Quotes from book
Dykes to Watch Out For

Dykes to Watch Out For
Alison Bechdel

Dykes to Watch Out For was a comic strip by Alison Bechdel. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called "as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle and Lisa Alther's Kinflicks were to an earlier one".

Alison Bechdel photo

“Nurse: Ker… Kru… Crutchoffski, breast conservation? How are we feeling?
Sydney: A bit like an endangered wetland.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#416, "The Basic Anxiety" (2003), collected in Invasion of the DTWOF (2005).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: Toni, come on! I know you're in a lot of pain, but you hafta look at the grand scheme of things! Listen, the environment is polluted beyond the point of no return, nickels and dimes are allocated for AIDS research while billions go into radar systems for blowing up civilians in the Persian Gulf, and we've got to spend the next two months being assaulted with hypocritical hype as two morally bankrupt white boys gear up for another electoral farce! Having a rough time in your relationship kinda pales in comparison, huh?
Toni: Gee, Mo… thanks. I can always count on you.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#40, "The Big Picture" (1988), collected in New, Improved! DTWOF (1990).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“[A social worker has shown up to talk about Raffi's adoption during dinner with Toni's parents]
Sr. Ortiz: What's going on here?
Toni: Uh… mamá y papá, Gwynne… viene de la iglesia! ¡Sí, sí! Y viene para hablar… uh… del bautizo de Rafael! Decidimos que sería bueno que lo bautizaramos! (Mom, dad… Gwynne is… from the church! Yeah! And she's here to talk about, uh… Rafael's christening! We've decided to get him baptized!)
Sra. Ortiz: Gracias a Dios!
Sr. Ortiz: How very good of you to come, Sister.
Gwynne: Back at ya, brother! It's a pleasure in this day and age to meet folks who are so supportive of their daughter's decision.
Sra. Ortiz: That is unusual?! This country is even more wicked than I thought!
Gwynne: Yes, it's a shame, but many lesbians' parents tend to disapprove.
Sr. Ortiz: What does her being a … a homosexual have to do with it?
Gwynne: Exactly, Mr. Ortiz! If only more people felt like you!”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#246, "The Converts" (1996), collected in Hot, Throbbing DTWOF (1997).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: My sister-in-law had her baby! I'm an aunt! My brother's a father! My mother's a grandma! My dad's a…
Sydney: I think I can generalize from there.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#324, "Trite and True" (1999), collected in Post-DTWOF (2000).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Lois: Good coffee, huh?
Emma: Lois, I think you're a very attractive woman and I'd like to sleep with you.
Lois: [chokes] Gak! Ahem! You don't - coff - fool around, do you?
Emma: No, but I'd like to.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#53, "Swept Away" (1989), collected in New, Improved! DTWOF (1990).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: [to Anjali] Don't you "whatever" me, you postmodern prepubescent!”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#275, "Handling It" (1997), collected in Split-Level DTWOF (1998).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: Clarice, you've gotta reconcile your feelings about leaving the neighborhood. It's not Ginger you're attracted to, it's what she represents. The co-op, the park, the block festival, the community!
Clarice: Oh, so it's really the community's inner thighs I want to drizzle with maple crème anglaise, which I then slowly lap up while straddling the tantalizing tongue of the co-op.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#297, "Stray Voltage" (1998), collected in Split-Level DTWOF (1998).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: I miss the good old days. Smash the family! Smash the state!
Sydney: What about Clarice and Toni and Raffi? D'you want to smash their family?
Mo: Please, Sydney. I'm expressing an ideological conviction, not talking about real people.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#305, "The Baby Question" (1999), collected in Post-DTWOF (2000).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Bookstore boss: [to Mo] The self-service kiosks have enabled us to cut down on staff, but some customers still feel the need to speak to an actual human. That's where you come in.
Customer: Excuse me, do you carry Jewish New Year cards?
Boss: I'm sorry, our New Years cards don't come in till November. But we'll be getting Jewish Christmas cards then, too!”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#425, "Rites of Fall" (2003), collected in Invasion of the DTWOF (2005).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Lois: You're never gonna meet anyone hanging around here with the tactical nuclear family.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#419, "The Candidate" (2003), collected in Invasion of the DTWOF (2005).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: I… y'know, um… I'm really attracted to you! [thought bubble:] Omigod! Who said that?!
Caption: A horrifying silence ensues. Is it an hour, or merely several seconds?
Harriet: I've had a crush on you for months.
Mo: Thank goddess! I was about to commit hara-kiri with my teaspoon!”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#22, "Suspense" (1987), collected in More DTWOF (1988).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Sydney: Imagine the cinematography if Ennis and Jack had been able to live together. Sweeping vistas of their couples therapist's office.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#483, "For Worse" (2006), collected in The Essential DTWOF (2008).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Thea: Didja make your quota, Lois?
Lois: Yup. Kissed a woman from every state in the union. Rhode Island was a drag queen, though. Do you think that counts?”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#161, "Afterglow" (1993), collected in Spawn of DTWOF (1993).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Lois: Hey, Ginger! Are you masturbating in there or what? I wanna show you something!
Ginger: [in the tub] If I'm masturbating, will you leave me alone?
Lois: No! Check it out. How do I look?
Ginger: Like a white girl in a black bra.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#117, "Anticipation" (1991), collected in DTWOF: The Sequel (1992).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: Thanks for the lentils! I have to go home now and rethink my priorities!”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#3, "High Anxiety" (1987), collected in More DTWOF (1988).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Ginger: I can't do this, Lois! I can't go out with a woman who has a child! I'm too young, I tell you! I haven't sown my oats yet!
Lois: I think your oats are impacted.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#370, "Not-for-Profit Motive" (2001), collected in Dykes and Sundry Other Carbon-Based Life Forms TWOF (2003).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Clarice: [proposing to Toni] I'll be your lawyer if you'll be my accountant.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#76, "An Unusual Plight" (1990), collected in New, Improved! DTWOF (1990).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Sydney: [proposing to Mo] Will you do me the honor of paradoxically reinscribing and destabilizing hegemonic discourse with me?”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#436, "Get Me to the Clerk on Time" (2004), collected in Invasion of the DTWOF (2005).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Lois: Oh, you guys have enough to worry about with your careers and all. You don't need to hear about my problems.
Ginger: Are you kidding? I'd much rather hear about your problems than work on my dissertation.
Lois: Thank you, Ginger. Considering you'd rather fellate Bill Clinton than work on your dissertation, that's very generous.”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#250, "Ph. D. & Sympathy" (1996), collected in Hot, Throbbing DTWOF (1997).
Dykes to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel photo

“Mo: Thank you, Jillian, for that fascinating, uh, transsexual version of the Oedipus legend, "Oedipal Complex."”

Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For

#194, "Limelight" (1994), collected in Unnatural DTWOF (1995).
Dykes to Watch Out For