Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

2011-08-31

2011-08-31 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
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2011-08-31
Votey panel for 2011-08-31
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Explanation

This comic satirizes selective skepticism. In the first panel, two men discuss "right wing science denialists," with one complaining that these people have been "socially brainwashed to believe things that defy reason." His friend agrees. In the second panel, the first man casually mentions seeing "that girl with giant boobs at the beach," and his friend immediately snaps back: "No! Men don't naturally find breasts sexual! I see the patriarchy has gotten to you."

The joke highlights the hypocrisy of criticizing one group for ignoring science while simultaneously denying well-established science yourself when it conflicts with your own ideological commitments. The friend is happy to call out right-wing science denial but then engages in his own form of denial about the biological basis of sexual attraction, attributing it entirely to social construction ("the patriarchy"). The comic pokes fun at the tendency across the political spectrum to accept science only when it confirms pre-existing beliefs, and to dismiss it when it does not.

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