Today on my fun scifi webcomic! Protagonist experiences bigotry in the workplace.
Transcript
The crew take their suits off at the lockers, and Dominic looks nervously over her shoulder at Talita before whispering to the other temps.
Dominic: Are they mad? They look so mad!
Phoebe: I can never tell with centaur faces.
Dominic: Aren’t they a predator? Do you think we look like prey to them?
Talita grimaces and rubs her neck, not looking at the temps, who are unaware she can hear them.
Adam: Don’t tell me you’re scared of that stripey sock puppet just because it eats meat.
He smirks and mimes a sock puppet talking with his hand.
Dominic: I’m not scared!
Phoebe: Ha! You’re funny, kid.
Adam: Some diversity hire, too. They don’t even fit in the vehicles.
Talita's face bristles and she grimaces even harder, focusing intently on tying her shoes. As the temps walk away, she shoots an angry glance at their backs.
137 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 91”
Guest
I wonder if the usage of the term “xenophobia” has changed since humanity learned actual aliens exist, or if they’ve come up with a unique word for alien prejudice.
Jay Eaton
The prefix exo- is more alien specific, since xeno- historically has been used to refer to conspecific strangers and foreigners. But at least in Jovian English, xeno- is much more commonly used to refer to aliens than fellow humans. Blame a certain film monster for creating a permanent association between “xeno” and aliens.
Stitcher
I wonder if they know Tslita can hear them?
Adrienne
Let’s hope not… If they knew she could hear them, that takes these mean remarks to a different level, and they were already terrible.
TauCeti
In the midst of these understandably heated discussions, I’d just like to comment that this is an amazing comic and I would not be surprised if it is the best worldbuilding (in any media/context).
Translunary_Animus
O no Talita DD:
I really appreciate the attention to detail surrounding pronouns and their usage, esp with they/them and xe/xem being default for most aliens. It’s really neat to see gender tackled in such a nuanced way!
Bug
Ah, so her mentioning her preferred pronouns was an intentional tidbit so we know exactly how rude Adam is being. I just realized that Dominic is also misgendering her! Double rudeness!
It does feel a bit ironic that many comments are joking about Adam being dumb, having no self preservation, etc, kind of implying that Talita will bite him or something when that’s part of the racism. She’s a person with full autonomy, not an instinct driven carnivore (which is by it self an incorrect stereo type about how animal behavior works) she does not naturally have more of an emotional capacity to hurt people because she is a carnivore. I’m just going to hope the joke is that Gillie or the commenter will eat Adam’s face, literally or figuratively.
bug ferret irl
is adam terran?? i cant imagine being so ignorant when nearly every space community has wide diversity (maybe not a diversity of centaurs, but still a diversity of gmh and other aliens)
dokki
I’d bet he is? he feels very terran to me. A jovian would probably be less weird about talita, since centaurs have traveled through nexus jovia… the incompetence also makes me think hes terran lol
Teeth Burglar
Damn, Talita needs to get herself to HR (SR? Sophont resources?)
Octive
I’m about to loosen Adam’s helmet latch
SheTheTDE
That’s awful. I wanted to believe modified humans wouldn’t be like this anymore.
JoB
Adam apparently is entirely unmodified (per genetics *and* basic decency). Phoebe has inherited some modified genetics, but is proud to still be in the same gene pool as unmodified humans. No conclusive information on Dominic and Clayton so far – nor on Yao, though xer *non*-genetical modification is well-visible.
Ouroboros
Oooohhhhh, Adam is way beyond being on thin ice now. The things I would say to this man if possible to chew him out.
Mr. Son
Well, if she wasn’t mad before I think the answer has changed.
holly, allegedly
#LetTalitaMaulHerCoworkers232X
yao’s cool though i like xem
Bean
You are so right. PLEASE let Talita maul them. PLEASE!!
Guest
I can totally see humans treating fully-sophont aliens like this. Fantasy racism aside, just by how people talk about cats. Cats aren’t sophonts, but they’re pretty similar to us, yeah? And people always talk about how they can’t feel love or affection, and are just using humans or want to eat humans. And this is how people talk about cats! How people talk about other people is even worse. If a cat could vocalize opinions and talk back, the hate would def flow even more strongly.
