It’s Iimi! I am Ovulating-Chestfeeding-Person-Who-Currently-Identifies-as-Cisgender-Female—Whose-Pronouns are-She/Her! Hear Me Roar!

When Lilavati brings up the question of transgenderism to the “Socratic Club,” their discussion becomes more complicated with the appearance of two teachers and a hostile student. Will Iimi and her friends be able to thread the needle by explaining their views without getting attacked?

Preliminary Notes:

The story of the rapist who declared he was transgender after being tried for rape and was (briefly) moved to a women’s prison came out after this comic was finished. This person doesn’t mean all people who claim to be transgendered are sexual predators. But it shows another reason why women might feel unsafe with the demands to allow whoever claims to be female access to women-only areas.

 

Post Comic Notes: In the past few issues, I’ve been experimenting with some different fonts to see if they looked more readable. Beginning in this issue, I began reverting some “failed experiments” back to the fonts I used to use. 

The “third gender” Lilavati refers to is complex. “Hijra” is the basic term used, but there are debates over whether the term is offensive. Not knowing enough about the situation in South Asia, I’ve opted against using the term in the comic. From my reading, it seems their situation is more complex than the transgender issues in America. It’s practically it’s own culture if I understand it correctly… and as an outsider, I recognize I might not. 

Lilavati doesn’t have much knowledge about this group outside of the fact that they exist. 

It’s Iimi! Better Call Paul

Iimi tries to find the proper balance between when to speak out and when to draw boundaries. While Fr. Gabe’s talk at Youth Group seems to offer solace, it will be tested when Najiyah asks questions aimed at “reverting” Kismetta to Islam. 

 

Will Iimi be able to defend Kismetta’s newfound beliefs while avoiding being overloaded?

 

Preliminary notes:

While not planned (I work about a month in advance in writing these comics), the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul falls on January 25^th, so things lined up nicely for this comic.

 

Outside of a brief mention in Issue 107, I never really dealt with the Muslim objections to St. Paul. The reason was that the arguments used were so weak I assumed they were strawmen arguments. But further research showed that they are indeed seen as “refutations” of Christianity. 

 

The general assumption among Muslims in these arguments is that because our Scriptures do not say the same thing as the Quran, they must have been corrupted. Paul is a common suspect. The Council of Nicaea is another.

 

Since Kismetta is in the process of converting, it made sense to have Najiyah raise these points in hopes of “saving” Kismetta.

 

The Exhortation (Christus Vivit) that Fr. Gabe read can be found HERE.

Post-Comic Notes:

Dhu alshier al’azraq is Arabic and roughly translates as “blue-haired one.”

 

For those unfamiliar with the Pop culture reference, the title and the cover are a parody of the TV series, “Better Call Saul.”

It’s Iimi! Plots… and Machen—ations

As Irene prepares to return to school, a masked intruder recklessly leaks a compromising email to benefit her. A lost syllabus comes to light. Will this set things right? Or will it turn out into an escalating series of… Plots and Machen-ations

Post-Comic notes:

We learn something about Della’s temperament and past. I was laying some clues about it during the 2021-22 seasons, and we’ll see more in the future. It’s not a “pro-vigilante” comic. In Catholic morality, we can’t do evil, so good might come from it. Della did indeed force the issue. But the morality and results are very much in question… and she knows. And, at the end of the story, we can see it might not have even helped.

 

In practical terms, I started 2023 with the arc of Iimi’s collapse because I felt the characters needed to develop. For example, I didn’t like the rest of the cast becoming side characters in a Socratic dialogue: “Yes, Socrates… you are so wise, Socrates.” So, I began laying clues of Iimi burning out and her friends realizing she couldn’t do it alone. While I never had a breakdown like Iimi (Issue 148), the experiences and feelings are things I’ve known.