Shades Of A 061
I’ve fixed the giant page from last week, cheers for the heads up everyone! In fixing stuff news, turns out KhaosKomix hasn’t been updating properly since March, please head over to the site to check out any news you’ve missed in the past few months!
I went through a couple of ways for Anwar to tell the internet that he’s kissed Chris, some of which being: ‘OMG I kissed him, but you know, no homo.’ and ‘ERHMAHGURD WE TOTES KISSED’
And today’s beautiful quote:
He lunges at me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. Before I know it, he’s got both of my hands in one of his in a vice-like grip above my head, and he’s pinning me to the wall using his hips. Holy shit. His other hand grabs my ponytail and yanks down, bringing my face up, and his lips are on mine. It’s only just not painful. I moan into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He takes full
advantage, his tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I have never been kissed like this. My tongue tentatively strokes his and joins his in a slow erotic dance that’s all about touch and sensation, all bump and grind. He brings his hand up to grasp my chin and holds me in place. I am helpless, my hands pinned, my face held, and his hips restraining me. . I feel his erection against my belly. Oh my… He wants me. Christian Grey, Greek god, wants me, and I want him, here… now, in the elevator.
Pssst, Anwar, your teenage girl side is showing.
Seriously though, this is a cute page, it reminds me of the first time I kissed my ex, or he kissed me rather, I could barely speak because my brain was freaking out. haha
alkdj;fa;dfaoipudfhbad!! O.O
I’m not the only one that says this!!!!!
ERMAGERD!!!!
ANWAR KISSED CHRIS!!!!
;Freaking out;
;facedesk;
;calms;
That’s totally cute! And It reminds me of what my fiancee tries to do all the damn time. Shut me up by kissing me. :p Because, ya know, his kisses leave me stumbling for a coherent sentance. It just doesn’t work. lol
My brains all like, “Remember what you were arguing about!” “but he kissed me nicely.” ;Melts; LOL
This is so adorable! Though the ‘laters’ bit made me cringe. I know it was in the book (courtesy of my mother) and it’s no less cringey here but I’m trying to ignore it because YAY!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeee ‘War and Chris!
This is such a lovely page. Although reading the 50SoG quote made me feel a bit ill. SUCH TERRIBLE WRITING.
The book reference of the famous “Laters” made me roll my eyes, only to have that pain utterly banished by a hashtagged Headdesk. Because seriously, I’d be freaking out online too.
I really can’t imagine myself in a situation of wanting my body pinned against a wall and my hair pulled by a relative stranger and that feeling erotic. While I want to acknowledge that dominate/submissive roles in sexual relationships are natural it bothers me that this book (your quotes being all that I’ve read) seems to take the stereotypes of “dominate male/submissive female” to the point of naturalizing sexual violence against women. It’s one thing to have communicated sexual needs to each other and trying them out on equal footings, but for the man (or woman or partner, etc) to assume that he knows what the woman wants and acting on it without communicating creates a big problem for me.
It’s acting on myths created by western culture that woman=weak/compliant and man=strong/violent and that it’s man’s job to “conquer” woman in the pursuit of sex and women passively waiting and wanting this to happen. Also, it’s made all the more acceptable because he looks like a “Greek god”!!!!! Being attractive doesn’t make it any less wrong to be attacked on an elevator! I can’t get over this quote and want to stress again the naturalizing of sexual violence against women. It should be taken into account that there is violence happening against women all over the world. Again, dominant/submissive roles in sexual relationships are completely natural and there are varying degrees of how that’s played out. I don’t want to put bees in anyone’s bonnets who enjoy these various roles in the bedroom, but there’s a difference in communicating needs and levels of comfort in advance and deciding them for the other person.
I think this scenario could have ended very differently:
Christian Grey: Honestly officer, she was asking for it with her body language and the clothes she was wearing. She shouldn’t have drunk dialed me or looked at me the way she did if she didn’t want me to push her against the wall and kiss her that way.
