Why is crossdressing considered Funny by the media?

You know what I mean. Every time a sitcom involves crossdressing, it's presented as if CDing is a joke in and of itself.

I was watching Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day tonight, and for those of you who are familiar with that movie might remember there's a scene where all the prostitutes are CD'd men. However, none of them are even close to passing, they're fat hairy men wearing dresses that are completely unflattering, intended to be a comedic effect. But the underlying "joke" is that men were dressing like women.

How can anyone take us seriously if the media considers our lifestyle a big joke? (Crossdressing, not prostitution :p And I'm just giving an example, CDing is almost always a joke on TV or in movies)

(Even worse, I was watching the movie with my dad and my brother, who without hesitation said "oh, that's disgusting" and "that's just wrong"; looks like I'm still deep in the closet for the time being.)

You have to be able to laugh at yourself...

Because the Media itself is funny. It takes one to know one.:)

Sitcoms usually go for the cheap laugh, and they figure a guy in obvious "drag" is a funny visual gag. But yes, I feel it is demeaning for those of us who dress this way for the pure joy of it.

That's Hollywood baby! Everything is just a big fat joke to them. I agree that the more we are portrayed in that way, the harder is is for us to crack that nut.

We have a UK sitcom at the moment that has one of these characters in I do watch it because I like the rest of the programme but the CD character just leaves me cold. It is written by one of those writers that thinks old ladies wetting themselves is hilarious I just don't find that kind of thing funny at all. Each to their own I guess !!

Everyone gets made fun of at some point and we find it funny unless it hits close to home; then we get offended. Should I be offended by the Big Bang Theory because they make fun of smart geeks? Should I be offended by Community if I attend a community college?

You can't take things so seriously, especially comedy.

You watched it with your dad and brother, did they laugh? Most people do! For us it's not so funny, but the rest of the world finds it unusual, and outside of their normal experience, and that helps humor. And as a heterosexual the thought of going to an area looking for a prostitute, and finding nothing but a group of men in dresses, I can see where a writer could find humor in a set up like that. The homosexual used to be the funny little hair dresser, or florist, or what ever comic relief, in the movies, now they are lawyers and businessmen, and are no longer necessarily the comic relief, so They need some one else, I guess it's our turn, maybe in 20 years will be main stream enough to be the doctors and lawyer, instead of the comedy relief.
Tina B.

Because the general public finds a man in a dress funny. Especially if they look bad in it. The writers don't know anything about crossdressing or drag beyond what they've seen on other shows, or the badly presented transperson they might have run into sometime. It's a self-replicating bias...

And minorities are always being shown as stereotypes in the worst light. The majority always uses the minority as the butt of their jokes-because it's easy.

Why do sit coms make the dentist act like a fool? always

THE ANSWER: people are afraid of the unknown!

enter the Crossdresser

Because as the song lyrics state....Ignorance and Prejudice and Fear walk hand in hand.

People fear that which they do not know and refuse to take time to try and understand. Plus, I think it is in human nature to laugh at or make fun of those things which one may feel uncomfortable with...as if this will in some way help distance themselves from the situation.

Almost all comedy relies on what they think is funny about each and every group of people and thats okay, the problems lies when people take the stereo-type and believe it's truth. Go to any book store and look for say polish joke books and then look for italian and irish jokes books they are about the same they just change the nationality. When its comedy laughter is the best medicine but when media (news) try and be funny people take it more seriously and as we all know the news on tv can be biased with the slant towards whatever soap it wants to sell.

I simply have to look in the mirror for my answer. Face it, I'm funny-looking!

:)

Kathi

Sadly, one word comes to mind, Violet.
IRONY!

I guess we'll have to blame Milton Berle and Flip Wilson. Seriously, I don't think its a big deal and a lot of people find it funny. I'd rather have Xdressing used in comedy shows than have us be the serial killer all the time.

Once upon a time, Hollywood portrayed gay people as funny little queers. They no longer do so because of several reasons. First off, many of the people in Hollywood are actually gay. Secondly, they now sport quite a bit of political clout. So now, gay is the new normal in Hollywood. Every show has either a gay character or three, lesbian sex (better yet - hetero females experimenting with lesbian encounters), or somehow incorporates the gay lifestyle into their plotlines. And look at the names: Modern Family. Queer as Folk. And on and on.

So since they can no longer ridicule gays, a new foil is needed, and they immediately replaced gay peeps with crossdressers for comedic value. Obviously that's not normal, so it's open season.

