# Mainstream comic strip references homosexuality \[Frazz\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381 "2013-02-15T14:23:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/1 "2013-02-15T14:23:26Z")
I’m sure this is a milestone of some sort. [Today’s _Frazz_](http://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2013/02/15), a mainstream comic seen in papers across the country, just threw in a casual mention of homosexuality, without any fuss whatsoever being made about it in the comic. I’m sure that this will get a lot of folks very angry about it (you can see a few of them on the comic’s comment page), but still, even the fact that it was able to happen in the first place has to be regarded as significant. Way to go, Jef Mallett! I’m also curious to see how many newspapers refuse to run it, or run an edited version. I’ll check the Plain Dealer later today. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/2 "2013-02-15T14:43:26Z")
The lead character’s best friend’s son came out in 1993–in Lynn Johnston’s [For Better or For Worse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Better_or_For_Worse). Response included hate mail, death threats & promises to end newspaper subscriptions. Later on, I joined the chorus of those criticizing the strip. Because of Johnston’s half-assed rerun/retirement attempts. And [The Anthony Situation](http://shaenon.livejournal.com/29475.html). But, at one time, it was pretty good… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/3 "2013-02-15T14:56:49Z")
This is true, but that’s not quite the same thing: When it happened in _For Better or for Worse_, it was a big deal in the strip. That’s a milestone, too, but for a different reason. Johnston was basically saying “I’m willing to stand up for the other side in this controversy”, while Mallett is currently saying that there shouldn’t even _be_ a controversy. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/4 "2013-02-15T15:55:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This is true, but that’s not quite the same thing: When it happened in _For Better or for Worse_, it was a big deal in the strip. That’s a milestone, too, but for a different reason. Johnston was basically saying “I’m willing to stand up for the other side in this controversy”, while Mallett is currently saying that there shouldn’t even _be_ a controversy. Oh I dunno. Notice that Frazz’s comment “This isn’t what St. Valentine had in mind” comes right after the “My uncle’s boyfriend…” line? Cleverly done. Now the gay-hating crowd can nod in smug agreement that “of course that’s not what a saint had in mind! Man shall not lieth with man blah blah blah.” The strip can be read as a classic “straight line, straight line, gag” strip (all puns not intended), leading to Frazz’s comment. (And of course Caulfield’s ever self-pleased know-it-all crack at the end. Ugh, I hate that kid.) Naturally normal people like you and I will know Frazz is just talking about how crazy Valentine’s Day gift-giving can get. But trust me, the homophobes will probably have their hands over their mouth in horror just like Frazz–so they’ll think he’s with them. It’s almost as if Mallett arranged this to work both ways. I wish he’d put the “uncle” line earlier in the set-up. I dislike Lynn J. and what she turned FBoFW into toward the end of its original run, but she was the milestone-breaker here, and she didn’t give anyone an out by letting them think the strip was taking both sides of an issue. I’m pretty sure _Gil Thorp_ had a gay character relatively recently as well, and I don’t think his sexuality really entered into the plot–such as “plots” go on _Gil Thorp_. _Funky Winkercancer_ had a gay prom plot. And even _Archie_ (at least the comic book version) had a gay–and interracial–wedding. The main character being an _army_ guy, for pete’s sake! That was pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/5 "2013-02-15T16:31:28Z")
I completely missed that one. Maybe having a gay daughter has desensitized me somewhat. Frazz is probably one of the best comics today. And I’m not just saying that because I’m an avid cyclist. It’s fresh, witty, and sometimes takes a little thinking to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/6 "2013-02-15T22:29:53Z")
Doonesbury, 10 Feb 1976: Andy Lippincott coming out to Joanie was pretty low-key, considering that she had looked at him as a potential boyfriend. Somewhere between 24 May 1990 & 7 Aug 1999: Mark Slackmeyer learns he’s gay from an angelic Andy. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/7 "2013-02-15T23:11:27Z")
I’m proud to say that I read that strip and nothing unusual jumped out at me. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Later on, I joined the chorus of those criticizing the strip. Because of Johnston’s half-assed rerun/retirement attempts. I hate rerun strips so much. I wrote a LTTE to my local paper a while back suggesting it was time to clean up and purge the comics page, including dropping Peanuts and FBO4W, and the counter-chorus was deafening. I did acquire a nice epithet from it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/8 "2013-02-16T01:09:24Z")
Incidentally, the strip ran as-is in the Plain Dealer. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-comic-strip-references-homosexuality-frazz/650381/9 "2013-02-16T01:16:50Z")
Andy coming out to Joanie in Doonesbury was classic… He says he’s gay… …long pause… …she says “are they sure?”