The transphobic, cissexist people in our lives
I’m just stirring up trouble lately! A friend of mine has a blog that I follow, as he often posts amusing or interesting videos and links. Earlier this weekend he posted the clip from Ace Ventura which parodies The Crying Game, after ace discovers the woman he’s been involved with is “really” a man.
I called him out on it, and now he’s calling me sanctimonious.
Here’s part of my comment to the original video post:
So. I don’t know why you posted this video but, without any further commentary on your part, I can only assume you’re saying it’s funny.
It’s not.
It’s transphobic, it’s hurtful, and it’s in poor taste. But it’s not funny.
I continued in this vein, ending with the admittedly-accusatory line, “Your words have an effect on people. Chose them more carefully.”
He posted an open reply, saying in part:
So; I did not name the Ace Ventura post “Transgender People Are Super Creepy And Should Exclusively Merit Reactions of Disgust and Revulsion in Society.” I named it “Spoiler Alert.” As in, Spoiler Alert! the twist in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was that Sean Young was actually a man. The title framed the video in terms of the structure of the work, not the role that transgender individuals play. And while yes, we can never truly divorce a discussion of content from the rippling ramifications it imparts upon our culture and our society, the post was posted because it was a common reference point in the nostalgia train of our minds.
…
As far as the content being wholeheartedly transphobic, we must first assume that the titular Ace Ventura is a character we are meant to emulate. His role as protagonist does not assure our emulation; it is in the value we place on his actions that cements his insertion into our worldview. And if you’re ready to start carrying out real live conversations with your anus, donuts to dollars are you’re not going to have the healthiest worldview of transgenders to begin with.
…
I also want to add that I’ve never responded kindly to sanctimony. It’s an act that presumes intent and cuts off conversation; better in my mind to ask “Why” than to say “No.” But then again, I’m an agnostic.
To which I replied (again, in part):
…while I’m glad that the motivations of the post weren’t transphobic, but rather “because it was a common reference point in the nostalgia train of our minds,” that doesn’t negate the transphobic content of the clip. But then, you question even that.
…
You can say I’m sanctimonious (although I don’t agree, other than perhaps the very last line of my comment, as I don’t think my feelings of frustration and hurt are feigned or hypocritical) but I hold that you’re naive if you think, simply because Ace Ventura is an idiot, the transphobic humor expressed in the film won’t resonate with the audience and encourage its repetition. Likewise, it’s not just Ventura who responds negatively to the revelation about Sean Young in a transphobic fashion. As I said in the previous comment: “It’s transphobic because every single character (even the friggin’ dolphin) says, through their actions and their speech, that being trans – that a woman with a penis – is so violently disgusting that shaming her is acceptable and, ineed, expected.” I’d have less of a problem – although certainly not no problem – if someone, anyone, had stepped up in the movie and said, “So what? Why is our manhood so weak that the discovery of a penis shakes us to our very core?” But that never happens in the film, and certainly doesn’t happen in this clip.
And simply because someone doesn’t have the healthiest worldview about transgender people going into the movie doesn’t excuse the movie’s transphobic content.
I’m waiting to hear back from him, so we’ll see how (or if) this conversation continues…
Themocracy
I remember seeing that scene in the movie and being disgusted by it, too. It is transphobic, homophobic, and it seemed clear to me that the audience is supposed to see Ace Ventura’s reaction to discovering “OMG I kissed a man” as entirely understandable.
And people wonder why the trans panic defence still exists… *sigh*
Yeah, I was (and am) super confused as to how the content could possibly be anything other than “wholeheartedly transphobic.” Ugh.
Yeah I loved that movie growing up and never thought about it much. But a couple years ago I realized how transphobic (and homophobic) the part where he puts the plunger on his mouth and burns his clothes and shudders in the shower is. And of course the end where everyone vomits over the penis. Disgusting and all too indicative of popular culture’s general view of trans people. I’m sorry. I do think your friend has a point in asking why instead of saying no, but he also strikes me as one of those people who tries to strike people down with intimidation through big words and fancy language, and he sounds pretentious and obnoxious.
