I feel the need to clarify the "safe" LGBT+ rep bit I made in the video regarding my criticism of Perry being asexual. No, I do not think asexuality should actually be considered the "safe alternative" to other identities, I was saying that in regards to how *Dan might have thought about it* when he made the "Does asexual count?" comment on TikTok. I even say at 20:03 that the idea of asexuality being considered a "safe alternative" *isn't great and has its own problems*, which I briefly listed at 20:05. I understand that ace representation is few and far in-between, but I also believe that it is not above some criticism, especially when even the creator sounded unsure about it. I would love for the show to expand or mention Perry's asexuality in some meaningful way in the continuation coming later this year. I am also not an ace exclusionist, I was there for the Tumblr discourse in the mid-10s as a lurking inclusionist (and asexual person) and I do not like seeing it relived in my comment section, so I really hope this clarifies some things. This video has blown up way more than I ever hoped or expected and it is all quite overwhelming to say the least! I am not above criticism either, but please be aware that I too am a person and read your comments. Please remember your humanity. EDIT: The South Asian creator I mentioned around 26:00, htmljones, is actually a trans woman and uses she/her pronouns! I was not aware of this beforehand, and I apologize for the goof-up. Once again, thank you for watching and thank you for reading this. (P.S. I use they/he pronouns.)
Honestly it was a correct statement regardless, asexuality is brought up constantly and used a lot but with no effort put into the actual identity. They just make them a robot and say "heres your rep, now get out". Same with non binary for the exact sams reason, lazy writers just make them a robot and call it a day. I think people wanted to take the worst faith interpretation out of what you said for conflict engagement.
you made some good points but i think saying that asexual is a "safe" way for characters to be lgbt is a little uh... it sounds like youre saying we're juust not lgbt enough for our representation to even count as lgbt rep. it made me a little sad hearing that
Yeah. We still get "are aces queer" discourse yearly. We get such little rep, much less rep in kids media. Perry being ace is nice, not safe because our sexually it very often seen as not family friendly.
It’s not that they’re the safe option because ace people aren’t queer enough. They’re a safe option because a company can just say “they’re ace” and not do anything with it. They don’t bother exploring the nuances of the ace experience and how asexuality can affect someone’s life. They just say “the character is ace” so they don’t have to add any actual meaningful representation. It would be like saying “this character has an invisible disability” while they don’t explore how this disability affects the character’s life and then claiming to have disability rep.
@@kirbyspaladin9153homophobes still call asexual people predators, i do not think they care if the character is ace or gay or trans, they just care that they’re queer. to discuss being asexual.. sex kinda needs to be brought up, it is not a safe option cause not wanting sex is a rather large factor in being asexual (speaking in the most general explanation for asexual identity, i’m well aware its a spectrum of labels)
I think that's because many people don't know pretty much anything about asexuality. I'm aro ace agender and even those around me who understand the label very well (like my best friend) probably wouldn't know much about it if they didn't know me. Many people don't know what asexuality even is, many don't understand the difference between romantic and sexual orientation, some don't even believe asexuality exist - so for a large chunk of the audience ace characters will still be "basically straight" if they're heteroromantic or in a straight relationship. If a conservative parent sees a gay couple in the cartoon their kid is watching, they'll react negatively (read: either tell the kid not to watch it anymore or try to sue someone, depending on the individual). If they see an asexual character, they'll probably just dismiss them as straight because of their ignorance. TL;DR: Aces are queer, our rep is queer rep, but many people know so little about asexuality that they won't see ace characters as queer. Some producers use it to get queer rep that won't be too "controversial" while still being queer rep, hoping that this lack of knowledge will prevent them from losing the bigoted part of the audience.
I'm a cisgender woman, and when I was 12, my leg hair started growing in. My mom had showed me Mrs. Doubtfire, a treasured childhood movie of hers. When I looked down at my hairy legs up until I first shaved, I would think of the scene on the bus in Mrs. Doubtfire when there's a closeup of "Mrs. Doubtfire's" legs, and the bus driver said something like, "We're all made special." It gave me the impression that the hair on my legs was a manly trait, and the only reason I had a problem with that is that it contradicted how I liked to express myself very femininely. When I first started watching this video I thought something along the lines of, "What's the big deal? It just seems like a Mrs. Doubtfire-like storyline," Now it's got me thinking, maybe that's the problem. Maybe this trope is so old that there are people to whom it is normalized like how I initially reacted and they don't see the hateful concepts it was created out of.
@@KvltKommando Bro, why? You know how expensive razors are? How much time it takes to do that shit? You probably dont cause your a man, but its a real hassle when youre "supposed" to do it. Imagine someone says that shit to you when you dont want to do shit. "Just do the thing you hate, not that complicated." Basically, "do the thing you hate because I am uncomfortable with women complaining about unresonable expectations" Bro, it is that complicated. Shave your legs for a couple of years, consitantly. See how it feels. Then, watch how people react to you, calling you "feminine" for having shaved legs. Plus, shaved legs feel dry and gross to some people. In know I was forced to shave my legs as a young child and I have constant dry and itchy legs. When I stpped shaving, dude, my legs felt fucking natural. Like dude, shaving your legs was not only a hassle, but the constant shame when I didnt shave was difficult. Took me years to just be chill with myself and to say no to my parents. Now my legs look strange because the hair follicles are damaged, but at least I dont have to waste time and money on shaving. "Its not that complicated" I have told you how it is and disproved your statement with my perspective. thank you
@@KvltKommando dude just lookup the Pink Tax. Not only do women have to make the extra expense of buying razors and shaving cream meant for your legs which are typically more expensive than men's products, it's also extra time and labor that women have to put in that men never have to. Especially since the expectation of smooth legs for women is so ingrained that a lot of jobs will require short shorts or skirts for female employees, whereas men will be allowed to wear shorts or even pants, with of course no pressure to me smooth.
I have to agree about the punching down point. I loved Baljeet as a kid, but I have to recognize now that the character was kind of a racist stereotype of Asian people (physically weak, effeminate, obsessed with grades, etc.) I’m Asian, and it definitely kind of hurts to realize that the creators of something so close to your heart are laughing at you.
I mean, I don't 100% agree that he was necessarily a racist stereotype because it is often true and isnt necessarily a bad thing. I also don't think think they had any bad intent with him too. (I'm asain btw). I totally see your point though.
@Shark-pj8in Nah saying that Asian boys are all super weak and care more about their looks or their grades rather than others is bad. Yes it's a joke that had no malice but it's still ignorance. The writer's aren't bad for writing like that, they really just didn't know how to write him like a person.
As a trans women I have a few problems with this video. This episode was made to make fun of the idea of a man (who does identify as a man) dressing up and going into great lengths to look like a women. The character does not identify as a women and the episode makes it clear he is a man. He is a super manly man dressing as a women and that's the joke. I understand there are some jokes that do fall flat and could lead to some harmful ideas of trans women; but I truly believe that this episode is making fun of what I said above and not trans women. The "Bison Theory" on top of that is a super big stretch. If someone was that vindictive against trans women to hide a niche reference like that in a kid show is simple.... well a huge stretch. With "Phineas and Ferb" the first example you show is a joke about how Doof thought it was a women even though it was a "manly voice" so ill give you that. However, he is punished for performing actions by being punched, so I see that as the show acknowledging Doof was being a jerk. The second example is a simple juxtaposition type of joke, cause Doof's relative was suppose to turn into a huge monster, when instead he was turned into a fairy who is cute and not huge or scary. The exact opposite of being a monster. Finally, the third example is a joke (or acknowledgment) about how awful Doofs parents were. They made him wear clothing he did not want to wear. If I, a trans women, had to wear "traditional male clothing" I would be upset and dysphoric. Doof Identifies as a male and does not want to be seen as a women, as he his not nor wants to be one. So of course the show would depict this scenario in a comical but negative light. This is three weeks late and might just be a mad ramble but this are my thoughts at least. you did bring up some good points though like how iffy the song was, but beyond that I mean no ill will against you, and wish you a good day.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, it was really clearly explained! Something that was not addressed in either the video or your comment was the showrunners’ choice to have Tobias’s shirt in his introduction bear an upside down red triangle, similar to the pink triangle that was been reclaimed as a hallmark of LGBT+ liberation during the 1970s. It was as if they were acknowledging the queer undertones of the episode like “Hey look! We researched, sorta!” but following elements of the episode were tone deaf at best and hurtful at worst. Very odd decision. 🤷
I don't believe there was any real ill will behind the episode, but it was an incredibly and I mean INCREDIBLY uncomfortable watch and I'm glad to see somebody put into perspective why. amazing video, I enjoyed a lot.
Yeah I agree. Even though I hate the episode, I don't think there was any I'll will from Dan, Swampy or the crew at all. It's like the episode itself is basically a bad case of a combination of bad writing and ignorance.
I feel that theirs was a willfull ignorance in that they could have learned a lesson but chose to remain ignorant. And that sounds pretty malicious to me.
