Hey. Hey fellow transfem Jax truthers. I am posting this now because whatever happens in that theatre with Jax, it's going to create some radioactive discourse. And there's going to be a lot of discourse focused on whatever happens with Jax's gender. So I am posting this NOW to make sure you all remember this.
Regardless of whatever happens with the whole Jax gender thing in Episode 9- if it's canon, if it's not canon, if it's canon but In The Wrong Way, if it ends with Jax transitioning, if it ends with Jax abstracting, if it's the story of how not accepting yourself will kill you, if it's the story of how accepting yourself will make you happier- WHATEVER happens, I need you to promise me something.
Do not send Gooseworx harassment over transfem Jax.
Don't yell at Gooseworx if it's not canon. Don't yell at Gooseworx if it's canon But In The Wrong Way. Don't yell at her for being a "queerbaiter." Don't accuse her of getting fans's hopes up just to crush them. Don't claim she secretly hates women and she's secretly transphobic. Do not parade her around as The New Woman We Hate. I can't stress this enough.
If you're disappointed about it, that's fine. I'll also be disappointed if Jax's transness isn't canon! But you are going to handle your disappointment like an adult, and you are NOT going to harass Gooseworx about it.
1. Jax isn't real. Gooseworx is.
At the end of the day, Jax is a fictional cartoon rabbit with emotional issues, who many believe to be a trans woman. Gooseworx, however, is a real person. A real trans woman, might I add. One who has already gotten enough shit from this fandom over the years! We do not need to add to harassing her. I shouldn't have to say that aloud.
People love to take any excuse whatsoever to harass a trans woman, and I am not going to have us add to that. Yes, representation matters, especially representation of trans women, especially now. However, representation of trans women doesn't matter as much as a real living trans woman.
2. TADC is still trans art.
Zooble exists. They are right there. And I, As A Nonbinary Person, do not appreciate how Zooble gets overlooked by the fandom- it reeks of enbyphobia to me.
Zooble is genuinely one of the best explorations of genderqueerness I've ever seen. Their struggle to find something for themself that just feels good so clearly reflects how difficult it can be to discover who you are when you don't fit within the binary- both in terms of your identity, and in terms of your presentation. One day this feels good. Then it doesn't. It's fluid. It's changing. I can't find something that works, I've been trying and trying and I can't.
And then the realization that you don't have to find one solid thing that works, that you can just be fluid and everchanging, that you are allowed to change yourself however you need to to fit more comfortably in your skin. That your fluidity is part of you, part of you that exists, and because it exists, you have to choose to accept it.
I don't see explorations of genderqueerness in cartoons that are this fucking good. Usually it's just "this character uses they/them pronouns!" And that's fine! But I rarely ever see an exploration like this, of the struggle to find an identity and way of presenting that just feels good. That scene where they explained their dysphoria... it felt like a warm, glowing light in my chest.
That still matters. Zooble matters as trans representation, and I'm not gonna fucking have you pretend they don't. The Amazing Digital Circus is trans art, REGARDLESS of that fucking purple rabbit.
And like, I get why people focus more on Jax (i mean, aside from enbyphobia). Jax is a fan favorite. Zooble's transness is more obvious and needs less explanation than Jax's. People like speculation, people like how you do have to dig a bit to see Jax's transness. Transfems don't get a lot of representation, especially in cartoons. I promise that I get it. Hell, I also focus more on Jax than I do Zooble. But that does NOT mean Jax is the only piece of important trans representation in TADC. I will not have you pretend Zooble isn't important because they're not binary trans.
3. Jax's transness is still there, even if it's not explicit.
Even if Jax's transness isn't confirmed explicitly canon, the subtext is still there. And I know, I know, it'd suck to get more representation that's just subtextual. I know there's been several pieces of trans representation where it's pretty clear but it's still subtextual (I'm fairly certain that I Saw The TV Glow, Across The Spider-Verse, and Nimona all kinda fall into that, trans rep that's more subtextual and thematic). And I fully get it if you're sick of subtextual representation, if you're sick of existing in the negative space, because I am too.
But here's the thing: that doesn't mean OTHERS can't take solace in seeing themselves in it. That doesn't mean it stops being valuable representation because it doesn't become the explicit text. If even one trans person feels seen by Jax, if even one trans person figures themself out or comes out of the closet because of Jax’s subtextual transness, that is a net positive, regardless of whether or not it's explicitly canon.
Does that mean it wouldn't mean anything if it is canon? God no, it'd mean so fucking much if she's canonically trans. But she does not NEED to be canonically trans in order to be valuable trans representation. The trans reading and subtext is still there. It won't disappear if it isn't canon.
4. If it ends in tragedy, that won't mean it's bad or transphobic.
There's a chance that Jax WILL be canon trans, but will reject it, and will end up fully abstracting rather than transitioning. And I will fully understand if people get upset over that. I too am sick of trans tragedy. I too want Jax to live and realize she'd be happier as a woman.
So I need you to believe me when I say: it's not bad rep if it's a tragedy. Tragedy still has value. I've heard people talk about how interpreting the end of I Saw The TV Glow as a tragedy, as going back to repression, motivated them to transition and not die wondering. If Jax's story ends in tragedy, as "this is what happens when you don't accept who you are and you don't change, it just makes you miserable and then you die wondering," that will not be a bad story, and it will not be bad representation. It'd be a representation of a story that happens all too often. And showing that all too common story, it could- no, it WILL encourage people who've been too scared to take the next step to not die wondering.
Do I personally believe Jax will finally accept who she is and survive in the finale? Yes. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my end, but I do genuinely believe that. But if that ISN'T what happens, I'm not gonna send Gooseworx harassment for it. I'll be sad, yeah, but I'm not gonna call the show evil and transphobic because it showed what happens when you don't accept yourself.
Don't tie your entire mental health to whether or not a piece of representation will become canon.
I sometimes worry we're Byler-ing ourselves with transfem Jax. That we're getting so caught up on "this is gonna be canon, and it's gonna be GREAT!!" that we're A) getting major tunnel vision, B) overlooking actual representation, and C) going to be absolutely crushed if it doesn't happen.
I need us all to accept before the finale: transfem Jax might not be explicitly canon, and if it's not, that is okay. And I need you to accept that not just so you don't go harassing a trans creator on the internet for the crime of her art not doing what you want it to, but so you don't get sent into a spiral if it doesn't happen.
Jax is not the end-all be-all of trans representation. It'll be fuckin HUGE if she is canon trans, yes, but it won't be the end of the world if she isn't.
Because TADC is still trans art. And Jax is still valuable representation even if she's just subtextual representation. Jax is still valuable representation even if her story is a tragedy. And Jax is, ultimately, a fictional character, while Gooseworx is a real person.
And if you harass Gooseworx in the name of trans rights because she didn't make the horrible purple cartoon rabbit canonically trans, I swear to god I will fucking kill you
(And while we're at it, if Jax isn't canon trans, don't go bragging about how you always knew they weren't trans, because it'll make you look like an asshole.)