Hi
NOT THE “IT” !!
(I get that some people in our time see it as a neopronoun but I’ve been called that too many times as an insult for it to not be dehumanizing to me, and considering the use here it carries that same meaning?)
the Inmara
As a trans woman, “he/him” has been used way too many times to dehumanize me.
Like, “it/its” is more dehumanizing. It’s explicitly dehumanizing. But those people who reclaim it for themselves are usually doing so specifically because of that. And their arguments are generally that even non-human people deserve respect and rights.
Misgendering and misrepresentation is ultimately what is used to dehumanize someone. Denying them to right to self identify. And when you’re doing that, “it/its” is particularly egregious, and that’s what’s happening here. Definitely.
But if someone uses “it/its”, denying that for it is just as bigoted as calling a trans woman “he/him” when she says that’s no her pronoun. Regardless of how traumatized and materially hurt you’ve been by it in the past. Your history is not its history. Your needs are not its needs. You’re different people. You provide different contexts for the pronoun.
But, yeah, here? This is a bigoted use of it.
Darth Biomech
> And their arguments are generally that even non-human people deserve respect and rights.
I’d agree, though I’d argued rather for the unacceptability to call _any_ person an “it”, human or nonhuman. “It” is a mindless beast, a thing, an _object ,_ so calling somebody “it” is denying them fundamental personhood. It is in no was a subjective definition, it is the king of slurs, and it should be treated like so, not being normalized in any way. Thats just immoral. Like using n-word.
> But if someone uses “it/its”, denying that for it is just as bigoted
IDK, for me it’s feels like if somebody would insisted people refer to them no else other than a “sack of shit”. I would just not be comfortable, to put it lightly, constantly insulting that person, even if it’s their wish. If refusing to deny a person their fundamental unalienable rights is bigotry, then fuck it, I’m a bigot then.
Crocus
Hey there, it/its user here! When referred to with it/its pronouns, I specifically find it empowering. It puts me beyond human gender in a really cool way. I’m reclaiming it, like how the word queer has been reclaimed. It’s not inherently demeaning to be an it if one opts in. Any set of pronouns, or really any word can be demeaning if wielded a certain way.
the Inmara
>’I’d agree, though I’d argued rather for the unacceptability to call _any_ person an “it”, human or nonhuman. “It” is a mindless beast, a thing, an _object ,_ so calling somebody “it” is denying them fundamental personhood. It is in no was a subjective definition, it is the king of slurs, and it should be treated like so, not being normalized in any way. Thats just immoral. Like using n-word.’
No.
>’IDK, for me it’s feels like if somebody would insisted people refer to them no else other than a “sack of shit”.’
As a system with members who use it/its and friends who use it/its, we’d really like you to get over that perspective, and drop that stance please.
Jay Eaton
Can ya’ll trade emails and argue about it there or something
the Inmara
English doesn’t need a pronoun that is that powerfully demeaning.
Reclaiming it for those who are empowered by it helps to defang it, regardless of its history. Those of us who are reclaiming it have been the victims of it, too. Almost always. So we do know what you’re talking about, but we staunchly object to your stance and position on it. Because for our own health, safety, and happiness, and the sake of bettering the world, we need you to be wrong in this regard.
Our reclamation doesn’t keep it from being offensive to use for people who don’t reclaim it. But you should absolutely respect our reclamation. You are committing a wrong if you don’t.
the Inmara
Sorry, Jay. Didn’t see your request. We’re done and won’t bring it up again.
Gar G
So rude…
Poor Talita
Phlosioneer
What are Dominic’s pronouns? So far they’ve been Dominic/Dominic/Dominic’s
Jay Eaton
She/her, Dominic is a butch woman. (I need to get around to adding minor characters to the Characters page…)
E
But, the transcript says Dominic looks over /their/ shoulder?
Jay Eaton
That is a typo, fixed now
evileeyore
Mentally I’ve categorized Dominic as ‘she’, due to the art (slight chest bump, vaguely effeminate features), but really, Dominic hasn’t said and no one else has made a pronouned reference.