My school used to have policies protecting the trans students so that they could be protected from bullying, being forced out of the closet to their parents, and being able to transition in school comfortably, but they got rid of those policies and now next year the trans kids in my school won't be protected anymore, which is genuinely scary since one of my friends can't come out to their parents without a lot of trouble happening and the fact that they only got rid of those policies because "trans people make them uncomfortable" makes me sick
how in the world did they think that ''stop protecting children against bullying'' was a good idea? that sounds like the plan of a cartoonishly evil vilain on a kids book. i really cant believe theres real people that think like that
Well, its hard to call it an total coincidence when the main subject matter is men dressing up as women, especially since this is the only appearance of the character and the names are fairly similar
@@Prismate Depends what you mean by that. Is it some great hidden statement about how the creators hate trans and crossdressing people and want to associate them with murderers? Obviously not and it'd be foolish to go that far. But is it an intentional low effort joke standing from the similar subject matter? Absolutely. It's just not something you do entirely accidently. So while looking for some hateful message is definetly reading too much into it, looking for a colleraton at all is not too much. Like, let's give the creators some credit, they do very much know pop culture, so the reference is obviously intentional.
@@marleonka. what? associate trans people with murderers? did I miss something? also I don’t know the creators at all so I can’t judge what they do and don’t know
I love MML but this episode made me so uncomfortable and I haven't rewatched it since. It felt like a plot from the late 90s or early 2000s but way outdated by 2018.
agreed, S2 was kinda a downgrade and even though MML is generally better than Hamster and Gretel, the latter has my respect for actually making it's own identity, instead of riding off PnF's popularity @kootunesscrewy
Good points in this video, but you are stretching SOOO hard with the bison stuff not every gag has a deeper meaning to it. It's just unfunny not transphobic lmao
look. Considering this episode was clearly transphobic for the most part, would a joke about Buffalo Bill REALLY be that surprising? The "trans serial killer" is a trope so common that even JK Rowling, yknow, the one who is openly transphobic on twitter all the time, wrote a book about one. I'm not saying that was the case, but it definitely looks like it could be. And if it looks like it could be a biggoted joke, that's not a good sign.
@@jadenjerries2094 Knowing Dan and Swampy, they seem to come across as more "misguided boomers" who fucked up badly, rather than as actively trying to send a negative message about transfeminine people. I mean, the whole stuff with Baljeet being depicted with South Asian stereotypes seems to point more in that direction to me. I don't think they actively wanted to sneak in a reference to someone who hunted women, at least it doesn't feel like they'd intentionally do that.
@@yurisei6732 go on, explain to me why this episode isn't transphobic, after watching this entire video. Nice Black Rose Dragon pfp though, 5D's is sick.
MML did get taken over by Doof and the only reason I was still watching was because of Cavandish and Dakota. Weird that show called Milo's Murphy's Law gave better attention to the side stories than the main titled character.
Yeah, I really wasn't a big fan of Doof taking over the show in Season 2. Felt like a crutch, among other things... It seems like they learned that lesson now with Hamster and Gretel staying self-contained to my knowledge but dang do I wish MML wasn't the guinea pig x_x
I mean, Phineas and Ferb wasn’t primarily about Phineas and Ferb either. The boys were basically just the setting, they were plot devices. While Perry, Doof and Candace being the actual main characters. I know MML was structurally different in season 1, but I’m just saying that this team is no stranger to that kind of structure.
@@eddie-roo Still no excuse. It was basically a ploy to get ratings, imagine not having confidence in your own show that you'll bring a popular character to save your show
15:48 im going to be honest this feel really like a strech Tbh ist more posible that they choose billy bison beacuse it sounded better and there a lot of bisons in america And as far as i rember billy bison never did act like a kid frendly buffalo bill even in the clips you showed he wasnt enjoying peopole being stomped by buffalos Its more probable billy bison is just another joke that didnt land
This isn't just a stretch; this is medieval rack levels of stretching. It genuinely felt like a satirical joke about jumping to a conclusion and I expected there to be some kind of (albeit terribly executed and strawmanish) point about what the writers "did with trans people", but then it dawned on me that no, that was a totally serious theory about what Billy Bison was a "reference" to. That was the point in the video where my argumentative side just deflated because it realized that the entire basis of this video is essentially rage bait around split second perceptions of a kids show. Because this youtuber cannot fathom the concept of absurdist humor / pure comedy and assumes that everything must serve a purpose or agenda. The only joke that even had any clear jurisdiction of the writers' own feelings is the way the Hollywood execs are portrayed, which is an accurate representation of how modern Hollywood operates whether people like it or not. I knew this video was going to be hard to watch once they stated their primary source was an opinion piece written by a trans author (directly feeding into confirmation bias and echochambering), but between acting like the only issue with Ghostbusters 2016 was women (the issue was that they swapped existing characters for new all female leads that in turn also sucked, making the decision to do so seem really pointless since it didn't improve anything), and now assuming that a throwaway absurdist gag about a kid with a ridiculous power similar to the lead's own power... somehow being a reference to Silence of the Lambs??? I literally cannot take this video seriously anymore.
I haven’t watched This video yet, I’m just going down in the comments and seeing the general consensus and that last line about Silence of the Lambs hit me like a fucking brick lmao???
@@Double_DAW Edit: One comment summed up my thoughts perfectly: "I feel like they could've done an episode making fun of reboots and the death of creativity without a crossdressing plot[.]" I think this is the crux here, that the majority of the episode was completely unnecessary and used off putting humor. While that whole section about billy bison was a stretch, trying to dumb down the entire video to rage bait is a bit crazy? I think the video started out strong, with a straightforward analysis of the plot, specific jokes, and how they translate into forms of commonplace transphobia towards trans women. FIrst off, I wouldnt call the primary source of the entire video from that one book. I would say that the primary source is the general discussion around trans women and how specifically harmful representations of them have permanently made their ways into media, such as this episode. In fact, discussion about this topic specifically is the point of this entire video and many others that discuss other pieces of media that contain transphobic views and stereotypes. The book referenced is meant to explain where the term "transmisogyny" comes from and give context to the following discussion. I would go so far as to say that the entire video being based on an "opinion piece" is a stretch in itself. The concept of "men pretending to be women" to get things they want, i.e. into womens spaces (bathrooms/locker rooms). win sports, sick kicks or a kink, etc, that entire talking point is the single largest weapon against trans women in media. Calling trans women nothing more than predators and men in dresses is harmful at best and undeniably transphobic, since instead of just not taking the identity seriously, they dont acknowledge it at all. This take on trans women has even become commonly known stereotype. And almost every time trans women are in a comedic situation in media, which he references in the video, it comes down to disgust or ridicule of trans women as men in dresses who are obviously ugly, need tons of makeup to be attractive at all, and just act as women to deceive. It never stops at just calling them men in dresses, it always takes that additional step farther. I'd say that the song in this show's episode especially is cartoonishly representative of these sentiments, to a T, even comparing the beauty of a man in a dress to a bag of flour or traffic causing. So this, at base, is grounds for a serious topic of discussion instead of just a book written by a trans author. This video is also not rage bait. Content like this never seeks to attack the show/movie involved, writers team, or execs, but instead aims to ask how or why it happened and examine what happened in the first place. As far as I can tell, this youtuber doesnt intend to rile anybody up either and shows genuine concern for something this uncomfortable being not just in any childrens show, but a show by the same team behind one of the most universally loved childrens shows of all time. Ironically, the additional theme of media producers in hollywood making literally whatever they want and passing genuinely terrible scripts with no regard to their substance may have been a meta commentary on the entire episode, especially since the same concerns this youtuber has about the writers room happen to be the same concerns Milo had in-universe when he questioned the exec about the movie's continuity. Its also possible that this entire episode serves as a meta critique of how ridiculous the plot of Tootsie was, and that the notion that men can/will/do masquerade as women just for personal benefit of some kind is also ridiculous, and that viewing trans people in that light is equally ridiculous. And while either of those explanations would be great shows of writing, I honestly cant give this show that kind of credit for complex writing, on top of that second possibility being a HUGE stretch. Its not that deep, so that only really leaves the transphobic explanation since its the simplest answer and the easiest way to read this. Basically, from a transphobic point of view or not, the audience is, without a doubt, supposed to read this episode with (negative) reference to trans women. The point about ghostbusters 2016 having an all womens cast being brought up at all was because of the additional theme of directors and producers in hollywood doing whatever they want and how in the episode, they do exactly that to a movie and this kickstarts the plot for the rest of the runtime. I think the real world criticisms of Ghostbusters 2016 are a lot more complicated than just a bad cast switch, but thats not relevant to any argument anyone here has made (you, me, or the youtuber) so im not going to add anything there. I dont think you should completely discredit the video because of one (very large) stretch. Its a short part of the video and I dont think it does anything to discredit the observations and analysis that came before that section, or the unfiltered reactions of real trans people who add their own takes towards the end. It may slightly discredit the youtuber but I feel that the rest of the points still stand and are worth thinking about. Im still confused why you had trouble taking the video seriously to start and naturally felt argumentative the entire time, but the video genuinely has substance and deserves a more serious watch.
I gotta say, I think a lot of this video was a stretch (my personal opinion) i am trans, but this Video is about a man in a dress, a muscular, masculine character who identifies as a man, Who is NOT trans, i dont see it as Transphobia, I mean i didnt exactly Like the episode, it fell flat, the most problimatic thing is the song, because Oof those lyrics CUT DEEP. And the Billy bison thing is a HUGE stretch, But i dont see this episode as being transphobic, because the character isnt trans, its a trope used In many many TV shows. But this is all my personal opinion! There is some actual Transphobic things in cartoons, like in family Guy when Glenns Parent transitions, that character is transgender and getting made fun of and put down for it, that is what i would say transphobia truly looks like in cartoons. This episode did not age perfectly though, i do agree with that.
