SouthernVoice.com – By Laura Douglas-Brown
Sometimes, subverting a stereotype just turns into sexism. Have you ever heard someone called a ?total girl? for being strong and powerful?
I spend a lot of my time surrounded by ?girls.? Only most of them aren?t women.
?Hey, girl.? ?Girl, he was so hot?? – Every time I?m in a gay venue, I know I?ll hear versions of these comments again and again, spoken by men to men.
Most strike me simply as silly and even somewhat sweet. But others cross the line into what can only be called sexism.
The ?Troy? cartoon that appeared in last week?s Southern Voice is one of those. The syndicated strip is reprinted on this page so you can see for yourself how buff Rigo sobs when his boyfriend, Jorge, repeatedly calls him ?a total girl? and a big ?woman? for being sensitive and worrying about a friend. Jorge uses the term as criticism, and Rigo takes it as an insult.