WEEK 8: Stereotypes in Comics Response | Toxic Masculinity

There is no doubt that we can find endless comics and literature that shows examples of negative stereotyping and cultural exaggerations. The question that was posed this week is how do we distinguish between good and bad stereotypes? This week I read the comic Toxic Masculinity by Luke Humphris. This comic was a breath of fresh air in the sense that Humphris made a comic about toxic gender stereotyping in the hopes to change this common problem. His PSA breaks down what exactly toxic masculinity is and what it looks like. Throughout the comic we see several different scenarios where this issue appears. Best of all, Humphris doesn't just leave us to ponder how we should react when situations like this happen, he actually explains resolutions we can use to combat this issue. I feel like toxic masculinity is something that not a lot of men feel comfortable talking about and starting this conversation through a comic is a great place to start. In addition to this great message, the style and animation of the comic is brilliant. The idea of animated comics is very appealing to me and I would love to see more people making comics like this. 

In class discussion we learned strategies used to dissolve stereotypes such as the importance of observation; drawing what you see. Surprisingly when done right caricatures and exaggerated features don't necessarily have to be offensive. If a style is meant to use caricatures, it is crucial that all races and people retain the same level of exaggeration throughout the representations. 

-Abigail