The problem isn’t the character being trans, it’s the “man in dress” trope that is transphobic in itself by saying “haha, man cannot wear dress! Only woman wear dress! Very funny”
I'll be honest, I'm a trans girl and honestly I don't think this episode is harmful, I can even tell that this isn't even really about trans women, its like saying that bugs bunny’s crossdress is transphobic, this has been in media for a very long time, if they were winking at the screen saying how bad a man wanting to be a woman was then you'd had a point, they don't want to be women for like identity, its because they want to get to a certain goal, if they were being demeaned for wanting to be women it'd be a different story, please don't speak for transwomen I'm tired of people speaking for others, this episode is unfunny for being unfunny but not for some trans misogynistic shtick
I kinda agree - I’m not a trans woman, but I am a femboy, so it’s a little jarring to hear this accusation that any depiction of a man looking like a woman is transphobic. I do think though that this episode definitely raises some red flags due to the “going into women’s spaces” bits and the “sudden masculine strength” jokes. I think the episode had some transphobic undertones and intentions. I mostly agree with Ella’s take on the episode, where most of it seemed innocent enough up until the song.
In my opinion, Dan is just misguided, i mean if i was a boomer, i may not know what trans rights are, research and learning is needed, and I'm glad you're not shitty towards them.
I agree he deserves to be called out and educated on why what he did was wrong as he seems like a sweet guy who doesn’t mean any harm he’s just a product of his time, and With proper education I could believe he’d be an ally. I for one always think those who unintentionally screw up deserve to be educated and have redemption as opposed to being canceled, only those who intentionally screw up to be bigoted on purpose deserve to be canceled without an attempt at educating them to join our side or see the era of their ways. To often the interns cares less about helping those who screw up, and by extension stopping the behavior by addressing its roots, and more about pointing a finger blaming them, and canceling them.
@@drawingfandome you know what? I agree with you on that one. As evident on his Rebecca Sugar video and how he treats them, doesn't seem hostile either compared to how some of his fans who dunks on them and compared Dan to them.
@@nevaehhamilton3493 I mean, not that it is, but not all people are informed at this point especially if you live in an older generation. There will be some adjustments based on where they are from in that time period, all I'm saying is that people like him deserves a chance to explain at least or at least needs to learn or to be educated on the matter. I do think he deserves to be called out at least, but his stances are not 100 right, and yes, it's also deserving to hear some apology or response from him.
Its hard to say is a complete concidence since the episode does feature a man dressing as a woman, the names are fairly similar (Buffalo Bill - Billy Bison), as well as this being Billy's only apperance. It feels like an afterthought gag but definetly intentional.
@@jadenjerries2094 Okay but there's transphobic gay people not homophobic gay people or transphobic trans people. I also think the asexual line was very weird but I don't think the author of the video hates asexual people that's too far.
I've recently come out as trans to my family, and although they were very accepting and loving, I'm scared of what'll happen if I publicly say I'm trans, especially with which US state I live in, which is highly aggressive towards transgender people. I rarely leave my house, but it's still scary to think about. Me and my mom have been thinking of moving to Europe, because we both dislike living in America.
If you're ever planning on moving to Europe, Sweden is a nice place to live. Beautiful scenery, a decent economy, and a very high positivity towards the LGBTQ. Plus, free healthcare and politicians who aren't AS dumb.
@@deadbum hmm... baseball cap? so base is slang for truth/authentic (based in reality) baller is slang for something very good and fun, but no-cap is slang for truth authentic, leaving cap and capping to mean not authentic so you're saying baseball cap.. real fun lies? well i think that's a bit crass. tobina isn't ugly, she's just handsome (which can apply to women and used to be a compliment for women in the 1800s)
I'm ace, and "does asexual count?" is the kind of thing I could see myself saying back in 2018 if randomly asked by a person on the internet to please tell them if one of my characters who I had no planned romantic plotlines for was LGBTQ. (Don't want "lazy" rep? Don't ask creators for representation info they haven't offered themselves.) There's so little knowledge and many misconceptions out there about asexuality that it's hard for me to blame anyone who just seems to not get it.
I heard this argument back in the day that "ace people aren't lgbt because they're not being oppressed for their sexuality" and I think that's incorrect. A lot of people, especially women, are pressured and even forced into marriage. I think it's easier to be ace compared to being gay but to say ace people don't count is like saying gay people don't count because they don't have it as bad as trans people. It's no a suffering contest. I think there are some sexualities and gender identities that don't automatically make you queer. I consider the terms demisexual, demiromantic, demiboy, demigirl, and grayasexual to fall under those categories. Your sexuality and gender may differ from the norm but if you're an amab straight demiboy demisexual it kind of puts you in a strange spot where you're almost queer but not quiet. (Just to be clear I'm not referring to ace people who have sex. It's not about who you date or who you have sex with it's about your attraction when it comes to sexuality. What I'm saying is if you're straight you have straight privilege, regardless if you're only straight under specific circumstances) It ultimately doesn't matter what counts as queer anyways. I consider allies part of our community and while they're not one of us they are more than welcome to join in. Plus it comes with a cool flag.
@@BlissAnimations that's not an example of asexual repression, it's an example of male bigotry and a complete objectification of women. A woman isn't automatically asexual if she doesn't want to be forced into marriage, you tunnel-visioned identity alchemist.
I don't think this episode was done with malicious intent but its hard to deny that episodes like this and MLP's Brotherhooves Social definitely feel tone deaf
20:33 - It is kinda weird to hear "I remember watching this as a little kid" about something from 2018, I guess we have different defitinions of "a little kid" lol
I was uhhhh 12 or 13 at the time I believe. Not like too young but tbh literally anything before Covid or maybe 2019 feels like “little kid era” for me LOL
@@MarieMoments335 Yeah, I kinda get you haha. For me "a little kid" stops at like 10, because then you are a tween and then a teen, so like, I get you. For a second I was like "Wait, is she like 14?" when you said that about being a little kid hahah
Reading this comment and thread made me feel 71 rather than 21 lol. Time really fucks with you; doesn’t feel that long ago that my (currently 12-year-old) brother was playing Minecraft with me on the Xbox 360.
its weird that i was taught at school "everyone under 18 is legally a child" which.. much like most, I'd consider less than 12 year olds to be that since 12+ starts being teen, but yeah that'd mean there's probably some people using "as a kid" to talk about them being like 15.
P&F has always had these weird double standards to it. Sometimes it'll be about really good, heartfelt inclusivity, and other times it will just include wholesale stereotypes, seemingly just because the writers didn't want to research it. Candace will be allowed to genuinely love Ducky Momo and not be shamed for her enjoyment of it, and then Buford - a boy who it's been stated in-universe is lashing out because of repressed emotional issues - gets shunned for crying and wanting hugs when he's afraid his pet goldfish is dead. Stacy and her sister are very comfortably Japanese, and though their culture and heritage are brought up, it doesn't define their characters, and then Baljeet is a walking stereotype so painful it makes one feel guilty to enjoy the show. Sometimes its approach to science and history will be intentionally off the wall, blatantly, entertainingly wrong facts used to drive home the fact that the show is more interested in being good than in trying to educate its audience, and sometimes forays into other cultures will effectively be a rundown of Western cliches of that culture as though "other people funny cus they do funny thing and talk funny way" is a reasonable joke in the modern world. It's like it was written by someone who thought comedy peaked in the fifties and one who wanted to bring something new and interesting to the world, and their jokes clash in very odd ways. And while I haven't seen MML, I wouldn't be surprised if it went the same way.
I love PnF but I agree with this entire paragraph. I love the show but it had a consistent issue with this sort of stuff. I mean, the show even had a (terrible) boys vs girls episode
Are we just gonna forget the episode where they went to Japan and literally everyone looked almost the exact same? plus the songs lyrics were super offensive because it plays into that “Asian people speak broken English” stereotype.
At some point I think it might be kinda good to have stereotypes in a series, it shows how there are people who are like the stereotypes and people who don't, like in real life. But P&F makes it a bit... weird? Like instead of making stereotypical light jokes on the stereotypical characters it makes offensive jokes on the culture itself and it gets weird real fast.
