What would you do, if you were me?
It might not be obvious, but invest a lot of emotion in this blog. Hell, I invest a lot of emotion into a lot of things. Like any investment, sometimes it pays interest, sometimes not. Sometimes I invest emotions in people and things that don't deserve it.
But, every time I post something here, from the deepest "serious" posts to the most frivolous throwaway ones, you're seeing a piece of "me". I put it out there, a little bit of me for you to see. If it's liked, it gives me a great rewarding feeling. I'd be lying if I said it didn't. I wouldn't be blogging if I didn't get a personal sense of reward from it.
Take "Tranny and TV". It's fun to do. I've blogged before about how much I enjoy doing them. Probably more than they're enjoyed by my readers.
That's kind of my point. I realise I'm rambling, but I do have a point. Honest.
The point is, "Tranny and TV" is meant to be "fun". It's not meant to be deep and meaningful. Okay, so sometimes I use it to make semi-serious points about the nature of transgendered folk, but if it's pissing people off more than it's amusing people, then it's really not worth doing. If each one is going to come with pages full of rants aimed personally at me (and my other readers), then I don't think I can stand the stress, and I'm pretty sure you won't want to read it.
This is all brought about by the comments on the last cartoon particularly the one by Pia [since deleted by me - if she posts it somewhere else then I'll link to it here].
For the record, I don't think people getting beaten up is funny. Whether they're transgendered, gay, lesbian, asian, white, whatever. Of course I don't. But I still think that cartoon is funny, because it's not about that. It's about trannies acting like idiots, and getting into a ridiculously surreal situation. They got beaten up in the same way Tom gets beaten up when he chases Jerry unthinkingly into a dog pound... they're be perfectly alright in the next cartoon, honest. You'll note that they survived a Millwall game and a cock fight unscathed... they're perfectly capable of handling themselves.
So, what I want you to do is to say what you think. Did that T&TV or others overstep boundaries? Did it make light of violence in an inexcusable way? If the balance of opinion is that it did then I'll probably delete it. I don't want to do that. I'll also have a good think about posting T&TVs in the future. Perhaps I need to learn that just because I can say something that I should.
The other alternative is of course my preferred one: that the cartoon, while not necessarily hilarious, wasn't that bad. If you think that, then say so. If the balance of opinion is that T&TV is relatively harmless "fun", then I'll delete the rants and take great pleasure in telling Pia to... leave ... and voice her opinions elsewhere (preferably on another Grayson Perry interview, the last one was hilarious). T&TV can go back to being what it's supposed to be: a comic strip, with occasional lightweight digs at trannies.
So just voice your opinion, please. This is about what you think.
But, every time I post something here, from the deepest "serious" posts to the most frivolous throwaway ones, you're seeing a piece of "me". I put it out there, a little bit of me for you to see. If it's liked, it gives me a great rewarding feeling. I'd be lying if I said it didn't. I wouldn't be blogging if I didn't get a personal sense of reward from it.
Take "Tranny and TV". It's fun to do. I've blogged before about how much I enjoy doing them. Probably more than they're enjoyed by my readers.
That's kind of my point. I realise I'm rambling, but I do have a point. Honest.
The point is, "Tranny and TV" is meant to be "fun". It's not meant to be deep and meaningful. Okay, so sometimes I use it to make semi-serious points about the nature of transgendered folk, but if it's pissing people off more than it's amusing people, then it's really not worth doing. If each one is going to come with pages full of rants aimed personally at me (and my other readers), then I don't think I can stand the stress, and I'm pretty sure you won't want to read it.
This is all brought about by the comments on the last cartoon particularly the one by Pia [since deleted by me - if she posts it somewhere else then I'll link to it here].
For the record, I don't think people getting beaten up is funny. Whether they're transgendered, gay, lesbian, asian, white, whatever. Of course I don't. But I still think that cartoon is funny, because it's not about that. It's about trannies acting like idiots, and getting into a ridiculously surreal situation. They got beaten up in the same way Tom gets beaten up when he chases Jerry unthinkingly into a dog pound... they're be perfectly alright in the next cartoon, honest. You'll note that they survived a Millwall game and a cock fight unscathed... they're perfectly capable of handling themselves.
