Week 15: Underground Comics REDUX


The Underground Comics I read for Week 6 were Tijuana Bible and Tits and Clits. Needless to say, both were very sex-oriented, but both were very different angles. Tijuana Bible, which was written by men, has more of a carefree approach to sex. All anyone wants to do in these stories is have sex, it’s what their lives revolve around. Women bluntly ask for sex and men are quick to give it to them. Tits and Clits, on the other hand, is written entirely by women and actually isn’t all about sex. While that is obviously a major theme in the works, the stories could feature serious stories about self-image, rape, and sexual orientation. It’s not sensationalized or made for the arousal of other men. Tijuana Bible was also way more graphic in its depictions of sex, showing close-ups of genitalia and the act being depicted as more aggressive than loving. Tijuana Bible was made as a male fantasy while Tits and Clits was more of a commentary on real life.
         In reflection, I find it interesting that Tits and Clits isn’t primarily meant to stimulate queer arousal and takes the more slice-of-life approach. I’m sure there were gay/lesbian people who liked Tijuana Bible at the time, too, but they were a minority in readership and it was mostly banking off of straight guys. Tits and Clits was more about the complex emotions of women and the LGBT+ community at the time. When Tits and Clits would depict sex, it was usually gentle, but passionate love-making. I guess that means women and LGBT+ people want more of the emotional exchange of sex while straight men just want raw feeling and power. The difference between Tits and Clits versus Tijuana Bible is best exemplified by comparing them to their modern-day counterparts: pulpy romance novels (or even fan-fiction) versus PornHub.

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