You’re taking the show way too seriously. There’s nothing wrong with including stereotypical characters in a show, especially a comedy show, and all of the characters are P and F are still beloved and seen as good people in and out of universe, despite that. If it’s for the sake of telling a joke or making a good story, then they can put in stereotypes as much as they want, it’s not like the writers need to research anything just to make a comedic moment work. They obviously don’t want the show to be taken too seriously in the first place
See, I understand where you're coming from and some of your points are valid, but to play devil's advocate here, the episode isn't about Tobias being trans, it's about a cis man trying to get the role by dressing up as a woman. I would accept your points if it was actually shown in the show that Tobias is trans, but he's not, he is a cisgender man. The show isn't making fun of trans women, it's making fun of a cis man who is pretending to be a woman for personal gain. Yes, that could encourage negative stereotypes about trans women, and it does feel a little bit suspicious that this is a common trope, but in the end, the character is not transgender, they are not making fun of somebody who is transgender, they are making fun of a cis man. As someone whose non-binary and genderfluid myself, I don't really see the issue with the lyrics either, yes it's weird to imply that women don't shave, but the lyrics are all the poking fun at his expense, not an actual trans woman. But idk, maybe i need to watch the episode myself. To me, this is just a lackluster episode with very tired stereotypes. (Sorry if any of that was difficult to read, I'm using speech-to-text)
you're not wrong, but that is more or less exactly the defense the showrunners hope for and lean on when these tired stock plots get pulled out. it's meant to support this idea that they aren't "actually transphobic", they just really have strong opinions about men dressing up as women and it's such a shame that if they allowed trans women into women's sports, they'd ooobviously be flooded with men pretending to be women for easy victories, so the best solution is just to not allow them at all. it's a way they try to have their cake and eat it too, being able to write this character as obviously meant to be emblematic of trans women while being able to wave away criticism with "but actually this character is just pretending, they aren't actually trans", AND squeeze in the lovely insinuation that trans women are all men in disguise. hope this makes sense + doesn't come off rude or anything, i'm a little out of it with allergy season rn :(
Hard agree with this, I see the episode as less a product of transmisogyny and more a product of just old humor. It's something that'll become less common with time.
@@insertchannelnamehere1448 That could be the the case, but at the same time Dan and Swampy seem more ignorant than anything. When people spoke up about Baljeet, they didn't double down on the racist jokes and said nothing was wrong, they acknowledged they fucked up and course corrected. I get that it's easy to make assumptions like that about older people who grew up in a more bigoted environment, but I think you should give them the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to conclusions. Plus I won't lie, I feel like a lesson about how pretending to be trans to gain something is bad wouldn't be the worst thing. Teach people to be comfortable with their identity rather than changing your identity for personal benefit (i.e. a physically well person pretending to be ill or disabled for monetary gain and sympathy.
Dang, this video left me with some conflicting feelings, to say the least. Everything you mentioned (except for the Buffalo Bill thing because that kinda felt like a reach) is just... yikes. I still like the shows, and I don't believe any real malice was intended, but... yeah...
@@Saf333 I dont think its ignorance, I think its lgbt illiteracy, they are two different things, I feel like the video is reaching because the butt of the joke is that he clearly doesnt identify as a woman and doesnt make the effort to try and be more feminine, just like you see in bugs bunny or whatever old cartoons you may find, the joke is that it's abrupt, silly and identifiable, things that do not at all coorelate with trans women, I understand it can be percieved as offensive, but I think people are projecting their idea that trans women are like that/look like that if they think it's offensive, I speak on my POV that I don't believe trans women look like what he did while cross dressing
@@Kiko-es6xx yeah I'm 100% in the opinion that if you think trans women don't look like women and project that onto cartoons and the like, that says a lot more about YOU than it does the creators
I just kinda viewed this episode as more of the crossdressing trope, which a lot of shows do whether for the sake of humor or trying to be offensive. I think this episode falls more into the humor category
@@nevaehhamilton3493 Yeah I agree, I’m not not trying to say we should defend ignorance or anything. I think what I’m trying to say is that context matters when it comes to topics
@@nevaehhamilton3493 Again like I said I'm not not saying I advocate for any of that. All I'm saying is that tropes in media can used for a majority of reasons and I think it's always important to at least understand before anyone makes any rash decisions
@@mauricecherry1209 The content of the video clearly is aware of these tropes and openly discusses and builds off of that to make it's points. Also I'm not sure what you mean by 'humour category'? The whole point of the video is looking at the content of the jokes, they're aware the episode is supposed to be comedic, it's just that the comedy is using harmful stereotypes for the punchline. You should realise that tropes extend beyond intent and are part of a bigger cultural picture, these outdated crossdressing tropes have always been entangled with misogyny and transphobia. It's inherent to the trope because of how it treats and approaches gender.
yo we as a group didn't like the Ghostbusters movie because of the poor writing, not the full cast of women, i think we SHOULD and NEED to see more movies with full women casts but they usually do poor writing with those kind of movies.
If you want to see all-female casts and good writing, you need to be looking at what Japan's making. Americans still struggle with this because they're mostly already bad writers and they're trying to write something they have no experience or good reference material for.
As serious as the rest of the video was; them saying they didn't need to watch it to know why it was hated is almost a direct quote from the people who made it who were harassing people online; who were making valid points about the writing, and lumping them in with the small minority of people who were actually sexist. That group will always exist and I can't take people seriously who boil a movie or other thing's success or failure down to something that doesn't happen anymore. If a movie gets a lot of attention; good or bad, it will find an audience in those who watch and enjoy it. If everyone hates it because of the writing that probably means it has bad writing. Anyway, sorry for ranting. Thought that subject needed more attention. Good luck out there, everyone. Much love.
i think the problem lies in that the main drive of the idea is "full woman cast" and pretty much forget about proper writing/plot because that's secondary, not the "selling point" Which sucks. It really sets all these kind of movies up for failure.
especially redoing a pre-existing series for the sake of it..something original with an all female cast is just cooler, let alone if it has actually decent writing
You made some good points, but overall I don't agree with this video. Some of the jokes, like the shaving one, could be interpreted as transphobic. I don't think they were intended to be, but you decide whether that makes it better or not. None of them are funny, in my opinion. But I don't think the concept of the episode is transphobic because there are literally no trans people in it. I don't think Tobias/Tobina is supposed to be a dogwhistle for them either. This episode is about a man pretending to be a woman, not about a woman who was assigned male at birth and has a masculine body. People pretending to be something they're not is an *EXTREMELY* common storytelling trope in general and comedy trope specifically. Why should the subject of gender specifically be off the table for a plot like that? Is a film like "Party Cops", about people pretending to be cops, being bad at it and getting ridiculed for it, inherently cop-phobic? Even the first song of the episode doesn't even poke fun at men dressing as women in general, let alone trans women, it just pokes fun at Tobias specifically for being ugly. And if you look at his face, it's definitely drawn in a more exagerrated/weird/ugly way compared to other characters, even when he's male-presenting. I'd argue that poking fun at the appearance of a specific character is mean and not funny, but it's not transphobic. Overall, yeah I agree the episode is bad, tone deaf, and could possibly be misinterpreted by transphobes, and there should be more trans representation in cartoons. But I don't think this Episode is inherently transphobic. Honestly I have no idea what you were trying to do in some parts of the video (Billy Bison, Doofenschmirtz mistaking a woman's voice for a man's, Doof voice in Amber Heard trial). Seemed like grasping at straws to make your point, or just generally weird, pointless digressions. The editing in this video is really good though, and you did raise some good points. I hope you continue on RU-vid!
@@Dextrome the fact that it so blatantly perpetuates very dated ways of thinking that is both tone deaf and sexist. Like look, even if it isn't something that can give vibes of transphobia I fucking hate lazy boomer ass sexist jokes "Guy Thing, Girl Thing" Fairly Oddparents is full of that shit and it ruins a rewatch, even good shows like Mystery Incorporated can have some of that obnoxious humor slipped in. Making jokes like "This is what men do, this is what women do! Oh, what's that? Something that crosses the lines? Then it's weird!" is just a very cringe and backwards way to try being funny. Not everyone is the same, not everyone conforms to social norms, and in the cases of minorities or people who face discrimination it makes it harder for those people to feel welcome and valid simply existing as they are when it's always made into a mean spirited joke.
Please don't use the term "cis" to describe yourself. That term was coined by a literal pedophile. "Cisgender" is not a real word. Just say you're straight, dawg.
as a longtime fan of pnf/mml, this video is awesome. dan and swampy have a looooong history of being transmisogynistic in their various medias and you explain it so well here. i really hope that this video can gain more attention so ppl can understand how transmisogyny can manifest in media, especially the 'subtle' ways. thank you for including transfem voices in this video as well. its really obvious that you did your research well, and that alone is enough, and you still took the time to get more opinions. i really appreciate the varied opinions you added! i also love how you added the part about perrys "asexuality" being a safe alternative to him being canonically gay. it frustrates me when people count him as "good ace rep" when dan and swampy clearly are avoiding the question. your inclusion and analysis of the current moral panic involved is really well done too, thank you for including that. hopes and prayers that dan and swampy watch this video 🙏
thank you so much for the thoughtful and detailed comment :'0!!! to me it would have felt something was missing if i didnt include any trans peoples takes, esp on the feminine side of things. i also hope this makes people think about how transmisogyny ends up in things, intentionally or otherwise! re: perry's "asexuality" yeah thats been bugging me for a loooong time. i wanted to make a separate video about it but i think i'm happy with my brief take on it in this. perry is asexual to me but in the gay-ace way and that was my headcanon way before dan "confirmed" the ace part. as it stands it just feels a little....dumbledore-y if you catch my drift LOL. as depressing as it is to talk about the moral panic, it had to be. especially since things have gotten.........worse since i started putting this together x_x. if dan and swampy ever do see this i WILL lose my mind. i hope they take it to heart and listen at the very least.
