SNL’s Michael Che under fire for transphobic joke

[PartySick 153,895]

Damn. Y'all would hate my favorite comedian.

I think as far as trans issues go, a SNL pun is pretty low on the priority bar.

[imnotyourbabe10 6,081]

Of course sensitive topics will always receive scrutiny from the SJW community or GP when they are done through the lens of comedy.  I dunno about ya'll, but as a queer person, I still laugh at insult comics like Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Lisa Lampanelli, Bianca Del Rio, Chelsea Handler, Kathy Griffin, and so on.  This SNL joke was fine, imho.  But I will also listen to those who took this joke with offense -- I am part of the queer community, but I certainly recognize that I do not know all there is to know about the trans experience.

On the other hand, I'm definitely not here for including my fellow LGBTQ+ community members in the military industrial complex.  But that's a different conversation   See "Against Equality" for further details (http://www.againstequality.org/stuff/against-equality-queer-revolution-not-mere-inclusion/)

[GAYHEMikey 7,777]

2 hours ago, Chromatican said:

Sorry, but this joke was not transphobic at all. LGBT jokes need to be okay at some point. This is a very harmless joke, told to an audience that was obviously pro-trans based on their response to Biden’s decision. This is very different from comedians telling homophobic jokes back in the 80s. As minority groups become more accepted, jokes about them need to become more accepted as well. This pearl clutching about everything is why so many legit allies to the LGBT community feel intimidated and like they’re walking on eggshells. People on drag race make jokes about tucking all the time, and many trans people have a sense of humor about themselves. This joke is at least better than the “I identify as an attack helicopter” jokes from six years ago.

Same. I feel like if you want to be treated like everyone else, you’ll have to be treated like everyone else. As long as these jokes are not meant to be mean, I’m okay with them. 

[StressedOut 650]

I'm not trans, don't have a say if it is or isn't. As someone well versed in these kind of issues, didn't really "trigger" me, it just isn't funny lol. SNL is very hit or miss.

[LOVEDRUG 10,429]

here we go. a whole other thread of cis white gays telling trans people what's transphobic. sometimes i wonder why i don't leave this site.

the joke isn't transphobic as such, but it's tone deaf, rude and insensitive. dark comedy can be very funny, case in point, ricky gervais. but that's because ricky makes it very clear that his comedy comes from a place of making fun of injustice and any jokes from ricky aimed at trans people would be making fun of the transphobe and not the trans person. when you don't have that clarity, it's really easy for a transphobic person to use that grey area as an excuse to be transphobic.

plus, the excuse of 'if you want to be treated the same then you have to be treated the same' doesn't work and never has. a marginalised community cannot be joked about by the majority until the majority holds them in the same regard. if you only want to discuss trans equality when there's an opportunity for you to make trans people the butt of the joke, there's something wrong with you.

[SEANGT 5,165]

if you're not trans just be quiet on this one.

[TheQueenLG 2,469]

It feels wrong and there are so many other jokes that could have been made. 

[alecks 728]

I understand that the language of the joke is unpalatable to some and caught others off guard, but I do think a lot of people are misunderstanding the joke and who the target is. 

To me, it’s not directed at trans people, but at how tone deaf Biden can be sometimes. The joke isn’t that trans people “tuck” but that Biden wouldn’t know the difference or that it’s an offensive thing to say and accidentally put his foot in his mouth while having good intentions overall. That’s the cringe. 

[Clarence 1,444]

i mean. in true SNL fashion, it wasn't funny. but this is the most light trans joke ive ever heard. and like, the entire SNL staff is full of mostly liberals. you really think they meant any harm? 

[ItWasntLaauv 6,392]

Am I the only one who thought it was funny?  It’s comedy, it’s not real, it’s meant to not be taken seriously. If your watching comedy and aren’t ready to hear anything slightly politically incorrect, just don’t watch comedy shows. If Lady Bunny or South Park made this joke y’all would be cracking tf up.

