First Cartoon We’ve Killed in a Year
By Daryl Cagle | July 18th, 2009 | PERMALINK
Cartoon by Jiho for the Nice-Matin newspaper in France.
I got an e-mail from our Cagle Cartoons managing editor, Cari Bartley this morning.
Daryl,
I started getting calls from subscribing editors real early this morning. This would be odd for a Saturday, so I answered. Â The last editor said that forcing his employees to search through the current cartoons could actually be construed as sexual harassment and get him in trouble.
I pulled the cartoon from the download site and attached the cartoon to this email.
Cari
It is pretty rare for us to censor a cartoon, but sometimes foreign sensibilities don’t quite mesh with our American expectations. Â This cartoon was drawn for the Nice-Matin newspaper in France by Jiho, who doesn’t much care for Lance Armstrong. Â Alas, no one here will see this charmer, outside of our blog.
The cartoonists upload their own cartoons to our syndicate site, without going through a censor (other syndicates censor first). Â This rarely creates a problem for us, although editors often complain about having to look at cartoons that annoy them, that they don’t print and would never have to suffer looking at from other syndicates. Â Some cartoonists think we should never kill a cartoon in syndication, because it is up to the editors to decide whether to print it or not. Â We’ve posted some offensive whoppers … but sometimes … well …
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Comments
Comment from DoctorT
Time July 18, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The offended should be man enough to click away. If not then, woman enough to simply move on.
Too many people seem afraid sex might become known–too late!!
Besides this is not sexual in nature, although the offensive federal government would certainly salute political correctness on this one.
After all, the professional politicians want to ru(i)n everyone\’s lives to squelch those who might think for themselves. ©2009
Comment from Adeline
Time July 18, 2009 at 1:33 pm
1) It’s just a penis, people. Get over it!
2) For a guy who doesn’t like Lance Armstrong, he certainly drew him very well endowed. Though I suppose the cartoon lack-of-regular-human-anatomy might’ve had something to do with that.
Comment from Miquelon
Time July 18, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Ah interesting. Let… Lire la suite’s get one thing straight right off the bat. Compared to the hundreds of anti-French cartoons published in 2003 that turned a historical event (French surrender of 1940) into a collective character trait, this cartoon of Lance is crude but not anti-American. It is profoundly anti-Lance, but he’s a public persona and open to mockery and criticism.
The overt sexual depiction is very common in French cartoons (just take a look at Charlie Hebdo, Siné Hebdo, Fluide Glacial), so nothing new there. When viewed from North America, it flies in the face of America’s puritanical culture.
Comment from Miquelon.org
Time July 18, 2009 at 1:35 pm
[oops copied some garbage in the previous message, sorry]Â
Ah interesting. Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. Compared to the hundreds of anti-French cartoons published in 2003 that turned a historical event (French surrender of 1940) into a collective character trait, this cartoon of Lance is crude but not anti-American. It is profoundly anti-Lance, but he’s a public persona and open to mockery and criticism.
The overt sexual depiction is very common in French cartoons (just take a look at Charlie Hebdo, Siné Hebdo, Fluide Glacial), so nothing new there. When viewed from North America, it flies in the face of America’s puritanical culture.
Comment from Nate O
Time July 18, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I guess your subscribers are who you need to please first, but I don’t consider this cartoon offensive. What is the message? Lance is scared that he might get “cut off” because he is feeling guilty about something? A comment on the career-ending effects of a positive test result?
Comment from Luis Bravo
Time July 18, 2009 at 2:48 pm
If it was censored because of the penis, tsk tsk. I think that in the XXI Century it’s time to admit that men have penises. If it was censored because of the guillotine threatening the penis, then I must admit I would have censored it too. Don’t give ideas to Doping Control.
Comment from beto
Time July 18, 2009 at 3:43 pm
As a cycling aficionado I can say I thoroughly disagree with the cartoonist’s perception of Lance (how many of you would have been brave enough to fight cancer like he did?). However, I understand that everyone’s entitled to his or her own opinions about any public figure out there, so the cartoon as such is an acceptable point of view from an individual. Freedom of expression and all that.
