Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for April 19, 2014

The keyword is “BABY.”

@electomanIs that how you view women?

Better one of them than someone who talks like you.

What on earth is wrong with you?

This scene happed about 40 years ago anyway. The “sperm receptor” might conceivably be a grandmother by now.

Babies (thank God!) aren’t originally born with mean opinions. As long as the child is healthy.

I’d like to see you carry a child and have labor pains.

@eclectomanYou, sir, have the right to free speech. And so do I: “Boo, hiss” and other assorted nouns and modifiers of distaste. You and I are not the products of similar households.

I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you meant sarcasm, though poorly communicated. If I am mistaken, I hope that you do not have to learn the lessons of compassion the hard way. Think upon what it means to suffer in the ways suggested by your words.

I remember this strip, not from when it first came out, but from when I went back and started reading older Doonesburys in college. It always struck me as so sweet. It combined the growing sensibility of its time with the genuine happiness of a new family member. I’ve always gotten a happy, fond smile from this one.

Then I read these comments. GEEZ, people. Didn’t anyone ever teach some of you how to act in public?

Ummm people, It’s just a CARTOON! NOT real life people!

Having a bad day?

I am woman, hear me squallFor I’m not so big at allIn fact I just arrived two hours agoI am naked, I am weakBut I swear I am not meekI want my blankey and I won’t take “No”

True, but it is kind of sad that children don’t even get 5 minutes of life without being subjected to gender-role expectations. Studies have shown that you can take the same infant and put it in a pink onesie or a blue one; people will talk to the baby differently, hold the baby differently, make different comments about what his/her characteristics and s/he will grow up to be, etc. , all because they THINK the baby is a boy or a girl.

But this individual strip is great. At the time, I thought it a bit over the top — calling a newborn a “woman”. But she is, indeed, a baby woman.

It’s not all that hard to find a baby who is obviously somewhere in between; and that’ only counting physical characteristics. Take a look at http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex

Chimeras are people developing from two embryos which merged to form one person. They often have male and female characteristics since the originals are of opposite genders half the time..Further, even in non chimeras, there are instances of genes jumping chromosomes such that a physiological male is a genetic XX female..Biology is not simple.

Nothing inherently wrong with gender neutral names, why the violent response? Let the kids choose, fine. Could save a lot of confused people a lot of grief later on in life.

And wait, who was the punching bag and who was the sperm receptor in that rather disturbing comment that started all this?

We used this strip to announce the arrival of our daughter in 1978. I still makes me tear up.