I agree. Excerpts like this are definitely creepy and they’re the biggest reason I’ll never read Fifty Shades of Grey. The sad thing is that both this book and the book it was based on were written by women. This attitude that men have the right to do whatever they want with a woman and she is supposed to just sit back and enjoy it is so deeply entrenched in our culture that some women not only accept it, but find it sexy.
Of course, fantasy and reality aren’t the same thing and enjoying something on paper doesn’t mean you want it IRL. No one ever wants to be assaulted or raped. But these portrayals are obviously not doing anything to promote women’s autonomy. I can’t tell you how many women I’ve known who have been in controlling and abusive relationships and stayed in them for years and years because they believe that the person they’re with “loves them” and “is trying to stop”. It’s sad beyond words.
That’s exactly what I’m most fearful about with these kinds of books. That the majority of people who read them believe a small part of this fake reality and begin to hope for it. I also have countless friends who have been caught in cycles of abuse, at least one of whom totally buys into the whole 50SoG and Twilight thing.
A question I keep going back to is who are the winners in this scenario? We’re taught to believe that it’s both parties and at first glance in critique of this it’s the dominate aggressive male, but really isn’t he just as much shaped by this fake reality as the women? This argument doesn’t excuse abusive behavior but by saying men are the winners in this scenario is like saying men are intrinsically violent and if given the chance will act as such. The result and cycle of violence on the part of the abuser is a choice to be violent and wield control over another person and it must be said that not all men behave this way or desire to behave this way (as I’m sure you know).
But who are the winners? Is it the authors who knowingly write these fantasies to a large audience of women and make profit from it? But they are women too (as you’ve stated), aren’t they just as brainwashed as the rest of us? Perhaps it’s the publishers who see the dollar signs and know that there’s a large audience of women who buy into this crap. But they’re comprised of women and men (mostly men) who were raised in this society and were brainwashed as well. A sociologist may blame the people in power. A cultural anthropologist may say that it’s in the origins of civilizations that are organized in a way to put men in the political/public sector, and women in the domestic/private sector (leading to dominant/submissive relationships). Primatologists may do studies of primates most closely related to a common ancestor (such as chimps and bonobos) to look at division of labor and how far back that would have occurred in human history. I’m not sure how we bring all that into today other than to further understand ourselves and why problems we live with exist. I suppose it shows that it’s more complex than, “That is wrong, now stop it.”
Perhaps there are no winners or if there are it’s much more obscure, like power. But I don’t feel like going into THAT other than to say that across the board men have more power in almost every public/political sector.
I don’t think there are any winners aside from the people who are actively striving to maintain the status quo. There are certainly a far greater number of men in power than women and I’m sure some of them would feel threatened at the prospect of losing their privilege. On the other hand, there are also women who seek to promote inequality under the guise of “traditional values”. I can only guess at their motives, but I believe most of these women have been subject to some sort of male dominion, which makes them as much victims as they are perpetrators. It doesn’t necessarily excuse their behavior, because the oppression of any group is inexcusable, but I don’t think they are as much to blame as someone who is attempting to exploit women for their own personal gain.
I would not blame the authors for what they write. As someone who dabbles in fanfiction myself (though not in either of those fandoms for obvious reasons) I respect other people’s kinks. Creative writing is usually an expression of self rather than an attempt to promote one’s ideals, so I suppose we should feel sorry for the authors. The publishers may be partially to blame, for all I find it revolting when these assholes churn out complete and utter horseshit just to make a dollar, but ultimately they did not create the market for these stories. It was already there. Just who is to blame for that is a question with a very complicated and nuanced answer.
I would also like to point out that domestic abuse is not solely a heterosexual problem, as I’m sure most readers of this comic are well aware. While most of the women I’ve know who have been in controlling or abusive relationships were abused by men, some were abused by women. I am also aware of some men who have been abused by men, but we’re rarely very outspoken on the issue. Clearly, the fetishization of dominance without consent has implications beyond the simple male vs. female argument we’ve grown accustomed to. And what about people who don’t fit into the gender binary? They are just as likely to encounter abuse, if not more so.
