Quote Originally Posted by Yendor View Post
I'm reminded of a quote I read somewhere, where a writer was asked, "Why do you keep writing strong female characters?" To which the answer was, "Because you keeping asking that question." It shouldn't be controversial that female characters are portrayed as complex people, or that someone just happens to have had a same-sex relationship, yet here we are.
Right.

The Giant has been commenting on inclusion in works of fiction and the reasons he writes OOTS for a very long time, and I completely agree with him on all counts. Still, this comic felt a bit heavy-handed to me, especially the apology to readers for past gendered insults. But the reason it feels that way is because of that pre-existing debate between the Giant and some readers. We knew from that debate that a number of checkboxes had to be ticked off. So, when they get ticked off, it's no surprise, even if it's done in a nice and unexpected way (and it is). So it feels a bit on the heavy side.

Hopefully, one day the social and political debate about inclusion will have died down because inclusion has become a matter of course, then all of this will fell completely natural.