Uh oh..
ig special thank you to my elite terven hacker, Miss Wool who played a huge role in this page being what it is!
She not only taught me there was a way to do the newsprint dot effect that didn't involve me doing it by hand (yeah i found out after the fact), but was also instrumental in sharpening the dialogue of Blaire on this page!
32 thoughts on “CH9P4”
Jo
Blaire… Buddy… Bro. What the fuck.
Poor Riley omg ?
This page is so on the nose and gorgeous as always ?
rustyhearts
Thank you <333
Val
Just caught up from chapter 8, been a fan for a long time on tumblr. Was never on the Blaire stan train myself, sure she’s cute, but she always had an obnoxious vibe. And here it is. She’s gonna groom Riley, isn’t she? Love the expressions on every page, as always, and your style and coloring has gotten so much tighter! I’m still reeling from “the way you pronounced it was fine” from the previous chapter. Jaden, true normie queen.
rustyhearts
Ayeee! Thank you so much for the comment and glad you’re enjoying catching up! I’m really proud of how these last few chapters have been looking, and this page has been one of my favourites to date 😀
Happy Blaire’s obnoxious vibes are coming across too, lol. I’ve sorta been waiting to reveal more of this side of her for AGES, so when people started getting hopeful about her character like ‘oh another loveable member of the cast’, I was thinking ‘oohhh, don’t be too hasty there..”. It’s been a very fun ride!
Jaden is the normie we should all strive to be tbh.
anonymous
BLAIRE ?
I like the last shot showing how everything Blaire just said applies to Riley, too!
rustyhearts
We are all Riley here XD
R.R.
Blarie, you are describing your girlfriend. She is right there, babe.
rustyhearts
Riley: am I a joke to you :/
piano
I’m an autistic cis butch lesbian. I used to be like Riley: insecure about myself whenever somebody asked for pronouns or thought I was trans, and on some level internally blaming trans people for making things harder for me. But the truth is, it’s not trans people’s or trans supporters’ fault that I was insecure.
A similar issue: I was bullied by girls, and had internalized misogyny that presented in inherently distrusting/fearing groups of women, even feminists. I had to realize that that was a problem that could let me hurt people, and let me be sexist, and I’ve been working on fixing that ever since. Likewise, internally blaming trans people for your own insecurities can present in hurting trans people, which I’ve avoided with extreme caution and working on my problems internally. It hasn’t been easy, but reflecting on these was worth it.
Some of your gnc traits may confuse people, and that’s okay. It’s not an insult to be mistaken for trans in the context of a queer-positive setting, and if you feel insulted then you need to look within to combat your own insecurities and get more confidence about your identity (NOT that you have to change it, but that if you are cis, you CAN feel confident as a cis gnc person). You also need to look at stories from trans men who get mistaken for butch lesbians, and other queer people’s stories. We’re all different people, and as long as we’re trying to respect each other then we should be helping each other. Some trans men, afab enbies, and cis gnc women share physical traits, and that’s perfectly okay. We can still be friends. We can still respect identities/pronouns/names. We can still fight for the rights of others.
I also think that Blaire is at least trying to do the right thing here. She’s making assumptions about Jaden, sure, but she’s trying to ask a friend who she knows (or thinks) is trans-accepting whether she’s right and how to show Jaden that it’s safe to come out to them. I know Riley’s probably on guard right now due to her insecurities creeping up, but I hope she realizes that -IF Blaire was right- Jaden would need friends who help her feel safe. I know Blaire’s wrong, I was assuming the hypothetical.
Yes, I know this comic is written by a terf. But a part of me feels like knowing my thoughts might help you to consider the “other side,” especially as someone who used to be on the fence about a lot of these issues.
rustyhearts
Hey!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a civil comment despite our opposing view points, I really appreciate it. I’m gonna respond piece by piece since you’ve addressed several different points.
”I used to be like Riley: insecure about myself whenever somebody asked for pronouns or thought I was trans, and on some level internally blaming trans people for making things harder for me. But the truth is, it’s not trans people’s or trans supporters’ fault that I was insecure.”
Are there any moments specifically that lead you to feel that Riley is insecure?
Because she hasn’t been shown being asked for pronouns in-comic, and her discomfort so far has been entirely contingent on how she thinks Blaire will react to Jaden correctly identiftying her attackers as male.
So I’m interested to hear how you came to that reading (in the least condescending way possible – everyone interprets things differently!)
