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South Park mocks trans athlete with a transphobic episode
- Thread starter metalslimer
- Start date
What South Park makes fun of isn't rage, it makes fun of caring about stuff at all. For forever now it has pushed the believe that it's wrong for people to care about stuff and that they should be made fun of for caring, regardless of what they care about. Which is bullshit.
I am disappointed about this episode. I feel like South Park has done a great deal lately about addressing social issues and politics especially in regards to President Trump. But goddamn when it comes to trans issue, does not only South Park have a problem it seems like the whole country has a problem. Why can't we just let people be?
Who is this referring to? This seems to be saying that trans people shouldn't try to silence other trans people who have no problem with the episode, but no one was doing that in this thread at all.
Havent seen it yet, but even with a couple of episodes this season being really good, they've had the problem of trying to cram a social issue+meta commentary+"classic south park" into one episode the past few seasons, where none of the ideas come clear through. Sounds like some people that have seen it are saying that applies to this episode. They also still have bad takes, like the anxiety episode last season.
I take back everything I said about South Park. I gave them the benefit of the doubt when they aired the episode "The Cissy" because it was supportive of trans people and I thought they had moved on from their terrible and dehumanizing stance as seen in the episode where Kyle's dad becomes a dolphin. I was wrong.
That episode made me want to put my fist through the TV, as did the Aspergers episode. Not surprised that they continue to do this sort of thing. Disappointed, but not surprised.
This is more or less where I'm at with South Park. They are doing better overall, but not clearly enough and not often enough to really change the minds that cancelled South Park years ago. Between the occasional bad/awful take 5% of the time and the muddled messages 40% of the time, I completely get why people don't want to give them the time of the day the other 55% of the time where they're actually doing pretty good.
You are wrong. You are just excusing the episode because you care more about it than you do about trans people.
No. You tried to shit out a hot take that you hoped would go over better than it did. Also, it isn't outrage to point out transphobic bullshit. Claiming it is outrage is a cheap way to deflect that you had a shit take on a reasonable reaction.
The hell you are. Tell yourself whatever you need to, but this isn't fooling anyone.
They need to be avoided especially if you have no tact or grace when trying to tell them. These kinds of shit tier takes go a long way in allowing dumbasses with backwards ideas something to point to when justifying open bigotry.
I'll have to watch for myself but it's a shame to read that. They had a good streak this season. :(
God DAMN
You've got to be kidding me with this shit
Edit: referring to what KetKat replied to above
The thing that gets me is if they wanted to apologize for past behavior, as some of the lines in the episode seemed to indicate, the easiest way to do that was to put a sympathetic transwoman in the episode.
It's better than anything they've ever done with regards to trans issues but that's like saying drinking from a ditch is better than drinking from a puddle in a gas station parking lot.
An extra shame because that subplot with the board gaming was very cute.
It's better than anything they've ever done with regards to trans issues but that's like saying drinking from a ditch is better than drinking from a puddle in a gas station parking lot.
An extra shame because that subplot with the board gaming was very cute.
I think that both Matt & Trey feel that because they are generally pretty progressive or on point with their commentary that it gives them leeway to make jokes about certain aspects of life like mental health and whatnot. Another way of them kind of toeing the line is making Cartman the main character and the one always doing heinous things. The viewers know he is a terrible and no one empathizes with him... well, awful people but do I suppose, but not the rational ones.
Sadly this is how debate ends so often in here. Why would anyone bother further stating their opinions when this is what they'll get? I love Era, and (luckily) my politics align with the majority, but wow is this place an echo chamber at times. Nothing the poster said merited such an aggressive response, and no, disagreeing with them is not a valid reason. The potential for discussion on differing viewpoints (not necessarily on trans issues, but on the episode) was brought right down with this post.
If you have to add "I support Trans rights" to your remarks to make them seem less transphobic, you were being transphobic.
Yeah, I get that there's no debating trans rights/acceptance, OBVIOUSLY, but to frame a different/dissenting opinion on the interpretation of nuance in an episode or whatever as being anti-trans just outright kills any meaningful discussion that could be had and makes Era lesser for it.
I don't think that poster said anything transphobic, he was just explaining how he interpreted the episode.
I mean being used as a punchline in shitty jokes for so long can definitely take it's toll on someone, I understand that. I also think that we should be able to have a discussion about something with nuance without calling eachother names right away.
I feel like a lot of arguments are like this on ERA:
It's disappointing to see another thread here about trans issues full of people cisplaining to trans members what's actually transphobic. I can easily see why trans people might want to avoid threads like this.
South Park's politics have always been garbage.
"But they were better this season!"
That they became slightly more introspective after realizing how much they contributed to, and reflected, the culture that voted in a literal Nazi as president doesn't absolve them of anything. They've always been garbage.
It's the same shit with guys like Maher and Gervais. Just because you laugh when they make fun of people you don't like, doesn't make them any less terrible. And you shouldn't be shocked when they, in fact, do something terrible.
"But they were better this season!"
