I originally planned on Tedd gently pointing out how nothing Elliot said was gender specific (not at all confrontational, just pointing it out), but that scenario required both Tedd and Elliot to ignore the small crowd that gathered in the previous page.

I was initially fine with ignoring the crowd, as they were more "rule of funny" than an important plot point that could not be ignored.

I gradually found it more and more weird to ignore the crowd, however, and then I thought of a scenario in which Tedd and Elliot wound up holding hands, and, well...

THAT had to happen.

MANLY!

While I don't think anything Elliot said in the previous page was truly gender specific, I do think there's at least potential value in promoting forms of positive masculinity.

This is mostly because perpetuated ideas of masculinity that aren't healthy already exist, and attempts to combat those attitudes can accidentally come off as "anti-masculinity" (instead of just opposing specific problematic ideas and behaviors).

Whether that interpretation of something coming off "anti-masculinity" is fair or not is of arguable relevance given that it is a predictable response regardless.

I think it might be more productive to focus on specific issues, and to promote positive forms of masculinity. It is more difficult to misconstrue such a thing, be it in good or bad faith.

That's my opinion based on previous observations and discussions on the matter, at least.

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- Thursday EGSNP