Neighbours new trans character

[GillyWeasel]

So, this is my first ever post on MN. I have been - what I think it is referred to as - lurking for some time. I was peak transed many months ago but have been prompted to share my frustrations this week after something that has particularly riled me.

I watch Neighbours and have done for years, yes I know, what an admission. It is pretty cheesy but for me it is a bit of escapism at the end of the day. However, I will no longer be watching it since their introduction of a new character, Mackenzie. What has enraged me most is that this is a school age child. I had a whiff of how the wind was blowing on the show a while ago when one of the characters decide that their inspirational for international women’s day was Laverne Cox
As soon as Mackenzie was introduced, my heart sank. I had my suspicion confirmed by the following two articles, both of which have made my blood boil.

inews.co.uk/culture/television/georgie-stone-neighbours-actor-mackenzie-hargreaves-transgender-character/

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/30/neighbours-first-trans-character-might-not-change-the-world-but-she-could-change-lives

inews, reporting that Georgie Stone is youngest person in Australia to have been given hormone blockers at age 10. Not just reporting but gloating that this contributed to changing the law there, which previously ‘compelled’ children wanting drugs having to apply to the family court. Wow, what an achievement, actually making it easier for young kids to access life changing, debilitating medication. I presume this family are the Australian equivalent of a certain CEO’s family of a certain British organisation which I will not name.

Then, the Guardian, again gloating that ‘trans actors will replace cis actors’, thank goodness, all will be right with the world now
They report, spoiler alert, and the reason I am writing now, the upcoming story line. Fellow pupils demonstrate, demanding that this character be given use of the female bathrooms.

FFS, I find this so irresponsible and damaging when, in the UK, sensible parents are battling against the nonsense guidelines pushed onto schools, gaslighting young girls into believing they are wrong for recognising male bodies in their changing areas.
This is mainstream tv, being shown twice a day, what a message to reinforce to school children. I will be complaining to channel 5 and they have lost a viewer. I can’t watch this woke BS, and who knows what the story line will be in a few months time.
Paul Robinson (most evil character) misgendering Mackenzie and being forcibly arrested? Mackenzie breaking the girls sprint record at Erinsborough high? Dr Karl Kennedy prescribing hormone blockers and carrying out top surgery at Erinsborough hospital?

Oh this is particularly annoying. I’m kiwi! How dare they ruin neighbours! Jfc. It’s just everywhere

I don't have a problem with a trans character. Why would I?

However, I do hope that Neighbours fairly presents both sides of the debate and doesn't just go down the "poor oppressed woman" route a la Coronation Street.

They should not be showing transgender children who took blockers IMO. Trans adults would be different, but the storylines do matter.

Yes Jessica, it is the fact it is a school child and the upcoming story line which has annoyed me
The character leading this support of using the female bathroom has known this character for all of a week, how do they know they are no threat to girls? But as the guardian says, trans is cool. This is the message I object to being put across to children

I got wind of a trans character coming to Neighbours a while ago now. I've watched Neighbours for a long time. I decided to stop watching after the killed off Sonia to make way for younger actors because, among other reading, I just didn't trust Neighbours to put in a woke message that would increase my blood pressure.

They had a short lived transman on eastenders a couple of years ago who I thought they handled pretty sensitively. That character was an adult.

Other reasons not other reading

To not put in a woke message! I'm having no luck with my prof reading today.

It's completely irresponsible to promote puberty blockers in any way.
"Neighbours" is obviously jumping on the bandwagon, promoting the harmful ideology because it acts as a type of "clickbait" and makes ppl talk.

At the end of the day this child actor Georgie has had their puberty stopped, needs to live evey day taking prescribed drugs, needs surgery, will have a lower life expectancy, will more likely have depression etc... They were never given the option to be happy with their own natural body, their parents and every adult around them decided to make decisions for this child on the child's behalf no doubt because they were gnc or had underlying issues that were never explored. Being trans is so fashionable, everyone around this child leeched onto the idea.

As pp have said, I have no problem with adult trans actors, why would I. But transing children is wrong and using these children to make a soap opera storyline is exploitation.

Then, the Guardian, again gloating that ‘trans actors will replace cis actors’, thank goodness, all will be right with the world now

So we’ll need to have eg real doctors to play doctor roles?