Rad Internet Stranger
I AM SO MAD AT THESE INTERNS!!!
At least Yao and Clayton don’t seem to be actively participating in the racism?? I can’t condone the fact both are just letting it happen but at least they both seem to have the ability to be nice.. so far anyway
hal9000
im not entirely sure they can hear it? the group are all whispering amongst themselves, whereas Clayton and Yao are standing apart from the rest
evileeyore
I’m pretty sure Yao has heard it all… but Yao is smol and timid and already being bullied and really it’s best they stay out of it except to maybe take notes for HR later.
Common Handle
You can see Yao looking concerned in the 5th panel, so I think xe heard them (and didn’t like it). Clayton doesn’t seem to care at all though
embersand
it feels a bit worse knowing that talita may continue not to stand up for herself, at least for a while :((
Adrienne
A bit more subtle in the previous scenes, but I guess space racism is alive and well
Jack
Everyone can handle neopronouns just fine in this setting but can’t gender Talita correctly? Ugh. Its a painfully similar experience being a He/She Nonbinary person in LGBT+ spaces for me. Ive been missgendered far more times by fellow trans people then cis people. I feel for you Talita
Jay Eaton
Neopronoun usage and conventions around neutral gender vary depending where you are in the Anglosphere. The “X” family of neopronouns and terms are more common in Martian English, and Jovians (who use singular “they”) tend to trip on them and find them unintuitive.
evileeyore
TFW you feel represented by a fictional cultural in a webcomic.
I don’t have the headspace for neopronouns, so the few people I know who insist on them are just referred to by name… and that has started to slip over into everyday usage for other people in the same friend circle, everyone gets referred to by name not by pronouns by me. My brain ‘s defense mechanism against having to work too hard I guess.
Calcifer
Honestly, as a very nervous rule follower, I had been wondering at the beginning of this comic what would cause someone to abandon their decently steady job and go all pirate crew on a damaged ship with a questionable AI space-criminal, but honestly, even just spending 2 minutes with Talita’s coworkers has me tired of them. Time to commit crimes.
evileeyore
(*|___|*)
”⊃ ” ⊂
‘”\0 0/
””’\ /
”””””V
evileeyore
You have defeated me again Bipmoji! One day, one day I shall master you!
evileeyore
(*|___|*)
”⊃ ”” ⊂
”’\0 0/
””’\ /
”””’V
Athelind Llewellyn Long
It’s the proportional font. ASCII art only works in monospaced fonts.
JoB
… is it just me, or did these Keystone Kosmonauts forget to hook their suits to supply lines to have them *refilled* before they start their next shift … ?
“Your suit monitor goes ‘wheeoo wheeoo’? Why, that’s the ’15 minutes of oxygen left’ signal … hmmm, I wonder what could get you back to the airlock *faster* than your front loader …”
Liza
lmao at “Keystone Kosmonauts”
Zachar
Looks like Yao isn’t comfortable with how everyone’s talking about Talita.
aron
“Do you think we look like prey to them?” I dunno, do avians look like prey to YOU? it’s not like humans didn’t hunt birds that size or bigger.
I think since her ears aren’t visible, they assume she can’t hear all that well.
Joey
I mean her head looks like an owl, I’d assume she’s got better hearing then most of the other sophants lol.
JoB
… hmmmm I wonder whether Dominic might come up with a conspiracy theory next …
“We’re here and stuck with *that* boss because avian-staffed HR wants ’em to have a juicier snack within reach at all times, aren’t we??”
SeveredNed
She’s a large ambush predator, you don’t have to know that much about Centaurs to know that there’s a fairly probable chance they have sensitive hearing. Even a human that far away from you has a decent chance of overhearing enough of what you’re saying.
That “diversity hire” is the one who decides if you get hired at all.
JoB
> That “diversity hire” is the one who decides if you get hired at all.
