Tracing the Roots of Pop Culture Transphobia

That's a totally valid takaway and not weird.

jaded cynic

Loved this so much!

Conrad

The Celluloid Closet is an old but fantastic documentary that covers this same subject. Can't recommend it enough. ps. sending parasocial platonic love to you, Lindsay. Bullies have a way of making us feel alone even when we are loved by so many. The world is a better place because you're in it.

run_away

I've been watching and enjoying Lindsay's work on YouTube for a while now, so this Twitter thing spurred me to show my support here. Also I had been meaning to read Axiom's End but this lit a fire under my butt: ebook purchased. Don't let the Twitter demons get you down, Lindsay. You're awesome.

Tom Martell

Even though cruel people can be loud, they aren't the only voices to be heard. Hope you're staying well.

Love you Lindsay. Keep on keepin’ on! I always value your insight. I always feel like I learn something whenever you post a vid or anything else :) .

Lovely

Sending all our love, Lindsay! Don't let the bastards get you down ❤

Gian Balangue

We hope to see you soon. Take your time.

Mel Miniatures

Lindsay I don't know what happened on the hell site but don't let the bastards get you down

Steven Gibson

Main character's bestie on show "Lost Girl"

Eli Bildirici

OK, I know I'm *really* late, but who or what is Kinzie (or Kenzie; I'm not sure I'm hearing it right)?

Twit In A Hat

I have only a passing familiarity with Kinsay... what did he do that we're shaking our fists at? (i just didn't get the joke in the vid :S )

Còiseam

Dog Day Afternoon is a big one.

Small note but the “tongue pop” is an artform.

more than one trans people on my feed have recommended Disclosure so definitely something to check out

Darren Le

I was waiting to see how you’d shove Phantom into this, and I gotta say, it’s certainly one of your more hackneyed references.

Aurora H.

I showed this video to my wife, and she showed me the documentary "Disclosure" on Netflix that covers a lot of the same topics. Good companion pieces, I think.

Juan Borla

Really great video and analysis. It's interesting and a bit disheartening to see how interpretations presented in media have shifted over the years. I find it interesting how the light-hearted comedic take mostly died off in the west and yet still manages to be prevalent elsewhere. Japan has quite a few of these types of stories, many of which have the guy actually getting a female body through some means. Heck, this is still going on. There's currently a manga running right now in Shonen Jump that involves a boy being magically changed into a girl.

Jaqui K

It's also something written by a "Great American Author" and maybe something that Rowling read at some point in her life.

Erebus92

I know there's a million reasons why a piece of media was or was not mentioned in a video. During your analysis of the history of Trans portrayals in media, why didn’t you mention Gore Vidal’s Myra Beckenridge? (I realise that the book and film are quite different). Myra is noteworthy for a few reasons. It sits in a strange spot in that it depicts the post-Psycho 70’s portrayal of Trans people as “serial assaulters of men and women”, but also pre-figures the more 90/00’s trope of “Trans people are just trying to deceive cis people, and that’s gross” that you pointed out. Myra/Myron is depicted as an unreliable narrator (in the novel) with a lot of opinions about gender and portrayal of it in the Hollywood media. I think perhaps Myra was as influential as Psycho or Silence of the Lamps in pop culture shaping inaccurate depictions of trans people.

Erebus92

I suspect that it's more the "uncreative" part than the "conspiratorial" part. It probably started off with writers copying from The Crying Game, and then other writers copied those writers, and then further writers copied those writers, and so on, until it eventually became a trope.

As a trans woman living in the UK, thank you so much for this! The last couple of years has had me go from die hard HP fan to honestly being afraid of the next thing JKR says due to her influence. Already it’s fuelling so much hate and misinformation among the general population who don’t necessarily know the nuances of what we have to go through, they just know her take. Unfortunately I can’t see this video reaching the people who are too closed minded to see what’s going on.

Bonnie Fiddis

There were some positive portrayals of trans characters in the 1960s and 70s. "Eddie" on "The Jeffersons" -- George Jefferson's old army buddy who comes out to George. While George at first experiencing a standard hetero panic, he comes to accept Eddie at the end. And there is, of course, "Glen or Glenda," which despite being an Ed Wood awful extravaganza was sincere in trying to portray a transexual journey to surgery. There was also Roberta Muldoon in "The World According to Garp," who is a sympathetic portrayal of a transgendered woman. Not sure whether to characterize Leon in "Dog Day Afternoon." In other words, it's not just " and then there was Psycho." There appears to have been a brief window of pro-acceptance in the 1960s into the early 80s, followed by a massive backlash as described in the video. It would seem that the general conservative turn in movies in the 1980s also eliminated the sympathetic transgender portrayal.

