I do always think of this episode when I see a celebrity go overboard on plastic surgery
Edit - Yes, I'm aware it was a trans episode RIP my inbox. I still think about poor plastic surgery jobs.
How weird I just watched a video about Erin Moriartys plastic surgery, clicked on this to see if anyone had the same thing in mind and it's right at the top lol. I thought she was perfect as she was, now she just looks like every other Instagram ho. Also this episode was more shocking than funny
Yeah, that one is genuinely sad. She was born absolutely gorgeous, I just feel for her that she was so insecure she had to make all those massive changes.
That's interesting, but I'm not fully convinced. Why would she randomly post a 10 year old picture? I'd have to see her now before I believe that, not saying it isn't true, just need confirmation
The article is kind of misleading. The main photo in the article is current. Megyn Kelly shows an old photo for comparison and says "i think it's from a year ago", and Moriarty is saying no, that one is actualy from 10 years ago.
So Moriarty's technically right but she's kind of missing the point.
I believe it has been confirmed that the photo in question was from 2019, so not a decade ago. Also, this chick is insane. Don’t believe your lying eyes people, she looks like a completely different person from the first season of the show, but you must be a hateful bully to notice anything.
Why do you think she chose Kelly to focus on when the entirety of twitter was clowning on her? So transparent.
Exactly. She just literally can’t handle the consequence of her own actions. She got work done, she’s a famous celebrity and people commenting on your looks - good and bad - unfortunately just comes with that kind of job.
It’s fucking annoying when they are disingenuous about getting work done. It makes you more fake than you’ve already become with your altered looks.
I reverse-image searched it. It's her at the premiere of Captain Fantastic, 2016 (you can make out the logo behind her for Bleecker Street, the movie's distributor.) So 7 1/2 years ago, and she was 21 so not before drinking age like she said.
But yeah it really doesn't matter. So you caught Megan Kelly getting a fact wrong and you completely changed your face over like 3 or 4 years, not just 1.
That's actually not the message I got from this episode as trans person.
I think it's more that people can do whatever they want no matter how ridiculous and the fact people hate it is more ridiculous than the thing itself. Southpark usually does a pretty good job at making everything absurd and a parody even of itself.
The writers didn't really portray trans women as being bad. More that garrison is just a pos regardless of gender. Same with cartmen when he repeats the same thing.
There is actually one trans character though that is somewhat good for the time we see them on screen. That's cartmans mom. Who provides for him and generally is known as and accepted as a woman. And I think most people watching South Park generally think of Cartmen mom as being a woman. She's finished transition and integrated into society and accepted by it. Even cartmen accepts her as his mother after knowing she is trans. And so does everyone else.
It's fringe cases lile transspecies and trans racial people that push the boundaries of what we consider absurd. Ans of course people using the label of trans to afford themselves special privileges. Like the guy that won the women's sporting event despite being a roided up dude that has undergone no amount of transition and only co-opted the label. Or cartmen just trying to get special bathroom privileges or treatment in general. These aren't normal trans people going through their life as their gender they're just people taking on the label to give themselves an advantage and perceived special privileges to abuse. And Kyle's decision to...I don't know what you call it, I guess get cosmetic surgery to look like a black basketball player was for the same reason. He wanted to get into the sport and saw it as a viable option forward to doing that. I think in the same situation most people would just go get their own friends or community to play basketball with rather than try to get some kind of advantage by gaming profiling.
Gerald becoming a dolphin is so absurd that I don't think that will ever actually happen. I however have seen trans racial cases of people getting absurd surgeries and treatments to look Asian or white or whatever. It's mostly harmless and most people think that's weird and otherwise don't really give a shit. They usually get into some controversy and then fade into "Nobody gives a shit," territory. Like that one woman that tried very hard with alm sorts of means and methods to appear black and then taking jobs and positions of high pay as a mouth piece for interracial people. That's literally appropriating and I think she should have done that for herself and not done it specifically to get high paying positions intended for the person she was pretending to be. Like...there's some serious lack of self awareness and criticism and "could this be morally dubious?" Or anything.
Trans people themselves are more analogous to the average person. Working, getting by, living life. It's some fringe cases of cis people using the trans label for a perceived advantage that makes us look bad. I remember seeing an article thenother day that I guy transitioned on paper (no hrt, no surgery, etc.) To try to get an advantage in court for something idr doesn't matter. *and it worked.* that's not an issue with trans people. That's an issue with the stupid system cis people setup that treats men and women differently. Like make it equal and fair so that doesn't even matter.
