Author Archives: Ampersand

Cartoon: Reality vs Imagination, Trans Kids Edition

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Ampersand

Recently, the journalist Jesse Singal – who has a well-earned reputation for being anti-trans – made an error that he thought was understandable, but to many people – me included – seemed ridiculous. He came across an interview with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Transsexual and Transgender related issues | 45 Comments

Diets Don’t Work Therefore You Must Diet

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Ampersand

This cartoon, drawn by Becky Hawkins, is a straightforward adaptation of a Michael Hobbes tweet (with Michael’s kind permission). Michael, for those who don’t know, is a popular podcaster, whose three podcasts (past and present) are You’re Wrong About (a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Fat, fat and more fat | Comments Off on Diets Don’t Work Therefore You Must Diet

Cartoon: Self-Made Billionaire

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Ampersand

This feels like a very old-fashioned lefty cartoon to me; it’s super-didactic, reliant on labels, has no real punchline, and it’s less about telling a joke then it is about trying to illustrate a basic principal of lefty economics. Other … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Economics and the like | 8 Comments

Cartoon: So Where Are You From?

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Ampersand

This cartoon is by Nadine Scholtes and I. ══✿══╡°˖✧✿✧˖°╞══✿══ This, or something very like this, is an annoying experience a lot of Asian-Americans seem to have. In a TV interview, Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale, explained: The first … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Race, racism and related issues | 3 Comments

Cartoon: Shoving It Down Our Throats

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Ampersand

Welcome to new collaborator R. E. Ryan!  R. E. Ryan is a history and comics enthusiast from Portland, Oregon who makes both fiction and nonfiction comics. (Oddly, although he and I live in the same city, we’ve never met outside … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Transsexual and Transgender related issues | 7 Comments

Cartoon: Eventually You Gotta Inhale

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Ampersand

In 2020, Helen Pluckrose and I had an online debate over if dieting works. During this debate, I said “Not a single weight-loss model – including long term approaches – has ever been shown to work in a peer-reviewed controlled … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Fat, fat and more fat | 17 Comments

MORE Things To Stop Telling Autistic People

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Ampersand

Almost a year ago, I posted the cartoon “Things To Stop Saying To Autistic People,” drawn by Becky. Becky and I were both pleased with how it came up, and there is, alas, tons of material there. So, have a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Disability Issues, Disabled Rights & Issues | 2 Comments

Cartoon: Gender Affirming Care Is Evil Except When It’s Not

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Ampersand

Welcome back to still-new-but-slightly-less-new-now collaborator Nadine Scholtes. I’m happy to say we’ll be seeing more of Nadine’s work here. Lettering panel one was a challenge because there was no place I could put three balloons that wouldn’t cover up some … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Sex & Gender, Transsexual and Transgender related issues | 3 Comments

Cartoon: 5 Things Congress Says When It Plans To Cut Social Security | Patreon

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Ampersand

Drawing five random characters (or semi-random, in this case, since they all had to be plausibly the sort of person who could be in Congress and seeking to cut Social Security) is always fun. In this case, to make them … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Economics and the like | Comments Off on Cartoon: 5 Things Congress Says When It Plans To Cut Social Security | Patreon

Cartoon: The Time Before Gender Ideology

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Ampersand

This cartoon is drawn by my so-frequent-we-call-each-other-comics-spouses collaborator Becky Hawkins, who writes: This cartoon combines two of my favorite things: period settings and making fun of gender norms! I had a blast (and took a trip down memory lane) looking … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics | 1 Comment