Page 2 | The Guardian left the comments on…

RoyalCorgi · 21/09/2023 10:52

Lucy has hinted at Terfiness before, so I'm glad she's come right out and said it! Good for her. Always liked her.

IvyTwines · 21/09/2023 11:19

I remember the breathless 'no previous acting experience required' casting call for this, widely reported by an excited youth media - I mean, from the sounds of it, "Winona Ryder vibe" and all, what teenager wouldn't be attracted to, or want to try to emulate, this amazing "power couple"? They're "the epitome of couple goals", apparently.

"Sex Education welcome two trans characters in season four, continuing improving LGBTQ+ representation on screen...The show is currently casting the roles of a young trans woman named Abbi and her trans-masculine boyfriend Kent. According to the descriptions given for each role, these two are quite the power couple. Abbi is described as having "a '90s Winona Ryder vibe". The character is "confident and self-assured in her gender identity".
Her bio reads: "Abbi is the leader of her group and the queen bee of her college. She's sunny, magnetic, generous and loyal."....He is "goofy, forgetful, and a great listener" but "not as sure about being one of the popular kids as Abbi....But he knows himself and feels quietly confident about his final year at college," the description also says.
As for their relationship, we know the writers imagine Abbi and Kent as "the epitome of couple goals" and that "everyone loves them".
The casting call is open to those who don't have previous acting experience." (Digital Spy)

MumOfYoungTransAdult · 21/09/2023 11:59

According to the descriptions given for each role, these two are quite the power couple. Abbi is described as having "a '90s Winona Ryder vibe". The character is "confident and self-assured in her gender identity".
Her bio reads: "Abbi is the leader of her group and the queen bee of her college. She's sunny, magnetic, generous and loyal."....He is "goofy, forgetful, and a great listener" but "not as sure about being one of the popular kids as Abbi....But he knows himself and feels quietly confident about his final year at college," the description also says.*

Nice of Laurie Nunn to educate me that young transpeople can be competely unlike any young trans person I've met, or am likely to meet.

Original poster

TheOutlaws · 21/09/2023 13:32

There was one comment on the piece before comments closed. It basically said, is someone actually able to question gender-affirming surgery at the Guardian?

My comment would have been second but I didn’t get it in before comments closed.

OP posts:

WorriedMutha · 21/09/2023 14:26

Laurie Nunn was just interviewed by Mariella Frostrup on Times Radio. I might not have caught all of it but it didn't stray over to trans territory.

gingerandsmall · 21/09/2023 15:27

AutumnCrow · 21/09/2023 09:25

I read this, this morning, and did a mental shout out: 'Lucy Mangan is a terf!' and came here to have a look for a thread.

There is gender identity representation via Abbi and Roman, with the latter seemingly there solely to offer Cal (Dua Saleh) the sight of someone further down the road to transition and fill in viewers on the length of waiting lists and the costs of private surgery. If Sex Education were staying true to its early, far more radical roots, it might have questioned the idea of surgery on healthy bodies as a cure for anything, but although it hints later at the potential downsides of relentless positivity, here the rule remains absolute affirmation only. Asexuality is also given a shoutout and, over in the US, Ellen (Marie Reuther), a fellow student on Maeve’s course, is simply a bundle of privileges that Maeve is without. (My underlining emphasis.)

Got to hand it to Lucy Mangan - she's an excellent writer. Unlike, say, 'our generation's Orwell'.

Interestingly, this paragraph appears to have been edited - the underlined sentence now reads: If Sex Education were staying true to its early, far more radical roots, it might do more than just hint at the potential downsides of relentless positivity, but here the rule remains absolute affirmation only.

NeighbourhoodWatchPotholeDivision · 21/09/2023 15:43

MumOfYoungTransAdult · 21/09/2023 11:59

According to the descriptions given for each role, these two are quite the power couple. Abbi is described as having "a '90s Winona Ryder vibe". The character is "confident and self-assured in her gender identity".
Her bio reads: "Abbi is the leader of her group and the queen bee of her college. She's sunny, magnetic, generous and loyal."....He is "goofy, forgetful, and a great listener" but "not as sure about being one of the popular kids as Abbi....But he knows himself and feels quietly confident about his final year at college," the description also says.*

Nice of Laurie Nunn to educate me that young transpeople can be competely unlike any young trans person I've met, or am likely to meet.

Edited

Reminds me of the casting call Pixar put out in 2021.

I have known a lot of trans teens since my own teenage years, and the fictional representations rarely reflect my lived experience.

