BBC Transgender Comedy Writing Competition...FFS!! Page 7

I'm only messing about. I couldn't care less what anyone does (TS, TV, homo, hetero), as long as they don't do anyone else any harm.

However, I did live in Bangkok for three years, and certain members of the very large 'khatoey' population there (mostly those 'working' around Nana Plaza etc.) are a little bit lacking in restraint. The massive Bangkok Ladyboy over-act/over-compensation can get pretty tiresome sometimes, and can often infringe on your personal space.

Even some of the most progressive, politically correct guys I knew there tired of of the antics, as there are only so many uninvited gropes and disgusting graphic suggestions you can go through before you lose patience.

It doesn't happen when you walk through the girl/straight red-light district of the city (Cowboy, Phrom Phong), or even the gay/boy red-light district of the city (Silom etc.), where passers-by are seldom harrassed in a disagreeable way. However, with the Bangkok ladyboys, in Nana, this is disproportionately not the case.

Hence, the Ladyboy in my Bangkok script was predatory, shrieking and somewhat coarse. A stereotype of a Bangkok khatoey, yes, but one that I experienced so many times. Unfortunitely, like my characters, I rarely came in contact with the regular/non-street Thai transgender women, who would certainly have given a better impression. I do, however, have a transgender Malaysian former work-aquaintance with whom I got on fine with.

So, unfortinitely, my Bangkok transgender was not a positive character. But, then again, most of my Western, heterosexual males in the script come across badly too. It is Bangkok after-all. No prejudice here.

Quote: Badge @ December 13 2012, 1:31 AM GMT

Thanks, I have just won a little bet I had with myself.

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I'm guessing that you were betting with yourself about whether I would bother to tap-in that obvious double-entendre you set up.

Wow, well this thread is heartbreaking.

I am transgendered, and I can assure all of you. We do have a sense of humour. Your cursery glances of message boards where you get an impression of what the whole trans community is like does not give you any insight into us. You read some internet forums. Not exactly peer reviewed research.

And I can assure you, all the puns here suck not because they are offensive (which, they are), they suck because...they are not funny. They are lazy, and if you found them funny then you are a terrible comedy writer. They are the same as Jim Davidson jokes. Laughing at the premise itself (trans people exist) and being damned crude about it. And the jokes not being funny is a hell of a lot more important in my opinion. Accusing me of having no sense of humour because I don't find your awful jokes funny...kind of puts you in the same league as Chubby Brown and me as...well...any of that vile mans targets.

To those who say that this competition is favouritism (I am looking at you renegaude carpark) you seem to forget something. You ever heard of male priviledge? You are suffering under the illusion that this one competition is somehow an attack on your group because you are smehow excluded. Apart from the fact that anyone can enter (although judging by the jokes on here, some of you shouldn't bother) how is this, the first competition aimed at people like me, an attack on you? You get the world! I get ONE. There is one competition asking me to write about my experiences in life. You sound like those idiots that complain about gay pride parades, saying "why do they have to shove it in our faces" when they fail to realise every day is a straight pride parade and gay people get one day to take over. But even that is too much.

This competition isnt just about making a TV show for us, the trans community. It is about getting a different voice out there about us. So far all you hear about people like us is we are sex workers, murderers, victims of crime, family breaking selfish monsters, perverts and...just dammed weird. I can assure you, this image keeps people like me in the closet. This message makes it hard for us to come out and depression and suicide is at epidemic levels in my community (41% of trans people have attempted suicide). We are a laughing stock, and I can assure you, you know or have known someone like me, but you don't know their secret and they suffers greatly. I have no reason to dispute the figures quoted here as to how many people like me there are out there. But I would bet all the money in my purse that there is more of us who live in secret than who are out and able to take the surveys quoted.

This ONE time someone wanted to hear something different, the ONE time someone wants to know about my people...and you get up in arms about it as an attack on your rights to make jokes about how we get our genitals chopped off.

Seriously guys, you should be absolutely ashamed.