Overall, I suppose I am less focused on who “wins” than I am on who loses. We all do. Women and folk outside of the gender binary suffer the biggest losses, of course, and men suffer a minor setback (which is in no way comparable to the degradation and abuse women and non-binary folk face, just to be clear) when our entire gender is blamed for the problem. In some ways even the assholes who perpetrate this behavior lose out. As a person who seeks an equal partner I can’t fathom how awful it must be to have someone depend on me to satisfy their desires without ever communicating them to me in the first place. A relationship like that is bound to end in mutual dissatisfaction and failure. It’s the price people pay for being complete and utter dickwads, I guess.
You have really wonderful insights! And I can tell you’re a writer (your writing is much clearer and to the point than mine)!
It’s interesting to see how women use their power to enforce “traditional values.” I agree, it’s hard to tell what may be the motivation there… I suppose if they are privileged and have a certain amount of power to wield (because of wealth or familial prestige), then they can feel free to say that being submissive is the right path for women because they don’t understand what it is to be oppressed by it. It’s an interesting dichotomy…. A powerful woman preaching submission. I don’t know if you’re from the states, but I keep thinking about the last election when Mitt Romney’s wife talked about knowing what it was like to “struggle” financially because when they were in college they had to sell some of their stock (given to them) little bits at a time so they wouldn’t have to work. She’ll never understand what it is to struggle the way most of the world struggles because she never has and probably never will. And yet, this doesn’t stop her or other women from acting like they understand in order to promote the ideals held by their husbands or others wanting to maintain the status quo. If the people they’re supporting fail then they also stand the chance of losing their privilege and whatever power they have in that. But I’m just making assumptions…
You’re right that domestic abuse isn’t just a heterosexual problem and that that it’s directed toward men as well. It’s very easy to generalize this problem to male violence toward women because of the fact that it is so prevalent cross culturally, men generally do stay silent about it, and because there’s been little (probably still too little) attention shown of non heterosexual gender violence until recent years because of social stigmas and white heterosexual bias. I have to keep reminding myself at times that even though I try to educate myself I have my own biases to work through. And I appreciate people like you that can so clearly and eloquently state well reasoned arguments! :)
Okay, this may be a petty comment, but that isn’t Western culture. That is more closely related to Christian culture, specifically. Many Western cultures are, and have been, fairly matriarchal so far as family structure goes, and females are sought after, listened to and respected – Christianity on the other hand has enforced men as the head of families and more powerful figures.
Obviously men have larger bodies and testosterone which enables physical muscle build which most women are not made to match, but which honestly has nothing to do with dominance between the sexes. Fiction like 50 shades, lots of Harlequin and so on thrive on it because athleticism/fitness is sexy, biologically. But in the end, in real life, it is Christian culture that keeps telling us that men are dominant and women aren’t, and in actual real modern application it fails, just like it should.
That said, some people are into that, but I personally agree that it is a terrible image to perpetuate for a large number of reasons.
Some cultures or tribes are matrifocal, martrilineal, or matrilocal, but these are all far cries from matriarchy. At the most some societies, bands, or tribes could be considered egalitarian. Respecting a woman’s opinion and exuding some power in the political sphere is not a matriarchy. Dominance in the home, or within a family/private structure, while it can enable some power in the political/public sector is also not a matriarchy.
While I agree that Christianity has been used to reinforce male dominance within western culture, both male dominance and western culture existed before Christianity. I would also argue that western civilization would have progressed toward the patriarchy that we all know and love had Christianity not existed.
Further, in the early Christian church, which was comprised of home churches, women were often leaders and the faith was fairly egalitarian. It wasn’t until western culture, Rome, absorbed Christianity and began Christianizing its empire that women lost their leadership roles and were subjugated within their faith under political (westernized) rule.