It really boils down to the nature of laughter and historically the visual contradiction that comes to people's minds when they see an obviously crossdressed character is a laugh response. It seems to be wired into our human brains. Ultimately that why "passing" is so important to most of us, it means that the people who see us dont automatically have that response. Imagine what would have happened if a "fear" response was what was wired into our brains, CD's could take over the world.

Funny is as funny does -- now a cat in a dog suit, now thats funny! It's all about the presentation. I wonder about my own presentation when I am dressed and out --! Oh yyyyes it can be funny!!! suck it up and laugh!

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Originally Posted by JamieTG

I guess we'll have to blame Milton Berle and Flip Wilson. Seriously, I don't think its a big deal and a lot of people find it funny. I'd rather have Xdressing used in comedy shows than have us be the serial killer all the time.

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You mean like in Silence of the Lambs :(

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Originally Posted by VioletJourney

How can anyone take us seriously if the media considers our lifestyle a big joke? (And I'm just giving an example, CDing is almost always a joke on TV or in movies).

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[SIZE="2"]Yeah – you should be angry about this. Is it any wonder that crossdressers are relieved to meet others on this site, and discover that what they do is NOT a joke? I keep thinking about that recurring motif, in a TV show or movie, when someone realizes that someone’s crossdressing is not for the purposes of laughter, so it immediately becomes a problem, meaning a mental disorder that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. Crossdressing is never just allowed to exist for its own sake – it’s a type of behavior that needs to be explained somehow, yet it is largely inexplicable…[/SIZE]

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Even worse, I was watching the movie with my dad and my brother, who without hesitation said "oh, that's disgusting" and "that's just wrong"; looks like I'm still deep in the closet for the time being.

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[SIZE="2"]The message is this: DON’T do that, because you’re supposed to follow the path of conformity that has been laid down for you, and any deviance from your expected trajectory may lead to further explorations into deviancy, all of which are not acceptable for one reason or another. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with expression, or curiosity, or experimentation, or deviancy for that matter – you can be outwardly “normal” yet remain deep in the closet, straddling the parameters for reasons of mental health and stability. I can think of many accepted forms of behavior that are “just wrong,” but try telling that to the conformists. Its fun being in a minority, I’ll tell ya…
:battingeyelashes: [/SIZE]

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Originally Posted by VioletJourney

You mean like in Silence of the Lambs :(

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That movie was a serious set-back to me in those days. The movie was before internet days.

Because its easier to laugh at something you dont understand that take some time to learn about it.

Entertainment is two fold, to entertain and to make money. Most television programs and movies make fun of everyone at one time or another. So, once in a while it is our turn in the barrel. Contrary to a lot of members' point of view, I love the free advertisements about the whole LGBT scene, funny or not. Hell, if we ourselves seem to always stay in the closet (the majority of CD's anyway), and we get no press time on the boob tube nor the big screen, how is anyone going to know that we really even exist in any significant number to be taken seriously or humorously? As mentioned above, the gays and lesbians are now being portrayed in more serious situations, as well as, continuing in the humorous roles too. Our time is coming faster than many believe. Many times humor helps set the stage for a more serious understanding of unknown topics. Keep it coming media people. And, fellow members let's get out there more being ourselves and having a good time in the real world so that we can become better understood as having the right to be in this wonderful and diverse world that we live in.

I know what you mean Violet, I have often wondered the same thing. Remember The Drew Carey show? His brother on the show was a crossdresser and again very unflattering and unpassable. The tv writers must think we're all buffoons. I'd love to see a prime time show with a crossdresser in a serious situation. I've seen some cop shows where potential suspects or victims were crossdressers but they were portrayed more like drag queens and gay and that's not really who or what we are either. Perhaps some day there will be a transgender writer of producer who will bring the truth about crossdressing to the forefront. Until then I guess we will always be laughed at by the media.

As for the comments from your dad and brother, all I can say is they'll never know the absolute joy we have in pursuing our favorite pastime.

I think it's better that they laugh, then normally how we are portrayed in the news. Their it's always because someone performing a crime or something in public. Stealing or worse. Recently in san Diego their was a story about a man wearing a dress attacked a teenage girl.

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Originally Posted by Kathi Lake

I simply have to look in the mirror for my answer. Face it, I'm funny-looking!

