Neighbours. Dee isn't a mermaid, she's real. Should she marry Toadie or shall we line up up fro a ring off Mark? Can Finnbea go down the well with all her CD's?

[SleepingStandingUp]

New thread, no spoilers, it makes the spoiler thread feel obsolete.

Absurd. How can she be transgender unless she has changed from one to the other. Why did the actress take puberty blockers to prevent growth into a man if they weren't a boy.
Have watched it on catch-up with the teens who are a bit

I think I might watch it again & turn it into a drinking game... How many times can they squeeze "it's not about you, it's about Mackenzie" into one episode?!

I felt really uncomfortable with the way Susan handled the teachers' questions. Basically shut up & tell anyone else asking questions to shut up too. At this stage they don't even seem to be planning to do any lessons or anything about it which could help the children understand & give them a chance to ask questions & discuss any concerns they might have, it's all about Mackenzie & everyone else must be silent.

I'm sure previously Susan's taken a much more explain-everything/reassure-everyone type approach to any issues. She's always seemed like she's tried to be approachable & like she'd listen sympathetically to anyone having any sort of issues & would be fair & level-headed about addressing any concerns. Her OTT shock-horror hand-wringing that some people might be uncomfortable with the situation seems completely out of character. Surely there should be some basic safeguarding like informing teachers so they can keep an eye out for any issues.

I did wonder if the "used to be a boy" thing was going to come up as wrong-speak. It seemed an oddly clunky way for Yashvi to have phrased it so I thought it might have been deliberately put in to make a point. It's like they've sat down & made a list of all the things someone might say that a trans person could take offense at & then tried to shoehorn in as many as possible so they can be "corrected."

Miracle there is another teacher in the school. A rare sight and will she move into Ramsey Street

Why is she having a go at the teachers, they didn't open their mouths plus in the corridors, dreadful

The two unnamed teachers are clearly the sacrificial transphobes who can ask the difficult questions and get educated, while none of the every day characters have to be anything other than woke and inclusive.

I actually don’t object too much to how they are dealing with it. I think if I was confronted with a trans teen, who was obviously that deep in, to confront them with gender critical stuff would be fairly harsh and unfair. And I would accept them for who they presented as in that sort of situation.

I am not at all happy with this story line - but am wary of commenting further, as I was so firmly slapped down a few days ago.

I think it's a very important issue and something that would be immensely challenging for the student involved, so I think it's actually being handled quite well. Letting Mackenzie inform the teachers how she wants to go forward is very mature, and it definitely means she needs more help than other students considering the previously mentioned bullying. I'm not looking forward to the transphobic parent in the future.

I don't actually think it's fair asking Mackenzie how to go forward. They can't demand a child takes charge of a situation - Susan is supposed to be the adult & so should be the one steering the conversation not basically landing it all on Mackenzie & adding to the pressure. These sorts of conversations should've been happening before Mackenzie started - "how do you want to handle it if...?" Not waiting until it happens, shouting at everyone for reacting, or asking how to respond to the children, & then demanding Mackenzie decide how to deal with it. It's not like they can just press pause while Mackenzie thinks it through. As the head, Susan should be taking charge & calmly implementing the plans they put in place when they first became aware that this situation could arise at some point.

SDTG I posted on the thread on the feminism board after the way people reacted to you. I felt like I couldn't discuss anything to do with the character for fear of upsetting people. I enjoy discussing Neighbours here & wouldn't want to alienate people. I went looking for that thread again today before deciding that I didn't appreciate people policing what I could discuss & where. I'm discussing the storyline on Neighbours, not abstract politics. I'll happily discuss the wider context as it relates to Neighbours too, just like with any other storyline. It's not like any of us are randomly bringing up an unrelated topic!

I am not keen on the story line, but then i always find it hard when they have a big storyline arround a character that you don't know.

I think people were right to react the way they did on here, those comments were very nasty and unwarranted. No need to complain when people call you out on your horrible views.

I think for me this comment is what I struggled with:

Let's normalise children being given life-altering medication and left sterile, in the name of gender ideology.

I’m sure there were people saying this with gay kisses in soaps and interracial relationships. I’m not sure why this is more opposed to than a gritty storyline adult or child involving crime or drugs.

However, it still frustrates me that Neighbours are not brave enough to have an abortion plot.

There’s always Neighbours eps that focus on one plot solely or more heavily. I’ve not seen today’s yet though. I can only imagine how Susan is handling it 🙄

This thread is lighthearted, that's why people don't want to get into the lengthy trans debate on it. There's literally reams of the stuff on here.
Fwiw I don't love the story but I'm not going to debate the ins and outs of the politics of it because it's a fictional soap that's not particularly hard hitting. It's froth. Most people come on the neighbours thread for a giggle not to start another thread repeating the same old stuff that's on a million other threads 🤷🏻‍♀️
Anywaaaaayyyy....bring back Clive

I agree about the refusal to have an abortion plot! It really pisses me off! It's about time they had one where the character just chooses that she doesn't want the baby. Has an abortion and doesn't regret it/wring her hands, feel guilty etc. And story is over. Even if other people don't like it well so what, it's a perfectly legitimate choice and one women shouldn't be made to feel uncaring/unfeminine for.

They have so many babies on neighbours it is surely time, statistically, for a termination.

But i'm also happy for more silly stories like Paul and therese with their elvis wedding, or Paul and shiela trapped in the cold room with only clingfilm to keep warm

There hasn’t been a local competition for a while. That normal gets quite daft with the older members of the community getting very competitive.

Also feel there’s less playfulness with groups of friends.

BRING BACK HOUSE OF TROUSER

Although we do have Chloe who has no one to banter with

I agree that we need Clive back, he's great.

I don’t think it is horrible to be genuinely worried about the long term effects that cross sex hormones have on the young people who take them. I also think it is not the best idea to tell young people that they can change their biological sex (Mackenzie saying she was always a girl, which is not factually correct either for the character or the actress), or that it will solve all their problems.

I am all for dramas covering contentious issues, but when they do, it should be done in a responsible and balanced way, and I don’t think that is happening here. Though, in fairness, this is a soap, not a heavy hitting drama, and I am sure there are plenty of other topics they have covered in a less than ideal manner.

However, it still frustrates me that Neighbours are not brave enough to have an abortion plot Home and Away too, any insight into general views on abortion is Aus? To my memory, the closest they got was thingy, Ash's ex who went off to sing. She was contemplating an abortion after one of the twins was poorly but she has a miscarriage.

My previous comments weren't about slapping anyone down for having an opinion, i just personally think there's a difference between discussing how shit Susan is handling this or how obnoxious Yahvi is being over it and discussing the moral ethics of allowing children in general to take life-altering hormones. If Nell was saying she thinks she's a boy and Toadie was contemplating drugs it would be more relevant.

HOWEVER, none of us can actually control what is said on here if people want to discuss it on here the rest of us will hopefully carry on willing Clive to call Sheila and wondering why Mark is looking so hot right now

It’s because he’s single and you want a ring

They did touch on abortion with Mish and Leo. She decided that she didn't want it but before anything could be set in stone she had a miscarriage.

I also agree bring back Clive!

And I know this is controversial and no one agrees......I liked Leo and I was sorry he went.
There, I said it.