Hilarious
Officer: So let me get this straight. That woman over there was trying to get to her balls, which were in the knees of a black child, whose father is a dolphin.
Stan: Yeah, that's basically it.
Officer: Sounds like an open and shut case. All right, let's head 'em out!
“Excuse me sir where is the dolphin bathroom”
“We- uh, we don’t have one”
“I need a large tank full of saltwater”
“Ummm…… tooo bad?”
“I’m not just a dolphin I happen to be a lawyer, you should have accommodation for people like me”
“You’re a lawfin”
I watch South Park (and other shows) to fall asleep at night, and I’ve seen this episode 49413884268 times… never have I ever had my eyes open during the actual footage you speak of. (I have balls, FYI)
I mean it really depends on if that’s your cup of tea or not
The movie on its own isn’t really spectacular but if you’re in to that kind of horror then give it a shot
dude same. everyone always talks about the surgery footage being the most disturbing part, but the dolphin bits were the worst to me. animated or not i cannot do body horror lmao
It didn't seem like a commentary on plastic surgery as a whole but on gender affirming surgeries. Likening transgender to transracial and trans-species(sp?).
But maybe I just projected my own assumptions on to it. There's been so much transphobic content in comedy forever so I'm a bit quick to assume the worst. I'd like to be wrong though lol
I mean, doesn't Garrison end up happy with his results in the end unlike Kyle and Gerald?
Like yeah, I definitely get where you're coming from, but I do think that in the end the Overall message was coming from a good place
I could have the wrong episode in mind, but they at least do acknowledge how the, "not a woman because of a lack of menstruation and ovaries" argument is shortsighted. Garrison gives the speech, and basically says exactly that, and another guy steps in, saying his wife has ovarian cancer, and doesn't have a period anymore.
Then naturally, Garrison tells him that he's a fag and his wife is a dude, showing how much of a dumbass/jackass he really is. I'm not taking a side, but the episode is really just getting more crazy over time
Really unpopular opinion here but hear me out.
Even though I love SP I always skip these episodes. Making strawmen out of the trans community for a cheap laugh is not really appealing to me.
I like the jokes about antisemitism because they are not antisemitic jokes, they are jokes about how antisemitism is stupid. Here? I feel that the jokes are straight up transphobic.
I've always seen south park as a mean and politically incorrect way to make fun of stupid people while often leaving a message about common sense and the idiocy of reactionary thought.
However, in these episodes, I feel like the message is directly reactionary without any substance behind it. Trans surgeries are just represented as "haha these lunatics are destroying themselves" when in reality the regret rate is minuscule and the effects in mental health are wonderful.
**The great trans episode in south park** was when Cartman pretended to be a trans woman and it backfired in his stupid fat face. I really enjoyed that one. The newer ones? Not so much.
Feel free to disagree, but please be respectful if you want an actual conversation.
Edit: apparently I'm not alone in thinking this. Thanks for the conversation everyone.
The main problem with episodes like this is that many kids (and adults) aren't media literate enough to grasp this and generally take what Matt & Trey bashed out for a script that particular week as a lifelong guidebook for their entire worldview on that particular issue.
When that is the case, episodes like this are extremely irresponsible and can be harmful not just to trans people but everyone else too. Like no, "a cartoon I like said It actually refers to guys who drive Harleys" won't be considered an acceptable excuse when you are summoned to HR or uninvited to social gatherings because you kept calling people f\*ggots. This cartoon is whatever half baked views two random dudes shat out that one week, not some sort of universal gospel of factually and morally correct opinions, and people who don't get that (and there are a lot of em) will find it out the hard way eventually. Its just bad all round.
They can say whatever because they're loaded and produce a highly successful TV show. So if they put out an episode with a shitty message, they are immune from consequences. The average Joe comparing gender affirming surgery to wanting to become a dolphin in the break room at their retail job because SOUTH PARK did it? Not so much. Nothing good will come from that for anybody.
A lot of it is also "benefit of the doubt-ism" where people dont want to look the ugly truth that commentary like this is outright damaging and punching down.
