shel

The Transsexual Chofetz Chaim

Mutant, librarian, poet, union rabble rouser, dog, Ashkenazi Jewish. Neuroweird, bodyweird, mostly sleepy.


I write about transformative justice, community, love, Judaism, Neurodivergence, mental health, Disability, geography, rivers, labor, and libraries; through poetry, opinionated essays, and short fiction.


I review Schoolhouse Rock! songs at @PropagandaRock


Website (RSS + Newsletter)
shelraphen.com/

Anonymous Guest asked:

Thank you for answering my farscape question! It was very informative and I appreciated the time and care in the write up. Super agree on the gender politics front. With Chiana specifically, I don't know if it's...intended, I think it is but I'm not entirely sure (none of this is also a counterargument to what you put forward! just thinking about it) - i've gotten the impression that she was a survival sex worker who only flips on the seduction switch when she feels unsafe or there's a goal to achieve. I'm hoping that as the show goes on, she'll feel safer and be be able to explore things more. Thanks again for the effort!

I think the purpose of Farscape is to showcase the talents of the Jim Henson company while having fun and exciting predominantly male fans. It's very much steeped in Geek Cultural which makes sense since it was made for the Sci-Fi channel. I think that watching it now we can read all sorts of depth into it and ways we relate to the characters but that the writers really didn't put as much thought into it all as you are and the point is "wouldn't it be fun if there was a nympho street rat with cleavage." You're supposed to see yourself as John even though many of us see ourselves in Chiana because as trans women we've often had to resort to survival sex work and sugaring to get our needs met. But that's not who wrote the show and not who it was aimed at.

That said, D'argo is hot in ways that particularly appeal to people attracted to men so I guess they anticipated someone besides straight men watching.


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