This Comparison Exposes How Much Homophobia Shapes Your Notion of A ‘Normal’ Day

July 20, 2015 / Rhea Ewing

Which of these days is more like your “normal?” This comic shows how two people can have completely different experiences when homophobic microaggressions and straight and cisgender privilege come into play.

Here’s how homophobia affects butch women and androgynous people in ways you might not even notice.

With Love,
The Editors at Everyday Feminism

Click for the Transcript

Panel 1

A: (Jess is walking outside with her boyfriend.)

B: (Jess is walking in the same location with her (visibly queer) friend, Rhea)

Text: You don’t always notice that you’re being treated differently.

Panel 2

A: (Jess and her boyfriend wave to a man walking on the sidewalk with his dog and young daughter. The man smiles and waves back, the girl smiles too.)

B: (Jess and Rhea wave to the same man, who is again out walking with his dog and young daughter. This time, the man glares and puts his hand on his daughter’s back to make her walk faster.)

Text: Sometimes it starts out so small—a strange glance, the absence of a “hello.” You think, “Is it me, or were they just having a bad day?”

Panel 3

A: (Jess and her boyfriend are talking to the clerk at a store checkout. The clerk is talking animatedly and smiling at them.)

B: (Jess and Rhea are checking out at the same store and it is the same clerk. This time, he avoid making eye contact and refuses to speak at all. His body language is closed and he faces away from them as much as possible.

Text: Eventually, you stop asking. You have a life to live, after all.

Panel 4

A: (Jess and her boyfriend walk home together at night. No one bothers them.)

B: (Jess and Rhea take the same nighttime path. This time, a stranger in a car follows them slowly through a dark parking lot. They both look alarmed and scared)

Text: You can’t spend all your energy on it. You just want to get home safe.

Panel 5

Text: And soon it just feels normal.

Rhea and Jess are eating Chicago-style hotdogs and talking. Jess looking angry and frustrated.

Jess: I’m really disappointed. I didn’t think people her would treat you so differently. Everyone is normally way friendlier! It’s really upsetting to see it happening.

Rhea: (looks alarmed and sad) You mean… people aren’t always like that?

Text: And for those who have even more marginalized identities, like queer youth and trans women of color, forgetting isn’t, and has never been, an option.

To learn more about this topic, check out:

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Rhea Ewing is a Contributing Comic Artist for Everyday Feminism and a queer artist living in Wisconsin. Rhea is involved in a number of comic projects, including the monthly comics challenge site “The Radome” and a 350+ page nonfiction graphic novel about gender identity in the Midwest called FINE: A Comic About Gender. You can find more of zir work at rheaewing.com and finecomic.com or connect on Twitter @finecomic. Check out zir work here!