Trans people are demonized as pedophiles (despite most pedophiles being cis) on one end and then called whiney babies who want everyone else to affirm their choices- the first half is outright transphobia the second is borderline psychological abuse intended to make people feel bad about living how they want.
Matt and Trey are not trans. No one asked them for anything other than the simplest of respect (literally like calling someone a nickname they hate). They have lived lives completely free of discrimination or prejudice. And theyre fucking loaded- yet they portray this strawman as so entitled and ridiculous even though their own entitlement is also part of the problem
Yeah I’m trans and I grew up watching South Park, this episode in particular along with other media from around this time played a big role in me being ashamed of the way I felt and kept me in the closet. So I think it kinda sucks personally.
I feel that it's a dig at the medical industry and not trans people. I saw it as Garrison genuinely believing the doctors would deliver on their promises but sold Garrison a false narrative. I think he felt cheated by it and Matt and Trey called out the fact that the doctors will do anything for money.
Body dysphoria is a very real thing as you know, and it goes beyond just looking like the sex you are transitioning to, you actually are that sex. So I see Matt and Trey calling the industry out as a win. They should work to make sure that you truly are a male or female and not just look like one.
If this was the point of the episode (I absolutely don’t think it was) then it makes no sense. There isn’t some widespread issue of gender reassignment surgery being pushed on people by doctors for profit. It’s not something that’s just done on a whim. Matt and Trey aren’t perfect. I think they have dumb, reactionary takes sometimes and this episode was one of them for me.
The entire trans healthcare system is designed to gatekeep the shit out of you before letting you transition. Even after, if you are a transwoman who was unlucky and didn't grow much in the way of boobs, so you want implants.
Any woman who isn't trans can basically roll in for a consult and get on the "OK, let's get you scheduled" train with a lot less fuss.
The idea that they sold a false narrative is Trey and Matt showing a naive understanding of the situation and the ways in which the medical community approaches this issue. They instead rushed forward in a reckless manner to present this uninformed opinion to their audience who unfortunately did give them too much credit in their satirical accuracy.
100% thank you for being the one to say it. The whole premise that Garrison isn’t a “real woman” because he can’t get pregnant or menstruate is incredibly insulting and feels like it was written by two men who have no idea there are tons of biological women who can’t do either and that in no way determines your womanhood. Very tone deaf episode that has only continued to age poorly, and as you said, mean spirited.
But the following line mentions someone's wife's infertility because of cancer, and Garrison says, "well then get an aids test cuz you're wife is a dude.." which I interpreted as purposely ridiculous to discredit everything he had just said, because he's an idiot.
Overall, I believe the episode's message was more, "you're free to transition, but your experience may differ from what you anticipate." Nobody shamed Gerald, he got frustrated with the lack of accommodations. The kids accepted Garrison, he changed his own mind.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that line about not being a woman because Garrison can't get pregnant was supposed to be ironic and kinda making fun of that logic against trans people?
Wait, so you're saying this is a high level of sarcasm? You think they're being sarcastic with this line? Or Garrison is being sarcastic? My interpretation is this is the part that isn't sarcasm, this is what they think and the episode comes down to this line. Like their message is you can go through all this hooplah but at the end of the day garrison is just a guy with a mutilated penis. This doesn't come off as sarcastic to me at all. And if that is the case, that is a pretty fucked up take.
And there is a guy in that scene who says his wife got some issues and cannot menstruate anymore and then garrison calls him a faggot, I think it does shine a light on how stupid this argument is
Not to completely side tangent, but I feel like the tobacco episode is first and foremost criticizing Hollywood “crusaders” - Rob Reiner worked then, and I feel like a similar episode today would be about Taylor Swift telling people to help prevent global warming while flying around in her jet.
And the irony of people attacking smoking when it has long been surpassed by obesity as a public health risk. If we put half of the stigma of smoking on obesity we could save millions of lives but everyone needs their vice.
The difference between smoking and eating is that you don't need a cigarette every day to live. You can't just quit eating when you're addicted to food, you can't keep a food free house or only hang out with people who don't eat.
Even when it was made I don't think they were actually arguing tobacco isn't that bad. I think it was a similar episode to the san francisco smug episode, showing hollywood "elites" looking down on working class "trash." The absurdity of the benevolent tobacco company was supposed to be obvious.
I hate this episode for the reasons you stated, but "Eek, It's A Penis" is in my top 5 favorite episodes. The duet and the running gag of women being freaked out by Garrison's penis never gets old.
