We’re all avoiding the reality of this “documentary”. Just because you’re from Oklahoma or Texas or any other flyover part of our country doesn’t mean you’re uneducated and stupid. Imagine seeing Will Ferrel with his trans friend and a camera crew trying to stage episodes in different locales. Most people were probably looking around waiting for Sacha Baron Cohen to join in on the stereotyping scam. The people they ran in to were probably half wondering if this was a joke or a gotcha type scam so they all proceeded with caution.
Bottom line-Americans mostly mind their own business and are among the most tolerant people on earth.
I don’t care about the transgender dude/lady/whatever, but the idea of watching a documentary of Will Ferrell on a road trip is like something out of Dante’s Inferno. Seriously, I do not get the appeal of that man. He is utterly bereft of talent, isn’t funny at all, and has no acting talent. If he worked at an office with me, I’d hate him. If he were my boss, I’d quit. If I were his boss, I’d fire him. If I saw Will Ferrell drowning, and there was a life preserver an inch from my hand, I’d watch his dying moments with glee.
TL;DR - A film in which the protagonist unhealthily depends on validation from others in the form of being feted, or, perversely, hated - and then adds the latter after failing to find it in the real world. (I presume Will and the producers provide plenty of the former.)
There's a line in the 80's movie Manhunter where Will Graham, played by William Petersen, has reached his limit with Lecktor, played by Brian Cox, and he finally just says: "Look, I'm sick of you crazy sons-of-b****es, you got something to say, say it". In the context of this article and Ferrell's friend, it seems many of us are rather sympathetic to the first part of that admonition.
I saw the documentary. The producers tried to paint middle America as being transphobic. I thought Harper was treated with respect. There was a small segment when Will and Harper were reading social media hate comments- but WTF- I am certain we could get them just on some of comments made here today. I think most Americans are tolerant, they just don’t want to see people encouraging transitioning in children.
In the end I felt bad for Harper. She just did not seem that happy.
It’s difficult to be happy when your validation depends on people either feting you or, perversely, hating you. It’s also difficult if you can’t accept the immutable characteristics of your own personhood, characteristics that no makeup or surgery can change.
I used to think, "What's the harm in calling someone by their preferred gender pronouns," only to find a few years later that that harm is infinite. Most especially to actual women. Here's a reality check for everyone here: Look at it from the opposite perspective when people complain about misgendering. They're demanding that everyone else LIE to affirm their delusion, LIE to affirm their mental disease, LIE to affirm their fetish. The people who are ACTUALLY misgendering are those demanding we call a man a woman and a woman a man or any of the other made-up 87 gender pronouns. THAT is what is the actual misgendering. Me calling a man a man who wants to be called a woman isn't misgendering. Him demanding I call him a woman is the misgendering.
That is what is actually incredibly harmful. Would you tell an anorexic they look fat? Would you tell a schizophrenic or bi-polar person their medication was poison? Of course you wouldn't.
This person is a man. He will always be a man. His genes and his DNA say he's a man. Nothing he does in butchering his body to mirror his own personal demons will stop him from being a man. Demanding everyone lie to him is a narcissistic disservice to what is immutable truth.
Refuse to lie. Stop lying to service the needs of these narcissists. It's not impolite. The truth is the truth.
As a woman, I’m so over men in skirts bullying us! Or their nutcase SJW friends, as Will clearly is. Trying to provoke a reaction out of people for sport is just cruel, disrespectful and misogynistic to the women you’ve put in the middle of your bs movie. You’re not a woman, I’m not cis anything, and stay out of the pool! Otherwise I have no strong feelings on it.
I agree with your assessment of the facts, but expecting the Free Press to always say exactly what you think is silly, and if you feel that way, you should definitely not be here.
I don't expect the Free Press to "always say exactly what I think", but I also don't give money to people who think it's just fine to publish anti-woman, pro-autogynephile puff pieces.
Yes. That coverage is sadly declining. There have been many developments in these issues over the past months, the FP has not covered them. Instead of that, we are getting MSM-style puff pieces. I do not need movie reviews from FP, especially when the reviewer has apparently not read any of the FP's previous coverage of trans issues, or has read it and chooses to ignore it when praising a movie whose entire point is to glorify autogynephilia.
The FP is now a pale shadow of what it was. I can no longer support it.