[JohnnyVersace 8,955]

7 hours ago, Chromatican said:

Sorry, but this joke was not transphobic at all. LGBT jokes need to be okay at some point. This is a very harmless joke, told to an audience that was obviously pro-trans based on their response to Biden’s decision. This is very different from comedians telling homophobic jokes back in the 80s. As minority groups become more accepted, jokes about them need to become more accepted as well. This pearl clutching about everything is why so many legit allies to the LGBT community feel intimidated and like they’re walking on eggshells. People on drag race make jokes about tucking all the time, and many trans people have a sense of humor about themselves. This joke is at least better than the “I identify as an attack helicopter” jokes from six years ago.

Yeah no, I have to disagree. 

The joke continues to spread the notion that transpeople are nothing more than drag queens and cross dressers essentially parading around in costumes. And that they must "tuck" or do something with their genetalia in order to assimilate into culture and be "normal." And if trans people (and allies) are offended by the joke, there is validity to that. 

I think your post brings up an issue that I see always -  claiming that we all must simply "get over" offensive remarks and actions as to not ruffle feathers and have a grand ol time. As much as we see people calling out injustice, we see others clinging on to it in order to avoid the issue at hand and learn. But that continues to hurt trans people and the rest of the LGBTQ community in the long run. When we let these jokes slide and don't educate the world about the varying types of people, genders and orientations that exist in the community, it eventually results in hate speech, crimes, and even death. 

If anything, now is the time to shut this **** down, not let it slide. 

 

[Peroxide555 587]

... I was expecting it to be a lot worse.

I think the problem was it wasn't all that funny? Trans women/men of Gaga Daily, was this offensive?

[Peroxide555 587]

7 hours ago, Supersonic said:

I'm gonna give you the answer you maybe don't wanna hear but need to hear:

There's no right or wrong and nobody gets a final say because there's no federal trans joke tribunal with a grand jury. You're reliant on your own critical thinking skills. But there's some great questions in cases like this that make stuff a little easier.

What's the intent of the joke? What's the punchline of the joke? Is the punchline of the joke a stereotyical trope about a marginalized group? How accurate is the joke? Who is telling the joke? What are the power dynamics between the person who is telling the joke and the group/person who is the butt of the joke? Does the joke make sense? Is the joke funny?

What people misunderstand about progressive discourse is really that no one is trying to censor people. No one is trying to take away free speech or instate federal transphobia censorship bureaus. People are entitled to be as bigoted, misguided and ignorant as they wanna be, after all we can't control people's minds. But like... freedom of speech also means that when you make a joke that somebody doesn't like... they're ENTITLED to take you to the side, try to educate you, question your material and intentions, berate you, criticize you or straight up say "i think your joke is garbage, here's why:" That's the price you pay for your right to free speech, you make yourself vulnerable to other people's view points who don't agree with you. Whether you wanna LISTEN of course is also up to you.

BUT if somebody tries engages you in THAT conversation, it's really a compliment because they think you have the mental capacity of reasoning, empathizing, understanding and being able to come to a common denominator after a 30 minute talk. 

Progressive discourse is not trying to become an authoritan institution that throws people in discrimination jail, it's trying to tell people why their statements might be ignorant and come across as... douchey and then genuinely hoping that people actively choose to not be a douche anymore.

 

Such an eloquent response... props to you.

[Guest]

With a platform as big as SNL, you're going to have people being offended and there is no reason for people here to be discrediting that of them by arguing that it 'wasn't offensive'. It wasn't offensive to me either, but that doesn't change that someone else found it offensive.
 

7 hours ago, KNJ said:

Even Colin knew, you see his face?

tbh I'm pretty skeptical that Michael even wrote this joke. He didn't seem too enthusiastic about the punchline of it, even as he was delivering it and he was pretty quick to dismiss the joke based on his body language. I know on some weekend updates they read it for the first time as they are delivering it.

 

[Kadikaado 4,302]

I just have too say his delivery is terrible, his voice is so monotonous.