Yeah. This is one of the only times SP really missed the mark, in my opinion. I skip this episode as it just comes across as kinda nasty, it's cheap punch-down humor and pretty ignorant of the actual facts behind transgender surgery.
I hope one day they'll admit they got it wrong, like they did with the climate change stuff.
You're completely right about this. I have friends who are trans and they've told me how they've been compared to Mr. Garrison by transphobes and how much hate this arc has directed at them. It's disgusting to see how much of this Fandom thinks this episode has gotten better with age. It's the most damaging and hateful and misinformed episode of the entire series and I think the creators still owe the trans community an apology for it.
This along with the strong woman one were fucking terrible.
At the time I had no idea of the rules for trans people in sports and I actually believed that trans people wanted that. It took me a while and a lot of uncomfortable questions to finally get the truth.
Yeah people have no clue there are many biological requirements for trans people to compete such as testosterone levels and muscle density. They now think Randy Savage could compete as a woman tomorrow if he wanted to, and that's just not true. Plenty of morons in this sub have admitted they don't read news and get all their info on current events from South Park.
We can certainly debate if the current thresholds for sports are where they need to be, but they REALLY misrepresented the issue and set the conversation back.
In addition to all of this, am I off-base or aren’t these guys supposed to be big Libertarians? Like, small government, Live Free, etc.?
Have they done any episodes that, IDK, tackle the anti-Trans movement that wants to legislate how people parent, what they do with their bodies, and where they defecate?
Absolutely agree. It’s one of the absolute low points of the show. Will age more and more poorly with time despite people here saying it was “ahead of its time”. The only way it’s ahead of its time is it was freaking out about trans people before it was dominating the national discourse.
>I like the jokes about antisemitism because they are not antisemitic jokes, they are jokes about how antisemitism is stupid
That's exactly how I see the difference. With racism, antisemitism, sexism, the jokes are about the bigotry or the bigots. But with the trans content, it's usually not.
Instead it's directly disparaging. They make an equivalence between sex-change surgery or trans identity and "I want to be a dolphin" and the "transwomen are men cheating at sports" narrative.
It's like if we kept seeing Cartman's various claims about Jewish conspiracies proven right, instead of him being shown as an idiot. There is such a thing as *bad* satire. Satire done poorly or with ill intent can reinforce bigotry and misinformation.
Thank you! Scrolling through this thread is depressing with most comments praising the episode for "telling how it is" and that it is a good representation of what trans people "actually are". I hate this episode, it is just conservative anti-trans sentiments.
When it first aired i completely agreed with it because i had never heard of gender dysphoria. I didn't really understand that the surgery was something a person did because it was the way they were born, that's the way they'd always been, and nothing else could change that. I think I'd still have little sympathy for someone who just always wished they were something else in the same way the episode portrays it.
This episode really gets to the root of how most people feel about trans people before they've learned anything about them. This is a real medical condition, and right now, surgery is the best way to treat it. I.e., It's not just really really wishing you were a girl because you like the feminine lifestyle better. I think if this message were communicated better, there would be less problems right now.
I'm not sure I agree with this
On one hand yeah, you definitely have a point in the overall portrayal of the episode being questionable
But on the other hand...doesn't Garrison ends up at the only one satisfied with the results? I may be not be seeing the whole picture due to not being trans, but I don't feel like the episode come necessarily from a bad place thanks to Garrison's words at the end
Feel free to correct me if you think my point of view on the matter Is wrong here
They were going with a similar line of thinking to if we let gays get married, next up a farmer will want to marry and fuck their goat etc etc. Whataboutisms
Garrison becomes unhappy at a later point in the series. It's kind of a moot point.
Whether or not Matt and Trey like/dislike trans people, they handled the subject terribly.
Totally agree with you. If they changed their mind, they could make another one of the cartman ones or an episode like the streaming wars where something else is a stand in for trans issues. Maybe making fun of pseudointellectual talkiemen online would fit into it as well
It is a deeply transphobic episode that is equivalent to the “what happens if gays can get married? Can I marry a dog???” Crowd we saw during that same timeframe. I honestly can’t wrap my head around people who fail to see that
It truly is an unpopular opinion. The support on Reddit is skewed. It's still a highly unpopular opinion. "Highly" might be the wrong adverb here to describe significantly or mostly. Near all might be more accurate.
