Petition: Pull the ransphobic Powerpuff Girls episode

[Eveline]

Children's TV should be held to a higher standard. Unfortunately, the new Powerpuff Girls cartoon series falls painfully short with its transphobic "Donny the unicorn" episode. Cartoon Networks should pull the episode, and the network and director Nick Jennings should publicly apologize to the transgender community.

Delia Melody reviews the episode and its many shortcomings In her Huffington Post article.

Agree with me? Please sign my petition to Cartoon Network.

[Tristyn]

That's so petty that the media will use child-friendly mediums to communicate prepubescent transphobia and hatred to children! I think a transphobic episode even existed on the older PPG series from the 90s as well, where three male criminals who identified as male dressed like the PPGs to get away with crime. There were so many inside jokes aimed to denigrate trans folk that it wasn't funny not one bit. It's a real shame!

[Cindi Jones]

This reminds me of the South Park episode where one character had surgery to become a basketball player and one to become a dolphin. I used to like South Park because they were an equal opportunity offender of PC. This one hit pretty close. I let it slide.

[Eevee]

I was prepared to give PPG the benefit of the doubt because I've always enjoyed their sense of humor before. Apparently that doesn't carry over well into the reboot though. I watched the highlights of the episode and that was just awful. If you're going to insert a popular issue into a kid's show, make sure you completely understand it first. Actually, it's better to never dump your controversial opinions into a kid's show in the first place. Like Cindi Jones said, this is too much like South Park, which it's not supposed to be at all.

[Cindi Jones]

I agree. Social disagreements have no place in children's programs. But they can push what they want. We can also disagree, not watch it, write letters, protest, and boycott their advertisers. I have my letter ready to mail.

[Tristyn]

It's so sad that cartoons just ain't what they used to be. They takin' these shows and breeding hatred of anyone different in the hearts of many. T.V. ain't nuthin' but hypnosis...That's why I hardly watch it. Rather get my mental stimulation from music and videogames than sittin and watchin people live the life I wish I could. What a waste of time; brainwashing kids like that when they could just remake the show in the likeness of the 90s version. But I guess even that too good to be true. Remakes never win.....

[Zumbagirl]

Seriously? With the all the negative press the TG world gets these days, and the million plus people on the target no shopper list, we have a petition on a cartoon? Good grief.

[Tristyn]

Seriously? With the all the negative press the TG world gets these days, and the million plus people on the target no shopper list, we have a petition on a cartoon? Good grief.

To be honest, I have to agree. There really are more important matters than this silliness....even if it is a way to brainwash the young generation into more transphobia. But no, I guess it's not that big of a deal after all. I think the bathroom crap goin' down in NC is an even bigger deal since that would affect people like me directly, who don't give 2 cents about t.v. and has no kids anyway. I even signed the petition for the bathroom nonsense.

[JMJW]

I don't understand why this was so hard. I mean the episode practically writes itself.

The episode would have worked with these corrections:
1) A villain attacks and swipes off Donnie's cardboard horn. Laughing and so on. Not Buttercup. The PPG reassure Donnie it's okay.
2) Donnie decides to undergo Utonium's experiment to make him a real unicorn. But he does this on his own, without telling the PPG. Only the Professor.
3) It goes wrong with an explosion and he becomes slightly monstrous like in the show. He runs off.
4) The people call him a freak and jeer like in the show. This makes him a bigger monster and causes him to start doing damage. The PPG having not heard this and not recognising him, attack, but are defeated. Donnie tells them what happened.
5) The PPG tell the people they should be ashamed for laughing at him, and that he's still their friend and the same person he was before.
6) They all realise the PPG are right and the love the people extend towards him turns him back.
7) They get a shiny new horn to place on his head instead of the cardboard.

Ending on a happy note.

The fact that no one in the company was either willing or able to make those changes is baffling.

[SailorMars1994]

I never really understood what the heck that episode was trying to get at.... now that I know, I should feel offended but the episode in and of itself was rather lame and just dumb.

I loved the PowerPuff girls as a kid, especially around 2002 and often dreamed of one day being the ''4th'' girl with a yellow dress. Aw, oh well. I did give this new series a chance but it isnt the same, not horrid (besides said episode) but the old one was better. Besides, they have yet to bring back the best antagonists of all, the RowdyRuff Boys >: (