So, what I want you to do is to say what you think. Did that T&TV or others overstep boundaries? Did it make light of violence in an inexcusable way? If the balance of opinion is that it did then I'll probably delete it. I don't want to do that. I'll also have a good think about posting T&TVs in the future. Perhaps I need to learn that just because I can say something that I should.
The other alternative is of course my preferred one: that the cartoon, while not necessarily hilarious, wasn't that bad. If you think that, then say so. If the balance of opinion is that T&TV is relatively harmless "fun", then I'll delete the rants and take great pleasure in telling Pia to... leave ... and voice her opinions elsewhere (preferably on another Grayson Perry interview, the last one was hilarious). T&TV can go back to being what it's supposed to be: a comic strip, with occasional lightweight digs at trannies.
So just voice your opinion, please. This is about what you think.
"I for one no longer wish to read these disgusting cartoons which show an appalling lack of thoughfulness etc etc and I shall be cancelling my subscription to your magazine forthwith..."
Hang on, wrong publication. This isn't Private Eye is it?
Tranny & TVs use of the absurd to highlight some of the more ridiculous aspects of TG life is sometimes all too near the mark for comfort but then so are all reality checks.
Like Alli' I have yet to be mortally offended by anything that the twosome have got up to. Perhaps because I try not to take them too seriously?
Unfortunately, there is violence, confusion, predjudice and a whole host of negative issues around being tv or ts. Does that make tranny and TV any less observant or funny? No, it doesn't.
Sadly some people are so close to the difficult parts that they find it hard to stand back and recognise the difference between the truisms of our scene and having fun with characters and situations we can easily recognise. It was rude of Pia to accuse you of being insensitive when you clearly pay attention to the world around you and the way people feel. You aren't responsible for her situation and nor are you in any way endorsing it, so she has no reason to attack your much appreciated efforts.
The famous and well respected philosopher Ali-G once said "Is it because I is black?". Is that ignorance of race issues or poking fun at people who desperately borrow from 'gangsta' culture? It's a pity some people are so stuck in the groove of defending their lifestyle that they see everything as an attack.
T&TV are my little heroines and I would hate to see their demise. They shine light into dark places.
I don't think Pia was trying to be rude (sorry Claudia), but she's certainly saying something from a position of hurt and a little fear. Not a nice place to be. My heart goes out to her and her friend for what they're feeling.
BUT a lot of us realise that Becky has hit on a certain tranny zeitgeist that we recognise. We're essentially laughing at ourselves.
Power to yer keyboard hun!
xx
Personally speaking, I've never been even slightly offended by the cartoons.
I'll admit that I do have a slightly sadistic sense of humour, but this doesn't appeal to that side of me. I think they're poignant observations of human nature. People will always try and out-do each other!
Imagine if we didn't though, there would be no sport, no world records, no new cars, or music and no progress. Brian Adams could still be number 1!
While that may seem a stretch to get from a cartoon, the cartoon is just showing the absurdity of us a species, not as a subgroup within the species.
In my opinion anyway.
should you continue with T & TV, oh god yes its fab!
There is a fine line between creating a safe space and creating an uncritical space.
It's a bit like criticizing your own family - all well and good. Someone else does it? Not so good. It all comes down to how much the family feels itself to be a family and wants to be a family even. And I don't think you ever exclude.
That doesn't mean you have to publish if you feel the costs of it are too high though... Holding up mirrors can make your arms sore.
More, more more!
It's a cartoon for jeebus sake! It's like D&C's "What's the worst job you've ever had?" (although I've not eaten lobster since I heard that).
I appreciate the fact that some members of the community experience violence and harassment from narrow-minded, red-necked, gob-shites ; but I seriously doubt that making any mention of it 'taboo' is going to make things better. I also doubt that this particular cartoon was intended to 'hold a mirror' to this violence, rather to reflect the "I'm a bigger / better / braver / slicker trannie than you because I've..." competitiveness that seems to go on.
