Let's Talk About the "Brotherhooves Social" Backlash · 3:49am Oct 14th, 2015
Right now, I'm sure the fandom is still talking about and focusing on the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally getting their cutie marks. That is most definitely a topic worth celebrating and discussing but I'm here to talk about something pertaining to the episode that came immediately before that. In my review of Brotherhooves Social, I made a quick off-hand comment about people most likely looking at the plot and using it to further talk about transgenders. And, low and behold, it appears that this episode gained quite the backlash in the past week or so since it first aired. I'm here to explain why I find this backlash to be completely asinine and nothing but knee-jerk reactions.
First off, I want to make one thing abundantly clear: I have nothing against nor am I prejudiced towards transgender people in any way, shape, or form. I don't want this blog to turn into a political debate but I will say that I believe that the topic of transgenders and the prejudice they face in today's society (speaking from an American perspective) are definitely topics that need more attention. Without going into a long discussion pertaining to this topic, I'll just put John Oliver's segment about transgender rights below and say that I agree with everything he says.
Anyway, let's talk about the backlash. A lot of people have apparently accused this episode of, and I quote, giving a huge middle finger to the transgender community by having Big Mac's antics as Orchard Blossom being played for laughs. They've even gone on to accuse those who found the episode funny as being LGTB-phobic and insensitive and hateful towards transgenders. Now, as John Oliver pointed out, there's no denying that transgenders still face a lot of obstacles in today's society and the prejudice they face is no laughing matter. However, those who are responsible for the backlash have failed to see that their main argument against the episode has one major flaw: Big Mac is NOT transgender!
Did you people miss the reason WHY Big Mac was crossdressing?! The episode wasn't about Big Mac realizing that he sees himself as a mare and everypony coming to terms with that! The episode was about Big Mac trying to be Apple Bloom's hero again by crossdressing so that he could help her compete in the Sisterhooves Social! If this episode were about Big Mac learning that he feels more comfortable as a mare and THAT were played for laughs, then, yes, that would be offensive. But that's not what happened! That's not what the episode was about! Big Mac still sees himself as a stallion! He's just crossdressing and pretending to be Orchard Blossom in order to help his little sister. It's an ACT! He's a stallion who sees himself as a stallion and is trying to act like a mare. That's why it's funny! It's meant to be funny!
According to the logic of these people, anyone who crossdresses at any point is automatically transgender and/or a member of the LGBT community. That is just asinine. Look at Raven Baxter on That's So Raven. Throughout the course of the show, she crossdressed as men LOADS of times but she only did so in order to solve a dilemma without anyone knowing who she was (exactly what Big Mac did). Does that make her transgender? No! The actress her played her, Raven-Symone, may be a lesbian but the character of Raven Baxter was undeniably straight and saw herself as a female.
Overall, this backlash is nothing more than people taking a joke COMPLETELY out of context and knee-jerking to the nth degree. As I stated earlier, there are most definitely a lot of obstacles and prejudices that transgender people face but this episode was NOT one of them. You people need to stop being so easily offended by something that isn't even offensive in context! You're only giving the transgender community an even worse representation by making them look like they get offended at every little thing. Shut up, calm down, and stop looking to be offended by jokes that don't even follow the context of what you're being offended by!
I wasn't actually aware of the backlash until Equestria Daily reported on Peter New posting something on Facebook about it. Honestly, I suspected something like this would happen. We now live in a society that has become so super-sensitive over these kinds of things, they know longer understand the concept of a joke. I think the Nostalgia Critic says it best in his video on the topic.
Seconded.
Preach it mister/sister.
As a real life transgender woman, let me explain a thing. :)
First off, I want to say that while I didn't like the episode for a number of personal reasons, I know a lot of transgender bronies loved it and even adore this episode.
I also know a lot of transgender fans that literally cried and couldn't finish watching it because it emotionally hurt them.
And here's the reason for that, men-in-dress jokes and cross dressing jokes have historically been used to discredit and dehumanize transgender women as "men pretending to be women".
Now, is that what the staff of my little pony was trying to do? I doubt it.
But does it still send off bad vibes to many trans and gender nonconforming people? Yes.
It's possible to see how some might love actually having a character not playing into their own gender stereotypes, and it's also possible to see how other people, like myself, would see the potential damage it could cause, especially to young transgender children.
I think I've gone on long enough, but my point is that there are valid complaints and criticisms of this episode that need to be critically thought on.
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I see where you're coming from and I agree that you do make a valid point. I know that I came across as very angry in this blog but I think the thing that ticked me off most was how some people were accusing those who liked the episode of being LGBT-phobic and hateful towards transgenders. I personally loved the episode (more so for the heartfelt ending scene between Big Mac and Apple Bloom than the earlier bits, which I still found to be funny personally) but I understand that comedy, like every other aspect in entertainment, is subjective. What one person will find hilarious another can find to be a huge bore. And, as I stated in the blog, I have absolutely nothing against transgenders and I support them fully.
However, I think context truly is the key here. Nowadays, I see (and hope) that crossdressing for comedy's sake is seen more for the appeal of simply seeing someone act outside their gender identity instead of trying to dehumanize transgenders. This type of comedy can be appealing to some at it does show a man pretending to be a woman, which doesn't reflect transgender people at all. Obviously, transgenders are not pretending to be anything when they transition to identifying as the gender opposite of the one they were assigned at birth but rather acting like who they truly are. I originally pointed out the possible transgender undertones in my review simply because this was a year where transgenders took great steps forward. It is unfortunate that America still has several steps to take in order for transgenders to feel true equality among the rest of the cisgendered population.
I don't think crossdressing is a type of comedy that should be removed entirely and can be used tastefully (unlike something like blackface). I personally think that Brotherhooves Social did do it tastefully as there was more of a point to it aside from simply seeing Big Mac pretend to be a mare. The episode was about Big Mac trying to be Apple Bloom's hero again and going to any lengths necessary in order to achieve that goal. I didn't see the episode as mocking transgenders nor did I laugh at it simply because Big Mac was in a dress. I saw it as a funny bit of a character going to extreme lengths in order to fulfill a relatable goal.
I think a factor that should be taken into account is that this type episode did air during a turbulent time pertaining to the progress of transgenders. A lot of focus has been driven back towards them, both praise and prejudice. One could accuse this episode of being a victim of being a "too soon" joke. But I can't fault the episode for that since this episode was probably planned out about a year ago, well before everything with Caitlyn Jenner transpired.
I can understand some of the points behind one feeling offended by this episode but I do think that some people may take something like this a bit too close to home without examining the full picture of the episode. The episode doesn't mock a pony who is coming to terms with seeing themselves as belonging to the opposite gender. The episode shows the extreme antics of a determined brother who just wanted to gain his little sister's respect and admiration again. Crossdressing is a type of comedy that is definitely subjective. Some may find it funny while others may not. And that's okay. But the context of the crossdressing is what matters. Is the crossdressing meant to openly mock transgenders or is it simply to show a cisgendered character temporarily acting outside of their identity? If it's the latter, then I personally don't think it's worth feeling offended by.
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I'm a mister, for the record.
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Exactly. Thank god today's thin-skinned PC culture didn't exist back then or else that movie probably would have never been made.