Held off commenting until I could finish the video. Another excellent essay (great job, Team Lindsay!) and I'm excited to check out ContraPoint's video. I particularly appreciated the deep-dive into the ways in which official statistics can mislead both intentionally and unintentionally (I didn't realize until you brought it up that I was mentally conflating transsexual women with transsexual individuals in the UK incarceration numbers, for instance). Thanks for for another great thought-provoking video essay - I look forward to every one that comes out.

Haldon Lindstrom

This is just...so perfect. All of it. But also, I am on both teams and you can't stop me from buying BOTH pins. (Particularly loved the Kinsey fist-shaking)

Kait Hatch

We salute you!

Why do you have to ambush me with donuts at the end? :'(

Aaron J. Shay

you really can't tell until the book/script is done lol, and even then there's still a 100% chance you'll piss at least someone off

Lindsay Ellis

The rage is justifed

Thank you for the video! It's really helpful to see the progression - to see where the planting of specific stereotypes comes from as a means of combating them. I feel better informed and better armed for debate! Also - it's frustrating/hard to see the negative responses to your videos/opinions on full display like that. I hope that you have good wellness practices for controlling the adrenaline spikes that must happen when those go up.

Adventuress

Honestly, the Book is such a great demonstration of how TERFs aren't even feminists as they pretend to be. There's nothing feminist in this neo-victorian, gender segregating, slut shaming garbage. Dressing it up with transphobia instead of patriarchy doesn't make it feminist, Joanne.

Natalie Arnold

I'm loving the stylization of this one, especially this makeup look!

Damn you Lindsay, now I want a donut

Davey

This is a great video, thanks Team Lindsay!

Is it wrong to feel... conspiratorial about the two decades of vomiting part? Like it seems like there was definitely a shadowy cabal of extremely uncreative hyper-conservative screenwriters trying to brainwash us this way

Pietro Gagliardi

A Feud?!! It’s like the Civil War of theory breakdown/media criticism youtube. But, you know, good.

I have a question: if I were to write a book or a script where a member of a minority was depicted as a jerk or a villain, would that be okay when it isn't stereotypical?

WJ ZAV

So glad Sense8 was mentioned. Show was really ahead of its time not just in how it represented the lgbt community, but how it focused on an international story for a global audience.

Érico Lotufo

Alright, this was not the place I expected to be reminded of the mid-00s viral "Shoes" video, but I have to go watch that after this now and see whether it has aged well. Also, great video. I've been looking forward to the two of you working even semi-together on something like this for a while now, great to see it *wanders off to buy some badges*

Just to add as well about the Scottish Gender Recognition Act that got JKR so ""afraid"" was not about any real bill but about a consultation about reforming the GRA (actually the second consultation in Scotland in 5 years about this) and an reform of the GRA in Scotland has actually been pushed back till the after the next Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2021. So the bill she was so afraid of has not been official confirmed and will not be put forward to vote until the forseeable future. There have been no changes to the Scottish Gender Recognition Act.

You (both) remain the absolute best.

Camille R

I honestly believe that's also where the "attack helicopter" idea got started, since iirc one of the characters in that episode transitioned into a dolphin?

I've been waiting for this video for years, ever since Lindsay and Natalie started teasing that they might do it on twitter in like 2018! So happy it's finally here!

Great video. But what was Joan’s twelfth concern?

Skulmarus

all of them of the ones that i mentioned

Lindsay Ellis

“A lot of people feel like these efforts fall short, especially when a cis actor plays a trans character, which is most of them. All of them except Orange is the New Black.” Wait. No mention of Supergirl? In the newer season, there’s a transgender actress playing a transgender, main character!

Nick Ulanowski

Thank you for this video Lindsay. I got into Harry Potter because of a friend who is transgender and I'm so upset that Joanne has ruined a world that meant so much to them. I appreciate you for doing this video. (Also all the respect to Natalie, but I had to get the Team Lindsay pin).