Pia; as to my being "faceless" and "closeted": yes and yes - my choice. I make no criticism of your life choices and I would expect you to afford me the same courtesy. Although perhaps you feel you've a right to criticise my perceived 'anonymity' because you're a bigger / better / braver / slicker trannie than I am?
That said I'm not sure I've understood any of them! Thats not a slur on you, I probably haven't stopped and thought about them for long enough. That is the problem with any art form - if you sepend long enough looking at it it can tell you what ever you want it to say. No offence, but I just haven't felt the need to analyse T&TV to the 100th degree. Deos that make me a bad person?
Surely it should be possible to laugh at the mindlessness of bigotry and violence without being accused of being unsympathetic to individual cases.
Becky, I think there's talent and no little insight behind "Tranny and T.V." but if they become an albatross around your neck or you find yourself beginning to worry about the response to them then I don't think anyone who comes here would want you to feel pressured to continue.
If people are getting offended by that they really need to lighten up.
The cartoon was very Tom and Jerry.
Some people can suck the life out of anything.
Keep up the good work Bex, you are one of the best transgendered writers on the net.
how about doing a really fucking amazing tranny and tv that rather than being 'clever'...really moves me/us alll and really shows you've invested your time...make me take a breath ...make me cry...make me ponder the fate i/you have chosen by showing my weak or negative side(if only by patriarchal volition)my/our celebration of the dark, the goddess, the unknown, the unshown, natures finest...Gaia...
I know you have it in you ...you are prolific and powerful...
but i don't want a candle of sarcasm in the dark...i want a firefight...i want all those who aren't fighting to kick off...so if tomorrow you roll into work ...you telll them you are wearing a dress or to fuckoff...the stonewall movement was started by a ts...who was told to wear trousers at its anniversary...she fought that fight for you and me...and now we must fight it to have a right to exist in middle england...
we have a right to exist without making light of our situation...or explain it as a petty fetishisticm perversion...(and yes i'm a pleasure seeker) but when it comes to something as profound as our 'gift' we should shine and not sparkle...I want to burn the eyes of those who see us...so they see that in there children and do not patronise or mock...they see the light...
becky i love you hon but please right something that sounds like you've listenend to punk or some radiohead...
you/we are in this situation...regardless of our involvement...I hope you never have to fear your freedom of expression...even from me...i hardly ever comment on the cartoon although i randomly check your site ...but sometimes I have to rant...
the average bystander that is'straight' for whatver that means.. doesn't really hear about hate crimes on your site...
it is part of our daily lives just like fuel and till faults...
for all of us...
take good care...
shout til you are hoarse...without modesty...
Love, Peace and Respect
pia
x
and if you don't i'll stop reading ...and ranting...xxx
Personally, I find the strips rather funny. T&TV aren't really grotesques. Sure, their behaviour's exaggerated, but you can at least relate to it (this month's p*ssing contest is a prime example). There are worse 'funny trannys' out there. Emily Howard? Funny, offensive or just b*llocks? (My money's on the latter).
We're along way from Brass Eye levels of near knuckle-ness*, but T&TV does continue to push a few buttons here and there.
[ * I hear the Cat's Protection League were about to issue a fatwah against you after the gag about a dead cat in a box. :) ]
You have to be able to laugh at yourself. And lets face it, most of us look a sight even on our best days. :-)
BTW, Becky, any chance of getting in some gags about Jesus in the next issue? I mean, if you're going to offend people, you might as well go for broke. :)
No Pia, why don't you go and do that? I'm sure it would be brilliantly moving and bring a tear to my eye.
Not all people share your view that the only way trannies should engage with the world is via a "firefight", but there might be some, so you should spread the word.
So rather than sniping at me and my readers from within, why not set up your own blog? I hope you build up the kind of readership by blogging material that make us "ponder the fate we have chosen"; that I have by blogging my "glib and crass" stuff about talking electrical appliances.