Alas, no, as Talita sighed herself on page 86. Whether they *stay* hired, *maybe*, we’d IMHO have to see it actually *tried* to be sure …
https://www.runawaytothestars.com/comic/rtts-page-86/?sid=41
MissZena
Adam is being pretty dickish here but wow Phoebe thats real rich coming from you since earlier in this chapter Adam was literally looking down his nose at you when he suspected you might be GMH
Also Dominic with the “Do we look like prey???” comment
Yes Adam is extremely brazen about it but Dominic and Phoebe aren’t helping either by enabling it or thinking its funny in Phoebe’s case
AnaKaye
It’s possible that Phoebe is being sarcastic.
MissZena
regardless if its sarcastic or not, its really not helpful to enable the guy whos being extremely xenophobic to your boss
Its akin to people going “Hey it was just a joke bro dont be so sensitive” when they say something extremely hurtful or offensive, even if it was a “joke” that doesn’t stop it from being hurtful or enabling the behavior
theplushfrog
Honestly, Phoebe came off to me earlier as kind of racist/xenophobic too, as her comments were basically offended he thought she was a biomodder or GMH, which implies she finds both of those offensive to be compared to, while being part of the Typ genepool is superior and something to boast about in her mind. So it’s possible she and Adam have similar racist/xenophobic views, even though Adam is more of a brazen dumbass. Or she could have been being sarcastic and doesn’t fully agree, but isn’t outright saying anything because she doesn’t think it’s “so offensive” that it needs to be corrected. Either way, they’re both assholes, in my opinion, Adam is just a loud one.
Zizi
“Are they mad? They look so mad”
Literally Talita: 🥺
Ruby
She’s more qualified than most if not all of you 🤬
evileeyore
More qualified than the whole crew put together… and they only rate at all because Clayton’s being lumped in.
7arty
…yeah, losing any hope here that Adam would be anything more than the usual flat “we need a strawman bigot” pseudo-character. I understand their necessity for storytelling purposes, they’re great at setting up an hostile social environment quick, but it gets tiresome after a while seeing these walking archetypes pop up in stories here and there. As a reader one ends up learning in addition to zero depth, there’s little consequence or development in dealing with such characters, and zero reason to care for their existence at all – maybe some “and then the main character told ’em off and felt good about it” somewhere down the line for a quick sense of accomplishment thatjust feels hollow to me.
SomeGuy
Honestly, as a person who has faced a variety of blatant and subtle discrimination, I feel like this is about more than just creating a strawman bigot. This page (and these characters overall) displays a wide variety of different forms of discrimination.
Sure, Adam is being a blatant asshole by misgendering and dehumanizing Talita (and if you think he’s just an archetype that doesn’t exist in the real world, then I’m glad that you haven’t had to experience discrimination like that, but people like Adam very much do exist and do treat other people like that), but the others are also discriminating against her in ways that are extremely reminiscent of transphobia against trans women, especially black ones, by misgendering her even after she’s actively told them her pronouns are she/her and implying that she’s dangerous or aggressive just because of how she was born (which is also common with racism separate from transphobia too).
Plus, no one is acknowledging how fucked up it is that anyone is treating Talita like this. That, in of itself, is another dimension of the discrimination being displayed here because even if we as readers are looking at this and going “Wow, Adam is really being a bigot”, it demonstrates that the society around Talita isn’t acknowledging that at all, which isn’t usually something gone into in a lot of blander, more cookie-cutter anti-discrimination narratives (which often try to make a distinction between “normal” non-discriminatory people and “unusually bad” discriminatory ones, even though a lot of discrimination is considered normal behaviour and that’s why it’s a problem).
In any case, no hate to you because you’re entitled to your opinion and I totally understand being tired with bigot archetypes that don’t really represent what discrimination tends to actually be like cause I’m tired of those too, but I personally think that there’s a lot more depth and understanding being displayed here than just those archetypes. Even just the diversity hire comment really hit home for me because those very things have been said over and over to myself and others I know, both by “obvious” bigots and people who are more well-meaning, and very few people actually acknowledge the discrimination in statements like that.
artisans_avarice
I mean…. It’s not like regular bigots are much different?
evileeyore
“strawman”
Yeah… I’m not seeing it here. Adam and Phoebe are just representations of the hard and soft bigots that exist in universe. Sure Jay could have written a universe where there is no human bigotry anymore, but that wouldn’t be very realistic.
