I'm a fan of Daniel Tosh's comedy and his Comedy Central show, Tosh.0. Tosh isn't an insult comic like Lisa Lampenelli, but his schtick is to make slightly offensive jokes that usually targets a certain community. Most of the time I can laugh along with his gay jokes, for example, because they don't often cross the line between funny and foul.
Tosh lampoons internet videos on his show and he tweets back and forth with his followers when the show airs every Wednesday night. He - or at least his production team - is web savvy.
In a recent episode though, the jokes went from gentle ribbing to outright transphobia quickly. Tosh's series of one-liners about "the world's tallest model" starts out with a trans joke but quickly dances away for a more general series of putdowns and snide comments. Sadly, Tosh doubles the length of the segment just so he can make more transphobic jokes.
Tosh: "If you have sex with her, you'd be gay because that dude has a dick!"
Bil: "If I had sex with Tosh, he'd still be a dick (but a little gayer inside)."
Video and an action idea after the jump.
| Tosh.0 | ||||
| World's Tallest Model | ||||
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That's fucked up and beyond the pale. Agree?
Send Tosh a tweet today and tell him so (GLAAD also put out a notice on Tosh.0 this morning and have more action ideas). His show airs Wednesdays at 10:30pm Eastern so it's on tonight. Let's see if we can get his attention, shall we? Send:
Don't be a d--k @danieltosh World's Tallest Model jokes went too far #lgbt #trans http://bit.ly/aC6QRa
What would you say to him? Here's you're chance to speak up about the bit and say whether or not you found it offensive and why.
Since we're linking him here, use the opportunity to leave comments on why you find it offensive. We've had several recent celebrity Twitter gaffes that have been publicized here, so there's a good chance Tosh will end up seeing this post.
So what've you got to say about the bit, Projectors?
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Okay. I'm trans but also a huge South Park fan. I found Ms. Garrison mildly offensive but that character didn't make me stop watching. I watched Daniel Tosh sans trans jokes one evening to see what he was about. I think there may have been one trans joke but let that pass. In his routine without the trans jokes, I found him to be an unfunny little jerk. I don't think I laughed all the way through it.
Remember, I'm a South Park fan and I grew up watching Don Rickles. I'm not averse to insult comedy but this guy isn't an insult comic. This guy is an unhappy little douche who insults people better than him so he doesn't have to see how ugly his own reflection is. This guy is a poisonous, venomous tiny, little man who was probably beaten up when he was a child so rather than dealing with his own feelings of inadequacy, he exports it to the world around him. His show can't end soon enough for me.
And that was before my opinion of him was uber confirmed by the above video.
Margaretpoa | February 17, 2010 9:46 AM
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I'm sorry, but I've never understood Tosh's sense of "humour". This just reinforces that.
Sean Martin | February 17, 2010 11:39 AM
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He's about as funny as a drunk frat boy.
Sam Ritchie | February 17, 2010 12:56 PM
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This guy is an insult comic and an insult to comedy. Not worth the trouble.
Besides, the entire routine is more of an insult to those with gigantism, rather than any transphobic references.
Geena | February 17, 2010 1:51 PM
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This just went too far. I don't understand how this could be perceived as funny or acceptable... He obviously needs the laugh track it came with!
LGBTQ activist | February 18, 2010 2:09 AM
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bil, please:
Back away from personally posting the trans stories. I fear you are trying too hard, Dear. And as a self-respecting trans woman I *never* use the term, "Dear".
SarasNavel | February 18, 2010 3:19 AM
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Wait, what? Now you don't even have to have a specific reason to disagree with bil, he's just not allowed to post about transphobia in the media because...?
After reading comments like that it makes me wonder if people really do want progress or if they just want a reason to whine and moan.
Alex Blaze | February 18, 2010 4:24 PM
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Noooo! It's not that. I do want progress *and* I do believe that bil is moving in the right direction. I've just noticed that since the big RG blow up, there have been some good trans stories here at bilerico and some, well...odd ones. Ones that could've been posted by a non-transsexual that just doesn't grok our experiences but wants to appear on board with us. Dammit, I didn't mean it quite that way; "but wants to *be* on board with us all the same". But it still has the feel of trying too hard, bordering on appropriation (though I feel that is likely inaccurate).
I strongly believe bilerico is better now than before. I stopped dropping by for a bit and considered that by posting here some people I respect would see it as breaking a rather childish "boycott". But then I realized that *this* is where real dialog is taking place. This is where issues such as how the L,G,B, T and others fit together and fight together get resolved or at least discussed openly and honestly.
And Bil deserves credit for that and has my thanks.
But I still think that perhaps he should leave the trans fluff stories alone, at least for a while. You see, his story choices have been these odd little misinterpretations of what the T fight consists of and how we get harmed and seem to result in a very mild backlash. It's the inconsistancy that hurts. Either see us as a full contingent of LGBT, see himself as transgender by light of being gay, or stay clear of something he doesn't quite understand because it is a different experience. Or quietly let us do our thing and learn from it. It's his place & his toys.
Sarasnavel | February 18, 2010 5:43 PM
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