boundary issue. (Which could easily verge into sexual harassment, depending on context, don’t get me wrong.)
also too, Joyce kind of started it here (I know that’s a very kindergarten defense), and implicitly has made teasing comments about Sarah’s vibrator a lot, so I think Sarah felt it was fair game.
That said, I also agree that it’s a bit jarring that Ryan hasn’t come up at all… but maybe he will. I kind of think Joyce deliberately “naming” Sarah’s vibrator here (Sarah comments on it) is her attempt to push her own boundaries, on the impetus of both Dorothy and Walky’s comments. (With Walky, she might be trying to expand her comfort zone so that he can’t get to her like that so easily.)
If she continues down that path of trying to force herself to be more comfortable with this, having Ryan come back up as a big ole mental cold shower could be really powerful.
Makes sense to me. I think Sarah is thinking of it more in terms of “quit slut-shaming me, this is perfectly normal” but whether it comes out that way (to Joyce or to us) is another matter.
Sarah in this strip in particular is definitely pissed at Joyce for being a twit, yeah. The “this feels hurtful without very intentionally contextualizing it” bit isn’t quite the same as the “come to think o it, why are we really that sure Joyce only has the one problem” thing.
The thing is, it is possible – the last time Joyce had a sexual urge pre-Jacob, it was the Really Weird Dream where she first saw her parents’ disapproving faces, but then saw Ryan’s. So I’ve been assuming she has compound issues. I’m rationalizing this whole thing by thinking the cultural shame one is primary, and everyone else hasn’t fully realized how deep the trauma goes. Because yeah, it’s shitty. Even Roz referred Joyce to a counselor knowing very little of how the party went and barely knowing Joyce at all.
The craziest thing Willis has ever drawn
Bets?
Morality is a construct, horny is real.
Niiiiiiiice
someone else reads Something*Positive, I see
As someone who dealt with sexual trauma and sexual repression combo and still is unconfortable with the subject in their 30s, I’m a little annoyed by the statement too. I mean, of course Sarah would say that, but also, she’s wrong. And I mean I know the times have changed and this stuff is probably way simpler in the US but most of my friends who have vibrators bought their first ones well into their 20s.
It might not be contributing because Joyce might not have processed anything that’s actually sexual out of the encounter – she was drugged and assaulted but Ryan doesn’t get the chance to attempt anything sexual. Joyce glasssmashes his face and then Sarah becomes Batwoman.
Yeah, I’m not at all impressed by this. Dorothy’s attitude to Joyce and everyone else is pretty revolting given Joyce is a victim of sexual assault. Also, plenty of people are uncomfortable with sex and sexuality even at her age without a fundamentalist upbrining.
Perhaps, but every indication we have is that her repression is tied to her upbringing, not to the sexual assault – possibly for the reasons JBento suggests above.
Her reactions are all tied to shame, not to fear.
Joyce has no issue slut shaming people, telling Roz that her purity was stripped to the roots, because she engages in safe, casual sex, giving Sarah endless grief about her vibrator, screaming PRE-MATURNAL HANKY PANK.
Everyone seems to be more “get over it, and stop shaming people about sex just because you’re repressed and don’t want to have it”
She can be uncomfortable with sex, nobody is pushing her to have sex, she DOES However need to stop harassing oTHER PEOPLE about it.
She’s gotten a lot better about it. Even here it was more snarky than slut-shaming. I can’t actually remember when she last freaked out about someone having sex. Or masturbating. Or anything like that.
She’s still freaked out about her own sexual desires.
Sarah is not taking it as her being snarky, she’s flat out telling her to back off, because Joyce keeps making fun of her for having a vibrator, it’s not really getting better.
ANd not long ago she freaked out about a WEENUS and i do believe just recently she said “everyone is smooth formless ken dolls down there before marriage” so
Fair on Sarah, but the other was her freaking about her physical attraction to Jacob.
Literally next comic she asks someone about their”shame stick” growth? sure but not nearly enough, and not okay.
Man, I really like the lighting in this scene. It feels very sun-setty, although I assume it’s just the hue of the indoor lights in their dorm room since it looked later than that when Ethan was talking to Amber, I thought.
But seriously the art for this comic has gotten amazing, and it consistently raises the bar. Two thumbs way up. 🙂
And now there can be a porn comic with any of the women on the floor using their dildos and vibrators.
Or… perhaps… all of them?
Next slipshine: “Clark Wing Performs a Vibratory Concerto”
Now I’m imagining “Ride of the Valkyries” played on tuned Pocket Rockets.
I was going to say The Emperor’s March (because the floppy disc version popped into my head), but that’s much better.
Meh. In the Hall of the Mountain King. I’d suggest Beethoven’s Symphony 9, but at over an hour long… maybe just the Ode to Joy section…
I am thinking of a comic where everyone’s batteries die at the same time and nobody has spares. The only happy person is the one with a plug in vibrator.
I for one believe that Joyce said ‘Gosh’
I think I waited for this strip since Joy’ce first DOADA. Dumbing of age dildo adventure
1) I know it’s a vibrator
2) this is one of my FAVORITE arcs and I can’t believe it’s. So. Old? Already.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/03-up-all-night-to-get-vengeance/share-2/
3) STILL not as bad as THIS classic: http://www.itswalky.com/comic/keep-in-mind-that-theyre-giving-joyce-sex-related-objects/
And with this, after years of following your comic. I am becoming a patreon member. Thank you will.
