Moon Over June is super problematic. Several websites have called it out for its anti-Japanese sentiments from a Japanese character, the fact that the Ob-Gyn character is aroused by her pregnant patients, and the goofy facial expressions of the characters. Reading it for the purpose of reviewing, it taught me a valuable lesson: Sometimes it is best to give up.
Content Warning: There will be drawings of vaginas, lesbian sex, and masturbation.
In general, I hate this webcomic. It is fatphobic: a main character goes on a blind date with a fat woman and pretends to be someone else in order to get away from her because she’s fat. It is also possibly transphobic, though I’ve heard various arguments on all sides of that issue (I will take a stand and say, yes, it is transphobic). It’s racist, though the race of the creator has never been confirmed. In fact, very little is known about the creator, Woc. In the behind the scenes of Moon Over June, Woc is drawn as a woman, and Tales from the Woc is their pornographic creation for Slipshine.
Before I tell you of my lesson learned, let’s take a detour. I’m going to ask you to ignore the writing (and maybe the faces) of the comic for just a minute. That’s how I got through looking at the whole thing: I just stopped reading it at some point.
In this comic about an older, lesbian doctor and younger, Japanese, bisexual (debated sexuality) pornstar, there is very little worthwhile. The internet reviews will have you believe that this is just a weird, uncomfortable display of man-hating. But, let me ask you a question: How many times have you seen a penis? I don’t mean in-person. I mean in movies or as crude drawings on bathroom stalls, notebooks, drunk friends’ foreheads. Now how many times have you seen a vulva or vagina?
Lots of people of all genders have vulvas/vaginas, yet there’s a dearth of yonic representation in my life. Moon Over June offers an array of graphically represented cis women’s vulvas/vaginas, if nothing else. Why is this important? Until college, or maybe even later, I thought my vagina was super weird. It didn’t look anything like the vulvas/vaginas in the porn I had watched thus far. Moon Over June doesn’t offer a ton of variety, but more than I’ve seen in most things.
Although all the women are thin, and cis gender, and almost all gay, there are vulvas. This is not a defense of Moon Over June. I don’t think anyone should go out and read this webcomic. In fact, I think this comic is rather despicable in many ways.
I just want more vulvas in my other NSFW comics. I want more of an array than Moon Over June offers. I want representation for people of all genders and their junk. I want people to feel normal and safe. Representation matters. Obviously, here is where I say, Oh Joy, Sex Toy is doing all these great things, but it shouldn’t be alone!)
There’s a term for obsession with penises: mentulomania. What is the term for obsession with vaginas? I have no idea. What is the appropriate term for other kinds of genitalia? I don’t know; I had sex-ed in Florida, and my own self-education is limited by my resources.
Anyway, besides the vulvas, there’s nothing to be found here. I’m a big fan of perseverance, of believing that narratives can improve over time and redeem their more unsavory traits. I spent years, and a lot of money, waiting for gaming franchises to offer me better representation, read whole series of books waiting for characters to be better people, but I’ve learned my lesson now; often, that is a waste of time. There’s nothing valuable in being able to say that I spent many hours looking at a webcomic that hates me and most of my community. So, if you’re looking for graphic drawings of one kind of genitalia and many kinds of sex toys, check it out. Otherwise, stay away.
