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https://theconversation.com/dave-chappelle-has-built-a-reputation-for-punching-down-on-trans-people-and-now-hes-targeting-disabled-people-220774>
"Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special,
The Dreamer, opens with a story
about meeting Jim Carrey, who, at the time, was method acting and portraying
comedian Andy Kaufman.
Chappelle recalls being “very disappointed” at having to pretend to be speaking
to Kaufman, when he could clearly see it was Carrey. The punchline? “That’s how
trans people make me feel.”
Whether or not non-transgender people find it funny, it is a joke that stabs at
the fundamental insecurity of being trans. It takes the stance of biological
essentialism: that people have innate and intractable traits by virtue of their
biology.
Biological essentialism has been used by the anti-trans lobby to deny that
trans women are women and trans men are men, and to justify sexism and racism
before that.
Chappelle’s Netflix specials have become notorious for his jokes targeting the
transgender community, but Chappelle has claimed his comedy is more nuanced and
artistic than his critics allow.
He claims to be an equal opportunity offender, “punching down” (his words) to
all minorities equally. To prove this point, in
The Dreamer he takes on what
he calls “handicapped jokes”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