And they can all read about "hate crimes" and your half-assed opinions on "the Goddess" and stuff influenced by "punk or some Radiohead". I'm sure you'll get an audience of your kind of tranny, but you should see by the (unmoderated) comments on this post that you're completely in the minority amongst my readership. (Which happens to include a fair proportion of non-trannies who I like to think I have given a positive image of transgenderism to.
Your comments upset me because for a brief time I thought that maybe I'd completely misjudged my audience, and that I was unwittingly condoning violence against TG folk. The comments I've recieved have universally stated that this isn't the case.
People are intelligent enough to know what's comedy and what's reality, and how one can hold a mirror to the other without either condoning it or lessening it.
It's only you that seems to think I'm not writing in a way fit to represent "the transgendered community".
One more thing. Saying that you'd "laugh at me" if I was joking through bloodied teeth is just about the most hateful thing anyone has said to me on my blog or in person. And I'm including the emails from the religious nutcases.
So please, stop reading my blog, because it's not going to change into something you like. And I'm going to delete your comment on Tranny and TV, and any future comments you make on my blog. You can complain about freedom of speech if you like, but do so on your own blog, or in a forum, or wherever. This is my platform that I've worked to create, and you're not welcome here.
To paraphrase Voltaire: I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write... just not on my blog.
This is your site with your rules, Becky. Your blog, Tranny and TV, it's all your creation and your ideas and whatever you want to express or put up here is totally your call and no one elses'. One of the best things about Becky Sweb is that it's always been funny, original (even the borrowed bits), spontaneous (think of all those times when you'd buzz me on MSN to share your latest idea) and different from any other tranny site out there. I walked away from the tranny scene, but Becky Sweb is still in my bookmarked sites because it's that good.
As someone who runs their own (BLATANT PLUG ALERT) comedy sketch website, I've received 2 negative comments about our material and for a while that got me down because I couldn't please everyone. But it didn't matter in the end. I thought the material was good and I've stuck by it and in the end it's paid off. I say the same to you: If you like it, then you don't have to justify it.
As Becky has responded, here and elsewhere, I'm simply re-iterating what I've said, elsewhere.
/Carolyn Ann
===========================
I was just reading in "Motorcyclist" (Apr '07) about how many objected to the journalism of a Mr. Dan Walsh. He's profane, he's rude, crude, loud and he can be obnoxious. So many letter writers calling for him to be fired, and only a few published letters that said he had a right to say what he wanted. So you're definitely in good company!
One of the certainties guaranteed by freedom of speech is that you're going to annoy someone, at some time.
But there's an essential difference between a magazine that vies for corporate dollars and a blog written for personal expression. That difference boils down to the freedom to express yourself.
You have a right, Becky, to say what you want to say. Pia has a right to object. One of the central points about blogging is that your readers can comment on what you post. It's a bit like a distended conversation, and a blog conversation has more frailty than "normal" conversation. It's sans the body language and inflexions that inhabit those.
If you write, you can guarantee that someone, somewhere, will be offended at some point. It's inevitable.
It's a consequence of both providing the means to comment, and providing the topic (aka venue) for someone to have an opinion on. But that shouldn't stop you writing, or cartooning, what you want to.
Pia made an objection to something you published. Pia had both the right and the means to object; it was exactly the same right and means you have in your blog, and in your cartoons.
That Pia objects is neither here nor there. Pia has voiced a objection, and her response to your question. You have voiced uncertainty, and a fear of offending. Your cartoons, and your posts, provide an insight into you. No one else. When we start to "fit in", and not offend, we start on a rocky road that leads to dissatisfaction and self-censorship. There is little crime worse than that of quieting oneself in order to appease others.
While you may find Pia's objection to be of concern, it should not stop you from writing as you see fit. Write in the knowledge that you'll tick off someone, somewhere. Anytime you start to consider what others think, you start writing what they want to hear, and not what you want to write.
Selfishly, I view it as a personal imperative to write what I want, when I want. I neither care, nor consider, what others may think of my writing. And you shouldn't care, or consider, either.
Write for yourself, and your audience will want more. Write for others and you'll either be coveted by false acolytes or it will be a burden. And it certainly won't be you in those posts.