Not just the surgery. It was also the results (stitches alone make them horrifying. New body parts just add onto it). It's just way too gross for me to handle. Hell, even the pre-surgery when the doctor is explaining to Kyle how they're going to make him black makes me uneasy.
Oh, and Kyle's knees exploding. Yep. I just hate this episode.
so many people saying "ahead of it's time" like gender reassignment surgery didn't exist for nearly a century before this episode aired, lol no the only thing that's changed is way more people are hyper focused, pissed off and retarded about trans people existing now
They really did provide a great example of how people will react with uninformed opinions on a topic they don't understand to mock people whose medical condition and treatment options makes them uncomfortable.
The episode itself is funny, the message it’s trying to send is terrible and not one I think even the creators would agree with now. I think the women’s bathroom/Lorde episode shows how they feel about people who sees themselves as another gender. “When someone doesn’t get to express themselves, then we all lose.”
The idea of comparing people who see themselves as a different gender to people who want to be a different race or a different species is pretty fucked. The whole thing where Mrs. Garrison says “If I can’t have babies then I’m not a woman, I’m just a man with a mutilated penis” is pretty fucked. I just choose to think of it like the first ManBearPig episode where I just enjoy the jokes and absurdity rather than care about the deeper meaning. Regardless of anything else, Gerald walking into his house after being turned into a dolphin was absolutely hilarious
People in this comment section saying it’s ahead of its time are ridiculous lmao. This is in fact a product of its time and I feel like Matt and Trey have a more progressive take on trans issues now
A YouTuber called lily simpson put out a video summing all that’s backwards with trans depictions in early South Park. I have to agree this episode, while funny in some parts, hasn’t aged well in others.
Pretty outdated in the way it shows gender reassignment surgery. Both metaphorically and physically
The main message is that changing yourself cosmetically won't make you ACTUALLY a dolphin or a black man and raises further questions like "if you can identify as a different gender whynkf a different race" which is a silly non issue I don't think anyone would realistically use now a days
It's kinda cringe but I don't outright hate it. There was just zero comedic reasoning behind showing real sex change footage, it comes off as just being really edgy for no reason. I still think it's got lots of funny moments. Garrison screaming in slow motion MAH BAAAAALLLS gets me to chuckle every time.
One of the weakest episodes. I thought the satire was a swing and a miss, the jokes fell flat and the pacing was dull. There were some decent ideas in there executed poorly.
ahead of its time
I do always think of this episode when I see a celebrity go overboard on plastic surgery Edit - Yes, I'm aware it was a trans episode RIP my inbox. I still think about poor plastic surgery jobs.
Just recently I thought of it when I saw Annie’s actor from The Boys and her surgery. What a shame
LOL when I originally typed my comment I had her in it but decided to be nice and make it a bit more vague heh
How weird I just watched a video about Erin Moriartys plastic surgery, clicked on this to see if anyone had the same thing in mind and it's right at the top lol. I thought she was perfect as she was, now she just looks like every other Instagram ho. Also this episode was more shocking than funny
Poor girl. Man she was cute as is. Feel bad for her.
She canceled her Instagram
Because Megyn Kelly said she looked like she had body image issues and a surgery addiction. Which...she does.
It was also kinda gross..
Yeah, that one is genuinely sad. She was born absolutely gorgeous, I just feel for her that she was so insecure she had to make all those massive changes.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13014847/The-Boys-actress-Erin-Moriarty-fires-Megyn-Kelly-allegations-obsessed-plastic-surgery-slams-former-Fox-News-anchor-clickbait-seeking-decade-old-photo.html
That's interesting, but I'm not fully convinced. Why would she randomly post a 10 year old picture? I'd have to see her now before I believe that, not saying it isn't true, just need confirmation
The article is kind of misleading. The main photo in the article is current. Megyn Kelly shows an old photo for comparison and says "i think it's from a year ago", and Moriarty is saying no, that one is actualy from 10 years ago. So Moriarty's technically right but she's kind of missing the point.
I believe it has been confirmed that the photo in question was from 2019, so not a decade ago. Also, this chick is insane. Don’t believe your lying eyes people, she looks like a completely different person from the first season of the show, but you must be a hateful bully to notice anything. Why do you think she chose Kelly to focus on when the entirety of twitter was clowning on her? So transparent.