Oh, I totally agree – it would have been a more polite and respectful discussion to ask why he put up the video instead of simply objecting to it being up in the first place.
That said, I still think he’s wrong. =P
I posted over on the open letter post to you, Rebecca, how I see this.. but it’s stuck in moderation at the moment (more than one link at issue I suspect!)… rather than repeat myself I’ll wait until it gets cleared.
Having seen how the blog owner has decided to deal with it by upping the general level of transphobia to a blatant level, I’d suggest that was a blog and person to avoid to be honest.
He and I talked on the phone today, and he apologized. I’m still upset about his behavior, and he knows that, but I’m hoping the friendship isn’t just over. =/
Neither your comments or mine are being treated with any validity. I’m not fond of being told I’m over sensitive and have no sense of humour as a response to pointing out the way the clip feeds into the trans panic defence meme. Thanks for telling me how transphobic depictions of trans women are all just harmless fun, random internet people! I feel so much safer now you told me that!
Also I’m uncomfy as it’s someone you know offline and other people commenting there clearly do too. So I am not going to say anything more on either blog about this particular post, or even look at that one again. So I’m done with it, sorry Rebecca. I hope it doesn’t cause you to lose a friend, losing a friend for any reason is not nice, but particularly not if it’s for this kind of thing. :/
No need to apologize. As I said, I’m not happy with him and, were I in your position, I’d probably do the same thing and wipe my hands of the whole situation.
Ace Ventura is such a disgusting piece of transphobic garbage. I can’t stand that movie, and the way it plays a trans woman off as an abusable punchline.
No argument here. =/
[...] second comment was to The Transphobic, Cissexist People in our Lives. It’s a little long, so I’m going to break it up and respond section by section. So [...]
[...] is not the first time I’ve written about a situation where my initial response was one thing and, ultimately, the [...]
I’m so glad to have come upon this page. I am at my friends house and they were watching the movie and it made me very upset. One friend sort of saw my point, but was sympathetic to the movie and my other friend just said not to get upset tonight because I am always getting upset about “politics” and I told him it was not about politics, just about disrespect. And another friend said “it’s JUST a movie”. I said to them that it is not right to make trans people look bad, esp. when there are so few representations of them in media. Also, I said that Ventura and them seriously need to chill out, they kissed a person; not some beast. It’s not like they found out they kissed someone who ate dog food regularly. And then in one scene he pulls off her clothes and I said ‘who is he to unveil her like that; it’s none of his or anyone else’s business and how dare he undress her that is sexual harassment’. I just hate that they have scenes like that in comedies because people then defend it by saying ‘it’s just supposed to be funny’ ‘it’s just a stupid movie’, but laughter brings people together and they shouldn’t be united in transphobia, homophobia, and disrespect. Also, presence of scenes like that in comedies is destructive because people love comedies and have strong emotional connections to them that grow with years. It makes it more likely for them to defend the movies and to overlook and justify it and emulate it despite offensiveness. I just had to get that out in a friendlier environment. I consider my friends relatively open-minded, but people have no patience for criticism of these things.
I’m really thrilled to hear this page was useful for you, Jacquelyn. Thanks for your post, and for stopping by.
I agree completely that, unfortunately, it takes quite a mental shift for a lot of people to see why Ace Ventura (among many other examples of pop culture) would even be offensive in the first place. And, if that shift is made, many of them will still behind the “it’s just a joke” defense.
That’s really well-said. On top of that, people get so many of their cues from culture, in really insidious ways. ‘Comedy’ of that style reinforces negative perceptions of trans people (usually women…) to people who may not know any actual trans individuals, in the same way racist portrayals of black men and women perpetuated (and perpetuate…) racist stereotypes and made acceptable racist behavior. Or negative portrayals of any group. But particularly minority groups. And the smaller the group, the larger the impact, because it will be more difficult for members of that group to counteract the impressions given by pop culture.
I’m glad you were able to get it out here. Unfortunately, educating people – particularly about things they’ve never thought about, except sub/unconciously – is rarely fun or easy. I hope you’re able to find some common ground with your friends to continue the conversation (if that’s something you’re interested in) or – at the very least – get them to accept that it offended you, even if they don’t agree or understand.