Great article. On one level, I’m sympathetic to the idea that male cast members dressed as women is hurtful to some. I can see that. But I don’t understand why this is different from drag shows (I say this as a gay man ambivalent about drag shows).
When a man dresses as a woman in a drag show, it’s a glorious, hilarious, life-giving act—a celebration of the LGBTQIA2SL++ community!! But when a man dresses as a woman in a comedy sketch, it is a mean-spirited attack on the marginalized. It is absolutely not funny.
My only guess is that as Social Justice is a faith founded on the sacredness of the stigmatized Other-ized Victim, a gay man would get a pass here whereas a straight man like Will Ferrell has too much privilege to pull it off. The ultimate purpose of these sacraments is for the community to erase someone's stigma by helping them embrace and accept their True Authentic Self™, when they will at last bathe in the glorious divine light of total self-esteem. (SJ really is a secular post-Christian form of group therapy.) Thus a straight man performing this ritual carries a whiff of sacrilege, but for a gay man this can be repackaged as healthy transgression.
I think you're right, CP. But imagine if the straight man were black. I wonder if he'd be allowed to goof off in dresses. I don't recall Tyler Perry's Medea movies running into any trouble. Maybe what we need is a high court to clear up the confusion. Or at least a woke version of Judge Judy.
It’s not hurtful. It’s punching up now. If you can’t see that then you’re in the elite bubble of wealthy celebrity and celebrity adjacent power brokers. Regular, normal people think you are deranged. And they are correct. Normal people are ok with gay rights and gay marriage and understand that the trans movement is both violently anti gay and mysogynist.
"Comedians had long avoided making fun of him, but that changed one day when this comedian finally ripped into the handicapped man. After the show, the handicapped man met the comedian backstage and thanked him. So many other comedians treated him like he was invisible, but on this night he felt included."
This hits personally!
I remember feeling like I was always treated like a perpetual victim class thanks to being female and a falsely diagnosed disability. Insults were reserved for the privileged class who had enough power to handle it, while I was always seen as the underdog who'd crumble the second I heard a naughty word.
I laugh probably more than I should at "sexist" jokes now. There's something strange to humor that makes you feel like you're actually being treated with dignity.
Exactly. It shows that you were stronger than they thought you were all along: "There's something strange to humor that makes you feel like you're actually being treated with dignity."
I’m a trans girl and a bartender. There's a line cook at my job who's a great friend of mine, a cis guy maybe twenty years older than me. He makes trans jokes all the time—calling me a "diversity hire" when I fuck up, joking that I've got more balls than the customers, etc. etc.
Best coworker I've ever had. I walk into work and feel seen, acknowledged, weirdly understood. Not only do I think we have to joke about trans people, I think it’s a social good to do so. We’re never going to figure out how trans people fit into modern society if we can’t joke about them; mockery done well necessitates an understanding of the object. It’s a humanization thing.
"It’s one reason I disagree with those who regard the social justice movement as postmodern and relativistic. Not only do true believers agree that objective good and evil exist, they believe they possess the power to bring this Truth to the masses." In a sense this monoculture has become the new conservatives, clinging onto tenets conservatively, unwilling to change their mind. In a sense this is a very conservative thing, just clinging to a new set of rules and axioms borne out of a once-progressive mindset that's stuck.
Excellent news and great description of the problem with comedy.
What this whole thing has shown is how desperately craven many cultural figures such as actors really are. They really are so desperate to stay relevant that it's like they don't have a soul, just a facade seeking likes.
Great article. On one level, I’m sympathetic to the idea that male cast members dressed as women is hurtful to some. I can see that. But I don’t understand why this is different from drag shows (I say this as a gay man ambivalent about drag shows).
When a man dresses as a woman in a drag show, it’s a glorious, hilarious, life-giving act—a celebration of the LGBTQIA2SL++ community!! But when a man dresses as a woman in a comedy sketch, it is a mean-spirited attack on the marginalized. It is absolutely not funny.