Yeah that bit about South Park was definitely something that I think about a lot. I sometimes feel like an entire episode could just be devoted to the theme of transphobia in South Park. The interesting thing is that it doesn't seem to take the "trans women are a threat to women", but in the case of Ms. Garrison, the idea that those who are self-hating gay men are who become trans women. That's an aspect that I feel also is really disturbing, the idea that trans women lie in opposition to gay men, and I think South Park unfortunately gave some fuel to that fire by having Ms. Garrison campaign against gay marriage and actively embrace homophobia out of spite for her former lover.

I'm so happy to see this. When I watched her video, I was like "There's so much more history there!"

Franzeska Dickson

My weird takeaway is that I kinda wanna see the Wachowski Sisters remake Silence of the Lambs in the style of Bound, with Jamie Clayton as Clarice. And also that I want donuts now.

Heather Cotter

Great video as always. One of the things I love about Some Like It Hot is that you can visibly see Jack Lemmon processing at the end "Holy shit, is this a healthy relationship? Would I be a fool to give this up?" and it's surprisingly sweet.

Kevin James

I liked the presentation--this is helpful and I think it might actually enlighten some viewers

Ben and Sion Fogal

Shit now I have to buy two pins

Teresa Boxleiter

I 100% lost it at "... except that whore Natalie"... to the degree that I had to explain to a roommate what the hell I was laughing at.

Brian Haberer

Oh goodie, a feud... damn, but both pins look so cool. Damn my centrism!! Also, great video. Feels like this would be a great companion piece to that Netflix documentary Disclosure

I’m buying both pins too!!

Rachel SJ

Thanks for the video! As someone who's never seen Psycho or Silence of the Lambs, I was hitherto perplexed about where the JK Rowling was getting her conviction that bathrooms of all places are filled with killers.

Yildo

So I'm trying not to buy things I don't have a genuine use for, aka no pins for me, but is there a way to send money (and designate a team) just as a donation?

Eileen Nguyen

Man, I want to be an evil centrist and buy both pins. XD

I love how we've finally reached the same wave of trans representation in the media that gay characters have, in that they don't always have to be stereotypical or victims. Everybody has the capacity to be petty, rude, stupid, or abusive, gender or sexual orientation aside. I know this because my girlfriend in high school was trans and she was a master of gaslighting. However, every time I tried to talk about it to friends, the reaction was "well of course she was so easily upset or got upset, look at all the trauma she had suffered" or " You just aren't seeing things from her point of view". Like her identity gave her carte-blanche to transfer the trauma onto me. I felt so guilty about upsetting her and triggering her so often, I didn't even consider it all to be gaslighting and emotional abuse/manipulation until years later. I'm not saying I was a perfect girlfriend in return, it was my first long-term relationship so of course I made mistakes. TLDR airing my trauma laundry aside, I think the cornerstone stage of media acceptance of any group of people is for them to be written as characters regardless of their identity, that whether they're POC, trans, gay, ace, disabled, autistic etc. does not become their defining quality nor their indication of morality.

Julia Francesca Day

I love Natalie, but sorry Team Lindsay since day 1.

Tony M Parker

apologies if it's just something I missed but the Twelfth Night bit says "Orsinio" instead of "Orsino?" more importantly this is a masterwork and obviously I'm a simp who's going to buy both pins immediately lol good to see Carl again too

Ugino

If you enjoyed this video and have a university level humanities or social sciences background, I’d strongly suggest reading C. Riley Snorton’s “Black on Both Sides”. It focuses more on the representation of Black trans and gender non-conforming people in the 20th century. It makes an interesting argument that a lot of our transphobia is also rooted in anti-blackness.

Great vid! Thanks for making it!

"there... inside your mind..." and the music cue in my head synched up with the one in the video. Sigh, I shall never escape the dingdanged Phantom.

Karel P Kerezman

Also, I really wish Ed Gein’s NIPPLE BELT had been mentioned.

Sarah L

Angelina's cockney.... CRYING

Leland Goodman

Oopsy, I bought both pins. I hope those youths are happy.

Bits

When I was 10 or 11 years old, my dad gave me a copy of Chamber of Secrets in the hopes that the caliber of novels I chose would improve. I knew a few pages in that this author wasn't for me. I was right. Good Lord was I right.

Jess Morgan

What if I buy both pins

Sarah L

Gary of Swindon, fuckin got him

Matthew Hayes

A YouTuber feud! A YouFeud? FeudTube?

Casey Connor