“A similar issue: I was bullied by girls, and had internalized misogyny that presented in inherently distrusting/fearing groups of women, even feminists. I had to realize that that was a problem that could let me hurt people, and let me be sexist, and I’ve been working on fixing that ever since. Likewise, internally blaming trans people for your own insecurities can present in hurting trans people, which I’ve avoided with extreme caution and working on my problems internally. It hasn’t been easy, but reflecting on these was worth it. “
I’m assuming you’re using ‘your’ generally here, not speaking to me specifically? Again I’ve gotta ask, where has Riley blamed trans people for anything? She’s pretty trans affirming even if she doesn’t fully comprehend the ideology – to the point she even corrects her own thoughts when addressing the men who attacked Jaden from ‘guys’ to ‘people’[see: chapter 6].
Women and trans people are also not comparable demographics. The only thing women all have in common is being adult, human and female. Our likes/dislikes, hobbies, dress-sense, political leanings and world views are vastly different.
And while trans people are obviously not a hivemind, being trans is a decision you make, and does come with a set of shared beliefs. They again, may vary, but people call themselves trans because for some reason or another they do not feel like they should be the sex they are.
The whole ‘born in the wrong body’ thing is pretty common too.
To disagree with those notions and to believe trans ideology is harmful is not internalizing insecurities and projecting them onto trans people, any more than disagreeing with right-wing politics is internalizing insecurity and projecting it onto ring-wingers.
“Some of your gnc traits may confuse people, and that’s okay. It’s not an insult to be mistaken for trans in the context of a queer-positive setting, and if you feel insulted then you need to look within to combat your own insecurities and get more confidence about your identity (NOT that you have to change it, but that if you are cis, you CAN feel confident as a cis gnc person).”
Again, being perceived as trans is not the same as just being mistaken for the opposite sex. The ‘confusion’ of people is frustrating because of the implications in their conclusion.
Think about what someone seeing a gender non-conforming woman, and immediately assuming she must be a trans man says about how they view women. They’re essentially associating practical/comfortable fashion sense with being male. They believe woman cannot simply want to wear comfortable clothing,and that actually, she must secretly have a man’s brain (brain sex is fake btw).
It is insulting because of the misogyny required to think that way.
Many people may also find it insulting to be considered trans because trans ideology is propped up by a lot of misogyny, homophobia and racism.
“You also need to look at stories from trans men who get mistaken for butch lesbians, and other queer people’s stories.”
Looking at stories by people who call themselves queer and trans is one of the exact reasons I started Lease Bound. I cannot relate to the experiences of women who think they’re men, and people who identify with a slur.
“We’re all different people, and as long as we’re trying to respect each other then we should be helping each other.”
Respect must be earned. Trans ideology is fundamentally unhelpful and disrespectful.
Unhelpful because it tells people that their bodies are the problem, and convinces them that they only way to escape discomfort in their mind is through changing their bodies.
Humans cannot change their sex. The surgeries touting otherwise are extremely malicious to patients desperately paying for them, and the hormones being prescribed have a host of worrying health concerns.
Trans ideology is disrespectful because it requires the complete erosion of sex-based language for women to describe their experience as the oppressed sex-class. It also pressures homosexual people to “examine” their inborn sexuality and be open to dating trans people of the opposite sex. Some will insist that “we aren’t forcing gay people to date anyone!!”, but in the same breath demand we keep quiet about our homosexuality so as not to upset transn people.
There’s also the fact they expect women to be viewed as an oppressor class against men, if said men call themselves trans women. They literally demand to identify out if their male privilege and harass any woman who objects to this idea.
Cis/trans is a load of big fat bullshit.
“ Some trans men, afab enbies, and cis gnc women share physical traits, and that’s perfectly okay.”
Not some. All. We *all*share the the physical trait of being female. You just described women, women, women and women again. There is no ‘assigned at birth’. Your sex is observed at birth through the presence of a penis or a vulva (intersex conditions are not a third sex). Trans man is just a label for a subclass of women. Males can’t be transmen.
“We can still be friends. We can still respect identities/pronouns/names. We can still fight for the rights of others.”
I cannot be friends with a group that supports the regressive, sexist notion of male and female brains, that certain dress/behaviour makes you a man or a woman,or that homosexuality is a ‘genital preference’ that can be overcome.
There is nothing about these beliefs and their holders for me to respect. Just like I don’t respect or wish to befriend religious people who think women are second class citizens and gay peop leare going to burn in hell.