And trans actors can only play trans roles?

And cis actors can only play cis roles?

All a bit limiting - how many trans actors are there? So we’ll see fewer trans parts as there’ll not be enough trans actors?

And if we have to be so literal with who can play what parts I reckon we’ll get some crap viewing cos I’m pretty sure most doctors can’t act.

So we’ll need to have eg real doctors to play doctor roles?

next they will be insisting that BAME characters are played by BAME actors next.

what Is the world coming to.

Fast forward 20 years when the scandal of medicalising perfectly healthy children has broken: re-runs of a particular series of Neighbours will never occur.

Hey Bespin have you missed me or something? You seem to be following me around today and ignoring most the other posters?

By the by your response to me is a little silly. Unless you think that for eg Peggy Mitchell a fictional pub land lady from the BBC soap opera EastEnders should only have been played by an actual pub landlady?!

next they will be insisting that BAME characters are played by BAME actors next.

For once, you've come up with a good analogy, Bespin. Since male transgender people rarely look like women, it's right that a man should play a male transgender person. It would be totally inappropriate for a woman to play a male transgender person, because that would give the impression that a man could actually make himself indistinguishable from a woman in real life.

There's no reason, of course, why the role couldn't be played by any man, it wouldn't have to be one who identifies as transgender.

GirlDownUnder

no not missed you at all, I think we just have the same interest in threads. Maybe we have a lot in comman who knows.

next they will be insisting that BAME characters are played by BAME actors next.

And as long as Bespin realises a for eg a black actor isn't playing 'being black' - they are a black actor playing a role eg doctor, so better represent our population reality and show that white is not the default.

But we would not require a role for a black doctor to only be played by an actual doctor who's black.

It would be totally inappropriate for a woman to play a male transgender person, because that would give the impression that a man could actually make himself indistinguishable from a woman in real life

Like Julie Hesmondhalgh playing Hayley Cropper?

And as long as Bespin realises a for eg a black actor isn't playing 'being black' -

only if you realise at a trans acotr isn't playing being trans.

only if you realise at a trans acotr isn't playing being trans.

Bespin now you're making stuff up I never said. Go back and read what's written not without the prejudice.

Of course I don’t think transgender people should not be actors or not get acting parts. I meant that the writer seems to be implying that transgender people should get parts simply because they are transgender and not because of any other credentials. Also I do not feel that acting roles should be used to promote harmful ideology to children

There is no such thing as a trans child-only adults telling children there is something wrong with them and they can change their body into something else-totally unnaturally.

I have no issue with adult transexuals but this is blatant toxic BS when aimed at children. The storyline should be pulled (though I know it won't.)

Oh, I thought they were saying it was a child actor - the actor is actually 19. Not as exploitative as I feared. From there it really depends what storyline they run. I'm not optimistic but not about to start watching neighbours to find out.

Do we think trans actors would really only want to play trans characters?

Or do we think what will really happen is that transwomen will want to be cast as actual women?

Amongst all the horror here, this line stood out for me, from the Guardian article:

"Being trans is also pretty cool, I think"

Then they wonder why so many people are going down the trans route

Of course it's exploitative. This person was given puberty blockers at 10 years old. They have never matured beyond childhood in body or brain. That they consider this something to evangelically promote on a second rate drama with a young following of impressionable minds is evidence enough.

The fact that creepy twitter types celebrate it, also.

However the storyline goes, the reality is that the majority of boys who identify as trans have not suppressed puberty and who on the contrary are fully functional males identifying as trans and demanding access.

Nothing has changed the actual prevalence of gender dysphoria in homosexual transsexual males who are early-onset and who almost always go down the medical route by their mid-twenties at the latest. They are incredibly rare. And yet we suddenly have boys in almost every school identifying as trans, most of whom do not block puberty.

Which is why we now see girls being confronted by teen boys in their own changing rooms or toilets, boys who are straight. We've had incidents (most remaining private to protect the children involved) where such boys have been visibly aroused or stimulated themselves. And where some then "desisted".

I mean for boys so inclined this is the perfect way to harass girls with the perfect way in and the perfect way out. Considering that on average there is a rape on school premises in this country on every school day, why would such boys not take advantage?