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Saturday Night Live had one of their send-up fake ads this weekend that was particularly aimed at making fun of transsexuals. IMHO, it was transphobic, trivializing and mocking. GLAAD is calling for an angry response from the LGBT community. Considering GLAAD is rarely "there" on trans issues, this is a bit of an earthquake.
Here's a link to start with, with links to other links, including embedded video:
http://www.towleroad.com/2011/01/estromaxx.html
Saturday Night Live is a production of NBC Universal, which is in the process of merging with Comcast.
Comments
Mocking, Transphobic Skit On SNL ("Estromaxx" Ad)
I agree and find such a skit to be a shameful use of talent.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Well that made me ill
I am disappointed in SNL.
Ah say holy mackrel der Kingfish, we's bein rescriminate aginst!
I see that Amos n' Andy are alive and well at SNL,
A clear case of "those trannie weirdos" being laughed at, not with.
I'm all for the first amendment and their right to say whatever they want,
Just glad history has a way of revealling humor like this to be the work of pathetic bigoted assholes.
Like the viciously homophobic bent of certain MAD magazine gags from my childhood they'd never print now...
~~~sigh, Laika
"You can either fly Over the Rainbow or Under the Radar but you can't do both..."
Easy targets
A certain sort of humorist is prone to taking the cheap shots. It's good that GLAAD is taking a stand against this sort of thing because it is true that there are fewer gaybashing jokes in public discourse than there used to be. In contrast, there are now actually funny gay jokes.
It will happen with TG humor, also. Takes time and awareness and education. There are about 2 million TGs in America, as a guess, using the broader definitions. Add in family and SOs and friends and you're talking 30 million or so people concerned with TG issues. That's a demographic that will swing some weight in the future.
But venues like SNL have to be able to be offend. When they cross the line, they need to be told, but they do need the freedom to risk being offensive. Humor that takes no risks is not as valuable to society as the more adventurous kind.
What has SNL done with this particular skit? They've raised awareness in the gay and TG-friendly communities that someone needs to say something. When someone in a bar in Barstow makes a similar joke now, there may well be someone who has been sensitized to the issue who will frown instead of laugh. Tiny things like that make social change.
I've watched this happen with black, gay, women, disabled, Asian and Indian jokes. It will happen with TG humor, too. Webcomics like Skin Horse down at the bottom of this page are positive signs. Humor like SNLs rude skit is evidence of a different kind, it's not the jokes but the fact that there are now important and influential voices that will speak up and protest. Twenty years ago, that skit would not have been done the same way and would have likely not produced a visible counteraction.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I don't think it was that bad
other than it went on too long. We have to be prepared to laugh at ourselves sometimes, and let's face it some trannie jokes are funny. I have one in my loo which was sent as a brthday card with the wolf from Red Ridinghood being told by a doctor that he'd have to do the real life test before surgery could be considered. I also remember a cartoon from years ago, with an irate man saying to what appeared to be a dolly bird, 'If you go through with this sex-change operation, you'll be no son of mine.'
The knee jerk response only gives them more attention than they deserve, but hey, trannies are funny, don'cha know.
Angharad
Angharad
True, it was a tad too long,
those kind of commercials are known for being short and then the announcer that reads the side effects races through them, barely discernable as english. But, overall, I was more upset with the lack of sports bra while treadmilling, and the TSA agent's shocked/lewd expression. Then again, I have a warped sense of humour and feel if I can't laugh at myself, I can't bitch at others... :P
Diana
ps why not gripe about Monty Python and the crossdressing skits?
on bad days, i think i look like the men in that ad
sometimes, stuff like this bugs me. but look at it this way, they are growing breasts, dressing like women, and nobody is hating them, even though they dont pass. So maybe its an example of tolerance in action?
"Treat everyone you meet as though they had a sign on them that said "Fragile, under construction"
dorothycolleen
Not Funny
The problem with the skit isn't so much that it is in poor taste, but that it isn't funny.
It is a one "joke" pony and a poor joke at that.
The writers were lazy and lacked knowledge of their subject.
I might be wrong, but this skit could have been done in a way that showed the funny side of transitioning without relying on the misplaced premise that trannies are innately funny.
You writers -- how would you change the skit to be humorous without being hurtful?
Think church lady. Did Dana Carvey's humor have anything to do with him being in drag?
For example, the ladies could be discussing their problems in a restaurant. One of them could spot what they think is another person transitioning from M to F. They could rip into "her" pathetic effort and how obviously not passing she is. In the end one of them reveals with a red face that the person they are berating is her mother, a GG. If done right it could be funny and yet have a point.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
The Problem With SNL
...is that so many of their skits these days aren't funny. Well, at least as far as my funnybone is concerned, that is. I miss the brilliant writers of their early days. I'm not sure what the magic formula was, some ebullient balance of writing, performing and subversion, but it's certainly not there anymore.
___________________
If a picture is worth 1000 words, this is at least part of my story.
ABC News Survey Transgendered
In light of the SNL skit ABC News has done a survey of 6450 transgender Americans, part of the results here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/model-lea-saturday-night-live-s...
Karen J.
"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way." College Girl - poetheather
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Transequality.Org
I followed a couple of links from yours and landed on: http://transequality.org/
At first blush, it looks like an organization worthy of support. Let me know what you think.