And, I have a strong feeling they won’t be getting “easily knocked down” by anyone’s particularly clever social riposte to put Adam in his place.
Ruby
You say this as if a) there weren’t plenty of “Adams” everywhere irl and b) he didn’t have an impact in the story itself. His behaviour is DEEPLY hurtful to the people he targets, the protagonist and anyone who cares about either. And the fact that most of his peers either indulge him or enable him (paired with Talita not retaliating when she’s on the receiving end) demonstrates that this level of discrimination is commonplace to the point that openly standing against it is unsafe.
Not to mention that we’re talking about a tertiary character. You don’t care about him because you expect something from his character but because of how he affects others.
wingedhorror
I think opinions are going to differ depending on which side of the experience depicted here a reader has been on. Spend enough time on Talita’s side of the experience and they’re sympathetic. People who spend time on the other side of this experience are probably going to feel uncomfortable in ways they’re not willing to examine too closely.
Ginkgosauras
I disagree, I think Adam’s more stereotypical bigotry is an important baseline to contrast with Phoebe and Dominic’s more nuanced bigotry. Adam is privileged and punches down on anyone he can; Phoebe falls into a marginalised identity and hates when Adam makes fun of her, but has no problem joking about other marginalised groups and seems to be personally offended when he implies she’s a GMH. Adam isn’t actually scared of the groups he’s a bigot toward, like the majority of bigots today, but Dominic is genuinely scared of Talita, which showcases a unique aspect of human bigotry toward centaurs. I think it’s quite clever writing to have a bunch of different characters with different attitudes where bigotry is concerned.
evileeyore
“Adam is privileged”
Adam isn’t privileged. Adam is from a poor family (IIR the author’s comments elsewhere correctly), there are no tweaked genes in him because //his family can’t afford it//. Back on Earth, Adam is probably punching up with his anti-GMH bigotry in many, many cases. It’s off earth where even the poor can be GMH (see frex I imagine the spacers/tailers) that would give Adam’s bigotry a more sidewise aim.
But even there, by off-earth societal standards (from what we’ve heard about Jovia), his anti-GMH bigotry is not really supported. Adam is not lashing out with bigotry in a privileged fashioned, he’s not protected fromt eh consequences of his actions by anythiong other than Talita’s anxiety and the unwillingness here of others to go against him. I expect if other residents of Dirtball (especially other managers or Talita’s friends) were here, Adam wold not be walking away from this unscathed.
His gender bigotry, I’m less sure about… but since every time we’ve seen Mel they looked happy and untroubled, I expect that gender bigotry is very unsupported, and right here, I don’t think Adam is being a gender bigot, Adam is saying “it” to unperson Talita in a “it isn’t human and doesn’t deserve the same respect as a fellow human”.
Now that? That is probably a lot more supported in a soft-bigotry manner… most ‘folks’ probably stick with there own sophont groups, so people with anti-alien bigotry stand out less and correspondingly get stomped down less.
But I expect we’ll see as the story is revealed.
aron
This is a sci-fi setting, and the bigotry Talita experiences needs to be actively shown and world-built. I understand feeling nervous from previous reading experiences that this is all just a setup for an Epic Clapback with no weight or meaning, but…you either trust the author to tell the story or you don’t. This comic is going to continue showing the experiences of marginalized groups (for example, the sexism in avian society will be more heavily touched on, and there will be more characters with “being a jerk” as a part of their story role). If that’s something you don’t like seeing depicted in fiction….maybe this comic isn’t going to be the most enjoyable for you?
I personally agree with other comments that the variety of biases shown by the temps and their social dynamics gives a strong sense of realism to the situation.
Calcifer
It’s more than a little tone deaf for you to claim Adam’s a “strawman bigot” when so many of us have to listen to these exact types on conversations so often while we’re forced to just sit silently and take it like Talita just did. Like, I’m glad your daily life is nice enough that you think Adam is unrealistic. Yeesh.
enigmew