Sex-based pronouns are not disrespectful. In english they are the most effective way to communicate the sex of someone.
Men claiming they can be women, or to understand womanhood for any reason is incredibly disrespectful and misogynistic. Same goes for every straight woman calling herself a gay transman. It’s incredibly homophobic.
“I also think that Blaire is at least trying to do the right thing here. She’s making assumptions about Jaden, sure, but she’s trying to ask a friend who she knows (or thinks) is trans-accepting whether she’s right and how to show Jaden that it’s safe to come out to them.”
Respect has been a big factor of this discussion. Explain to me, how Blaire is doing the right thing?
She asked Jaden her pronouns and Jaden gave an answer that clearly indicated that she did not understand the question – as she is unaware of trans ideology at large. How is it respectful for Blaire to then assume- based purely on how Jaden is dressed and presents herself- that actually she’s not a woman?
And not only to assume it, but to discuss it behind her back?
Blaire is being incredibly rude and presumptuous even down to how she phrases her reasoning. Notice how she doesn’t say Jaden ‘wears baggy clothes’, she says Jaden is ‘hiding behind baggy clothes’. Did Jaden give any indication to her that she’s hiding? What evidence does she have for presuming that?
She didn’t say ‘Jaden doesn’t shave’, she said Jaden is ‘showing off’ her leg hair. First of all, Jaden was wearing pants that only showed the TEENSIEST bit of leg hair on her ankles while Blaire was at the apartment. But even that small amount of leg hair is incomprehensible on a woman, to Blaire. Blaire sees it as showing off, and thusly something a woman would never do.
Does that sound respectful to you?
“I know Riley’s probably on guard right now due to her insecurities creeping up, but I hope she realizes that -IF Blaire was right- Jaden would need friends who help her feel safe. I know Blaire’s wrong, I was assuming the hypothetical.”
Again,what insecurities? Riley looks uncomfortable in that final panel because she fits the description of a ‘trans guy’/’enby’ that Blaire is giving. She is uncomfortable because he girlfriend associates her natural body and wearing comfortable clothing with being male. Or at the very least ‘not a woman’.
How is Blaire making Jaden feel safe? How is her making sexist assumptions about Jaden’s appearance helpful? Jaden has given her no indication that she thinks of herself as anything other than a woman, but Blaire has taken it into her own hands to assume her identity. Does that sound respectful to you?
Yes, I know this comic is written by a terf. But a part of me feels like knowing my thoughts might help you to consider the “other side,” especially as someone who used to be on the fence about a lot of these issues.
For the record, no woman branded with the label TERF uses it for herself in earnest. It is a misnomer thrown around by outsiders that displays a complete lack of understanding about what radical feminism is, to the point it’s become synonymous with ‘person I don’t like/agree with’.
Radical feminism is about the liberation of women. This includes women and girls who call themselves trans men – as they benefit from the goals of radical feminist activism
Think things like getting full access to abortions, education and research on female-specific health conditions, access to menstrual products, ect.
Radical feminism is in-congruent with trans ideology, but it’s not about ‘excluding’ trans people. If it’s anything-exclusionary, it’s male-exclusionary, and that includes men who call themselves women, or nonbinary, or whatever else.
Many of us are intimately aware of the other side of the fence. We came from that side because it doesn’t make sense to us. Because we were hurt, harassed, ostracized and isolated by it by people from that side.
I kept thinking of a video I thought really succinctly explains the grievances many gender-critical people have with trans ideology. It’s actually just a series of questions that we cannot find satisfying answers to. Maybe you can?
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqIykbA0hbw
Once again, thank you for taking the time to engage so civilly. It’s really nice to see and I will always try to be as open as possible to people on the other side who want to have a genuine conversation about this stuff.
Cheers!
megachad
bruh….
people will fully be calling you “she” around a mutual genderist they know, but then that person will just theythem you anyways because ur butch.