The one thing I hear a lot is how friendly America is , this from city people , immigrants and people that just don't get out much . They always tell me this as if I'm not believing it , but I am I've been out there . Places that look scary and run down or falling apart are sometimes where you will meet the best and most helpful people . Even the hell's angles types are sometimes just the best once you break the ice with a smile or a "nice bike you got there" . TV, MSM and just stupid ignorant people will tell tails of horror and race based comments , but sorry that is really a very very small part of America . And thus we have this sad story of 2 people expecting the worse and trying to tell a story of bigotry and just find normal Americans, welcoming helpful people , that I know .
There’s a lot to unpack about this film. Note that the empathy is owed to Harper, and not the family sacrificed to a fetish, which is what this is.
“Harper” was once a decent looking man who due to an overwhelming urge that made him allegedly miserable, is now an unattractive and unconvincing woman. No one “accidentally” “misgenders” Harper; they merely call it as they see it. Thank goodness Harper shows empathy towards them. No one deserves to be exiled or punished for calling a man in an ugly dress and heels (on a road trip!) a man. However that is the way a certain sector of society would have us lean — toward punishing people who won’t cater to delusions.
I have a lot to say about this hideously dull, self-serving documentary about a malignant narcissist who holds everyone hostage to his issues.
There once was a resort for male cross dressers — I just watched a documentary on it — in upstate NY I think it was. Far fewer people would be harmed if Harper kept it to himself.
I used to believe that the trans thing was OK, but no longer support any transition. This is a strident case of the slippery slope becoming a reality. Traumatized families, kids, a corrupt medical industry leading kids off cliffs.
Thanks. Interesting documentary. It seems to me that the best context for a fetish is a hidden enclave of likeminded people where taboos remain taboo, and therefore, more fun.
I came away from this documentary with the impression that Harper was much more concerned about forcing other people to react to her in a certain way than she was about living her life authentically. Her and Will seemed disappointed when they didn't get the reaction they were hoping for from the bar or car race. They upped the ante by having Will dress as Sherlock Holmes and making a spectacle of their dinner in Texas. When that didn't work, Harper made a toast to Texas, addressed to the gathered crowd, even though she "wished you guys would do more for trans rights in this state." Thankfully (for them), that got a reaction and were able to leave with a sense of indignation. This was, of course, cut from the documentary. I was happy to see that Americans choose to go about their lives with understanding and acceptance but will stand up for themselves when others take advantage.
“Accidental Misgendering?” I appreciate that the writer recognizes that there was no malice in the incidents described. I also believe that people should be called what they want to be called, and if you repeatedly refuse to do that, then, yes, you are being deliberately offensive. But: the objective reality is that this person will register to all human observers on first impression as male. A male person with long hair and a dress and makeup, but a male. Male voice, male body, male face. This particular person is not “passing” by any stretch of the imagination, unfortunately. Anyone who sees this person will involuntarily register a male person in the first split second. We call people who register to us that way “he,” not to “gender” them, but because of their observed sex. That is what happened in these incidents. To characterize it instead as an affirmative, albeit “accidental” act of misidentification, is Orwellian. This person’s observable sex was correctly identified by the observer’s brain.
Of course, we can all agree that we will take a moment to override this automatic brain circuitry when presented with someone who looks like this person. But what this movement seems to be asking is that we all collectively deny that this brain circuitry exists, and instead regard those who experience this involuntary human identification of biological sex as simply “mistaken” and in need of “correction.” But they are not mistaken in what they see. They are only mistaken in failing to acknowledge quickly enough the collective fiction that they don’t see it.
We are not being forced to “misgender” him, because “gendering” is not what we do when we see someone and recognize their sex. It’s the same with “assigned at birth.” Neither of these terms is accurate. All are meant to obscure the fact that sex is readily observed by the human brain, and to shame people into pretending their brains don’t work that way, because they are enlightened.
Also, Mrs. Doubtfire was a movie, and the humor derived from the fact that in reality, Robin Williams would not have fooled anyone, and yet everyone within the movie acted as though they didn’t notice. We are now living that. It would be wrong and snarky to remark on how much the person in the film looks like Mrs. Doubtfire, so I won’t.
