Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
There was an article in Monday's Politico which claimed that the GOP is giving up on the fight against marriage equality, disappointing their religious right allies. I don't buy the premise for a minute, but we would all be blind to not notice that there has been somewhat of a cultural shift. Marriage equality is a reality whereas years before, many of us never saw it as a genuine possibility.
It's a good shift, but also one which contains the danger of future generations being jaded about the overall struggle for LGBTQ rights in general. Marriage equality is a wonderful victory, but overall, it is merely a pitstop. We still have not attained full equality as a community and we are saddled with the same enemies who made the above video. Just because they failed in one attempt to undermine our rights doesn't mean they won't stop trying. As you look at the above video and either reminisce about the lies we had to fight against or gape at what you're probably seeing for the first time, remember that our struggle for equality isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.
Last week, I posted about a ridiculous claim by conservatives that the LGBTQ community was using the Muppets to "entice" children to become transgender. Right now, I want to focus on the fact that there is an actual historical link between the LGBTQ community and not only the Muppets but also Sesame Street.
From the above video, courtesy of LGBTQ historian Matt Baume:
For over sixty years The Muppets have been entertaining kids and adults alike. You probably know their creator, Jim Henson, who brought everyone together, and you might be familiar with Frank Oz, Jim’s close collaborator. But there’s another Muppet performer you might NOT know — part of the core group who was there from almost the very beginning, and in the 1970s became one of the most famous gay men in the world… who nobody recognized.
In between their hysterical fits about "critical race theory" and coronavirus vaccines, it looks like the religious right (and conservatives in general) have found time to yet again falsely accuse LGBTQ people of 'recruiting' children. Apparently we are attempting to get children to 'transition' their gender by exploiting a character in the Muppets:
Catholic League president Bill Donohue stands in disbelief about the latest LGBTQ activism targeting children, which saw the popular Muppet, Gonzo, change into a female – and try to get other Muppets to "transition," too.
"Why would Disney – the alleged family-friendly entertainment giant – want to encourage kids to reject their sex, and why aren't the media covering this story?" Donohue pondered in a Catholic League press release last week.
As left-wing corporate activism – through companies from Facebook to Coca-Cola – continues to use its influence to move the country into what critics call a form of Marxism, children are not being left out of the new vision for America … a vision being brought about through racial division, anti-Americanism, the culture of death, climate change and LGBTQ+ propaganda.
Donohue argues that Gonzo's transition signifies a lot more than playing dress-up or make-believe.
"The Muppet character, Gonzo, has 'transitioned' to a girl, Gonzorella – that is why he is wearing a dress to the 'royal ball,'" the Catholic leader recounted. "He does more than wear a dress – he instructs Miss Piggy and Summer that 'doing things a little different can be fun.'"
Donohue is just one of many conservatives having a hissy fit. Conservative dust kicker Candace Owens also whined about the situation:
“I can’t believe I’m tweeting this but.. they are pushing the trans agenda on children via muppet babies. This is sick and PERVERTED. Everyone should be disturbed by predatory cartoons meant to usher children into gender dysphoria. Bring back manly muppets, anyone?” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, conservative 'news' sources such as Fox News and NewsMax also sounded phony alarms. So is their freak out legitimate? Does that question even need to be asked?
In an episode of Disney Junior’s Muppet Babies called “Gonzo-rella,” the sweet blue muppet wants to wear a dress to the ball along with Miss Piggy and Summer. And his “fairy rat father” makes his wish come true.The entire muppet baby gang is preparing to go to a royal ball in an episode of the CGI show when Gonzo sees the “royal handbook” and finds a dress he just loves. “I’d love to wear a dress like that to your royal ball,” he tells Miss Piggy, Summer, and Rizzo the Rat.
Unfortunately he’s told by Summer and Miss Piggy that the girls wear dresses and the boys go as knights, according to the royal handbook. He looks crushed. Rizzo notices how sad he is and then shares the good news that he is a “fairy rat father” who can make his dream of wearing a “splenderific” dress come true, complete with glass sneakers, a mask, and an egg transformed into a “hard-boiled convertible” to drive him to the ball.
Much like the original Cinderella, Gonzo only has until midnight to be “Princess Gonzo-rella,” and has the time of his life with his friends. Who, spoiler alert, accept his desire to wear a dress when he eventually confesses that he was the mysterious Princess Gonzo-rella.
So just because Gonzo is a male character who wants to wear a dress and the episode got positivecomments for teaching children about accepting simple differences in themselves and their peers, conservatives are spinning it as some evil plot to endanger children. That's always the narrative with these bloodsuckers. Their fear mongering is stale and blase but always seem to strike a cord because it exploits fear of the unknown along with the fear that children will be harmed.
And it's ridiculous on so many levels. The episode has nothing to do with "enticing" children to 'become transgender.' The idea that anyone, especially children, can be "enticed" to 'become transgender' is just plain ridiculous. It is an insulting and ugly simplification of the complexity of transgender lives. The idea is so devoid of good sense that it doesn't deserve to be directly addressed except to say that anyone believing it should slap themselves. Hard. I'm talking Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in the letterbox edition of Mommy Dearest with a free wire hanger included in the DVD box set hard.
Secondly, the character of Gonzo has always been pegged as an odd muppet who has been dressing in drag since 1975 (as one person pointed out in a retweet to Owens). He has also dressed in drag on several episodes of the 80s animated show Muppet Babies. And not only him, but also several other characters.
Lastly (what the hell are 'manly muppets,' Candace Owens? Okay that's not the last point, but it's a damn good question) . . . lastly, what is the problem here other than the desire of some people to make their coins by scapegoating and denigrating other folks. Seems to me that the danger to children in this situation is the conjuring up of false phantoms by people and entities who obviously lack the will or desire to make an honest living. They see big bucks in elevating innocuous situations into Godzilla-type moral panics which, other than getting everyone worked up over nothing, gives them more online hits, more interviews on various media shows, and more attention.
It seems to me that the real danger in this situation to children - and to adults - is the message that respecting and accepting simple differences in people is a message which can be weaponized for fear and filthy lucre.
With the coordinated attack against our trans kids by conservatives still prevalent, this video clip is incredibly pertinent. In 2015, trans teenage Gavin Grimm sued his school board in Virginia for the the right to use the boys bathroom. It was a long and arduous fight which he finally won in June of this year when the Supreme Court allowed a lower court victory he attained to stand.
It wasn't an easy victory. You can see in this video how in the past, Grimm had to speak at a school board meeting attended by some very adversarial people. Some of the things he says are very poignant, particularly when it comes to the behavior of adults as opposed to children when talking about trans kids in general. We would all do well to listen and remember.
