Why Is the Craig Ferguson Sketch Anti-Trans?

[Shana A]

Why Is the Craig Ferguson Sketch Anti-Trans?
Posted by Chris Geidner on February 6, 2011 8:13 PM

http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/02/why-is-the-craig-ferguson-sket.html

It turns out that claiming something is anti-trans humor stirs up people, and brings them out of the woodwork to tell you why you have no sense of humor. So it has gone with the two posts at Metro Weekly's Poliglot about The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.

As the Superbowl gets under way and other questionable examples of anti-trans humor appear on commercials, I wanted to take a minute to break down the reasons that I see for concerns being legitimately raised about the intent of the Peg Blerguson sketch (using shorthand to call it that, whether scripted or not) that ran on Feb. 4.

[Sandy]

Most of the people who are saying "Get over yourselves" from the GLB community are aghast when someone says "That's so gay!"

There are transsexual people who are not particularly offended by this or the SNL skit, and say that comedians have been getting laughs by putting men in dresses since Uncle Miltie and Flip Wilson.

I personally have never seen the humor in the whole men-in-dresses thing for at least that long (I am very old).   Or by the inference that all men who wear dresses are really just flaming queens.

To me it is the equivalent of having Al Jolsen dress up in black-face and sing "Mammy!" and expect all the people of color to laugh.  And then be told by all the non-black community that they should lighten up and get over themselves when they fail to see the humor in it.

It is derisive, condescending and mean spirited.  It is not humor.  It is not even bad humor.  It is loathsome.

-Sandy