I'm not sure that any of this is important i.e. gendering . In a normal way there are people from time to time where I'm not sure what gender they are , and these are not men trying to be women per say . If I must address them it's in the form of no gender because I wouldn't want to make a mistake . But it must be said that a man can not be a woman and a woman can not be a man . These are the rules we are born with and in any discussion of trans this must be an absolute . Women need safe spaces from men and when men disregard that idea this game has to end or acknowledge this fact . We can not talk about trans without this discussion today . And none of that seems to be in this film . TFP is not report about real news and that we are starting to get real data it seems on how many teen are being subjected to these horrors of transing . This is a interesting site using insurance data : https://stoptheharmdatabase.com/
Sorry but will never watch this bit of fluff that serves only dominant narratives in the US about everything 'trans.' So they met a lawmaker who signed "anti trans legislation?" Ha! Way to gloss over the fact that American professional medical groups like the AMA and AAP have been supporting/promoting "gender transition" despite basically no evidence of benefit and clear evidence of harm. How about some discussion over the Cass Review and the actual studies regarding "gender transition" for minors? Calling the legislation "anti trans" shows clear bias on the part of the filmmakers. Legislators are trying to protect children from this harmful "medicine" since our medical orgs are not doing their jobs in actually surveying the evidence.
Trans activist will never understand that people are against pediatric gender medicine, not adults transitioning. Most of us agree and don’t give a shit what a 61 year old man does with his body. A child…different story. The science (I’m in psych) doesn’t not support any of the beneficial claims trans activist claim for kids. Here’s the fine print they constantly misunderstand….there’s no evidence pediatric gender medicine HURTS kids, but there’s no evidence that it HELPS.
I had a great conversation with my (cis) lesbian daughter over people transitioning. We both agreed that 1) people shouldn't transition until they're 18, or at least have gone through puberty and 2) trans women should not play women's sports where there is a significant physiological difference to the detriment of cis women.
We’re all avoiding the reality of this “documentary”. Just because you’re from Oklahoma or Texas or any other flyover part of our country doesn’t mean you’re uneducated and stupid. Imagine seeing Will Ferrel with his trans friend and a camera crew trying to stage episodes in different locales. Most people were probably looking around waiting for Sacha Baron Cohen to join in on the stereotyping scam. The people they ran in to were probably half wondering if this was a joke or a gotcha type scam so they all proceeded with caution.
Bottom line-Americans mostly mind their own business and are among the most tolerant people on earth.
I don’t care about the transgender dude/lady/whatever, but the idea of watching a documentary of Will Ferrell on a road trip is like something out of Dante’s Inferno. Seriously, I do not get the appeal of that man. He is utterly bereft of talent, isn’t funny at all, and has no acting talent. If he worked at an office with me, I’d hate him. If he were my boss, I’d quit. If I were his boss, I’d fire him. If I saw Will Ferrell drowning, and there was a life preserver an inch from my hand, I’d watch his dying moments with glee.
TL;DR - A film in which the protagonist unhealthily depends on validation from others in the form of being feted, or, perversely, hated - and then adds the latter after failing to find it in the real world. (I presume Will and the producers provide plenty of the former.)
There's a line in the 80's movie Manhunter where Will Graham, played by William Petersen, has reached his limit with Lecktor, played by Brian Cox, and he finally just says: "Look, I'm sick of you crazy sons-of-b****es, you got something to say, say it". In the context of this article and Ferrell's friend, it seems many of us are rather sympathetic to the first part of that admonition.
I saw the documentary. The producers tried to paint middle America as being transphobic. I thought Harper was treated with respect. There was a small segment when Will and Harper were reading social media hate comments- but WTF- I am certain we could get them just on some of comments made here today. I think most Americans are tolerant, they just don’t want to see people encouraging transitioning in children.
In the end I felt bad for Harper. She just did not seem that happy.
It’s difficult to be happy when your validation depends on people either feting you or, perversely, hating you. It’s also difficult if you can’t accept the immutable characteristics of your own personhood, characteristics that no makeup or surgery can change.
I used to think, "What's the harm in calling someone by their preferred gender pronouns," only to find a few years later that that harm is infinite. Most especially to actual women. Here's a reality check for everyone here: Look at it from the opposite perspective when people complain about misgendering. They're demanding that everyone else LIE to affirm their delusion, LIE to affirm their mental disease, LIE to affirm their fetish. The people who are ACTUALLY misgendering are those demanding we call a man a woman and a woman a man or any of the other made-up 87 gender pronouns. THAT is what is the actual misgendering. Me calling a man a man who wants to be called a woman isn't misgendering. Him demanding I call him a woman is the misgendering.