I don’t think South Park was saying it was weird for Mr Garrison to be Ms Garrison, because everyone respected that during the season(s) they identified as that. It was because Mr Garrison didn’t understand that he was gay, that was the joke. With Butters, I think it was more joking about that entire concept itself, not just Butters dressing as a girl, also Butters didn’t want to, it was all the boys who convinced him to. South Park isn’t perfect, but I don’t think Matt and Trey would do that without thinking about the trope and its implications I don’t think Dan Povenmire was trying to be malicious with the episode, nor with his comment on Perry being Ace, it was just a mistake made (in terms of MML). It’s cool that we have a canon LGBT character now in Phineas and Ferb, even if it wasn’t shown in the show (because of Disney, we saw what happened with Gravity Falls and Owl House)
This is what I'm saying. I feel like it was taken personally when it was not meant to be a dig at anyone like that. At worst you can say it's meant to be something against drag queens? Or maybe in support of them considering drag (to my knowledge) is suppoesed to be funny? Or at least in a good chunk of drag shows it is.
One thing I'd like to see someday is a "man in the dress reveal" where even psot-reveal somebody still treats them like no reveal. "Here is your hair back Tobina, take five to recover from being struck by whatever that was and we will resume with your audition after." Imagine that.
I don't think it's that deep It's a joke, a common joke, and has nothing to do with trans people. The punchline is the subversion of expectations and not actual transness Reading that deep into a gag and (hate to use that word) getting offended over it is something almost exclusive to americans with too much free time I'm sorry I'm saying this as possibly the furthest possible demographic from conservative far right, I'm queer and I also know a lot of trans women, and they'd probably laugh this off as insignificant Yeah, not the best argument, but since we're taking testimonies into account, eh Not every jab at people cross dressing is transphobia. Making a big deal out of this is not gonna help anyone. I seriously doubt these jokes influenced anyone to hate crime trans people. After all, the trans community makes these jokes themselves all the time. If we all stop looking for malice in everything we will be significantly happier
Finally someone who gets it. Sometimes you just want to do a cross-dressing episode just for fun. Like with the asexual Perry thing it ain't as deep people are making it to be. Just remember the MST3K Mantra "Repeat to yourself it's just a show, I should really just relax".
Yeah. I didn’t want to say it. But god this RU-vidr. They are so negative and dare I say even sound like they have no emotions in their voice when speaking. Which is kinda creepy. Acesten that is.
I'm asexual and I agree with another comment that your part about perry being ace and it was the "safe" option was kinda hurtful to imply it's less lgbt than other lgbt identities. I can understand your viewpoint granted but I think a better criticism about Perry being ace is that he's an animal. If they made a human character ace that would be different but they went with an animal for representation, even if Perry is just as smart as other human characters. They could have made Candace, Jeremy, Vanessa, Doof, etc ace but they made just perry ace
Something that's bothering me is that people are saying "oh they only said Perry was ace." When the question, presented in this video, was specifically asking about Perry. They specifically wanted to know if Perry was queer to which Dan replies "does asexual count" leading me to believe Perry was actually ace and he wasn't sure if ace was queer. I feel like Perry being ace was intentional and not simply "safe" but a way to give a character a "reason" to not be in a relationship. Which further goes to show that aces are already misunderstood and need rep, however small. Also, Perry is like one of the most popular characters in the show and is often unnoticed without his hat, which I mean....the accidental symbolism of ace invisibility is funny.
Trans woman here. Thank you for not only covering the blantantly transphobic episode, but for also talking about the violence and hate going around. I've been transitioning for about 2 years now (nonbinary to transfem) and it seems that there's been a huge spike in transphobia recently. It's so idiotic that a few stereotypes about a group of people just trying to exist peacefully who simply just want to change their gender, cause such hate and outright violence for no reason whatsoever. It's scary out there, but keep in mind, love triumphs hate. Always and forever
@@laobok In all seriousness though, pride month is to celebrate being proud of your gender or sexuality, as opposed to feeling ashamed of your labels. (also history exists)
11:12 To me at least, I hated Ghostbusters 2016 just because Melissa McCarthy is genuinely the least funny woman in comedy, and all her jokes in general, let alone this movie, are either about sex, making the same exact joke several times in a movie, or taking something like five god dang minutes explaining the punchline. Or any combination of that. Probably the only actor or actress I actively get annoyed by when I see her.
i don't think it was made with the explicit intent to be offensive (unlike tootsie, which likely was given the time it was filmed), it just feels more inconsiderate and ignorant to the current state of society and how it handles that sort of thing
Phineas and Ferb did a few "put the male characters in dresses" jokes too but they were just that: smaller jokes in a larger story... not the premise of the episode! In fact "apparently... do what we did..." is one of my favorite jokes in Phineas and ferb! And I'm saying this as a transgender person myself!
I don’t even think the funny part of the “apparently do what we did” joke was that the boys were wearing dresses. To me the humour came from Phineas and Ferb getting dressed up nicely in a nanosecond while Candace was still in a towel
I don’t actually think the Futurama episode is transphobic and would even wager to say it leans more positive. The character who does it is Bender and everyone knows Bender is horrible lmao and everyone’s reactions to it and the jokes surrounding it for the most part are at Bender’s expense and why what he’s doing is terrible, not about how being trans is terrible. He even learns and grows (as much as Bender can) from the experience)
hey i genuinely dont mean for this to come off as rude, ignorant, or bigoted in any way, but what is the problem with men in woman's clothes? it seemed not as like a diss to trans people but more of a joke of how desperate he was to get the role. similarly why is the commentary dub rude in any way? to me it seems like it was a satirical bit making fun of small minded people that think that men cant wear what woman wear and vice versa. also doofenshmirtz's back story of having to wear girls dresses is more of a humiliation thing that he had to go through not a direct stab at transgender or cross dressing individuals im pretty sure. just a few things i noticed at abt 20 mins into the video!
i know im a month late but seeing as nobodys replied to u, ill give u my two cents on ur questions- tho take these w a grain of salt, i am nonbinary but i am not a trans woman. also, apologies in advance bc i can tell this is a long read even having just written it, but bear w me if u will. as for ur first question, theres not necessarily anything wrong w men in womens clothes. its not transphobic (be it intentional or unintentionally parroting transphobic narratives) for a man to wear a dress or present femininely; that would make drag queens transphobic by association. as is the case in real life, men can wear pretty princess dresses and/or makeup and still b men. however, a problem arises in media when man wearing dress is portrayed in. Ways. to say the least. theres kinda like, a certain feel and tone to when man wearing dress becomes less of "man wear dress and break gender norms" n more "man wear dress to PRETEND to b WOMAN which he cant bc he MAN! 😂" obviously, not all portrayals fall on the extreme side; some r more subtle. the example in the video, while less egregious than some, still has that underlying tone of transmisogyny to it. typically, when the man wearing dress line crosses over into the transmisogyny line, there r certain elements present. making the man in dress out to b shameful or discomforting is Usually the main way its presented; in tobinas case, this is shown by the lyrics in the song and the corresponding animations being very mean spirited- calling tobina ugly, pointing out that tobias needs to shave in order to keep having people believe hes a woman (which, even if someone Doesnt view this as TRANSmisogyny in particular, still plays very heavily into misogyny in general, essentially boiling down to "haha body hair on women ugly"), and just frequently highlighting his masculine features against his woman disguise and coming across as bullying. like, "look at him, look at him! man cant look like woman, point n laugh!" another way transmisogyny presents itself in regards to "man wearing dress funny bc not woman" is the aspect of having a character disguise themself as a woman in some way. having ranted this far i feel like the defining factor between "man in dress" n "man in dress not woman" is motivation, same as op said. like, is the guy wearing a dress bc he likes to b feminine? is he a drag queen? or is he pretending to b a woman for some reason? is this reason opportunistic or extrinsically motivated? if u want to keep urself aware abt transmisogyny n man in dress portrayals, try asking urself those questions, or maybe even ask more questions like those! as for the commentary, it comes off as a more direct n in-your-face version of tobina, directly stating the opinion that its funny when men wear dresses. which, again, even if someone interprets that as not TRANSmisogynistic, theres definitely an underlying air of misogyny there w the underlying message of "when man feminine it funny bc man cant b feminine," making it out to b weird or funny when men engage w femininity, essentially asserting that men should "act like men." or maybe im reading into it too far, but thats just how it comes off to me. even if u happen to not agree w that, its still very rude at the very least. and lastly, i agree w ur take on doofenshmirtz. i see his backstory as less of "haha make fun of boy in dress!" n rather "condemn shitty parents for forcing their kid to b ostracized." hope this helps! i can try n explain more of my points if it doesnt :^)
edit: another essay i am so sorry. adding another reply in since now that ive finished writing my essay i can crossreference the portrayal of doofenshmirtz's backstory n tobias' motivations. doofenshmirtz was never rlly given a CHOICE to wear more masculine clothing, he was truly forced to wear dresses. whereas tobias FELT he had to take an opportunistic and drastic measure as he would likely have lost his house. while this is a very strong motivator and would make the average person do some crazy shit to prevent that from happening, he couldve started from the get-go by asking the producers if he could have a role in the reboot, even if just a small one, seeing as he was the star of the original film. actors from original films tend to get roles in reboots, like the original ghostbusters crew in the ghostbusters reboot that came out in 2021. this would fulfill the transmisogyny questions i proposed since tobias was driven by both opportunism n an extrinsic motivation, whereas doof was never afforded a choice, leaving him exempt from any of the questions.