MotherOfCatBoy · 21/09/2023 16:02

Cowards for editing it. I also read it with a grin and came here to see if there was a thread. Lucy Mangan is bang on and what she wrote shouldn’t be censored.

duc748 · 21/09/2023 16:53

gingerandsmall · 21/09/2023 15:27

Interestingly, this paragraph appears to have been edited - the underlined sentence now reads: If Sex Education were staying true to its early, far more radical roots, it might do more than just hint at the potential downsides of relentless positivity, but here the rule remains absolute affirmation only.

Show quote history

That's disgraceful and dishonest by the Guardian. The fact that they are always patting themselves on the back for their probity makes it even worse.

Lamplightglitches · 21/09/2023 17:06

If the Guardian were staying true to its early, far more radical roots, it might have questioned the idea of surgery on healthy bodies as a cure for anything, but although it hints later at the potential downsides of relentless positivity, here the rule remains absolute affirmation only.

IwantToRetire · 21/09/2023 17:16

For anyone who is on facebook you can add a comment about the article at https://www.facebook.com/theguardian/posts/pfbid0VJsSSLT7kuqV5h36kP8DceCdNypR3w8EWCp87GikmY1VQx4rAtDD2gxwqSGgZBdzl

nauticant · 21/09/2023 17:22

I did smile wryly at Emily Bell (ex of The Guardian and now a progressive media person of considerable influence) stand on her soapbox on the PM programme on Radio 4 and give a preachy lecture about how corrosive Rupert Murdoch had been to the media landscape in the UK.

WarriorN · 21/09/2023 17:56

I've never watched it but it sounds far to tedious based on that review

WarriorN · 21/09/2023 17:58

IwantToRetire · 21/09/2023 17:16

For anyone who is on facebook you can add a comment about the article at https://www.facebook.com/theguardian/posts/pfbid0VJsSSLT7kuqV5h36kP8DceCdNypR3w8EWCp87GikmY1VQx4rAtDD2gxwqSGgZBdzl

Comment there: You what now?

IwantToRetire · 21/09/2023 18:02

Comment there: You what now?

oooooooooops! I didn't actually look at existing comments. Looks like the Guardian on facebook is attracting a very strange group of followers!

MMBaranova · 21/09/2023 18:07

It is often said that the Guardian US has a lot of influence on the state of things. Does the US side bring in much money compared to the UK and elsewhere? Assuming there is any money.

WorkingOnMyMindset · 21/09/2023 18:14

I can’t believe the Guardian censored a television review, fml

EdithStourton · 21/09/2023 18:22

WarriorN · 21/09/2023 17:58

Comment there: You what now?

Show quote history

LOL, I just found that.
They need a capable mod for their FB page...

WarriorN · 21/09/2023 18:37

Mod Must have had a break; last two hours is along those lines 😆

itsmyp4rty · 21/09/2023 19:06

It could have been a good show apart from the 'all teen girls love only the most enormous dildos/vibrators and all teen girls have screeching orgasms from piv performative sex' narratives. I'm glad not to have a teen dd that wants to watch this.

GoodOldEmmaNess · 21/09/2023 19:21

Disgustingly, the Guardian's explanation of the edit (at the end of the article) is dishonest, claiming that it was a 'clarification' rather than the removal of a sustantive part of the review:

This article was amended on 21 September 2023 to clarify a reference to Sex Education’s early radical roots.

Stunningly overt censorship of wrongthink.

napody · 21/09/2023 19:30

So happy about Lucy Mangan- I love her writing. And well done that rapid commenter!
The last series of sex education was interminable. I think the character I felt most sorry for was Ola who would quite have liked some sex with her girlfriend that didn't involve metres of tinfoil and alien role play but she didn't want to kink shame so opted to Be Kind and never do anything she enjoyed....

napody · 21/09/2023 19:33

Is the original article archived/screenshotted?
Brave of LM and clear show of support for Roisín Murphy

IwantToRetire · 21/09/2023 19:43

Its on https://archive.ph/ (just paste in the guardian link) but maybe better to make you own copy because if someone re-archives the censored version this will disappear.

There is gender identity representation via Abbi and Roman, with the latter seemingly there solely to offer Cal (Dua Saleh) the sight of someone further down the road to transition and fill in viewers on the length of waiting lists and the costs of private surgery. If Sex Education were staying true to its early, far more radical roots, it might have questioned the idea of surgery on healthy bodies as a cure for anything, but although it hints later at the potential downsides of relentless positivity, here the rule remains absolute affirmation only.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/21/sex-education-final-season-four-review-one-long-list-of-frustrations

WinterDeWinter · 21/09/2023 20:03

Lucy is getting some shit for this on her most recent post (criticising Billy Bragg!) so I’ve left a supportive comment.