The nudity saga continues yet again. This is another of my favourites from the series. The drawings are good, and that last panel really works. Something about crazed, naked chicks trying to rip a man’s pants off is inherently funny, in part because it’s so far removed from reality. At least, well … it was removed from MY reality at the time of this strip’s creation. (Hollow laugh.)
I have to say, looking back on these strips, that though there was certainly a lot of female nudity going on, I’m proud that the girls’ body types were always pretty realistic. By that, I mean that the pics didn’t copy the overly exaggerated, hyper-sexualized pin-up girls you see in so many comic books.
This above point recently led to a debate with my wife. I told her that the most popular strip thus far was (on most days) the one with Phoebe in a thong. Then she got an odd look on her face.
“I don’t get it,” she declared.
“Don’t get what?” I asked.
“ Phoebe,” she clarified. “I don’t get the whole ‘Phoebe is hot’ thing. Phoebe’s not hot, really – not in a traditional sense. She’s cute, but she just looks like your average university girl. I’m not a guy, of course, but I wouldn’t say she’s hot.”
I’ll admit that it felt like a little bit of a punch in the stomach – kind of like being told your kid’s real ugly or something like that – though I suppose she’s right. Beyond the tail and horns, Phoebe is not some otherworldly symbol of unspeakable hotness. You pass girls that sort of look like her everyday. But that said, she’s never lacked male fans. Go fig.
Curious. And here I was finding it a bit suspect that everyone was so skinny. Is that usual in Canada?
Well, Canadians are a skinnier bunch than Americans, that’s for sure. Not sure whether they’re all quite this thin, but we’re thin enough for me to be appropriately shocked by the general size of everyone when I go to the U.S. Though in New York (and L.A.) people are Canada-skinny.
So true! Good fellow! I am a Canadian, (I don’t exactly fit THAT described bill too well but…meh) Im a new reader, and lovin it.
Let’s hear it for Canadians! Skinny and otherwise!
I am the pancakes on the stove, The maple syrup in the cupboard, I, AM THE NIGHT! (Stuffs his face with maple pancakes)
I think Canadians shiver off the calories.
As for Americans, I blame computers/videogames. When I moved to Texas in the early 80’s, I was struck by how almost everyone looked like a fashion model (compared to the cornfed Midwest I had come from). But now skinny people aren’t so common here either. I suspect it’s due to how it has become standard to sit in front of a video screen all day, rather than get out and about for recreation.
I blame portion size. Up in Canada, large sections of the year are pretty much too cold to really be active outside, so physical activity can’t be the big difference. (Yeah, there’s skiing and skating and a few options, but they’re expensive and usually take a lot of planning.) The biggest difference I’ve noticed between the US and Canada is the fact that your average meal in a restaurant in the US is twice the size of a meal in Canada. I think this progressive ‘biggening’ of meals really took hold in the US, particularly in the 80’s and 90’s, whereas it didn’t occur with such force in Canada. I know the meal sizes in Europe (and Japan, and many other countries) are much smaller than in Canada, so there’s a correlation.
Video games and computers don’t help anyone, though, and Canadians now are certainly fatter than they were forty years ago.
The reason meals are so big is that in the US. you aren’t actually supposed to eat it all. The expectation is that you only eat some, and take the rest home to eat later.
But they DO eat it all. I seens em do it!
Well, they does it wrong!
Not sure if this was clear but… I’m a Brit… and I still reckon they’re kinda… thin.
Not saying it doesn’t happen a fair bit… but… the average weight is still kinda higher.
A certain slenderness is typical of people in their age category. We thicken up a bit in our 30s. 😛
Except the Puck gang. They’re now in their thirties (or six-hundred-and-thirties) and they’re basically the same shape. Though in my defence, I’m pretty much the same size I was in my twenties, so it’s possible. Though I eat a mere fraction of what I used to. Kind of sad.
No, Phoebe IS hot. I mean, everyone is attracted to different things, but she is definitely pretty cute to me. What would make her ‘hot’ is a more seductive style. But I still find her to be pretty sexy 🙂
Fyi, as a woman, every woman who gets huffy and says another woman (real or otherwise) ‘isn’t hot’ or ‘she’s not even pretty!’ is lying through their teeth 99.9% of the time. So sad. just appreciate other ladies’ beauty. I know I sure do :3
I would agree with you on the ‘cute’ thing for these early comics, but her outfit is more silly than ‘hot’. I tried to change that with the new comics, where the outfits are still silly, but the heat’s turned up a few notches.
I have to admit that now my wife generally sings a different tune, though it’s equally difficult for me to deal with. When she sees a new comic with Phoebe, she often says “She’s so beautiful,” then launches into a bout of insecurity on how she’s too old and not beautiful enough. Which is garbage, because my wife really is quite beautiful. Which I reassure her of, and everything goes smoothly.
To tell you the truth, though, I find that exchange far easier when it’s with my wife, because I can unabashedly tell her how attracted I am to her. It’s WAY more awkward when my female friends and co-workers pull that stuff. (Most of them, by the way, are also incredibly beautiful.) I usually just opt for an “Oh, no you’re not an old hag,” and leave it at that. Or I compare their beauty to other far less beautiful women, and that usually makes them happy.
Humans are weird.
Methinks that the women of western civilization have fallen victim to Barbie and movie stars and insecurity.
It’s not realistic. Even the movie stars don’t look like movie stars. It’s all Photoshop.
Yes, thank goodness we men are immune to insecurity! Because I could totally look like the movie stars if I wanted to, right? I just don’t want to. For men, it’s a matter of choice. 😉
Too many comments, reading them would take away from previous strip reading time. Just wanted to say I love the Alt Text on all of these.
100% true, yo.
Your wife is clueless here. There’s a bell curve for hotness in women, as perceived by men, but pretty much none of them have a clue where they or other women are on it.
And vice versa. Men have a preconceived notion of what women think a hot guy looks like, but it seldom actually lines up with the guys women actually find attractive. Witness Benedict Cumberbatch.
It’s the whole package and how it’s put together. That’s something some people don’t understand.
I’m not sure I understand that either. But I like to pretend I do.