@@leadastrea this is actually really well written and has really brought some things i didnt even consider to my attention as i am not a transgender person and dont really know the same issues a trans person goes through. that being said i think this episode was more of a big microaggression instead of a direct stab at trans people, not excusing it of course, but i dont think they were trying to be malicious. at the same time though i wasnt there when they were making it so i cant truly know their intentions also i have loved phineas and ferb since i was like 2 so i might be bias without realizing. either way thank you for informing me and being respectful instead of like "your wrong so your stupid" like it seems alot of people are anymore
to me this is just a goofy episode. i dont exactly get why yall get worked up over this. idk maybe it's just the times changing. Im just used to all the Looney Tunes antics that included crossdressers.
@@mentallyillfinger that's not true. There very much is a grey area, op was just explaining what they dislike about the episode and how those jokes could perpetuate negative stereotypes about trans women.
its because the episode portrays crossdressing as being inherently ugly, a joke, and a way for men to take advantage of others. these are all "coincidentally" stereotypes of trans women as well. theyre not mocking some elusive crossdresser archetype thats somehow completely detached from trans women, theyre mocking the mannerisms and characteristics of stereotypical crossdressers, which are shared with trans women.
As far as Dan confirming Perry as ace, I don’t necessarily think it was done as a safe option, but to answer the question while also not being sure that asexuality counted as queer (I’m also asexual, and I’ve heard a lot of people be confused to if it’s part of the lgbtqiA community or not 🙄). At least, it feels different to when Stephen Hillenburg stated that SpongeBob was asexual after he received controversy from people thinking SpongeBob and Patrick were gay. Not that I think that was necessarily done out of malice or to play it safe (I mean, he was confirming that SpongeBob wasn’t straight), but it was definitely done more as a response to people thinking that SpongeBob was queer. Like, he was saying SpongeBob isn’t the type of queer people would be mad at, while seemingly unknowingly confirming that he is queer. It’s weird when, again, a lot of people (especially outside the queer community) don’t think of asexuality as a queer identity. I don’t know if I’m getting my point across. It’s really early and I’m tired haha. I do like the rest of the video, I just wanted to give my two cents on a small side tangent for what it’s worth.
@@RandoSando. Sea sponges can reproduce sexually and asexually, which is very likely the reason behind Hillenburg claiming that SpongeBob is asexual. The context he confirmed it, however, was in a 2002 Wall Street Journal article about how gay people are interested in the show (though in all fairness I haven't read the article in some time, and couldn't read it before writing this comment due to it being behind a paywall). I won't argue that it's in a weird cross section with "asexual" having two different definitions, but I do believe he meant it more as confirming SpongeBob's specific sexual orientation than a blanket statement of "SpongeBob and all sponges are asexual because they can reproduce asexually." I can't put words in Hillenburg's mouth however, nor do I want to. I can't say for certain what he meant, but this is my interpretation.
Despite Dan's... questionable wording I'm glad he did make Perry ace or aro or both or whatever. It feels weird that the fandom is shipping a platypus who, while anthro, is BARELY so, with a human. It gives me vibes of certain people in the furry fandom trying to justify feral porn I don't like it at all. Perry doesn't look human-ish like bugs bunny or other anthro examples he looks like a platepus on two legs sometimes. He can't even talk. Maybe that's just me though
That is NOT why ghostbusters reboot was hated. It was a crap movie that insulted an old classic, that is why. If the movie was good people would have liked it and the complaints about the genderswap would have been background noise. But it was horrible. I can't believe I've run into someone in the wild who actually pulls the woman card unironically to defend that reboot. And yeah, I'm saying that as a woman. If anything it made me embarrassed to be a woman, it was like it just existed to justify the stereotype that female comedians aren't funny.
I have a question tho. Transphobic people say "a trans woman is a just man in a dress". Then why is this episode transphobic if there's no trans person in it? It's just a man in a dress, which, as I understand, is not the same as a trans woman and assuming that is transphobic
there are a lot of implications of someone born male being inherently unattractive within femininity. yes, the character is not really a trans woman, but it says problematic things about human bodies in general and perpetuates this "ugly people are a punchline" bs that i think genuinely holds us back. it's just not funny, either. a bunch of uncomfortable jokes at AMAB people's expense and they didn't even have anything to do with the message of the episode about reboots
@@WildMoose2 Why are we engaging in labeling completely normal, acceptable, and appreciative media with dangerous tags like Transphobic just because "its tone kinda felt like it"? We shouldn't go around witch hunting and trying to find transphobia in everything. The only thing this will accomplish is Non trans people will starting excluding trans people from media and cause segregation among society. NGL all these people making out everything to be transphobic and contributing nothing to original trans content, feels like a psyop by genuine transphobes to make trans people look irritable, sensitive and extremely entitled. If you want to normalize something don't be ridiculous or absurd doing it. This video belongs to the dumpster.
Yes they are not the same obviously, but transphobic people do not care and harmful stereotypes equate trans women to that tired idea of us being men in dresses. They don't care about the distinction because in their minds it's the same thing, and it's something to be mocked and ashamed of in their eyes.
Bigots don't recognize trans people as "real" to them they are all just "cross dressers" so they use the "man dressed as a woman" trope to make fun of and insult trans people
I don’t think it’s inherently wrong to have a male character who dresses feminine, but it needs to clearly in reference to drag or femboys. Much like what Ella said, The way that tobias/tobina is depicted at first is pretty tame, but the song comes from negative transfem stereotypes. If it was just supposed to be a character in drag, then they never would have included jokes about shaving and sudden strength/aggression, going in women’s spaces, etc. Thank you for this video, it’s amazingly well done for a first video!
Why, though? It's not uncommon in real life for entirely cishet men to put on women's clothing for a laugh, particularly on stag dos and at halloween parties. Drag is a performance art and "femboy" is an identity, those aren't the same thing as is going on in this story, which is about a man who isn't a drag artist or a femboy attempting to trick people into thinking he's female for money.
When I first watched this episode, I was in the shower (don't ask), so the song's lyrics flew over my head, even then, this episode felt very insensitive in a sense and I never liked it. Now that I actually know the song's lyrics, my point has only grown, and the lyrics are just, in a word, very mean-spirited. And I hate this entire episode save for that one meta joke about lack of care for continuity Also, although I liked the Dakavandish plot, I always found the Bison thing quite unfunny, this revalation, skyrockets my opinion on it from "unfunny", to straight up appalingly abhorent. And if this is just a reach, then I still find it unfunny I do hope Dan and Swampy see this, because I don't want them to fall into the same insensitivity pitfalls in the PnF revival, it'd also be great to have some trans representation on the writing crew to make sure of that. Great video, you did a ton more research than you needed to and the editing is way high level, I hope this blows up, and I'll keep spreading the word as much as I can
It's jarring how recent this episode is- 2018? Around the time of Static Cling of Rocko's Modern Life, which was about a transwoman representing everything changing? Around 3 years prior to nonbinary icon Raine Whispers made their debut on Disney? (Owl House also has Masha and even The Collector goes by he/they) Considerably after the transphobic Futurama episode? Nice video, very well done and formatted. I'm curious to see what you review next!
I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say a lot of people missed the "" around the word "Safe" and also the change in the creators tone of voice indicating that they were criticizing how Ace is used as a catch all for characters that don't explicitly have a sexuality in order to gain brownie points with LGBTQ+ peoples while not setting off Corporate's PR instant anti-Gay beam. (Nuance exists even though it can be hard to distinguish)
While the transmisogny is very important to talk about in this episode, I think it’s also important to mention just the general misogyny of the premise as well. The female remake in the episode is seen as a diversity cash grab with no thought to the plot of the original, mirroring popular sentiment on diverse reboots. This framework when taken to its extreme can cast any diversity in any movie as non-genuine and ‘woke’. As well, we see Tobias struggling financially due to the recast. This implies white and cis male actors suffer and lose roles due to diverse casting, while in reality diverse casting just allows a larger variety of people to reach that wealth and fame.
I may be a cis man but my thoughts on transgender people have always been the same. Alrighty then I'll keep that in mind. Because to me trans people are people who deserve the care and respect anyone else deserves they should be treated as you'd treat any other person with needs and should have those wants and needs in there life fulfilled so they can be happy as who they are. As someone with a lot of friends who are trans or nonbinary I simply want to try and help them wherever I can if they need it. As someone who is planning on becoming a filmmaker I would love to hire people of those groups to help increase representation.
nb person here, had no idea about any of this since i never really watched mml or knew much about it beyond that one llama song; thank you for taking the time to make this, it's really informative and i hope the trans community, **especially** transfem women, gets an apology
Hey, since this is your first experience with the show. Let me be the first to tell you that this isn't at all indicative of the series as a whole, and it is actually a really good show and deserves way more attention that it already gets. Please watch the first few episodes on your own to make an opinion of it outside of a video essay criticizing an episode of it!
Still sucks that they did this, I was going to rewatch the show later, because I dropped it a some point, but after seeing this I'm gonna pass.@@indecisive2insomniac610
@@crunks2955 Yeah icl it's more of a drag thing? And it's not like MML/P&F are strangers to putting men in dresses in a comedic and very clearly not personally attacking way...I feel like it's being blown up from nothing because someone got upset when it wasn't even about them.
