What is power?

[avevale_intelligencer]

Power comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. It's used to oppress, to exploit, to empower, to facilitate, to sustain, to create and to destroy. It's unequally distributed in this world, in ways that most of us really don't like, even those of us who benefit from the inequality by virtue of gender or colour or beliefs. Privilege is part of the framework that underpins the inequality, and a lot of it is forced upon us in ways we can't change even if we could, and whatever we do to try to correct it is bound to be seen by some as too little too late. Privilege weakens us as well, by making us less flexible, less capable. Power makes us powerless.

Sinfest is one of my favourite webcomics, and I'm sure many of you know it. Lately it's been becoming a bit of a single-issue thing, as the author, Tatsuya Ishida, has focussed more and more on feminism, and a view of feminism at that with which some people, even feminists from what I've gathered, are not entirely comfortable. The introduction of "the Sisterhood," a number of young women who ride around on bikes striking blows against the patriarchy, has killed a number of the running gags that made it popular, while providing few jokes to take their place. In particular, the two former protagonists, Monique and Slick, have more and more taken a back seat in recent strips, and it's interesting to look at the actual power exchange that's taken place as a result of this.

'Nique originally presented as a thoroughly sexist stereotype; ditzy, shopping-obsessed, girly, flirty and teasing, her spoken word act accompanied by a great deal of bottom-wiggling and "do you think I'm sexy?" talk. Slick, the hobbit-sized male lead (I think we have to assume the main characters are all adults despite the fact that they sometimes seem to present as children), equally did men no favours in his characterisation; obsessed with sex for its own sake, idolising the stereotype of the pimp, incapable of subtlety or emotional contact of any sort, and thoroughly armoured in his own invincible self-delusion of mastery.

But the key is here; throughout these early strips, 'Nique has been the one with the power. She was successful, idolised for whatever reasons, possessed of intelligence and empathy and the desire to change the world for the better. Slick and his comrade Squigley have always been presented as the archetypes of impotence, finding success only in their porn-inspired fantasies of conquering an illusory "matriarchy," never advancing a step beyond their ground state of irrelevance, never truly having the will to want to try. In the world of the strip, 'Nique was always on top, defying both God and the Devil; Slick was the plaything of both. If power means anything at all, on the individual level, the woman here had it all, the man had nothing.

Since 'Nique's "awakening" by the Sisterhood to the omnipresent, grey-green Matrix-like "oppression field" of the patriarchy, she has abandoned her power. Her act, unaccompanied by sexy displays, no longer succeeds; her only supporter is an obsessive fangirl. She still craves attention and affection, but is no longer willing to do what "men" want in order to get it, and so her desires go unfulfilled. Slick, on the other hand, has acquired an "evil twin" who regularly escapes from his mirror universe to cause havoc in the strip's "real world"; he storms the gates of paradise, he outrages women and leaves the original, hapless Slick to take the blame. Slick One is still powerless, but Slick Two is definitely not.

So what is Ishida saying here? I'm honestly not sure, but he's been driving the point home for some considerable time, whatever it is. If he's saying that (to paraphrase Dennis Moore) this redistribution of power's trickier than it looks, then yes, I think he's right, but where is he going to go from there? If Sinfest is going the way of Cerebus, becoming a platform for the author's increasingly individual views on a single issue rather than an entertaining sitcom in webcomic form, is that a good thing? Does it help the cause of feminism in general--a cause still very much alive and important--or does it weaken it? And if the author wants to get where it looks as if he's going, did he maybe start from the wrong place?

Discussion invited.

Comments

[batyatoon]

It's significant that 'Nique was the one with the perceived power only for so long as she invited and fulfilled male fantasies.

'Nique hasn't lost any power, because she's come to realize that most of the power she had was illusory.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Was it, though? I'm not so sure, except perhaps in the sense that all power is illusory. Hence the question with which I began the post. I am a trifecta of privilege--white, male, straight--and yet my actual power, my agency, my ability to effect change even on the personal level, is (like Slick's) minimal to nil, and entirely unrelated to my white-male-straightness; if I have any at all, it comes from my intelligence (such as it is) and my creatiivity. 'Nique has those as well, but because she no longer panders to the male gaze, she's given up the connection that enabled her to communicate. In effect, she's gone into retreat; she has changed, when it's not she who needs to change.

Granting for the moment that she has lost nothing real, though, what has she gained? I think that's what we're waiting to see--how has her life been enriched by her awakening, what compensates her for no longer experiencing the pleasure she undeniably took in being the old 'Nique--and I think maybe the writer doesn't know any more than I do. If he can come up with a true answer, then maybe the strip can move on a bit.

[batyatoon]

You say "she's given up the connection that enabled her to communicate," but what she was communicating before was entirely composed of what she thought (correctly, in general) her audience wanted; it was a reflection of their desires rather than anything about herself. That's changed, and if nothing else, that's what she's gained. And meanwhile she's lost a lot of her old audience, but recent strips show that she's gained a new one.

It's probably worth pointing out that the plotline of 'Nique's old audience disliking her new direction is almost certainly Ishida writing about how his old audience dislikes his new direction. He's very clearly not happy about his earlier treatment of his female characters, and by saying so in as many words, he's alienating the part of his fanbase that liked his original tone and feels judged for having enjoyed it.

Personally, I like it just fine and I should probably send him a fan letter telling him so.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

It wasn't always just a reflection of the audience's desires. (http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1548) That's just one; 'Nique was as much of a political activist before as she is now, maybe more so. She was never just what she appeared to be.

But I expect you're right about the plotline. I shall be interested to see how iti develops.