QuoteOne particular thing I find interesting is that I have a gay friend who's very adamantly against any kind of discrimination and how we reacted after seeing the recent version of The Producers (the one with Will Ferrel). It's now his favourite movie but it really bothered me. I wouldn't have minded if the ->-bleeped-<-s were actually deeply offensive to the point of being funny but the level of humour didn't go beyond "ha ha! man in a dress!". On the other hand I'm not offended by Mr (sorry, Mrs!) Garrison in South Park who's portrayed as an innapropriately behaving transsexual teacher who's slightly insane and obsessed with sexual fetishes (yet no-one seems to care ).
I like South Park's kind of humour because it shows up our most ridiculous stereotypes and prejudices for what they are; ridiculous! And I think that's why it's not offensive.
I think it's just one of those things that will hopefully change with time. It's much easier to poke fun at a minority group than at yourself; first humor was directed at women, then the lower classes, then anyone not caucasian, then (I may jumping a bit here) homosexuals, and I think the newest thing is anyone who doesn't conform to the gender binary for whatever reason. So ->-bleeped-<-s, butch (and, to a smaller extent, lipstick) lesbians, effeminate guys (be they gay or not), anyone who blurs the line in any way between man and woman seems to be an acceptable target. Which I think is slowly changing (quite a few people/companies have had to issue apology statements after comments which were/may have been homophobic, e.g.
http://www.samesame.com.au/news/local/2617/Aussie-Journo-In-Hot-Water-Over-Gay-Slur.htm and
http://www.samesame.com.au/news/international/2505/Fairies-Fight-Back.htm), but a masculinity-dominated/oriented society will take a while to accept anything 'unmasculine.'
(That said, however, if the humour is for a reason, i.e. it's more than just manindressHA!, then I appreciate it as much as any other humour).
Quote(I'm afraid I couldn't think of any examples of FtM or Androgyne humor. I guess we're just not as funny. 
)
As I said, I think in a male-dominated society it's anything that threatens guys' virility which comes under fire. As FtMs don't seem to pose that much of a threat, and most people appear completely oblivious to "androgyne" as being a legitimate identity (or don't think it is legitimate, even) then humor isn't directed at them as much as MtFs, whose unmasculinity is *obviously* going to bring an end to the whole world, nay, the universe!
Honestly. (I have a bright rainbow sign on my bedroom door saying WARNING: INTOLERANCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. It's
rainbow for a *
reason*...which no-one at home gets, but that's another story).