:)

Kathi

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I'm glad you're comfortable enough to admit we often look silly, but still be ok with yourself anyway. It's true, we often look ridiculous and have terrible fashion sense, not to mention the fact that fetish clothes are so popular among CDers. And when this isn't the case, then we pass and no one is the wiser. Think about it, for every ridiculous-looking crossdresser you've seen, you've probably seen ten that you just assumed were women.

Also, we have to realize that it's really freaking hard for other people to understand why we like wearing ladies' clothes so much. Heck, I don't think even most of us know the answer to that. The way I put it, I have a strong female side of my personality that I need to express every so often or else I just can't stop thinking about sexy high-heeled boots... or something like that.

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Originally Posted by Jilmac

I know what you mean Violet, I have often wondered the same thing. Remember The Drew Carey show? His brother on the show was a crossdresser and again very unflattering and unpassable. The tv writers must think we're all buffoons. I'd love to see a prime time show with a crossdresser in a serious situation. I've seen some cop shows where potential suspects or victims were crossdressers but they were portrayed more like drag queens and gay and that's not really who or what we are either. Perhaps some day there will be a transgender writer of producer who will bring the truth about crossdressing to the forefront. Until then I guess we will always be laughed at by the media.

As for the comments from your dad and brother, all I can say is they'll never know the absolute joy we have in pursuing our favorite pastime.

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Two words. "Boondock Saints"

Actually, that guy was gay. But still, he was like, an awesomely brilliant detective.

Whenever I go out and hear someone laughing I fear that they are laughing at me. When I see that they are laughing at something else I am; 1, relieved that they are not laughing at me and 2, disappointed that I have not been noticed. Much humor is based on the unexpected, people do not expect to see an old fat guy in a dress so they find it humorous.

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Originally Posted by Frédérique

[SIZE="2"]Yeah – you should be angry about this. Is it any wonder that crossdressers are relieved to meet others on this site, and discover that what they do is NOT a joke? I keep thinking about that recurring motif, in a TV show or movie, when someone realizes that someone’s crossdressing is not for the purposes of laughter, so it immediately becomes a problem, meaning a mental disorder that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. Crossdressing is never just allowed to exist for its own sake – it’s a type of behavior that needs to be explained somehow, yet it is largely inexplicable…[/SIZE]

: [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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Frédérique, I have enjoyed your threads and posts but I have to disagree! I may or may not have the backup of experience, and please bear with me on this, but homosexuality was portrayed in a comical way (and still is) for so long on TV as well as theatre, stand up comedy etc.. but now it is much more accepted and shown in on TV in a more or less serious light. I think its all about exposure. The more something is exposed, in whatever light iniatially the more it will be accepted to be seen on general TV.

I think it is healthy to laugh at ourselves and with comedians who take the piss out of everyone, gay, cd, disabled, race, class or whatever. By laughing about it you expose the silliness of laughing about it. Ironic humour is a gem that changes entire social trends.

Jx

As was mentioned earlier, better funny than creepy.

The problem with accurate portrayal of CDing is that most actors, with the attention of the makeup department, can pass perfectly. If they can do that, why not just hire a GG?

I can think of one reasonably "normal" portrayal of a MTF CDer, that of Tina in The World's Fastest Indian.

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Originally Posted by Jilmac

I know what you mean Violet, I have often wondered the same thing. Remember The Drew Carey show? His brother on the show was a crossdresser and again very unflattering and unpassable. The tv writers must think we're all buffoons. I'd love to see a prime time show with a crossdresser in a serious situation. I've seen some cop shows where potential suspects or victims were crossdressers but they were portrayed more like drag queens and gay and that's not really who or what we are either. Perhaps some day there will be a transgender writer of producer who will bring the truth about crossdressing to the forefront. Until then I guess we will always be laughed at by the media.

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The Drew Carey show treated the CD character (Drew's brother) with respect, not sure why you feel that the portrayal wasn't handled well. The show, and actor, received kudos from the crossdressing community for its portrayal of one of us. And not passable? Most of us aren't passable, so that was accurate.

Other than that, I agree with your general assessment of how writers usually treat CD characters. I guess we all need to get out in public and show everyone that we are indeed deserving of respect, and when we see CD's portrayed in a bad light in media, we need to make some serious noise about it. Might be good to let advertisers on shows that portray us badly know that we'll spend our money on products other than theirs as long as they support a show that disrespects us.

Carol

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Originally Posted by Julogden

Might be good to let advertisers on shows that portray us badly know that we'll spend our money on products other than theirs as long as they support a show that disrespects us.