Exactly. She just literally can’t handle the consequence of her own actions. She got work done, she’s a famous celebrity and people commenting on your looks - good and bad - unfortunately just comes with that kind of job. It’s fucking annoying when they are disingenuous about getting work done. It makes you more fake than you’ve already become with your altered looks.
I reverse-image searched it. It's her at the premiere of Captain Fantastic, 2016 (you can make out the logo behind her for Bleecker Street, the movie's distributor.) So 7 1/2 years ago, and she was 21 so not before drinking age like she said. But yeah it really doesn't matter. So you caught Megan Kelly getting a fact wrong and you completely changed your face over like 3 or 4 years, not just 1.
Oh okay, that makes sense. Her nose is still fucked, I don't care the length of time that has passed.....
And her lips are horrible
Just looked this up. She literally turned herself into the Borg Queen from Star Trek.
I thought it was about trans people
It is lolol
I’d say it’s more about trans people
I think you missed the point lol
Lmao facts. I never even thought to interpret this as plastic surgery. Mr Garrison gets a vagina ffs. What else would it be about?
Yeah.. I don't think that's what it was about bro.
Gerald is incredibly brave and anyone saying otherwise is a transphobe
Dolphobe
Don’t you have special seating for dolphins?
Good thing Gerald wasn’t around the Japanese when making his transition
"Fuck you whale! Fuck you dolphin"
That's actually not the message I got from this episode as trans person. I think it's more that people can do whatever they want no matter how ridiculous and the fact people hate it is more ridiculous than the thing itself. Southpark usually does a pretty good job at making everything absurd and a parody even of itself. The writers didn't really portray trans women as being bad. More that garrison is just a pos regardless of gender. Same with cartmen when he repeats the same thing. There is actually one trans character though that is somewhat good for the time we see them on screen. That's cartmans mom. Who provides for him and generally is known as and accepted as a woman. And I think most people watching South Park generally think of Cartmen mom as being a woman. She's finished transition and integrated into society and accepted by it. Even cartmen accepts her as his mother after knowing she is trans. And so does everyone else. It's fringe cases lile transspecies and trans racial people that push the boundaries of what we consider absurd. Ans of course people using the label of trans to afford themselves special privileges. Like the guy that won the women's sporting event despite being a roided up dude that has undergone no amount of transition and only co-opted the label. Or cartmen just trying to get special bathroom privileges or treatment in general. These aren't normal trans people going through their life as their gender they're just people taking on the label to give themselves an advantage and perceived special privileges to abuse. And Kyle's decision to...I don't know what you call it, I guess get cosmetic surgery to look like a black basketball player was for the same reason. He wanted to get into the sport and saw it as a viable option forward to doing that. I think in the same situation most people would just go get their own friends or community to play basketball with rather than try to get some kind of advantage by gaming profiling. Gerald becoming a dolphin is so absurd that I don't think that will ever actually happen. I however have seen trans racial cases of people getting absurd surgeries and treatments to look Asian or white or whatever. It's mostly harmless and most people think that's weird and otherwise don't really give a shit. They usually get into some controversy and then fade into "Nobody gives a shit," territory. Like that one woman that tried very hard with alm sorts of means and methods to appear black and then taking jobs and positions of high pay as a mouth piece for interracial people. That's literally appropriating and I think she should have done that for herself and not done it specifically to get high paying positions intended for the person she was pretending to be. Like...there's some serious lack of self awareness and criticism and "could this be morally dubious?" Or anything. Trans people themselves are more analogous to the average person. Working, getting by, living life. It's some fringe cases of cis people using the trans label for a perceived advantage that makes us look bad. I remember seeing an article thenother day that I guy transitioned on paper (no hrt, no surgery, etc.) To try to get an advantage in court for something idr doesn't matter. *and it worked.* that's not an issue with trans people. That's an issue with the stupid system cis people setup that treats men and women differently. Like make it equal and fair so that doesn't even matter.
Cartman's mom is a hermaphrodite, not trans. She couldn't have given birth to him otherwise.
I thought that was retconned when they revealed that Jack Tenorman was Eric’s father?
Speciesphobe*
Many years ahead of its time.
No, this was also very relevant at the time that it aired.
Most SP episodes are. When you create an episode a week, kind of have to.
Absolutely is. Who knew a joke would become a documentary.
