diff --git a/rtv/content.py b/rtv/content.py
index 48e321d..404b5f0 100644
--- a/rtv/content.py
+++ b/rtv/content.py
@@ -8,19 +8,30 @@ import requests
 
 from .errors import SubmissionURLError, SubredditNameError
 
+is_utf8 = True
+
 
 def clean(unicode_string):
     """
-    Convert unicode string into ascii-safe characters.
+    Checks if -a was given, if it was it
+    converts unicode string into ascii-safe characters.
     """
+    if not is_utf8:
+        if six.PY2:
+            ascii_string = unicode_string.encode('ascii', 'replace')
+        else:
+            ascii_string = unicode_string.encode().decode('ascii', 'replace')
 
-    if six.PY2:
-        ascii_string = unicode_string.encode('ascii', 'replace')
+            ascii_string = ascii_string.replace('\\', '')
+        return ascii_string
     else:
-        ascii_string = unicode_string.encode().decode('ascii', 'replace')
+        if six.PY2:
+            utf8_string = unicode_string.encode('utf-8', 'replace')
+        else:
+            utf8_string = unicode_string.encode().decode('utf-8', 'replace')
 
-    ascii_string = ascii_string.replace('\\', '')
-    return ascii_string
+            utf8_string = utf8_string.replace('\\', '')
+        return utf8_string
 
 
 def split_text(big_text, width):
diff --git a/rtv/main.py b/rtv/main.py
index 183ba65..ac6b13e 100644
--- a/rtv/main.py
+++ b/rtv/main.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ from .errors import SubmissionURLError, SubredditNameError
 from .utils import curses_session, load_config, HELP
 from .subreddit import SubredditPage
 from .submission import SubmissionPage
+import locale
+import rtv.content
 
 # Debugging
 # import logging
@@ -21,9 +23,9 @@ EPILOG = """
 Controls
 -----
 RTV currently supports browsing both subreddits and individual submissions.
-In each mode the controls are slightly different. In subreddit mode you can 
-browse through the top submissions on either the front page or a specific 
-subreddit. In submission mode you can view the self text for a submission and 
+In each mode the controls are slightly different. In subreddit mode you can
+browse through the top submissions on either the front page or a specific
+subreddit. In submission mode you can view the self text for a submission and
 browse comments.
 """
 
@@ -36,9 +38,11 @@ def main():
         formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter)
     parser.add_argument('-s', dest='subreddit', help='subreddit name')
     parser.add_argument('-l', dest='link', help='full link to a submission')
+    parser.add_argument('--force-ascii', dest='force_ascii',
+        help='forces ascii (disables unicode)', action='store_true')
 
     group = parser.add_argument_group(
-        'authentication (optional)', 
+        'authentication (optional)',
         'Authenticating allows you to view your customized front page. '
         'If only the username is given, the password will be prompted '
         'securely.')
@@ -56,6 +60,10 @@ def main():
     if args.subreddit is None:
         args.subreddit = 'front'
 
+    if args.force_ascii:
+        rtv.content.is_utf8 = False
+        locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, '')
+
     try:
         reddit = praw.Reddit(user_agent='desktop:https://github.com/michael-lazar/rtv:(by /u/civilization_phaze_3)')
         reddit.config.decode_html_entities = True
@@ -73,7 +81,7 @@ def main():
                 page.loop()
 
     except InvalidUserPass:
-        print('Invalid password for username: {}'.format(args.username)) 
+        print('Invalid password for username: {}'.format(args.username))
 
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
         return