Problem is, it’s harder to subtly show asexual characters in family friendly shows. While in adult shows, they should have no problem, since it’s for an adult audience. But discussions about sex in a family friendly show should always be a big no. So instead of just saying this character is ace, show subtle realistic signs that someone is ace. Maybe visually show they have merch of their sexuality whenever in a little keychain or flag, a lot of people do that in real life. Or when discussing family life, have a character mention they do things differently. Maybe use some ace lingo Not many know. Other times the character may reference they have some trouble understanding parts of a relationship. It doesn’t have to go all out saying they’re ace. And just don’t fall into the stereotype like the naive pure one. Other than that, I say you a-ok. Though can people stop saying asexuality is safe. Maybe I could get in adult shows, since they get away with a lot. But in a kids show, it’s pretty hard to get away with sexualities (in general really) saying certain things especially with a company like Disney.
I think the problem with this approach is that it almost always goes over peoples heads, and the people who do pick up on it and tell other people are called crazy or woke, and that theyre reading into it too much. Asexuality is one of those things that people actually do need spelled out for them 💀
@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 cuz that is inappropriate. There is a stage in a kid's life where they should learn that, but cartoons aren't a place for sex ed. You could argue for just educational cartoons But even then, it's a discussion with one's parents.
This was kind of a weird episode to me. Not really my least favorite, but still weird. And I'm sure the team that worked on this episode meant no harm or anything, but it sure felt dated in today's age, with trans people being more accepted since the 2010s. Also a bit of a shame that it had to be paired with "Cake 'Splosion", one of my absolute favorite episodes of MML (I'm a huge Milanda fan). A really cute, shippy episode that goes high, then brought all the way down with this rather dissonant, transmisogynist (at least in retrospect) ...thing. As for Billy Bison, I thought he was kinda okay? Not really funny, but also kinda inoffensive IMO. I personally think connecting him to Jame Gumb from Silence of the Lambs is a bit of a stretch and assuming that the writers were intentionally harming trans people with this episode (while I don't want to devalue anyone's feelings towards this, I also think assuming the worst out of people for writing a bad episode isn't good either). To me, it makes more sense if Billy Bison was a reference to the actual, historical Buffalo Bill from the 19th century, rather than the Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs (to be honest, I never really made any connection to "Billy Bison" and "Buffalo Bill" until now either). This, because other historical "ancestor" characters shown or referenced appear to be from the 19th century Wild West: Jackie from "The Wilder West" introduced herself as the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Calamity Jane (who actually worked with Buffalo Bill before); and Milo's ancestor, the "first Murphy's Law", appears to be a sheriff from 1875 (as revealed in "The Race"), as opposed to Edward J. Murphy from the 20th century. But, that's just me...
see I'd agree that it was a stretch if it wasnt for the fact that the episode was already a sort of homage to tootsie and was already making very specific jabs towards transfeminine people. it is very possible that it was unintentional! but we dont know what their intentions were when writing the idea for buffalo bill and considering what lady krillers is, dwampy's past jokes, and their tendency to reference older movies in their works, i would be remissed to not point out this connection. in any case thanks for watching!
@@MarieMoments335 Oh, hi, Marie. Fancy seeing you here. I hope you’re well, though honestly, regarding this video’s subject matter, I can understand if you’re not.
I watched this episode less than a year ago, but I didn’t have a problem with it because it was never implied that Tobias was trans or even queer, and ultimately, the protagonist of the new movie remained an actual woman, so no real damage was done.
I had no idea about any of this. As a trans person who grew up watching Phineas and Ferb I'm pretty heartbroken. Thank you for the hugely informative and well articulated video 🫶
FINALLY somebody talks about this episode!! I was a fan of MML back in late 2020 and I remember being absolutely disgusted by this episode's transmisogyny. Great video, keep it up :)
Genuinely calling asexual identities the “safe option” is beyond disrespectful. While I completely understand the fact that simply calling a character ace to avoid placing a queer identity that is shown with actions is very..bait-y, it still is rude to act as if asexuality itself isn’t as inherently queer as being trans, bisexual, etc. I’m going to tell myself that you simply chose a very bad way to word things, it still feels as though you’re invalidating asexuality rather than critiquing Dans own comment.
From what I understand they did not phrase that well at all. It ended up being harmful to many people and in attempting to clarify it they dug the hole a bit deeper. I just wish they didn't say anything about that and instead focused on the Word of God aspect of it. The idea that creators can just confirm a sexuality outside the product and never mention it at all. Just "yup there's your queer character" now stop whining. It comes off as "why did the aces get that rep instead of the 'actual queers'". I know that's not what they meant to say but that's, unfortunately, how it sounded.
How about you actually pay attention to the video. They never said that that’s what they actually believe, they’re saying that Dan believes ace is a safe alternative since he can just not give perry a relationship and then say he’s ace and won’t have to actually represent it at all
It wasn't about crossdressing, it's about the fact that a man can wear feminine clothes to get what he wants which spreads the idea that trans women only wear feminine clothes to "infiltrate female spaces"....
They don’t? They just point out how this perpetuates harmful stereotypes about trans people being liars, the person in the episode did say they were the other gender, thus making them a trans ALLEGORY, not literally trans as they were lying. That doesn’t matter though as the episode will stuff the idea of the „man pretending to be a woman for selfish reasons“ back into the social zeitgeist for people to use to justify discrimination.
I assume reason nobody stopped to question if it was okay is because this trope has been extremely common in a multitude of media. Most of the writers likely just thought of it as some crossdressing joke rather than a shot at the Trans community. It's been done a hundred times in other shows/movies and they received no flack(although some are fairly older and red pilled so not much you can say there), but even then I really doubt the people who were making the episode were directly being spiteful.
I agree. It didn’t occur to me until watching this video that it actually is pretty offensive. I’m trans myself but having grown up in a transphobic environment (and being transphobic when I was younger) I can still be pretty tone deaf to this kind of thing.
Yeah this is just a normal joke. Literally no one cared until conservatives started hyper-focusing on trans people in 2015. Up until then "cis man secure in his masculinity dresses up like a woman" was just a funny thing to do. Rarely the core premise of a joke, but an amusing accent to one, like Brian's mother from Life of Brian, or every WKUK sketch. And notably, it wasn't funny when it was a trans woman who was dressing as a woman, because part of the comedy is making "dressing in women's clothes" appear to be a masculine thing.
I do not remember this episode and as a trans person it is quit empty. The transphobia seems kind of accidental, or more rather just ignorant than trying to be hateful. And with that... it doesn't even say anything. Man in a dress? Yep. That happens. Is it good, bad? This show doesn't know. It doesn't know what its doing. It just got caught up in itself and no one stopped it for some reason.
It doesn't really matter if it's on accident or not. When I was a kid, I stole a toy from the store. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong, but I still committed a crime, and my parents made me return it and apologize. I'm glad they held me accountable because it helped me learn that I did something wrong, and to be better. I don't think the writers were trying to be misogynistic, but they were, and I hope at least some of the people who worked on that episode can see this video and learn to be better
The show does know what a “man in a dress” is and clearly says it’s bad as there is a whole song dedicated to calling Tobias ugly when he is dressed feminine though. Yes this was probably just out of ignorance and outdated humor, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful and it deserves criticism.
Hey I really liked the way you formatted this episode, and love the lil Acesten avatar! I was a PNF fan as a tween, but never saw the Milo show bc I had already moved out and didn't have cable. I think that the episode reads very "there's no difference between a man in a dress and someone who's an amab woman" if we're being particularly picky, and also agree with Lilly that if we're being charitable, the episode is still very anti GNC woman (facial hair, broader shoulders, etc). Both of these things are bad obviously. I think that even if they didn't intend for the message to be transphobic, it's clearly a blind spot for the writers. It's crucial to check your blind spots when doing content geared to younger audiences because they don't understand nuance yet and will parrot what you say, especially if it's said in a silly voice. Edit: THIS IS YOUR FIRST VIDEO ESSAY??? YOU DID SO WELL!
shoutout to ella cesari for sharing this on her twitter! a great artist responsible for some great short story webcomics. glad she's still kicking and pitched in.
Exactly this. I wish i found this comment before making a several paragraph long response to someone else in the comments here lol, it summed up my thoughts pretty well
I’m a trans man and I agree with a lot of this.. it’s so unsettling to have to just sit there while other people debate whether or not you deserve to live for literally doing nothing wrong.. and then when I try to say anything about it most people around me get defensive and act like trans people are a completely different species.. like please I just want to be able to be myself in public without being told I’m shoving it in people’s faces or that I don’t deserve respect.. I’m just existing. Anytime I bring up the growing rate of trans targeted hate crimes people defend the literal murderers just because the victim is trans.. and then tell me I’m being dramatic bc it’s not that many. It is a lot of people and mainly those in my age group, I dont even use the men’s bathrooms due to this fear and have had a couple uncomfortable situations due to it. Not to mention really they forget they aren’t only hurting us trans people, you can’t be an unconventional looking person whatsoever anymore without people thinking you’re trans and being bigoted. It also hurts due to it being done by my one childhood hero Dan and the show he made that shaped me and lead to me becoming a confident designer by profession
@@archives2876 yea I know man and one of those is clinical gender dysphoria 😭 but I only rlly talk about that in trans spaces not day to day, it’s just annoying for people to act like we have the same rights when everyday trans people are murdered and we know who is the murderer but they face no repercussions
@@archives2876 many hate crimes go unpunished including terrible murders of literal children. I recommend looking it up. Though some people consider Nex’s to be “debateable”. You’d think they’d get convicted but suddenly they think it’s a “belief” and not actual murder when you’re attacking trans people.. horrific but even in the case mentioned (Nex) they had their face slammed into concrete floor repeatedly, and experienced facial injury, slurred speech, slowed motor functions and questionable personality changes between the incident and their death literally a day later. It was officially ruled a su!cide though the autopsy did not record their visible injuries (even if unrelated to death have to be recorded) and multiple toxicologists stated that the drugs in their system (mental health medications) shouldn’t have killed them whatsoever.