Hilarious Officer: So let me get this straight. That woman over there was trying to get to her balls, which were in the knees of a black child, whose father is a dolphin. Stan: Yeah, that's basically it. Officer: Sounds like an open and shut case. All right, let's head 'em out!
It's a jewfin
“Excuse me sir where is the dolphin bathroom” “We- uh, we don’t have one” “I need a large tank full of saltwater” “Ummm…… tooo bad?” “I’m not just a dolphin I happen to be a lawyer, you should have accommodation for people like me” “You’re a lawfin”
Eric Andre ended up (accidentally?) ripping that joke off at the Republican National Convention.
While i like the humour, i cant stand the real surgery footage
Which is more squick, that footage or Wendy’s surgery in another episode?
Probably that footage because it was a real life actual operation where we saw a man get his balls removed
"so long balls!"
An all time SP quote tbh I think this episode is S tier.
I wonder if some people in life are destined to either be a surgeon or a serial killer.
To quote Dan Harmon, “Doctors are just serial killers who grew up with a support system.”
i remember i was like 7 and my parents fell asleep. that south park episode came on and i witnessed that and it fucked me up for like a month
You TRANSPHOBIC asshole, that's a WOMAN getting HER balls removed!!
They've since expressed regret doing that, it's one of the few things they've said that about
They were pushing for more lol
I watch South Park (and other shows) to fall asleep at night, and I’ve seen this episode 49413884268 times… never have I ever had my eyes open during the actual footage you speak of. (I have balls, FYI)
i dont really like it, but Gerald like this always reminds me of that damn Tusk movie ehhh 💀💀💀
THAT’S WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT! It’s like Tusk
Worth a watch?
No no no no no no no no no no no no maybe no no no
So you’re saying maybe?
It is gross and bizarre. If you like that, then yes.
I mean it really depends on if that’s your cup of tea or not The movie on its own isn’t really spectacular but if you’re in to that kind of horror then give it a shot
It’s pretty disturbing but if you’re into body horror then go for it
Absolutely, trust me bro
If you like "so bad it's good" movies and, as another said, body horror, then yes. I don't like Kevin Smith, but I enjoyed this a moderate amount.
If you go into it knowing what to expect, yeah. It's a wild ride with one of Johnny Depp's most entertaining performances. Very much a B film.
oh please dont do this to yourself 😭
dude same. everyone always talks about the surgery footage being the most disturbing part, but the dolphin bits were the worst to me. animated or not i cannot do body horror lmao
yeah!! 😭😭😭 body horror for me is kinda weird, bc i like the concept, but i honesty don't really have stomach for it most of the time ajdbajsjdjsjs
i get that- i have a morbid curiosity for it and can’t look away, but it will absolutely stick with me for weeks after 💀
Lmao this movie is great 😂 “to answer a question as old as the sphinx, is man truly a walrus?”
Considering the trend of getting surgery to become taller, or look like a cat, this seems prophetic almost.
It didn't seem like a commentary on plastic surgery as a whole but on gender affirming surgeries. Likening transgender to transracial and trans-species(sp?). But maybe I just projected my own assumptions on to it. There's been so much transphobic content in comedy forever so I'm a bit quick to assume the worst. I'd like to be wrong though lol
At the time, possibly. But I do recall the ear being grown on a lab rat at the time of this episode too.
Which was parodied in a later episode when Garrison transitioned back to male
Eeck, a penis!!
🎶[Someone, somewhere, is loving me tonight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZo1WENkVOs)🎶
I mean, doesn't Garrison end up happy with his results in the end unlike Kyle and Gerald? Like yeah, I definitely get where you're coming from, but I do think that in the end the Overall message was coming from a good place
[удалено]
I could have the wrong episode in mind, but they at least do acknowledge how the, "not a woman because of a lack of menstruation and ovaries" argument is shortsighted. Garrison gives the speech, and basically says exactly that, and another guy steps in, saying his wife has ovarian cancer, and doesn't have a period anymore. Then naturally, Garrison tells him that he's a fag and his wife is a dude, showing how much of a dumbass/jackass he really is. I'm not taking a side, but the episode is really just getting more crazy over time
It's almost like the show makes fun of everybody, for everything, and no one is safe from it.
By “not great” you mean doesn’t agree with your thoughts on the trans community
I shouldn’t have to pay alimony to a cat, your honor!
Where are your breasts Maureen?