Freedom of expression, and the ability (freedom, but I wanted to retain some semblance of grammar) to dissent, is critical to a society; without it a blog becomes a meaningless accoutrement. Write what you want. Don't fret the objections. They'll happen, regardless.
Carolyn Ann
(Wait, I've not finished, yet!)
While this may seem to be a little high-falutin', the principle to dissent is so important. As a blog writer, get used to offending. If you write what you think your audience wants to read, you'll not do well. Write so as to not offend, and I'll guarantee offense at every turn.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6446271.stm
Ever fancied commiting your blog to print in a more permanent fashion??
Though I may not agree with Pia's opinion, I will not say it is not a valid reading. Personally, I thought the comic was silly and fun and not at all offensive, but I can see how someone more sensitive might be effected differently. Perhaps someone who has seen real violence as a result of trannying.
Actually, Pia's reading sounds like a hardline feminist reading. (And we all know how much fun feminists can be. ducks)
I was somewhat shocked by the vitriol slung in Pia's direction.
All that said, don't stop doing it the way you've been doing it. If they don't like it, they'll head elsewhere.
The community needs a gentle ribbing from time to time, it stops the self-importance.
If people want to do their own neo-punk, hardcore, establishment-rocking blogs then let them go do it elsewhere. Posting snide comments on other people successful blogs is not the way to go about it. Pia - please go put your money where your mouth is. If you write it, then they may come...
Keep the strip. Its funny, and often clever.
I didn't even consider the subtext suggested by some readers. I think people are projecting their prejudices onto your 'toons.
As an aside I've only ever been attacked en-homme. I've always felt very safe dressed in safe clubs, even though I'm not that convincing.
Your site, blog and cartoons are great. Keep it up and continue to spread a lot of happiness.
B, you must write for yourself... write because you want to and because it makes you happy... writing with your audience in mind ain't going to work.
Be yourself.
Oh, waddafug, take the rest of the day off, girlfriend, relax, kick back... ;-)
love, hugs and a mug of hot chocolate
Helen
It's personal perspective.
Becky you don't intend to offend, but you offend with your intent.
We view things & interperate from our personal experience & form opinions from this narrow scope.
Pia's view that the subject can be taken so lightly differs from the mostly "Meh" view above.
Im one of the amused, who like T&TV
,but I'm sure that might have been different if my circumstance were that of Pia's friend.
No, you should carry on with T&TV. You can't cater & please everyone, plus you will become the Tranny equivilent of Bernard Manning.
Not sure if I'm missing a big point here, but are we all talking about a cartoon strip??? And a cartoon strip that was done in the style of Python??? But hey, I've never been the sort of person that digs very deep with these sorts of things...
"plus you will become the Tranny equivilent of Bernard Manning..."
Now that's offensive!!! ;-)
Although look what trouble the Dutch had last year....
There have been a few episodes of T&TV where I've felt the prodding of Becky's knowing wit, and I've laughed at myself as a result. I'm not precious about it: there are far more important things in the world and in my life than this cult cartoon strip - sorry Bex ;o)
@Pia:
"Those who fight monsters should take care that they never become one. For when you stand and look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you." ~ Frederich Nietsche
I freely admit that this could also apply to me too.
T&TV have their own sense of humour which some of us share.
With all this comment maybe they need a dedicated site/forum ;)
i laughed so hard i snorted.
more please
supernaut
As a TS myself, I just cannot take offense at such things. I have always been able to laugh at myself (despite all the tears that have shed), and laugh with other people about who and what I am, and this has often taken away the pain and made transitioning for me so much easier.
I am not convinced that Stonewall Riot or Greenham Common style protest is the modern and progressive way to tackle the very real problems that are faced by some in the trans community, and I have found that I have gained so much more support from those outside of the community by not jumping up and down shouting prejudice at every little incorrect gender pronoun spoke - including some whom I thought would be very 'difficult' at work with my transition, but with a bit of give and take, are now counted as very good colleagues AND stand up for me.
That said, I am no less of a very out and vocal supporter of trans-issues and where there is ignorance, re-addressing the balance.
Personally, I am *so* waiting for the book :-)
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