That is what is actually incredibly harmful. Would you tell an anorexic they look fat? Would you tell a schizophrenic or bi-polar person their medication was poison? Of course you wouldn't.
This person is a man. He will always be a man. His genes and his DNA say he's a man. Nothing he does in butchering his body to mirror his own personal demons will stop him from being a man. Demanding everyone lie to him is a narcissistic disservice to what is immutable truth.
Refuse to lie. Stop lying to service the needs of these narcissists. It's not impolite. The truth is the truth.
100%.
As a woman, I’m so over men in skirts bullying us! Or their nutcase SJW friends, as Will clearly is. Trying to provoke a reaction out of people for sport is just cruel, disrespectful and misogynistic to the women you’ve put in the middle of your bs movie. You’re not a woman, I’m not cis anything, and stay out of the pool! Otherwise I have no strong feelings on it.
Andrew is a man, will always be a man, should be treated and referred to as a man, and absolutely barred from all single-sex female-only spaces.
There is nothing charming about his fetish.
The Free Press has lost me, unsubscribing now.
It's troublesome that a news piece refers to a man as "she." The FP should do better. They claim to be for the truth.
I agree with your assessment of the facts, but expecting the Free Press to always say exactly what you think is silly, and if you feel that way, you should definitely not be here.
I don't expect the Free Press to "always say exactly what I think", but I also don't give money to people who think it's just fine to publish anti-woman, pro-autogynephile puff pieces.
It’s just a movie review! Have you read the FPs coverage of trans issues, or listened to the podcasts?
Yes. That coverage is sadly declining. There have been many developments in these issues over the past months, the FP has not covered them. Instead of that, we are getting MSM-style puff pieces. I do not need movie reviews from FP, especially when the reviewer has apparently not read any of the FP's previous coverage of trans issues, or has read it and chooses to ignore it when praising a movie whose entire point is to glorify autogynephilia.
The FP is now a pale shadow of what it was. I can no longer support it.
Another echo chamber devotee.
bye bye!
The one thing I hear a lot is how friendly America is , this from city people , immigrants and people that just don't get out much . They always tell me this as if I'm not believing it , but I am I've been out there . Places that look scary and run down or falling apart are sometimes where you will meet the best and most helpful people . Even the hell's angles types are sometimes just the best once you break the ice with a smile or a "nice bike you got there" . TV, MSM and just stupid ignorant people will tell tails of horror and race based comments , but sorry that is really a very very small part of America . And thus we have this sad story of 2 people expecting the worse and trying to tell a story of bigotry and just find normal Americans, welcoming helpful people , that I know .
Why didn’t they interview his ex wife?
There’s a lot to unpack about this film. Note that the empathy is owed to Harper, and not the family sacrificed to a fetish, which is what this is.
“Harper” was once a decent looking man who due to an overwhelming urge that made him allegedly miserable, is now an unattractive and unconvincing woman. No one “accidentally” “misgenders” Harper; they merely call it as they see it. Thank goodness Harper shows empathy towards them. No one deserves to be exiled or punished for calling a man in an ugly dress and heels (on a road trip!) a man. However that is the way a certain sector of society would have us lean — toward punishing people who won’t cater to delusions.
I have a lot to say about this hideously dull, self-serving documentary about a malignant narcissist who holds everyone hostage to his issues.
There once was a resort for male cross dressers — I just watched a documentary on it — in upstate NY I think it was. Far fewer people would be harmed if Harper kept it to himself.
I used to believe that the trans thing was OK, but no longer support any transition. This is a strident case of the slippery slope becoming a reality. Traumatized families, kids, a corrupt medical industry leading kids off cliffs.
It’s not empathy if it goes one way.
Think about submitting your comments to the PITT Substack
Here you go. Casa Susanna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M1MFBSqRjY
Thanks. Interesting documentary. It seems to me that the best context for a fetish is a hidden enclave of likeminded people where taboos remain taboo, and therefore, more fun.
Well said.
I came away from this documentary with the impression that Harper was much more concerned about forcing other people to react to her in a certain way than she was about living her life authentically. Her and Will seemed disappointed when they didn't get the reaction they were hoping for from the bar or car race. They upped the ante by having Will dress as Sherlock Holmes and making a spectacle of their dinner in Texas. When that didn't work, Harper made a toast to Texas, addressed to the gathered crowd, even though she "wished you guys would do more for trans rights in this state." Thankfully (for them), that got a reaction and were able to leave with a sense of indignation. This was, of course, cut from the documentary. I was happy to see that Americans choose to go about their lives with understanding and acceptance but will stand up for themselves when others take advantage.