The realism in this page ?
rustyhearts
rhetorixx
blaire!!! come on now, girl ? but seriously, this page is too real! poor riley!! i suspect that between this and jaden’s encounter w the AGP gang, she might be starting to peak ?
rustyhearts
You might be onto something there 🙂
anonymoo
a lot of they/them women i know shave their legs so blaire equating leg hair to “not woman” is really funny. women shave their legs bc of the shame and embarrassment drilled into them from when they were 12 by their own mothers and classmates. but genderists think a woman’s view of herself is constructed in the void
rustyhearts
They do not want to hear that their choices are influenced by anything else! It’s insanely frustrating!
anonny
Oh shit does Blaire secretly think Riley is trans?
rustyhearts
:))))))
anon
sighhh i stopped getting asked my pronouns all the time at uni when i grew my hair out… this comic is so relatable :/
rustyhearts
So telling isn’t it :///
radredrecluse
sorry you had to deal with that bs 🙁
Emma
“The haircut (the short hair?), hiding behind the baggy clothes, showing off their leg hair…” The next panel features Riley with a short haircut, large loose shorts, and showing off her leg hair! I get the sense Blaire is partially talking about Riley, too, and thinks Riley is trans.
As a “normie” reading this comic, it seems being assumed trans relies on almost sexist stereotypes?? It makes me wonder how people like this would see me: I always considered myself a ‘feminine’ woman but I don’t wear makeup, don’t shave, have worn nothing but baggy clothes over the past year because it’s COVID and who cares anymore, but have long hair. So, if I cut my hair short, would someone like Blaire think I was trans, too?
It explains a weird moment in college where a trans woman in one of my classes who barely knew me or any of my friends heard one of my guy friend’s name. My friend had a very normal, unisex name. The trans person shouted, “Oh, that’s your name? Are you trans??” My friend was confused, stared blankly, and asked, “HUH???” A bunch of people around us were suddenly staring in silence, too. My friend is even more of a “normie” than me and had no idea what ‘trans’ even meant. The trans person got so uncomfortable and flustered trying to explain how he thought my friend was a trans girl because of his unisex name that can be seen as “feminine”. Then seemed to realize how rude and awkward a statement like that can be especially to someone he just met, that he awkwardly ran away and avoided my friend forever. It was a weird experience. I had forgotten about it and pushed it into the back of my memory as one of those super weird, random, and awkward things that happens in life to never think about again. Until this comic brought the memory back to the surface ha! The attitude presented in this comic makes that experience make sense if this is how some groups really think. I wonder how they come to such conclusions?
Harper
The “They/Thems” are killing me and I am not okay. Also, yes, definitely sounds like she’s thinking the same of Riley too. Part of me keeps wanting to say that this is just a comic, but the fact that there are real people out here in the year 2021 that are having actual conversations and thoughts like this really gets under my skin. It’s unfortunate that some women can’t just exist without people assuming they have a gender identity or something. Yes, I have a haircut and don’t shave my legs. No, that does not automatically mean that I am “trans” or an “enby”… Really don’t like the term “enby” by the way. I don’t know why, but it just feels really juvenile to me and I cringe at hearing it.
rustyhearts
Oh god yeah, I hate the term enby too, it is only here for authenticity’s sake! Completely agree with your frustration too
A.
God, I hate-love Blaire (love to hate?). She sounds… kind of dumb to me, but the worst part is that I know several people that think like her. I have short hair and hate shaving and dress like Jade so I guess in Blaire’s mind I would be trans lol
Abigail
Oof, the contrast of everything Blaire describes about Jaden, panning out to see all of it reflected in Riley. I know in my heart that this chapter is going to hurt. I’ve got the tissues ready
rustyhearts
You are right to be bracing yourself 🙂
radredrecluse
way to drag the ever living fuck out of your gf -.-
rustyhearts
whoops U_U
Katell
Not the they/theming T_T
rustyhearts
It was only a matter of time U_U
Radical Raya
This page hits my so hard every time I reread Leasebound. Blaire listing off every characteristic and it cutting back to Riley matching every one…. I think I’ve literally had this exact conversation in real life with people several times. The idea that someone could know you’re ‘trans’ for you, could assign it to you.
My first ‘girlfriend’, a trans-identified man, would ask me often if I was actually just a trans guy for those exact same reasons. Short hair, don’t like makeup, a hatred of shaving. I often get they/themed in certain spaces like uni and sometimes it literally continues even after I’ve done the whole ‘I prefer she/her’ spiel. I had a boss that they/themed me for the year that I worked there, while he she/hered everyone other girl on the team. This was even after we’d done the whole pronoun circle several times, in an ‘inclusion-based’ job. I even had a coworker ask me if I was nonbinary because even she started to notice it.
It’s just so regressive. I feel like we’ve walked gender stereotypes back 50 years. ;-; it’s rough out there right now for butches.
Anyways though! Love this page <3 It feels uncomfortably accurate to a real conversation like this plays out and how it would affects someone like Riley.
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