Many cultural anthropologists and Marxist feminists hold that male dominance is all the more enforced once civilization arises, which is cross culturally true whether Christianity is present/known or not. This is because, or at least it’s argued that, civilization and large political structures were/are organized in a way that negates women’s involvement and the power that came or can come from domestic/private sectors.
My partner and I can still kiss each other like that, even after 8 years ♥ It’s a great power, and must not be abused!
Usually the Fifty Shades of Grey quotes leave me LOLing, but this one was rather…disturbing. Even more so than usual. Suddenly getting pinned without any means to escape? Even if my partner would do that, I’d still be ‘woah, hold up, I’d like to have SOME sort of say in this matter!’ and we’ve been together for 8 years (and 7 months affair, whoops), are engaged, and love and respect each other greatly. 20 POINTS FROM MISTER GREY!
…The worst part is that I feel 50SoG might actually be better written than Twilight, though… And that’s a terrible thought.
I gotta agree with you and the poster above (Honey). That was a pretty questionable scene… Glad I’m not the only one who raised an eyebrow at that. Seemed more like an attack than a sexual advance (even if it is dom/sub). She shoulda given him a swift knee to the crotch… bitten his tongue… something idk!
Excellent job with the rewrite, Tab. You definitely made the originally creepy scene quite adorable! Will you be making a Twilight parody/rewrite after this? Jk jk
I know you were joking when you suggested this, Alex, but seriously, a Twilight parody/rewrite would just be amazing in the hands of The Talented Mr Kimpton here.
If you do decide to try this, Tab, go and read a good literary analysis (or ‘spork’) of it, with all the deep and evil fail exposed for all the world to see. The best one I’ve found so far is this one: http://das-sporking.livejournal.com/77053.html Das Mervin’s Twilight (book 1) spork, also know as ‘Co-Dependent Twits and the Sparkly Stalkers They Obsess Over’.
Enjoy~
I don’t feel so good saying what Anastasia should have done, because people have very different reactions to an assault – freeze up and wait for it to be over, fight back, flail around, some combination, etc – and none of these are wrong, it’s just what happens when you’re placed in a situation nobody should be placed in. But since we do have access to Anastasia’s internal states, I would have liked to see her process the fact that Gray is assaulting her.
Fair enough point. The point I was really getting at was “Holy shit, I’m so horny I wanna do him right now in this elevator” seemed like a ridiculous response.
As someone with a teense of knowledge about dominant/submissive relationships, I’d like to assure the world that that sort of thing doesn’t happen between relative strangers. Even we call that sexual assault. 50SoG is a really really really horrible representation and it does indeed contain nothing but a crap ton of glorified sexual violence disguised as bdsm. Also, Twilight was better written than 50SoG. I can also say that conclusively.
I read this page and my immediate reaction was to yell out loud “OH NO THEY KISSED OH NOOOOO hahahaha”
And my cats stared at me like, “What is wrong with our human”
I love how Anwar is comparatively smooth about the kiss and the ‘laters’, and then promptly freaks out about it all.
^seconded
Also, i totally thought Chris was meant to be christian grey, but yet its Anwar initiating the kiss and then saying “laters” making him more like grey than first thought. (and Chris clearly surprised too)
equilibrium is restored with Anwars “Headdesk”
Anwar has now drunk dialed like Ana and impulsed a first move like Christian. Maybe these characters aren’t directly linked to one character in FSoG, just the basic story line? No idea.
I think, more than Anwar’s reaction, CHRIS’S reaction just makes me GLEE, because lookit his blushy face in the third panel–EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
YES this right here. Chris’s reaction absolutely made my day cuz BLUSHING TO HIS EARS. GO ANWAR!
So apparently they are making a 50shadeofcrap movie: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/fifty-shades-movie-casts-charlie-hunnam-dakota-johnson/story?id=20136374
Now if we get a Shades of A movie right after I would be happy :)
But WHO WOULD BE CAST?
I vote Meera Syal for Mama Anwar!
I am completely addicted to this story and if Chris gets any cuter, I am never going to stop squeeeeeing. :)
YES! YES! YES! aasdhkjashjsdhgjskghj I AM SO DONE.