Dunno, living uip to 300 doesn’t seems so b– *look at the news* y’know what, nevermind.
Millennials Are Killing The Immortality Industry
Do you think Sarah watches Futurama?
That’s so sad for Walky… and Danny…
Eh, it’s normal to still masturbate while in a relationship
It would still hurt their poor little egos XD
Well, okay, yes, Walky and Danny aren’t exactly the most mature guys. Or, weren’t, at least, we’ll see now :p
My bet is Danny post-development (and therefore post-needing a relationship for fulfillment because he was going nowhere or whatever shit had been instilled in him) would be fine with it, but start of comic Danny may just have thought the only thing he had to offer was sex. Walky I can’t say with any confidence.
Considering all the blows his ego took recently this one would probably hurt Walky.
…..Why?!
Because they couldn’t satisfy her! Or at least that’s what they will probably think.
Psah… That’s when you need to sit them down and tell them that sometimes, the other partner is just not going to be in the mood. Maybe they’re sick. Maybe they’re trying to finish studying/work/taxes. Maybe sometimes they’ll even be too busy exploring their latest video game and as nice as it is, sex is a secondary consideration right now. That’s when you break out the vibrator/fleshlight and lube and put on your favourite porno.
This is perfectly normal in a healthy relationship. You should only start to be concerned if the other partner declines sex for a long period of time. (And even so, it’s best to talk to them about it before jumping to conclusions.)
Any man worth their salt will not only not feel threatened by it, but enthusiastically incorporate it into shared sexy times.
Now that’s a proper attitude!
To be fair, Other Jacob looks expensive. I’d say most college students don’t necessarily have vibrators, and many have ones that die quickly. There are cheaper ways to masturbate. Sarah’s grandmother is just awesome.
Yeah, reading this comment section and all the talk about how to have sex toys quietly in a shared dorm room or a shared shower space is like, did you all forget you have FINGERS? And they’re very nearly DEAD SILENT? And FREE? And there’s nothing to smuggle around so they’re good anywhere? I never bought a vibrator in college because I didn’t need one compared to that. People act like vibrators or even dildos are necessary when they’re definitely not.
Yeah fingers never worked for me. But I like strong vibes with my toys (all the ones with different vibrating patterns can take a hike, I want strong and STRONGER) so my fingers never had a chance
So l am guessing you quickly worked your way up to the plug in models.
Joyce isn’t wrong there. Dorothy has to go shopping if she wants a little distraction from political sciences.
I believe the point here is she’d have a vibrator even while she was dating Walky (and before that Danny).
I didn’t know any girls in college who kept vibes.
-How are you supposed to hide it from your roommate/guests in a tiny dorm?
-They’re kind of expensive
-Maybe everyone was being stealthy and I had no idea?
Putting it in a drawer would hide it from guests. Or on a closet shelf? No need to hide it from the roommate if she has one too.
I accidentally found my roommate’s one day. It was designed to look like a lipstick tube. So that is potentially how you get around people finding them. You do, of course, not have to leave it out on the floor regardless.
I had a single room when I got my first one in…I think my sophomore year in about 2002. First was a couple cheap ‘novelty items’ from Spencer’s at the mall, then I discovered online vibe shopping. Never got anything over $25, but over three years, I bought 3 more, and not because the others broke, but because I wanted to try different ones. I just kept them in a drawer if I was having someone over.
I didn’t have a vibrator at uni (from uk so I call it uni not college). Didn’t share my room either just didn’t want one? I still don’t have one and have a husband to provide my with pleasure. I didn’t think masturbation was gross for religious reasons and wasn’t a virgin. Just not massively into self pleasuring. I find it odd to assume all the other women would have them? Maybe I’m the odd one out! I knew some friends had them
I doubt everyone actually has them. I’d guess more do than we actually know of – Sarah & Roz, IIRC.
Sarah is likely exaggerating to make her point.
Yeah I didn’t get into toys until my 20s and freshman year in general, half the ladies on my floor were just embracing their newfound freedom and only just starting to lose their virginity (as well as cook and eat when and whatever they wanted and choosing to go to class when they felt like it). I’m sure a couple had some, but the close quarters just seems awkward to me (we did not live on the walkable side of campus and relied on buses that didn’t run over the weekend. So you saw your roommate a lot)
Great faces here. Snarky Joyce and Laughing Sarah will be gravatars in
…3..2..1
Sarah should get Joyce a Dexter & the Monkey Man vibrator. She’d probably accept it then.
I like how Sarah just levels with Joyce. “You need to stop making fun of me” because I’m less isolated on this than you know.
I dunno what else to comment on but it’s wonderful to see Sarah laughing.
stopped following this comic like a year and a half ago around the time i moved, just binged to catch up so here we are a week later? just in time for Joyce to start examining her own sexual repression. now i gotta wait again…
Joyce really did it, she really bought it so she could hang out with Dorothy
Finally got caught up again. I don’t think I’ve ever commented,
But this reminded me of a… family friend…I think? On facebook who posts strange Bible-related things from time to time. One was “The orgasm is God’s gift, from the man to the woman.” I normally just screenshot her posts for funsies, but I had to reply to that one. I made it clear that I give them to myself WAY more than any man has given them to me. She said something along the lines of that being a sin. She’s what I imagine Joyce would be like if she hadn’t escaped her upbringing. Hell, I was Joyce for a long time. Wouldn’t even go swimming on a Saturday and plugged my ears if someone played rock.