Am I missing something?
Thanks, Ryan and not only are you not missing something, I think you've identified another dogma that goes largely unchallenged. Such a great point!
My only guess is that as Social Justice is a faith founded on the sacredness of the stigmatized Other-ized Victim, a gay man would get a pass here whereas a straight man like Will Ferrell has too much privilege to pull it off. The ultimate purpose of these sacraments is for the community to erase someone's stigma by helping them embrace and accept their True Authentic Self™, when they will at last bathe in the glorious divine light of total self-esteem. (SJ really is a secular post-Christian form of group therapy.) Thus a straight man performing this ritual carries a whiff of sacrilege, but for a gay man this can be repackaged as healthy transgression.
But that's just a guess...
I think you're right, CP. But imagine if the straight man were black. I wonder if he'd be allowed to goof off in dresses. I don't recall Tyler Perry's Medea movies running into any trouble. Maybe what we need is a high court to clear up the confusion. Or at least a woke version of Judge Judy.
Nope not missing anything, simple moralistic double standards.
Nah. Don’t be so self centered
Well you responded to my comment so I was curious. You seem delightful.
It’s not hurtful. It’s punching up now. If you can’t see that then you’re in the elite bubble of wealthy celebrity and celebrity adjacent power brokers. Regular, normal people think you are deranged. And they are correct. Normal people are ok with gay rights and gay marriage and understand that the trans movement is both violently anti gay and mysogynist.
Who is this directed to, me?
"Comedians had long avoided making fun of him, but that changed one day when this comedian finally ripped into the handicapped man. After the show, the handicapped man met the comedian backstage and thanked him. So many other comedians treated him like he was invisible, but on this night he felt included."
This hits personally!
I remember feeling like I was always treated like a perpetual victim class thanks to being female and a falsely diagnosed disability. Insults were reserved for the privileged class who had enough power to handle it, while I was always seen as the underdog who'd crumble the second I heard a naughty word.
I laugh probably more than I should at "sexist" jokes now. There's something strange to humor that makes you feel like you're actually being treated with dignity.
Exactly. It shows that you were stronger than they thought you were all along: "There's something strange to humor that makes you feel like you're actually being treated with dignity."
I’m a trans girl and a bartender. There's a line cook at my job who's a great friend of mine, a cis guy maybe twenty years older than me. He makes trans jokes all the time—calling me a "diversity hire" when I fuck up, joking that I've got more balls than the customers, etc. etc.
Best coworker I've ever had. I walk into work and feel seen, acknowledged, weirdly understood. Not only do I think we have to joke about trans people, I think it’s a social good to do so. We’re never going to figure out how trans people fit into modern society if we can’t joke about them; mockery done well necessitates an understanding of the object. It’s a humanization thing.
Love it. Such an important anecdote -- thanks, Fiona!
It’s sort of a leap to assume that gay people de facto align with the recent gender craze.
Agreed. Many do not. Would be interesting to see a survey on that.
"It’s one reason I disagree with those who regard the social justice movement as postmodern and relativistic. Not only do true believers agree that objective good and evil exist, they believe they possess the power to bring this Truth to the masses." In a sense this monoculture has become the new conservatives, clinging onto tenets conservatively, unwilling to change their mind. In a sense this is a very conservative thing, just clinging to a new set of rules and axioms borne out of a once-progressive mindset that's stuck.
"LGBTQIA2SL++ community"
Excellent news and great description of the problem with comedy.
What this whole thing has shown is how desperately craven many cultural figures such as actors really are. They really are so desperate to stay relevant that it's like they don't have a soul, just a facade seeking likes.
"a facade seeking likes" -- well said, and I agree. Their desire for fame and money usually trumps everything else
I hear you, Doyle, and Stuart Smiley would have a lot to say about the new generation of therapists!
Nice! I'd forgotten about that, but there was more wisdom to that caring nurturer than I remembered