Silence of the Lambs etc - are TRAs fighting historic battles?

[UndyingDeathdefying]

I watched this the other night and was pretty shocked by the transphobia......

It made me think about all the TRA posts justifying behaviour by saying “X happens to trans people, therefore they are uniquely vulnerable, therefore those asking questions are wrong”

Looking at old films (Crocodile Dundee was another) it’s clear that society used to have carte Blanche to mock and humiliate transsexuals and to infer criminality.

There is often talk here of the TRAs being led by older men. Well, a man of 50 would have watched both the films I mention above as a teenager. It must have felt degrading and humiliating.

It might explain the sense of “mission” and the clear feeling that the ends justify the means. Just a thought.

The character in Silence of the Lambs wanted to wear actual women's skin. He wasn't Trans - wanted to identify as a woman. He wanted to wear other people's flesh. Most people are not idiotic enough to relate anything in that film to transgender women.

It might explain the sense of “mission” and the clear feeling that the ends justify the means.

Do you want to unpack this a bit more OP? Are you referring to rape threats, "suck my ladydick" abuse, hounding women in their workplaces and daily murder memes like "die in a grease fire", or nailing a dead rat to a women's refuge, or assaulting a woman taking part in a perfectly legal protest? What has Silence of the Lambs got to do with the blatantly misogynistic targeting of women who believe that biological sex is the root of women's oppression and who reject gender stereotypes as the defining factor in what makes a woman or a man? What ends, what means are you referring to? Silence of the Women?

(NB both those films were written and made by men, just for reference)

So every Hollywood film needs to be looked at in this way?

Dear god - Mrs Doubtfire, some like it hot, psycho... (What umbrella are we talking about here?) do we really need to whitewash the entire back catalogue to say ‘of course such persons are only ever good and wholesome’?

The character in Silence of the Lambs was based on Ed Gein who murdered and skinned women to make a suit.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein

I’ll bet that that “shocking transphobia” consisted more of gentle ridicule than visceral hatred and that the mockers were male, yet it is women who bear the brunt of death and rape threats from the 50+ late-transitioners you refer to.

A more plausible connection is that the vast majority of violence is perpetrated by males and that those particular males target women because they hate that they cannot be us and are they are archetypal bullies.

I recall that Jodie Foster's character at some point also explicitly says that the killer is "not a transsexual" as transsexual people tended to be "gentle". It's the psychology of serial killers that's the subject of the film, and that's clear to anyone who has watched it.

Making fun of people getting murdered in gruesome ways is a bit too edgy in my book but I'm a sensitive soul. (I suppose you're referring to the recent clip by a trans comedian who was talking about Silence of the Lambs.)

I forgot the reference to Silence of The Lambs in the title and was replying to the Crocodile Dundee reference

What about films where the murderers are just massacring women? Should be airbrush these too because not all men are mass murderers? Just watch virtually any film from the 70s and the women are either eye candy, love interest or victims.

I think the OP is trying very hard.

What about films where the murderers are just massacring women?

That's every other TV drama too, isn't it?

Books too...

I was watching some duff film from the 80s (a mad max type thing) and the women there were only on screen to flash their huge boobs (before being raped/murdered) or be slaves to the men. I was 😳😳😳 - I couldn’t believe how shitty the female parts were.

Also Trainspotting. Bit more recent.

In the book of Silence of the Lambs (not sure about the movie) the point is made that Buffalo Bill would have applied for sex change surgery and been turned down as not a true "trans sexual". But these days it would obvs be "acceptance with no exception".

And let’s not talk about drag shows and the referencing to ‘fish’ that is so very misogynistic and still being filmed even as we speak!

And women complaining about these references are called names and ignored.

I think there was a lack of understanding about trans people up until the 1990's although I think society had moved on toward being more accepting, ie. Nadia won Big Brother in 2004 and the trans character Hayler Cropper was in Corrie from 1998. The 'born in the wrong body' narrative has been a staple of morning chat shows for years and the narrative was sympathetic.
I think the 50-year-old men who transition are motivated more by misogyny and opportunism, taking over roles and opportunities that are meant for women.

As a middle-age woman, I don't like how my demographic is depicted in the media.

My demographic are either bitter spinsters or yummy mummies.

I'm neither of those things, so let's ban every film that presents my demographic in those ways.

I think Ed Gein, who Buffalo Bill was based on, would fit comfortably under the trans umbrella these days.

Norman Bates - he would be under the umbrella too...

I think the OP ought to be protesting the umbrella actually.

Society 'inferred' criminality? How do you know everyone in society inferred criminality from some films? Was there a poll after each showing?

Or do you mean 'implied'? Was everyone in society responsible commissioning the films? Publicly endorsing them?

Bit of a stretch there....

And, why are you not up in arms about the portrayal of women in films since, well, forever? Why are you on a FEMINIST board scolding women? Or are we women all at the bottom of the dungheap as usual?

Historical ( & ideological) revisionism is often used to justify a current position: to shore it up, and to make it seem inevitable.

Just like female viking warriors were really transmen?

I agree Silence of the Lambs seems to strike a nerve among TRAs. I think the reasons for that are debatable.

transactivistsitow.tumblr.com/post/178075319865/this-is-disturbing-its-a-screenshot-from-a-mans

archive.vn/y2eRP This is long and disturbing, so reading all of it is not advised - but do scroll down far enough to see the delightful matching tattoo. I think you can also get an insight into the sense of "mission" that you mentioned from reading this article. And the sense that the "ends justify the means." I still can't believe that it was posted on a feminist site.

It’s the sort of “Feminism” that is proud to centre people other than women.

“The Feministing family is thrilled to congratulate our former executive editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay on becoming the new executive editor of Teen Vogue!”

feministing.com/2018/02/07/former-feministing-executive-editor-samhita-mukhopadhyay-tapped-to-head-teen-vogue/

“Teen Vogue” aka “Trans Vogue”.

@Yamayo

Just like female viking warriors were really transmen?

Yep. Never mind that shield-maidens are recorded in several Viking sagas, and in the histories of the people they fought against. They must have been transmen. Not women who fight. That doesn't make sense at all

[quote Wrongsideofhistorymyarse]The character in Silence of the Lambs was based on Ed Gein who murdered and skinned women to make a suit.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein[/quote]
Came here to say the same. The character was based on something that really happened. It isn't transphobia, it is a character inspired by fact.

But lets talk about misogyny in films...

No?
Didn't think so.

It always goes badly when I post here after a recent name-change ... should have thought of that.

I think the general tenor of the responses (apart from suspecting my bona fides, etc etc, ) is that it's a mistake to focus on the reasons why these campaigners are as they are because it becomes a mission to understand them as opposed to being about the people affected.

ie this
"I think the 50-year-old men who transition are motivated more by misogyny and opportunism, taking over roles and opportunities that are meant for women."

I think the general tenor on this board is to understand a little less and condemn a little more, as John Major once said.