I would enjoy this moment a lot more if it had been made obvious that Chris was actually interested in pursuing any kind of relationship with Anwar beyond friendship. All we’ve seen so far is a one sided crush which Anwar has just acted upon. I suppose we will find out soon.
I had the same thought. Maybe I missed some subtle cues along the way, but I really have no idea how Chris is feeling toward Anwar at this point. And they haven’t talked at all about what type of relationship they might have. It’s hard for me to squee over a kiss when I have no idea if the other person wanted it or where either person expects the relationship to go. :shrug: Time will tell.
I think Chris is attracted to Anwar, but is bashful. I’ve been getting interest vibes from Chris throughout the story and fully expect him to be happily shocked by the kiss.
50 shades makes me want to puke.
ANYWAY. CHRIS AND ANWAR ARE BEAUTIFUL. OH MY GOSH. BEST PAGE EVER.
[/capsexcitement]
*ahem* SQUEEEEEEEEEE!
*cough* Ok, better now.
The look on Chris’s face in the third panel is just so ridiculously cute I can hardly stand it!
Also, a strange thought going toward what other people have been saying about 50SoG. (As much as I cringed, I made it through the first two books. It doesn’t get noticeably better.):
Something that could (maybe) play into why some people find it arousing is the idea that nearly everyone has glanced at someone they find inexplicably hot and quietly thought “oh damn, I wish he/she/whoever knew I want to jump them and would just come over here and do that to me so I don’t have to make the decision and feel awkward and I can just sit back and enjoy the ride,” and then that person were to actually DO that… So… Maybe some of it is something like that? Some sort of implied “she DOES want it so he’s psychic (sort of) and giving her what she wants” … Except not, or maybe yes, the writing made it very confusing.
Just my two cents. Sorry if it’s hard to follow; I confused myself a little in there, I think.
No matter what the “purpose” or “idea” actually is in the books, that whole thing is definitely NOT how real life should happen and definitely is NOT helping with either women’s perceived role in society or perception of that particular lifestyle.
Reaction to kiss: YYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAYYY!! -tears of joy-
Reaction to quote: ………….. O.O………. How is that NOT painful (it sounds like it would be unpleasant O.O , but ya know… that’s just me…)
Can we please stop calling Anwar an asexual now? Because if he still identifies as that despite doing everything in his power to sexually torment poor Chris, then that makes him EVIL. I am not joking in the slightest. Manipulating someone into hanging on your every word and begging you to come back despite the psychological abuse you put them through without any intention of reciprocating their affections is PSYCHOPATHIC. Hell, even if Anwar *does* intend on being Chris-sexual, that doesn’t excuse the fact that he’s been toying with Chris for as long as he has been doing while making it painfully clear that he had no interest in the type of relationship Chris wanted.
The more and more I look at this relationship, the more and more it resembles the abusive, co-dependent nightmares so prevalent in Twilight and its ilk. 50 Shades of A indeed.
*blinks* Oh my gosh… this is a troll fic! This is a Serra Elinsen-esque parody of YA literature with an asexuality gimmick! BRILLIANT! *golf clap* Well done, well done. Can we move on now?
Well, being asexual doesn’t mean Anwar doesn’t want a relationship at all. It just means he has no desire for sex. I don’t really see how hitting on someone you have a crush on is abusive…?
It hasn’t even really been said what kind of relationship Chris wants, so until Chris says what he wants, for all Anwar knows he still has a chance with him. And Anwar seems to have the decency to know when to stop, even while drunk.
Indeed, all we know about Chris is that he ‘came out’, but he hasn’t said as what, although he did blush when Anwar asked. It’s a good bet he’s not entire heterosexual though, from his reactions to things so far. Plus, they’ve been talking a LOT, kinda been going on a date(?), Chris has been blushing his face off… so I dunno, it seems like a relatively normal progression. Sure, just kissing someone might not be the best idea, but it’s also not grabbing them by the wrist and forcing them, and Anwar would most definitely back off if Chris would tell him to.
