Can we move past anti-trans jokes? Michelle Buteau and other comics sound the call that it’s time

Halfway through her latest comedy special, Michel Buteau It declares a personal career goal that aligns with what many comedy fans also desire. “I want to make millions and millions of dollars making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard, and entertained. Entertain me!,” Buteau tells her audience at Radio City Music Hall.

As an idea on its own, this is a nice ambition. Read within the full context of the special, it’s a call to shed the old in favor of a better path forward in 2025. Leading up to this act of “coming out,” as she calls it, she speaks of the joy of her black skin. A lesbian friend wields a Theragun, which is not a tool most people would use in Their naughty deeds, for “a little violence on the cat.”

Referring to the joke itself, Bhutto points out, “Most of the time, we laughed. Some of you were judging. Some of you were curious…but everything I’m saying can be done. We can tell jokes and stories and And not to mock an entire society“, she says.

Then comes the shot that cracks loud enough for the back row to catch what you’re putting down. “So if you guys encounter Dave ChappelleCan you tell him that? . . . I don’t think we’ll ever meet Dave, because he’s the GOAT. Which is the GOAT if that means talking about trans people.

“Dave, it’s not funny. It’s serious. Make it funny. That’s it. I can’t believe someone would make millions and millions of dollars making people feel insecure,” she concluded.

“Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall” began streaming 24 hours before 2025 — on Netflix, the same streamer that paid Chappelle millions and millions of dollars for those specials Buteau is referring to.

Her profile has also risen over the same 10 years in which the anti-trans material has become headline-grabbing material for Chappelle, Ricky Gervais and other comedy heavyweights. Presumably the green light other comics need to go wild on trans people also.

In addition to promoting the works of Gervais and Chappelle, it is also home to specials by Hannah Gadsby, one of the first comics to speak out against major media companies that exploit performers who traffic in anti-trans material. Netflix trying to have every way around this topic is as old as what it’s about Equal opportunity attack: In 2017 Chappelle has developed some transphobic jokes that have appeared in his own book On the same Radio City Music Hall stage where Buteau made history as the first female comedian to record there.

I’ve lost count of the number of acts I’ve abandoned the moment an artist starts rambling unfunny about the sanctity of bathrooms or the supposed dissonance of confronting body parts that supposedly don’t match someone’s identity. The world is becoming more evil every day for everyone and for everyone, and increasingly for anyone whose government is making their lives more difficult. Some of us don’t need to be reminded of that when trying to enjoy some jokes.

If there is some light in all this, it is that Bhutto is not alone in taking such a clear stance as we head into a political era fueled by supposed jokes directed at dehumanizing groups of people. It was Gadsby, Jerrod Carmichael and a few other famous comedians Speaking against these materials for years. James Acaster She’s been vocal about her creative bankruptcy in 2021 Which is still doing the rounds.

However, with all due respect, Buteau is also the star of the Netflix brand who headlines its own semi-autobiographical comedy, “Survival of the Thick,” and hosts its hit reality competition, “The Circle.” She also starred in the critically acclaimed comedy “Babes” last year.

Like every other woman in comedy, she does more work for less money than Chappelle or many of her male peers. But her attitude is encouraging to anyone weary of obnoxiously vulgar pieces that fail to masquerade as sharp, transcendent titillation.

Among them is Anthony Jeselnik, who debuted his own show called “Bones and All” in late 2024 with a transgender joke that turned the laziness of the trend on its main owners. Jeselnik’s stage persona is an unapologetic villain whose primary humor relates to the dropping of children and the terrible things that happen to children.

“Look, guys, you have to do it now — it’s in the booklet,” Jeselnik says about the supposedly obligatory transgender joke before launching into a segment that begins with a misdirection before launching into his real (fake) target: pregnant women.

The conclusion is that both trans women and pregnant women are at risk, but it is generally accepted that talking about something terrible happening to an expectant mother is ridiculous. If so, then speculating about what happens to anyone’s body is also absurd and impudent. Only terrible people like Jeselnik’s evil character can get away with that.

“Bones and All” marks Jesselnik’s 20th anniversary in stand-up comedy, and he uses the special as a retrospective and reflection on the low-key comedy bar at a time when podcasters are driving the touring market. (That’s why Joe Rogan is one of comedy’s biggest influencers, and last year he produced a special that can’t be seen on Netflix — he and others never need to test their material in unfriendly rooms.)

“I’m against cancel culture,” Jeselnik said on “Bones and All,” before adding: “This is my impression of a farcical comedic attempt to get at Rogan.”

His transgender-focused editorial is also a take on the man behind the 2021 film “The Closer,” as Jeselnik has confirmed in multiple interviews, though, unlike Buteau, he doesn’t bring up Chappelle’s name.

“…I think it would have been harmful to actually say his name,” he said. Interview with Cracked.comAdding that he hopes the piece will do a small part in crushing “99 percent of trans material.”

As for the remaining one percent, a skilled comedian can navigate the area with thought and good intentions. Seth Meyers’ 2024 stand-up special “Dad Man Walking” took a moment midway through his set to tell the audience, “This is the time of night where a lot of comedians will start doing their anti-trans material. I’m happy to report that I don’t have any anti-trans material.” .

But he still manages to craft an effective observation about the backwards cultural attitude toward trans people.

Seth Meyers: My Father’s a Walking Man (Lloyd Bishop/HBO)“Let’s be honest for a moment,” Myers says. “What would actually be harder for you: if someone in your life decided that they were going to transition to a new gender, or if someone in your life decided that as of tomorrow they were going to be vegetarian?” He makes a convincing case that veganism is a lot harder to digest because it is.

“Like what would make your life harder tomorrow? Because you guys, five years ago, my brother decided to go vegan, and I’ve spent so many Thanksgivings with him, I would 100% prefer to start the next Thanksgiving with my dad walking in and saying, ‘I’m a lady.’ “Now, instead of having another Thanksgiving where my brother keeps asking me, ‘Is there butter in this?’

It’s still a new year, and it would be foolish to predict whether a straight male comedian’s focus on transsexuality will stop in 2025. There has always been a market for giving a helpless audience a false sense of dominance over people, which is understandable to most Americans. Instead of, for example, neighbors or co-workers. Turning someone’s life and courage into a joke is an effective way to achieve this.

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Nor am I so naive as to think that Bhutto’s call for clarity would be a comedic “don’t you have any sense of decency” moment after all these years. Our recent elections let us know that the turning point is many miles down the road.

Buteau’s gentle plea at the end of her set to “live in the shades of gray where there is love and humanity” will go unheard by many. The next president’s closest win was claimed by his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, “for them/them, and President Trump for you.”

But it’s possible some will also sit with what Jeselnik had to offer in his fractured conversation and demonstrate his desires moving forward. Noting that many professionals have found ways to make jokes about race without invoking racial slurs, he said: “I hope people will up their game a little bit, especially around trans material. It doesn’t have to be a lightning rod; it can be a lightning rod.” Just be a topic.

“Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall” and “Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All” are streaming on Netflix. “Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking” airs on Max.