*Him and he.
FIFY.
“Accidental Misgendering?” I appreciate that the writer recognizes that there was no malice in the incidents described. I also believe that people should be called what they want to be called, and if you repeatedly refuse to do that, then, yes, you are being deliberately offensive. But: the objective reality is that this person will register to all human observers on first impression as male. A male person with long hair and a dress and makeup, but a male. Male voice, male body, male face. This particular person is not “passing” by any stretch of the imagination, unfortunately. Anyone who sees this person will involuntarily register a male person in the first split second. We call people who register to us that way “he,” not to “gender” them, but because of their observed sex. That is what happened in these incidents. To characterize it instead as an affirmative, albeit “accidental” act of misidentification, is Orwellian. This person’s observable sex was correctly identified by the observer’s brain.
Of course, we can all agree that we will take a moment to override this automatic brain circuitry when presented with someone who looks like this person. But what this movement seems to be asking is that we all collectively deny that this brain circuitry exists, and instead regard those who experience this involuntary human identification of biological sex as simply “mistaken” and in need of “correction.” But they are not mistaken in what they see. They are only mistaken in failing to acknowledge quickly enough the collective fiction that they don’t see it.
I want you to call me your daddy.
It's what I want.
Do it.
Or I'll have a temper tantrum and make a documentary about how bad you are.
The only misgendering going on is the man forcing everyone to misgender him as a woman.
We are not being forced to “misgender” him, because “gendering” is not what we do when we see someone and recognize their sex. It’s the same with “assigned at birth.” Neither of these terms is accurate. All are meant to obscure the fact that sex is readily observed by the human brain, and to shame people into pretending their brains don’t work that way, because they are enlightened.
Also, Mrs. Doubtfire was a movie, and the humor derived from the fact that in reality, Robin Williams would not have fooled anyone, and yet everyone within the movie acted as though they didn’t notice. We are now living that. It would be wrong and snarky to remark on how much the person in the film looks like Mrs. Doubtfire, so I won’t.
I'm not sure that any of this is important i.e. gendering . In a normal way there are people from time to time where I'm not sure what gender they are , and these are not men trying to be women per say . If I must address them it's in the form of no gender because I wouldn't want to make a mistake . But it must be said that a man can not be a woman and a woman can not be a man . These are the rules we are born with and in any discussion of trans this must be an absolute . Women need safe spaces from men and when men disregard that idea this game has to end or acknowledge this fact . We can not talk about trans without this discussion today . And none of that seems to be in this film . TFP is not report about real news and that we are starting to get real data it seems on how many teen are being subjected to these horrors of transing . This is a interesting site using insurance data : https://stoptheharmdatabase.com/
So much of the crap coming out now tries to force a narrative where none exists, for the sake of "truthiness" over the gosh honest truth.
Sorry but will never watch this bit of fluff that serves only dominant narratives in the US about everything 'trans.' So they met a lawmaker who signed "anti trans legislation?" Ha! Way to gloss over the fact that American professional medical groups like the AMA and AAP have been supporting/promoting "gender transition" despite basically no evidence of benefit and clear evidence of harm. How about some discussion over the Cass Review and the actual studies regarding "gender transition" for minors? Calling the legislation "anti trans" shows clear bias on the part of the filmmakers. Legislators are trying to protect children from this harmful "medicine" since our medical orgs are not doing their jobs in actually surveying the evidence.
Yes, when Harper started talking like a victim over laws against destroying kids' bodies, he really lost the plot.
Trans activist will never understand that people are against pediatric gender medicine, not adults transitioning. Most of us agree and don’t give a shit what a 61 year old man does with his body. A child…different story. The science (I’m in psych) doesn’t not support any of the beneficial claims trans activist claim for kids. Here’s the fine print they constantly misunderstand….there’s no evidence pediatric gender medicine HURTS kids, but there’s no evidence that it HELPS.
I had a great conversation with my (cis) lesbian daughter over people transitioning. We both agreed that 1) people shouldn't transition until they're 18, or at least have gone through puberty and 2) trans women should not play women's sports where there is a significant physiological difference to the detriment of cis women.
Stop using slurs like "cis." It's fake, like the entirety of gender ideology.