Also they hugged in bed while Anwar was naked. Jus’ sayin’.
Wow. Just wow. You obviously don’t know anything about asexuality and you seem to have a low level reading comprehension.
Asexuals can want to be in a romantic relationship. They can have crushes on people and flirt. This does not make them “EVIL”. Aces aren’t sexually attracted to other people, as a generality. It doesn’t mean they all don’t want to be sexuality stimulated- some aces enjoy masturbating and some will have sex with their partner, but it really depends on the person and how they feel about things. Other aces don’t want anything to do with romantic relationships at all.
At this point of the story, we know that Anwar likes physical contact (hugging, kissing, cuddling, etc) and wants a romantic relationship. He and Chris have met only a handful of times. He has flirted with him and had one very awkward drunken mishap. This is hardly “manipulating someone into hanging on your every word” or “psychological abuse”.
Anwar hasn’t been “toying with” Chris. He has a crush on him and wants to have a relationship with him. He’s feeling insecure because of people like you who think that relationships need to revolve around sex and feel like he can never get what he wants or needs.
Uh really hope you are joking cuz villianizing and pathologizing (?) different sexualities (as well as invalidating them) is a real, hurtful thing that happens. What the hell? And Chris doesn really seem hurt, just mildly annoyed at Anwar’s drunken self. I think he can take care of himself. He seems like the type that would speak up if you crossed his boundaries.
ugh… I’m starting to hate the 50 Shades of Rape, excerpts. I had planned to never read the crap, but I find myself reading it in installments as they appear here. We know this is what you based it on, do we really need a blow by blow translation?
I kind of like them… They’re a way of showing the readers what the original travesty was and how Tab has adapted and improved on the source material. I can understand why someone wouldn’t want to see them, though.
I agree with Set, I like the excerpts as I don’t want to read 50 shades, but I like to know how Tab’s adapting it. If you don’t want to read them, I can understand your annoyance of it being shoved in your face while reading something you do enjoy, but really you can just ignore them. Just read Tab’s comments if you like, and ignore any italicization.
I agree, too, but maybe it would be better if they were linked onto a separate page for those who are easily triggered. Because 50 Shades of A is really turning out to be a much different story. It is still sexy, but in a wonderful non-traditional-but-warmandfuzzy kind of way.
Never read 50 shades, but got to say I love this story. When I see the disgusting excerpts it’s based off of, I want to hunt down and hug Tab for reinventing what appears to be a ridiculous disaster of literature insulting to women, men and the BDSM community.
I haven’t read 50SOG, but from the excerpts, it’s seems like an extra-long version of amateur erotica you’d find on a BDSM website. Which is fine if you identify it as such, but not fine if people think this is generally how a person enters a healthy Dom(me)/Sub relationship. I’m into kink (90% sub), but like many people (kinky or otherwise), much of the stuff that sounds hot to me in fiction and fantasy is something I would never want to give or receive in real life. I’ve never had a real life encounter that wasn’t negotiated extensively to set firm rules and safety measures and establish trust. It’s not something that’s established with a “smoldering gaze” or “Y’know, usually I don’t like it when someone’s rough and domineering with me, but there’s just SOMETHING about him/her…”
I still love this page. They’re so adorable! *flails*
Dude, I love how Anwar takes that kiss and walks off like a boss B-)
“You’re a babe.” *smooch!* I’m DYING XD
I’m submissive, and I only made it through like the first chapter of 50SoG. Part of why is I’m also an assault survivor, so consent is really fucking important to me.
Think of it like this: it’s basically porn. And porn sucks at realism… and good writing. Or at least, almost all the porn I’VE ever read is like that.
Which is why I love these comics so much. <3 If I ever meet Tab, I'm going to ask if I can hug them.
Having fun re-reading this over the past few days. Don’t know how much notification you get about comments on this, but I hope your break is restful.
Glad you’re enjoying!