Maybe puns suck because they are just puns?

Surely calling women men is slightly offensive even if you're not transsexual...?

Quote: Michelleiscorrect @ December 28 2012, 11:58 PM GMT

I am transgendered, and I can assure all of you. We do have a sense of humour.

Seriously guys, you should be absolutely ashamed.

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Ashamed of what exactly? That a section of the community so small, who barely make a blip on the population stastics, gets special treatment from the BBC? That more deserving minorities are being ignored in favour of sexual politics and misguided PC pandering? And that complaining about said special treatment is totally forbidden?

Comedy should have one remit - to be funny - not on how many positively portrayed trannies you can shove in there.

so whos the more deserving minority? The Jew? they've got Friday night supper, grandmas house, what do you want have I got jews for you? or gypos? they're illiterate how would they learn their lines? They'd just stand around looking confused before stealing the cameras.

And Michelle you just don't understand how jokes work. Might I suggest you learn, it'll improve your quality of life. nb is the 41% of suicides in the lead up or post surgery stage? because drugs have been taken off the market for a 10% increase in suicide.

And what about all those poor freaks who have body dysmorphia and want to chop their legs off.

Quote: sootyj @ December 29 2012, 1:43 PM GMT

so whos the more deserving minority?

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I've already mentioned the peoples of the Far East who are mainly represented by an aging Bert Kwouk and a flurry of foreign chop sockey movies featuring 'mental Orientals in martial arts mayhem'.

Unlike the Jews, Gypos or the Ladyboys, they've had almost no representation on British telly despite being a sizeable and productive section of the UK population.

Also, the Lezzers haven't had a decent sitcom or sketch show, but that might be because they're a grumpy bunch.

Maybe that can't act? Could be a genetic thing, you know like they can't hold their booze and India v despite its massive b si zae can't produce any athletes in any real sport

Quote: sootyj @ December 29 2012, 2:46 PM GMT

Maybe that can't act? Could be a genetic thing, you know like they can't hold their booze and India v despite its massive b si zae can't produce any athletes in any real sport

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It's weird.

When I played football in my youth, there were plenty of very tricky players of South-Asian heritage. Generally pretty slight, but very dangerous with the ball at their feet.

Yet none seem to progress to the Premier/Football league. I suspect parents (quite rightly) push them into medical college instead.

Amir Khan (of Pakistani heritage, but a similar neck-of-the-woods geographically) is a pretty decent athlete.

As for India itself, yea pretty much just girls games (hockey) and unathletic games (cricket, except for pace bowlers). A few decent wrestlers/weightlifters though IIRC.

I was thinking about how notable there poor performance was at the Olympics
Then I realised whenever I see an oriental person walking a dog I wonder if they're planning on eating it and then I realised I am a racist

Quote: sootyj @ December 29 2012, 2:46 PM GMT

Maybe that can't act? Could be a genetic thing, you know like they can't hold their booze and India v despite its massive b si zae can't produce any athletes in any real sport

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That's it. I really wasn't going to get involved in this. I'm fine with all the minority bashing, but no-one insults cricket.

Sootyj I challenge you to to a pun-off involving men wielding their wood, 'standing at slip with your legs open waiting for a tickle' and the word 'googly'.

Seriously, though, I am very concerned by the notion of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' minorities. How are you defining these? By size? By economic contribution? Either way, aspiring comedy writers are f###ed as a deserving minority.

I think the point about white male privilege is well made; when a privilege is entrenched the beneficiaries tend to forget that the status quo is not divinely mandated but a result of historical accident, long-standing prejudice and reinforcement mechanisms (I employ people like me who, in turn, employ people like them).

Of course I am frustrated when I see ops purely for young, Asian, female, gay, Scottish etc. writers because as a 40 odd, white, middle-class (that one still sticks in the craw) English male my group is over-represented in comedy. That's not my fault so I don't like being personally disadvantaged, but it does need addressing so someone has to take the hit. We can all say 'its only the quality that counts' but that is easy to say from the comfort of the advantaged position. If comedy from minority communities is not as good, it can surely only be lack of opportunity or interest. Unless we wish to suggest it is inherantly inferior we need to address opportunity and perceptions of the chance of success. And it's £5000 FFS. As an individual it may range from nice to have to life-saving, but it's hardly a major chunk of the BBC budget.