Oh. You know even if I am evil, I still have standards! I am terribly sorry for how transphobic I have been to the community, especially after calling that woman a man.. Seriously, seeing it now really made me thing how stupid a decision that was of me. Even I should know how it feels being ridiculed for wearing feminine clothing, that was just shameful.. Hope you can forgive me because I am trying to be more mindful on what I say to people and well.. just now know I won't make mistakes like that HOPEFULLY again! Sincerest apologies from Dr. Doof and stay evil!
6:37 Nothing he said was wrong. Doctor Strange 2's script was literally being written on set as they were filming, studios don't give a fuck as long as it makes money.
I don't think lgbt jokes are inherently hateful. Every character gets made fun of in comedies for their looks, actions, and intelligence. The only jokes that don't do that are puns, and "relatable" humor. A bad joke would be one that portrays lgbt people as PDFs or inherently evil. I don't know him personally, but dan doesn't seem like a hateful guy. I think he just doesn't know a lot about lgbt, and maybe isn't interested in making lgbt characters. That is completely fine. People who are passionate about making lgbt characters should be the ones making them. Otherwise, we'll get a forced fake character, and people will complain even more.
Making fun of people's looks and things they can't control like orientation is literally bullying. You seem to act like straight people can't do research
"Everyone gets made fun of in comedy" is not a good excuse to perpetuate stereotypes. If you want to make fun of a trans person, there are plenty of non-transphobic ways to do it. Literally just make a joke about Fallout New Vegas or programmer socks and dip. If it really has to be specific to the trans community, make a joke about how irrational dysphoria can be. "My shoulders are so broad, I'll never look like a real woman!", cut to the most stereotypically girly girl in existence. Not to mention the entire premise of the episode is that a man is dressing up as a woman for selfish reasons, you know, one of the most popular excuses for transphobia. There's nothing wrong with Dan not knowing a lot about lgbtq stuff, but that doesn't mean he can't do something transphobic - even if he himself might not actually have any issues with trans people.
I’m kinda glad I never saw this episode, because it feels really uncomfortable I imagine. MML is the awkward middle child between P+F and Hamster and Grettle (amazing show btw, it won Dan’s daughter an Emmy), I am hopeful that we’ll see great things in the new seasons, and I do hope Hamster can continue as well, I’ve really enjoyed it
hello! there should be subtitle track set up now, timed to the best of my ability. thank you so much again for watching! this project has been in the works for a very long time and i am very happy about the response its received so far. it means a lot to me that others have felt similar to how i feel about this episode and i'm happy that it's opened up the discussion i've always wanted. :') i don't have any immediate plans for more videos, but if anything happens with regard to this video like a response from dan and swampy, I'll probably talk about that. otherwise...maybe a behind the scenes of sorts? i dunno LOL. thank you once again for watching! have a good evening :]
Tbh, I won't be surprised if one of the writers who made this episode worked for the PPG (2016). Because I heard one episode was panned by many for ruining a interesting character. Also, out of all the cartoons I've seen, that show literally destroyed the careers for some crew members.
My fiancé and I watched through MML for the first time earlier this year and this episode really stuck out to both of us as something we couldn't believe they made in 2018. You did a great job explaining why plots like this reinforce negative stereotypes. (This video also reinforced that I need to read Whipping Girl.)
it's true, i was the fiancé. i legitimately had no idea what the hell i was watching; the episode made me viscerally upset in a way i could not describe, and this video puts most of it into words (especially jenny geist saying it's like the creators didn't even view this as punching down). it's overall a shame because the trope of gender-bending/gender-swapping characters is one i was always drawn to as a kid, for reasons i didn't quite understand until i was in my mid-20s and realized i'm genderfluid. i've always wished shows like this would use more good faith in experimenting with the premise, but most of them seem to not know how. it's just "man in dress" jokes all the way down. it's infuriating.
As a transfem, I'm just numb to "man in dress" episodes, I've learned to just ignore them cause there's nothing I can do about it. But I really am happy there's still people talking about this. This was an amazing and informative video and you're an awesome person, thank you for making a great essay on transphobia/misogyny in the media industry, we really need more of them
I think there are things we can do about it though, people have called out these episodes and tropes and while they do still happen, they've become a lot less common
@@EnvelopingSuspensions HE is not at all reading to far into it. Like HE says, this episode is about making fun of a man in a dress. This is genuinely how a lot of people still see trans women. A piece of media can still be transphobic without having trans characters
I’ll be honest, I strongly disagree with the video about the episode being trans-misogynistic. I am a trans mtf individual, and this doesn't look to be coming from a place of hate at ALL, at worst, it was just making light hearted jokes without realizing the possible connections that could be made to misogyny and transphobia. The jokes were just that, jokes.
I think in current climates, this kind of stuff is just very... touchy and difficult to do well. because a marginalized group is currently being attacked as being just men in dresses, doing a "man in a dress" plotline is. a bit tone deaf, yknow? on the face of it, it isnt bad, but when given the current context, it just really reeks of potential transphobic motivations and undertones. I get the criticisms and am personally unbothered by these kinds of jokes. but in the current climate, these kinds of jokes only serve to hurt the image of trans people because bigoted people and those who dont understand will conflate trans people with "men in dresses".
@@NunyaBizniz-om6xf I definitely think this is the case with the episode, just a very poor decision on their part to write these kinds of jokes in the year they did (2018).
8:15 Isn't implying that characters that are, supposedly, canonically cis men are a portrayal of trans people a bit disingenuous? So many of these examples are literally people "pretending to be a woman," generally for some advantage. Doesn't conflating the two reduce transness to pretending? That's not to say the examples are in good taste, but it's a separate thing from transphobia unless, again, they're supposed to be trans, or portraying a trans person rather than just a _pretender._
the issue is that even if it's not true, it's what people think we are, generally hateful people are going to group the two in the same box, and in general this trope is used as an excuse for transphobia. recognizing someone being transphobic is not the same as being transphobic - it's specifically pointing out that that behavior is wrong
I don't think the scene where Doof turns into a fairy princess instead of an evil monster is too bad. Like, maybe the joke was supposed to be that he's in a dress, but it does work without that. Like even if he were an actual woman in that scene, if his intention was to be a big scary intimidating monster and he instead became a fairy princess, that could be considered a little funny. Tbh I don't remember the show much, I don't remember ecactly what was happening in that scene.
i never saw this episode...i live in denmark and this country is rather safe for people in the LGBTQ+ community so it's actually good that this episode never aired here because of how harmful it is
lol, why so many dislikes? Edit: Ok, now Im caught up but wtf? The "safe" option bit was even but in quotation marks, how did people not understand what was meant there? D:
Bad representation is better because no representation is what the transphobes want. To a transphobe, media criticising trans people is actually still less desirable than media that just doesn't mention them at all, because most conservatives aren't super invested in dunking on the libs, they just want to be be able to pretend the world doesn't have these uncomfortable complexities.
A message written with an atbash cipher. The decoded message is: P.S. Dwampy, I will forgive you of all sins and transgressions if you hire me to write/draw for a special of the Phineas and Ferb continuation where Dakota and Cavendish realize they love each other and get married. They’re so gay coded it would be so awesome and cool for two prominent main characters to get married, especially since they’re male and the only gay rep in kids cartoons is like, some kid with two dads, cops, or both. It’s a reasonable conclusion to make looking at their relationship okay ALSO WE CAN MAKE PERRY THE PLATYPUS TRANSGENDER. WE CAN USE THE FACT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CORRECT PLATYPUS ANATOMY AT THE TIME TO EVERYONE’S BENEFIT
I disagree in saying that the episode was outright transphobic. It may have been distasteful, but the intention wasn't to demonize trans people in any way. I also don't think we can equate cross-dressing to being trans for this sort of thing. I think there are a lot of issues with cross-dressing in comical media in relation to trans representation, but yeah, that's just my take on it.
One additional reference in this episode may be during the dress up scene with the big wig and leopard print top, I think that outfit is suppose to be a reference to the character Peg from Married with Children. So not a great reference to choose since this character is not a positive portray (which is expected from a satire comedy like Married with Children, but not Milo Murphy's Law)
I'm a transgirl. I remember liking MML when I was a kid. It wasn't a masterpiece, but I enjoyed. I rewached the cartoon in 2023, and I recall this episode making me a bit uncomfortable, though I wasn't so sure that there was some transphoby intended. Good luck with your channel. This first video seems really successful. I also have a channel about cartoons (not this account, another), but it's less successful 😅 I am sure your channel will help to protect a lot of people from bigotry, including me
Congratulations on putting out your first video. It's a really important message, and sadly still relevant all these years later. Hope your RU-vid career goes well, Acesten!