I was rewatching the IT Crowd, and I’d forgotten there was this one episode (Series 3 Episode 4 ‘The Speech’) where the B plot is entirely transmisogynistic ‘jokes’.
I tend not to watch that kind of stuff if I can avoid it, so I guess it’s been a while since I saw anything like that.
What occurred to me this time is just how fucking bizarre transphobic comedy is if you think trans people are just normal people.
Like, actual summary of this plotline:
Reynholm (boorish womanising boss character) meets attractive woman (played by a cis woman). He hits on her, takes her to dinner, propositions her.
She turns him down, then hesitates and says it’s because she has a secret, it’s a big thing, she understands if it puts him off, etc etc. Comes out as trans (phrased as ‘I used to be a man’ which I don’t think is a way of putting it I’ve ever heard an actual trans person use).
Reynholm is totally fine with it and continues to hit on her. (LOL! LAUGH TRACK!)
They have great sex. (HILARIOUS!)
A series of clips of them getting on really well, mostly because she is into the same stereotypically blokish things as he is, like watching football and darts and drinking lots of beer. (HAHAHA THEY WORK AS A COUPLE!)
He admits that, despite usually being a shag-em and leave-em type, he’s fallen in love with her. (HEHE A REAL HUMAN CONNECTION! PRICELESS!)
Then it turns out he misheard her and actually thought she said she was from Iran. Discovering the truth, he of course has to immediately break up with her which turns into a big physical fight which the laugh track also finds incredibly hilarious for some reason.
I just... It’s so ugly and so bizarre.
