#famous five

[brundleflying]

If people weren’t such fucking cowards there would’ve been a famous five adaptation in which George is actually trans by now

[alwaystuesday]

Five Start Armageddon

This week’s prompt in the GO Reference Library study club was the Them. And this immediately popped into my head! I loved the Famous Five as a kid, and Eileen Soper, who illustrated them, made such lovely art.

Edit: This is now available as a print on my InPrnt store - currently with 25% off!

[alilybit]

quotes from the 1942 “famous five” children’s books showing that george kirrin is obviously a trans boy

(scroll down if you want to skip to the quotes)

i watched the 1978 tv series as a child because my mum watched it when she was a child and she adored the series and the books. i know i’ve also read at least some of the books but most of my memories come from the tv series

i found these quotes just by ctrl+f-ing 5 of the books for words like “boy” and “master george” (and “henry”). i’m sure there’s a lot more and more interesting stuff to be found when actually reading the books. but there’s also a lot of bad stuff (that i don’t remember at all, so i (and also my mum) must have taken that as normal as a child), in general and in disrespecting and making fun of george for his transness, even from the other 3 children who at least generally accept some things like calling him george

i always liked julian the least because he was a strong and commanding boy who didn’t view george and girls as an equal, but i did like that he would deal with more dangerous things for the others and protect them

dick always felt like a boring default boy with no personality to me, at least in the tv series, i don’t remember him from the books. but also he was less manly and daring than julian, so i thought i had to pick him to relate to

i’ve always liked anne the most because she was careful, soft and didn’t want to do dangerous things, just like me. and she was usually wearing the prettiest clothes. but of course she was a girl and i was not and could obviously never be one, so relating to her was off-limits for me

and then there’s of course george. george being a “girl who would rather have been born a boy”, and that at least to some degree being accepted by the people around him, was very fascinating. but i also kind of agreed with anne – how could a girl want to be a boy instead when being a girl is obviously the better choice?

and george is definitely trans. yes, the word “transgender” was not used to describe him and didn’t exist yet, but other words existed, and the human experience it describes has always existed. george is described exactly as a trans boy would be described, it’s just not named as such. if there were a character who was described like “brian was not attracted to people of The Other Gender but to people of the same gender. he loved his fellow man john and wanted to marry him to live gaily ever after”, then he would obviously be gay because that’s what was described, even if the word wasn’t used. so here’s some proof that george is an unintentional but definite trans icon from 84 years ago who has surely been responsible for putting cracks in countless eggs:

”Do you call her ‘George’?” asked Anne, in surprise. “I thought her name was Georgina.” ”So it is,” said her aunt. “But George hates being a girl, and we have to call her George, as if she was a boy. The naughty girl won’t answer if we call her Georgina.”

”I’m George,” said the girl. “I shall only answer if you call me George. I hate being a girl. I won’t be.“

“You look like a boy.” ”Do I really?” said George, the frown leaving her face for a moment.

“Bad luck, old girl-I mean, old boy!” George managed to smile.

She had had her hair cut even shorter than usual, and it really was difficult to know whether she was a boy or a girl.

The local people all knew how badly she wanted to be a boy, and they knew, too, how plucky and straightforward she was, so they laughed to one another and said: “Well, they reckoned she behaved like a boy, and if she wanted to be called “Master George” instead of “Miss Georgina”, she deserved it!”

“I’m Master George, not Miss Georgina,” said George, in a cold voice.

“Mr. Roland, sir,” he began. “Could you call my cousin by the name she likes - George - she simply hates Georgina.”

‘Why, if it isn’t Master George!’ said the old fellow with a grin. George grinned too. She loved being called Master instead of Miss.

“Oh - Henry!” said Anne, with a laugh. “I should have thought you’d find a lot in common with another girl like yourself, who would rather be a boy, and tries to act like one!”

“After all, you and she are very alike, George. You both think you ought to have been boys”

“Yes, what was it now, Henry,” said Dick. “Nice chap. I’m going to like him.” George stared as if she couldn’t believe her ears. “Henry! Did she meet you?” “No - not she - he”, corrected Julian.

[singaroundelay]

“Colin, you better have a damn good reason for showing up at 7 am.”

“Why, you got someone here?”

“Of course not.”

Meanwhile, the not-someone upstairs…

Not saying this would have been a better ending to S3 — but I’m not not saying it.

[bestbrothertournament]

Best Brother Tournament - Round 1: Group H - Brothers who look up to their older brothers: Hiro vs Dick

Hiro Hamada (Big Hero 6)

Dick Kirrin (Famous Five)

Remaining time: 4 hours 2 minutes

Propaganda Under Cut:

Hiro Hamada (Younger Brother of Tadashi Hamada): Submitted by Anonymous. Hiro holds a special place in his heart for his older brother Tadashi who he is very close to. When Hiro is with Tadashi his true self emerges. Hiro is very loving and appreciative of his brother. Tadashi's death devestated Hiro and changed him. His softer aspects not seen again until the hole left was filled by Tadashi's loveable robot. Hiro wanted revenge for his brother's death when he discovered it was not an accident.

Dick Kirrin (Younger Brother of Julian + Older Brother of Anne): Dick looks up to his older brother Julian.

[lgbtcharactertournament]

ROUND 1 — Match 44 of 286

George Kirrin (Famous Five)

Identity: Trans man, implied/coded Notes: Goes by a masculine nickname, presents masculinely, and is described as being delighted when people “mistake her for a boy”. The narrative states “she wants to be a boy”, though it’s handled with 1940s-typical language. Propaganda: N/A

vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)

Identity: MLM, implied Notes: Is written as thinking “he might want to kiss all of them… or he might not” when questioning his sexuality and addressing multiple genders in the Padawan tie-in book, but he does not come to a solid conclusion. Propaganda: "Obi-Wan is one of those characters where the fandom jokes about him being “the responsible one,” and yeah, sure - but what gets me is that he’s responsible in a way that clearly costs him. He’s patient. He keeps his temper on a leash. He does the right thing even when it makes his life worse. And he does it so consistently that people act like it’s effortless, when it really isn’t. He’s also quietly funny when he wants to be. Not in a “comic relief” way - more like he’ll say something dry, or he’ll let someone talk themselves into a corner, and you can tell he’s clocked the situation way faster than they have. There’s this steady competence to him that makes every other person in the room feel more chaotic by comparison, and I’m obsessed with that. He’ll walk into a mess, assess it, handle it, and then keep moving like that’s just the job."

Who should advance?

George Kirrin

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Voting ended onMar 17

[geese-in-a-frock-coat]

I'm working on something about the inadvertent queerness of Enid Blyton's works. So if you have absolutely anything to say on this matter, up to and including:

the transess of George Kirrin

Bill unorthodox gender presentation

Bill and Clarissa

The lesbian undertones in both Malory towers and St Clares

Adaptations adding/ removing queerness

anything else

Please, please, please talk to me about this in any way shape or form. I would love to hear anything you have to say.

[sushigal007]

These Enid Blyton parodies are getting out of hand.