I shall not be entering as I don't feel I have insight into the lives of transgender people; all I could do would be to write them as ordinary people (which might be an improvement on existing stereotypes and punnage but seems a bit pointless). I think it might be interesting to use a transgender character as a lens on the prejudice of others, or to illuminate a struggle to fit in to a society largely predicated on the principal of gender determinism (is that a thing?) but I think I would come across as preachy and patronising (much as this probably does).

Quote: Ponderer @ December 29 2012, 11:52 PM GMT

all I could do would be to write them as ordinary people (which might be an improvement on existing stereotypes and punnage but seems a bit pointless).

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Enter and do exactly that. Seriously. That would be the best thing ever. Someone mentioned earlier that most entries would be older script ideas with a trans charactwr shoe horned in. Perfect. Treat the trans person the same as the other members of the cast. Their transgender status could get them in situations, but to have a trans character in a sitcom whose main focus isnt their struggle would be fresh, and awesome!

Renegaude car park, I already answered your silly point, this is not special treatment. Special treatment is being treated better than everyone else. We got one comedy comeptition. You have had thousands. And it is about getting a message out that maybe isnt "all trans people are male sex obsessed serial killers".You probably havent had literally thousands of hours of TV laughing at your existance. I bet they probably celebrate your existance. You got this so backwards it is unbelievable.

This is not special treatment, this is the bbc taking a break from mocking me every damned week and saying "what have you got to say?"

And Sootyj, I have never heard anyone who was genuinely funny say "you need to get a sense of humour". I have only ever heard loud mouthed idiots say that when out on their rugby socs night out.

Also, seeing as nobody here has mentioned this...trnsgendered men exist too (female born, male gender identity). They tend to get ignored entirely. There has been many discussions about which is worse.

[quote name="sootyj" post="945045" date="December 29 2012, 1:43 PM GMT" is the 41% of suicides in the lead up or post surgery stage? because drugs have been taken off the market for a 10% increase in suicide.

And what about all those poor freaks who have body dysmorphia and want to chop their legs off.[/quote]
What difference does it make? Seriously, suicide and depression are literally more common than the common cold in our circles. What differene does it make if it is pre op or post op? Our lives are generally a lot harder because we are faced with a choice of coming out to a potentially hostile world that is full of negative stereotypes or staying in the closet and lying to everyone and being miserable forever. Being trans sucks because it appears to be perfectly acceptable to refer to us in incredibly degrading ways. If people made the same jokes about gay people, they would be struck off.

I am one of the lucky ones, I came out, live as I want and have lost no friends, not lost my job and my mum just bought me a hand bag. But I am an anomoly (when I should be the standard tale in a perfect world).
Body dysmorphia is a mental illness. Gender dysphoria has recently been declassified as a mental illness.

So I take it you're not entering this competition?

Well first of all if your sitcom has a trans character that's just like every one else then all you have its Hayley cropper enters the uniqueness where's the story?

Secondly 5000 for anyone to write a script about the trans community and no offer of production is patronising and selling you short

Thirdly I we all of us reserve the right to be cynical about everything God knows religious belief is almost indistinguishable from schizophrenia maybe it isn't

So questioning a view that you are medically born in the wrong body and this is curable by surgery is not so unreasonable

And I didn't say you have no sense of humour I simply said you don't understand how jokes work

Prove me wrong

Quote: Michelleiscorrect @ December 30 2012, 12:30 AM GMT

... to have a trans character in a sitcom whose main focus isnt their struggle would be fresh, and awesome!

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To you, possibly.
The other 95% of the audience would wonder why there was a bloke dressed as a woman with no one making any gags about it.
It's too major an element for it not to be the sole focus of attention.