That they became slightly more introspective after realizing how much they contributed to, and reflected, the culture that voted in a literal Nazi as president doesn't absolve them of anything. They've always been garbage.
It's the same shit with guys like Maher and Gervais. Just because you laugh when they make fun of people you don't like, doesn't make them any less terrible. And you shouldn't be shocked when they, in fact, do something terrible.
I don't think trans people should have to always defend not being mocked with constant poise and control. Sometimes you gotta let loose and give a big fuck you to people saying you're too stupid If you're being hurt by this. "They're not making fun of you, it just looks exactly the same as everything else making fun of you. Why are you so upset? Whatever happened to nuance?"
Yep. Did people just forget these two rich, straight dudes wrote an entire episode about "reclaiming" a gay slur?
I sure as fuck didn't because people still cite that fucking episode when they try to argue "iT DoEsN't MeAn ThAt AnYmOrE!!!!"
Sadly this is all nothing new and SP fans will handwave away this transphobia like they do all the other issues marginalized groups have with the show.
Everyone here is aware that this character is basically what transphobes pretend they're against when they're challenged directly right? There's a classic refrain of "I'm not actually against trans people I just have ***legitimate concerns*** about evil men pretending to be women in order to (beat them at sports/sexually abuse women/sexually abuse children) so therefore we need to remove rights from trans people because it's our only choice."
There's nothing subversive or smart or nuanced about it, it's just shit. and it's legitimizing transphobe talking points.
There's nothing subversive or smart or nuanced about it, it's just shit. and it's legitimizing transphobe talking points.
Well, there was that Penn and Teller show too. Probably was a little better because it was more grounded but it definitely had some gross misses of the mark, esp. around climate change
Its a scenario Ben Shapiro has actually used to disparage trans people.
So every opinion they've ever had was garbage?
How about overwhelmingly being for gay acceptance in 1997 when no other show would make an episode like this?
Or vouching for gay people in boy scouts and completely refuting the idea that gay people are all pedophiles?
Or educating people on the struggles faced by those who suffer from tourettes syndrome?
Or lambasting those responsible for the indentured servitude of college athletes?
Or making fun of the racial "economic" anxiety by whites that put Trump into office?
It's honestly a mixed bag, even though many like to demonize the show as some kind of evil libertarian garbage when they've clearly had plenty of positive, socially progressive messages mixed in. It's crass and crude as hell, and was never going to pass a purity test so I can't expect it to fly for a majority of Era, but to describe it as having always been on the wrong side of history is just dumb.
Yup them and Bill Maher types. Just terrible people that like the smell of their own farts.
I can appreciate wanting to have a conversation when it's actually in good faith but...
The poster lost a lot of that credibility when they responded to upset reactions by saying "I take it no one has actually seen the episode". Really makes their "explanation" post come off as disingenuous.
It also doesn't help when people who are actually trans vent their frustration or hurt, only to be responded to with drive-by posts from assholes saying "South Park rocks"! We really need to be more thoughtful about how we respond to people who experience adversities when we discuss issues impacting people of color, women or anyone LGBTQ+.
Look, I get why the Lindsay Ellis thread was frustrating or confusing for all sides. She had a pattern of defending LGBTQ rights and there was a lot of discussion around her tweet based on intent v. impact.
This? This is much less complicated. South Park already has a long and disturbing track record of not just making "trans jokes" but even flat-out arguing against the validity of their right to exist. That idiotic dolphin episode was only the beginning. It's kind of telling that we have to build a case and dissect the episode just to find a way for it not to be seen as transphobic.
It's so easy to tell people to stop being sensitive when you haven't been in the crosshairs yourself.
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Fair enough about the initial post, didn't really take that into consideration.
Also agree with the bolded. I kind of touched on it with an earlier post. Being the butt of a shitty punchline will eventually grind you down.
Bull-fucking-shit. You don't get to claim to be an ally while excusing transphobic shit.
But hey something something debate me bro. 🙄🙄🙄
The show started off by making fun out of everyone. It was racist, homophobic and discriminatory to disabled people.
Somehow along the way people forgot that and I always used to think it's bizarre how that happened and the show became loved on this forum.
It's still a racist, homophobic, discriminatory show, don't forget that. It always has been and it will most likely continue to be so in the future.
Somehow along the way people forgot that and I always used to think it's bizarre how that happened and the show became loved on this forum.
It's still a racist, homophobic, discriminatory show, don't forget that. It always has been and it will most likely continue to be so in the future.
You mean the one where, at the end, Big Al literally talks about how a private organization like the scouts shouldn't be forced into admitting gay people? That one?
There's a reason I compared them to Gervais and Maher (and as others said, you can put Penn & Teller in that boat). Yes, they have some "good opinions," but it's always been baked into a garbage worldview. My point isn't that they "failed" a purity test, my point is that people shouldn't try to rationalize them when they've clearly already told us who they are.
Also, gotta love how "purity test" has become the new dog whistle after "SJW" became a joke.Ya'll ain't slick.
It's an echo chamber because there's no time given to transphobic hate around here? Get lost with this garbage.
That's about the level of response I'd expect from you at this point, yeah.