The other article that the referenced quote came from goes on about how accepting Batgirl was when her friend came out as trans to her. I still contend that it's one thing to acknowledge a friend's coming-out with love and support and entirely another to be shocked at the same revelation (which is wasn't, but we'll play along for argument's sake) coming from a stranger/nemesis/villain. Even the author of that other article admits that they don't think Dagger Type is trans, and yet they're still getting up in arms over the possibility of someone reacting poorly just in case he was.
All of this reminds me of the politically correct movement in the 90s. Was it a bad thing? No, not really. Did it make the country feel like we were walking on egg shells around everyone? Yes, yes it did. I'm hoping the outcome is the same: the current generations get their crash-course in the new nomenclature and we can eventually get back to the day-to-day without being labeled one ist or another by using the wrong pronoun or some such. I want to believe the writers are sincere in their apology, but I'm also realistic enough to know that, yes, of course it could be a bit of CYA. Maybe it's both: they may not have considered the implications of that line and are genuinely chagrined (though the fact that they touted the issue as exciting and potentially controversial in tweets says they knew something would be contentious). Or (and this is really jaded) hello publicity stunt! On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 2:03 PM, Luke Jaconetti <[email protected]> wrote: > > To answer your Sleepaway Camp question, yes, the twist is along the same > lines as The Crying Game, albeit in a slasher movie context instead of a > dramatic one. > > I agree with you about "Some fans, assuming". I can't know what the > creative team's intentions were with the sequence in question. > > I am trying to say this correctly so I don't piss anyone off. The > creators apologizing for the way the sequence came off in print can be > taken at face value, or it can be taken as covering one's rear end. I tend > to go with the former, and I also agree with you that Batgirl's reaction -- > good, bad, or otherwise -- was a reaction to an intense, crazy > situation which just got crazier by having another twist thrown at her. > There is also the possibility that -- considering that the title has a > transgendered character as a major supporting player -- perhaps Batgirl's > response will build into a self-examining character beat down the line. > > On Tuesday, December 16, 2014 11:17:45 AM UTC-5, Jenn wrote: > >> Not to be flip, but if you're pulling off someone's wig--be the wearer >> transgender or not--misogyny is maybe not the first problem I have with >> your interactions with fellow human beings. In the context of the source >> material, though, I agree that it's just as likely to call it mistaken >> identity, though the writers could have just as easily kept with "Dagger >> Type ?!" as the response and left out the 'but you're a--' and avoided some >> of the controversy altogether. >> >> What I found more telling about the article was that it stated 'Some >> fans, assuming' and there you go: readers assume something that, I'm >> inferring, was never stated one way or another (that Dagger Type was >> transgender) and then get their noses out of joint jumping to the >> conclusion that obviously the writers are Making A Statement on the subject >> by perpetuating negative stereotypes. While I'm absolutely in favor of >> being mindful of what we say, how we say it, and the implications of our >> stance on things, I'm certainly not going to pillory someone (even a >> fictional someone) from experiencing a very human reaction in an intense >> situation. >> >> I'm presuming the Sleepaway Camp reference is a twist similar to that of >> The Crying Game? >> >> On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 10:59 AM, Luke Jaconetti <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> >>> http://www.newsarama.com/23011-batgirl-creators- >>> apologize-in-the-wake-of-transgender-controversy.html >>> >>> Okay, one line jumps out in this article to me. Quoting: >>> >>> >>> "If you pull the wig off of someone who you thought was a woman, it is >>> 100 percent transmisogynistic to yell in shocked horror that they are a >>> man," said a blogger on *Autostraddle.com* >>> <http://www.autostraddle.com/how-batgirl-37-undid-a-year-and-a-half-of-positive-trans-representation-in-a-single-page-269089/>. >>> >>> >>> End quote. >>> >>> If someone is disguised as a woman, and you pull their wig off and are >>> surprised they are not a woman, that makes you a mysogonist? Maybe I'm >>> just being simple minded here, but I don't understand that. Isn't it a >>> case of mistaken identity more than a case of mysoginy? >>> >>> Does that mean that we are not supposed to be surprised/shocked by the >>> ending of Sleepaway Camp? (Look it up if you do not know it, I am not >>> going to spoil it here.) >>> >>> I'm not trying to be a jerk here, I am asking honestly because I think I >>> may not be "getting" something. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "The Unique Geek" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> >> -- >> Jennifer "Scraps" Vanderbeek >> >> www.ScrapsOfLife.com and www.WhatToFeedYourRaidingParty.com >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Unique Geek" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Jennifer "Scraps" Vanderbeek www.ScrapsOfLife.com and www.WhatToFeedYourRaidingParty.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Unique Geek" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
