I never really tolerated this take on the show. And how many often accused Matt and Trey of being libertarians or even downright bigots even though they're trying to make a socialist statement on civilisation or the topic of the week like gay marriage and treatment of disability in media and how people could potentially be faking it for exploitation both of which were actually very well done and progressive especially the tourettes example.
Also they've ruthless mocked Trump in a story arc not only once but twice. And their latest season is so aggressively ruthless and savage, It feels like they're doing more for the liberal No Kings uprising than The current democratic party leaders who are all talk and no substance.
I'm not saying I don't fully disagree with people's disdain for the show (primarily the trans community. I can see why they hate South Park's guts) but to consider it a permanent stain on basic human decency and a horrid influence for milennials is honestly pretty hair splitting if you'd ask me.
Am I missing something here within these folks? is punching sideways/mocking everyone equally really any worst than complete douchebags straight up punching down for the sake of pissing off the unfortunate because they find it hilarious (Looking at you Tony Hinchcliffe, and Babylon Bee)? Are the South Park guys really to blame for shaping an entire demographic into not caring about any Global Disputes with Current Affairs? Or did the boundaries pushing and subtle satire simply got lost in people who either grewed up into the very thing they were mocking or viewed it as a cesspool of nihlist Slop?
They have had multiple episodes on trans people that have basically insinuated that they are not meant to be treated seriously.
Ms. Garrison being treated as disgusting not for their horrible attitude, but for their transitioning, attempting to bodyhorror with the dolphin transitioning of Kyle's father, and, just, the entire trans athlete episode. Also, Cartman's mom could fall into this category if you don't treat that as more of a one-off joke.
Essentially, they do occasionally do a lot of research on certain select topics like Tourette's, but then they pull this shit out and you basically can see they unapologetically do not care.
Basically, they, at best, do not give a shit about trans people, and at worst, actively hate them. The trans athlete episode is, to me, especially egregious because you could ACTUALLY DO a trans athlete episode real fucking easily that gets the basic facts right and still even put their normal libertarian spin on it, and it would have been enjoyable to everyone without implying that trans people are faking it to win sports (and exclusively women's sports at that, a thing they have previously implied in prior episodes no one gives a shit about anyway.)
I viewed the ‘Strong Woman Competition’ episode as lambasting the idea that a man could just one day start identifying as female and suddenly sweep all of the athletic competitions. Like “look at this ridiculous scenario that could only ever happen in an upside-down universe like South Park”. I took it as being a tear-down of the conservative panic over trans athletes. Maybe that’s just me, though.
The treatment of Garrison and Caitlyn Jenner is pretty bluntly transphobic though. There’s no commentary nor subversion of concept there; it’s just mean spirited hating. They’ve never really atoned for that.
There has yet to be a single group that has not been lampooned by SP. You take umbrage with it because it's finally targeted a group you care about.
Hell, you can be trans in the South Park game and the entire community rallies around to support you.
Just because you are not rah-rah-rah cheered 24/7 by literally everyone and everything does not mean something is transphobic. It's was just your turn on the mocking wheel, which is good, it means you're being treated just like everyone else. Which is the entire fucking point, that you're no different from any other human.
You are just fucking wrong. You can make a South Park trans episode where you make fun of trans people without disparaging the fact they are the gender they identify as. These episodes do not promote a "both sides" approach to transness. They state, fairly unequivocally, that trans people do not exist. There is no other side to that narrative. The trans dolphin episode (and several Ms. Garrison episodes) makes it pretty clear they think that surgical reassignment is grotesque. The trans athlete episode is wrong on multiple different levels.
The trans athlete episode could even fucking exist with that same plotline if they showed that that rhetoric was harmful to both women and trans people and, you know, not a real thing that has ever happened. They could even try to play up that they're trying to be too inclusive or some shit. But because they do not show a real trans athlete in that episode, there is no other side. It is purely a dunk on transwomen in women's sports which is transphobic.
Again, there are episodes where they do their research. But most of the time, they don't, including this. This just happens to be a topic I fully fucking understand.
Like, holy shit, this is easy shit to make fun of. Trans people are so easy to throw jokes at that don't question their gender identity. Fucking just talk to a trans person. You can do the same level of jokes aimed at black people that they do to Token! They are racist jokes, but they don't treat Token like black people are disgusting or awful or other disparaging stereotypes, even if he does fall into several stereotypes.