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Yeah! Unless it's Maybelline. Or a.n.a.; they have the prettiest tops this season. Or any line of thrift stores, really. Or...

See, making fun of crossdressers is funny! ;)

Plenty of people who run the media ( not universal- this is changing a bit in recent times ) see women as inferior to men. So a guy "stooping to that level" in their minds "deserves" to be laughed at. These same people have treated the subject of gay men the same way- "not real men" so they "deserve" ridicule.


"You mean like in Silence of the Lambs"
In that movie Dr. Lecter said that Buffalo Bill wasn't transgender. And Clarice stated something to the effect that crossdressers aren't violent people.

As for the comments from your dad and brother, all I can say is they'll never know the absolute joy we have in pursuing our favorite pastime.


This is so very true!

sometimes embarrassment turns to laughter. I'm sure someone here has dropped a rose in an elevator heavily occupied and when everyone got a whiff, the scene was one of (embarrassed) laughter. I remember years ago when Johnny Carson used to do the funny foreign commercials, and showed the one of the Japanese baby passing gas in the tub, and it was a laugh riot. It was also embarrassing.
It could be that the writers as men, are subconsciously embarrassed that another man would wear women's clothing and is embarrassed for him--his own creation.
Of course, there may be members of the writing media right here on this forum, as there certainly are in just about every profession as we've seen, and they are having a good public laugh at themselves.

A body displaying relatively polarised masculine and feminine features can be quite unsettling if your not used to it. I remember when I was a child, even a guy with a ponytail disturbed me!

Kathi hit the nail on the head. Me myself, i'd LOVE to go out right now fully dressed, but due to my chiseled facial features I look like a gremlin!

There is a difference between how we crossdressers view ourselves, how others view us and ideals. The usual reaction to a crossdresser is that of credulousness; that the guy "thinks he can be a woman". Usually on TV the idea of presenting a passable crossdresser as a commonality can be controversial, it prompts us to ask ourselves questions about our own masculinty. In panto the crossdressers always look like clowns, so there is no difficulty.

Because the media is left wing,and thats how their minds are.

Grin and bear it. We are a special lot and I'm damn proud of it. Long live the crossdresser. Daviolin

I think most of the comedy in crossdressing movies and tv is the "fish out of water" type. Alot of these programs focus on the difficulties a man has trying to pass as a woman. There is almost always scenes of the guy falling over in high heels, putting on makeup and such. These things seem to come natural to a woman because she gets to practice without fear of getting caught. This is why there aren't too many FTM crossdressing comedies: Women don't have to try keeping their balance wearing flat shoes. The majority of these programs aren't really laughing at crossdressers, but at the man who, all of a sudden, must convince someone he is a woman. I never really found these movies funny myself, it seems like the plot is used when the writers are out of ideas.

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Originally Posted by Kate Lynn

Because the media is left wing,and thats how their minds are.

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I thought the left wing was afraid of offending anyone?

Anyway, a lot of guys can become really disturbed and question their sexuality when they see a crossdresser they think is sexy, then find out it's a dude. Like in The Crying Game, although I guess the "girl" was supposed to be a pre-op TS in that movie.

Network TV is a waste of time in general.Mindless and not worth watching.

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Originally Posted by James Kaon

I may or may not have the backup of experience, and please bear with me on this, but homosexuality was portrayed in a comical way (and still is) for so long on TV as well as theatre, stand up comedy etc.. but now it is much more accepted and shown in on TV in a more or less serious light. I think its all about exposure. The more something is exposed, in whatever light initially the more it will be accepted to be seen on general TV.

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[SIZE="2"]When crossdressing is portrayed in the “serious light” you are referring to, drop me a line – I don’t think I’ll see that in my lifetime, except for art house movies and the occasional sympathetic documentary. The problem is, MtF crossdressing is presented as a joke in the mainstream media, in an effort to reinforce the idea that it’s a form of deviancy, and, in these polarized times, such a willful turning-away from one’s alleged masculinity is akin to some form of gender crime. Tell me it isn’t so – when have you seen an accurate portrayal of crossdressing put before a primetime audience without comedic intentions?

