Laughing matters?

Posted by Juliet Jacques - 27 June 2011 16:41

Attitudes towards trans people betray the wider failures of "alternative" comedy.

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/cultural-capital/2011/06/alternative-comedy-trans

Britain's trans community is increasingly concerned with how media representation affects our lives, and frustrated at how regularly comedians reduce our bodies and social challenges to objects of derision. Whilst being far from the only minority group in this position, it's especially damaging as the number of "out" trans people remains relatively small, and so for many people, the clichés in Little Britain or Littlejohn cartoons (for example) go unquestioned, and continue to be used against any trans person who dares to be visible.