If the whole censorship thing has to do with showing up a penis, then I’m in with the crowd who consider censorship under that criteria proof of retrograde and biased American puritanism. This cartoon would barely raise a scandal in Europe from that point of view.
Comment from Donna Barstow
Time July 18, 2009 at 3:47 pm
It’s extremely offensive, just shy of the revolting Mr. Fish (who tarnishes the name fish). This is not “a” penis - this is not a medical illustration - this is SOMEONE’S penis. Wasn’t he the one who had the testicular problem? (don’t follow sports).
More than that, it is offensive in a violent sadistic way. What man can look at that and not cringe? What woman would feel comfortable in any way looking at this?
Cagle Cartoons are supposed to be newsworthy and printable in a newspaper, which, hopefully, men, women and children read. This is not. And personally, I’m very sad I bothered to look at it. I’m not coming here to look at any more gross cartoons.
Comment from Aditya Simha
Time July 18, 2009 at 6:17 pm
This is an extremely poorly drawn cartoon! In poor taste also, but more importantly, poorly drawn!
Comment from Karyl Miller
Time July 18, 2009 at 10:47 pm
The drawing is totally hilarious but I must say I don’t get it.
The cup is full, so does it mean that IF they discover he’s been doping, then the gillotine will drop down and cut off his wiener… and he’s REALLY scared about it because Lance HAS been doping? Rates a half-smile, not a laugh.
The French are the same lamebrains who love Jerry Lewis but after he broke up with Dean Martin he was never as funny to me, plus I turned 9. .
Comment from Karyl Miller
Time July 18, 2009 at 11:12 pm
P.S. On subject - all censorship is bad and should be censored. Those who are offended should just turn the page.
Comment from Rajesh KC
Time July 19, 2009 at 1:28 am
“Some cartoonists think we should never kill a cartoon in syndication, because it is up to the editors to decide whether to print it or not.”…
Since this site is not password protected, I don’t agree with above lines. Viewers’ number here is not lesser than any other publishing material. This cartoon is offensive. It should have been emailed to get through a censor rather than uploading directly. Prevention is better than Abortion!
Comment from Bluegrass
Time July 19, 2009 at 12:31 pm
When you enforce a hard censorship, you effectively promote thought control.
I wish we could run this cartoon on the front page of every newspaper, in full color with 3-D glasses just to prove to the world that we don’t believe in this “immoral/dirty/disgraceful” language garbage. Any cartoonist on this site who has ever taken figure drawing has drawn more than their fair share of penises.
Also, it specifically being a person’s penis? Well first, I’d hope so; second, so what? By that logic, in a few centuries it’ll be taboo to draw men’s crotches because, well, we all know what’s hiding under just that thin layer of clothing. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll be back under the tyrannical rule of enforced censorship that has given us such bloopers as the current movie rating system - torture is fine for teens, but god forbid a boob/penis happen on screen. THEN they’d be corrupted! :-\
Can someone tell me why it’s inherently wrong for children to see a penis or the naked body?
Comment from Stug
Time July 21, 2009 at 12:01 pm
“Can someone tell me why it’s inherently wrong for children to see a penis or the naked body?”
Because the people who present themselves as the spokespeople for God said so.
“This is not “a” penis… this is SOMEONE’S penis.”
No, it’s a cartoon of someone’s penis. A cartoon that speaks very plainly that if this were the penalty for doping, someone would be very worried. It is a newsworthy observation, particularly in Europe where biking is followed more avidly, and it was, presumably, printed in a paper.
It is unfortunate that the prudish sensibilities of American society in general don’t actually promote free speech when it comes to certain topics.
Comment from Fred Gore
Time July 21, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I sent myself the cartoon about the passing of Walter Cronkite but all I got were a bunch of question marks , comments , other cartoons, everything except the one about Cronkite.
Comment from Paul B
Time July 28, 2009 at 11:13 am
It’s tacky, but at least it’s not Mohammed’s penis.
Comment from Ben Rankel
Time July 18, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Really? Censoring because it shows a penis? Immature. You’ve shown much more contestable things - especially by Jiho. We’ve all seen penises before. Time to grow up America.
Context over literal content.