If homosexuality is now more or less “accepted” on general TV, why is the phrase “That’s so GAY” heard whenever a male tries doing something a little less masculine? Any acceptance you are referring to is a PC veneer over what actually exists, keeping in mind that I’m still talking about what is presented on TV and absorbed by millions of viewers – does TV reflect reality, or does it serve to steer people into certain ways of thinking? Crossdressing is presented as a joke, and the punch line is: “It’s a guy in a DRESS!” I guarantee that as soon as some pundit tries to alter this polarized group-mentality, everyone will get worried about the consequences, namely homosexuality (which MUST be at the root of all crossdressing, you know*) will be “on the rise,” and masculinity, along with family values, will be threatened. TV has a job to do, and they are doing it whether you like it or not – it’s all about conformity, not exposure, my dear…

*:doh:[/SIZE]

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Originally Posted by Vir Nova

a lot of guys can become really disturbed and question their sexuality when they see a crossdresser they think is sexy, then find out it's a dude. Like in The Crying Game, although I guess the "girl" was supposed to be a pre-op TS in that movie.

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It can challenge males in regards to they're own potential femininity, both gender and orientation.

For the most part, if a crossdresser manages to pass then the reaction is pretty positive. It is tragic for the crossdresser that fails to pass; this failure is a constant mutual feature when going out. This is often followed by a difficulty to understand why the male would do such a thing to himself, and delusion, perversion or illness is sometimes assumed. In society, the e.g drag queen and the panto performer are recognised, but the "tragic" scenario is a place people generally don't want to explore. The scenario has a similarity with encounters with disfigured people, although to become disfigured is understood to be much less of a choice

*newsflash* we are mostly unpassable,so we are easy meat to comedy writers,of course it does grate on me at times when we are shown in bad light but we have to remember to many folk a man in a dress is an odd thing where I do feel concern is the number of cop shows etc where we are shown as serial killers,rapists and child abusers,that to me is much more dangerous television and more of a worry for us,What we just have to do is keep showing the public the positive side of CDing when we go out in the world.

Left wing making fun of minority groups,dont quite follow that logic

Sophie

Even though I posted a reply yesterday, this article appeared in my local newspaper today. It's titled "Gender Bending Gents" and is a test on knowlege about movies where guys played gals. Ten movies are listed; Mrs. Doubtfire with Robin Williams, Tootsie; Dustin Hoffman, Psycho; Anthony Hopkins; Norman Bates as his mother, Some Like it Hot; Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, The World According to Garp; John Lithgow, Hairspray; John Travolta, I Was a Male War Bride; Cary Grant, Norbit; Eddie Murphy, I was a Communist for the FBI; Actors Unknown, and Tyler Perry as Madea in several movies.

Nine are comedies mostly portraying crossdressers as buffoons, and one, Psycho, portrayed a deranged murderer. I think there really ought to be something done to inform the public that for the most part crossdressers are everyday people, not wierdos, lunatics or buffoons.

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Originally Posted by auto andrea

Kathi hit the nail on the head. Me myself, i'd LOVE to go out right now fully dressed, but due to my chiseled facial features I look like a gremlin!

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Actually, you miss my point (Get it? Miss? . . . Sigh. Never mind).

My point is this; Yes, I look in the mirror and laugh at myself, but I'm looking in the mirror on the way out the door. In other words, I don't let my appearance stop me, and neither should you.

Kathi

Well, to be honest; sometimes we are funny. I do not think there are too many of us who have not tried to wear a piece of clothing that we had absolutely no hope of pulling off, right? For me it was miniskirts and stiletto platforms (thankfully not out in public), but some have tried it. I try not to take such depictions personally and remember that if ever you make fun of one group of people you should be okay with having them return the favor. That is why for most shows like those described above I figure that the writers and whatnot are all knuckle-dragging neanderthals. You know, like transference or whatever the psychologist term of the day is. ;)

If you are a writer that has to come up with a new script every week for a sit com you probably go for the easy laughs. CDs seem to be a sure fire laugh that the writers don't have to work hard to write. We aren't alone. They also love to pick on old people.

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Originally Posted by daviolin

Grin and bear it. We are a special lot and I'm damn proud of it. Long live the crossdresser. Daviolin

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I'm right there with you, regardless of the portrayal in the media, long live the crossresser. :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by VioletJourney

However, none of them are even close to passing, they're fat hairy men wearing dresses that are completely unflattering

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I am a fat hairy man who doesn't try to pass, does this mean I am not a crossdresser and don.t belong here?
I agree that the media and movies and tv portray us as funny but you have to be able to laugh it off, and like you said in your post about your brothers reaction, it is an easy way to test the waters with family and friends. Just laugh it off.