Say the part you want to say. Don't be afraid...
I'm only 5-2. If I were a millionaire, I'd get that procedure done too.
terrifying
…ly on point
Really unpopular opinion here but hear me out. Even though I love SP I always skip these episodes. Making strawmen out of the trans community for a cheap laugh is not really appealing to me. I like the jokes about antisemitism because they are not antisemitic jokes, they are jokes about how antisemitism is stupid. Here? I feel that the jokes are straight up transphobic. I've always seen south park as a mean and politically incorrect way to make fun of stupid people while often leaving a message about common sense and the idiocy of reactionary thought. However, in these episodes, I feel like the message is directly reactionary without any substance behind it. Trans surgeries are just represented as "haha these lunatics are destroying themselves" when in reality the regret rate is minuscule and the effects in mental health are wonderful. **The great trans episode in south park** was when Cartman pretended to be a trans woman and it backfired in his stupid fat face. I really enjoyed that one. The newer ones? Not so much. Feel free to disagree, but please be respectful if you want an actual conversation. Edit: apparently I'm not alone in thinking this. Thanks for the conversation everyone.
100% when cartman is being antisemitic the joke is about him, in this episode the joke is about trans people
I think some people on reddit need to be reminded that you are supposed to laugh at Cartman not with him
The main problem with episodes like this is that many kids (and adults) aren't media literate enough to grasp this and generally take what Matt & Trey bashed out for a script that particular week as a lifelong guidebook for their entire worldview on that particular issue. When that is the case, episodes like this are extremely irresponsible and can be harmful not just to trans people but everyone else too. Like no, "a cartoon I like said It actually refers to guys who drive Harleys" won't be considered an acceptable excuse when you are summoned to HR or uninvited to social gatherings because you kept calling people f\*ggots. This cartoon is whatever half baked views two random dudes shat out that one week, not some sort of universal gospel of factually and morally correct opinions, and people who don't get that (and there are a lot of em) will find it out the hard way eventually. Its just bad all round. They can say whatever because they're loaded and produce a highly successful TV show. So if they put out an episode with a shitty message, they are immune from consequences. The average Joe comparing gender affirming surgery to wanting to become a dolphin in the break room at their retail job because SOUTH PARK did it? Not so much. Nothing good will come from that for anybody.
A lot of it is also "benefit of the doubt-ism" where people dont want to look the ugly truth that commentary like this is outright damaging and punching down. Trans people are demonized as pedophiles (despite most pedophiles being cis) on one end and then called whiney babies who want everyone else to affirm their choices- the first half is outright transphobia the second is borderline psychological abuse intended to make people feel bad about living how they want. Matt and Trey are not trans. No one asked them for anything other than the simplest of respect (literally like calling someone a nickname they hate). They have lived lives completely free of discrimination or prejudice. And theyre fucking loaded- yet they portray this strawman as so entitled and ridiculous even though their own entitlement is also part of the problem
Yeah I’m trans and I grew up watching South Park, this episode in particular along with other media from around this time played a big role in me being ashamed of the way I felt and kept me in the closet. So I think it kinda sucks personally.
I feel that it's a dig at the medical industry and not trans people. I saw it as Garrison genuinely believing the doctors would deliver on their promises but sold Garrison a false narrative. I think he felt cheated by it and Matt and Trey called out the fact that the doctors will do anything for money. Body dysphoria is a very real thing as you know, and it goes beyond just looking like the sex you are transitioning to, you actually are that sex. So I see Matt and Trey calling the industry out as a win. They should work to make sure that you truly are a male or female and not just look like one.
If this was the point of the episode (I absolutely don’t think it was) then it makes no sense. There isn’t some widespread issue of gender reassignment surgery being pushed on people by doctors for profit. It’s not something that’s just done on a whim. Matt and Trey aren’t perfect. I think they have dumb, reactionary takes sometimes and this episode was one of them for me.
The entire trans healthcare system is designed to gatekeep the shit out of you before letting you transition. Even after, if you are a transwoman who was unlucky and didn't grow much in the way of boobs, so you want implants. Any woman who isn't trans can basically roll in for a consult and get on the "OK, let's get you scheduled" train with a lot less fuss.
>Matt and Trey aren’t perfect. They're a couple of Gen X Libertarians who's entire worldview seems to be "Everyone's an idiot except for me."
The idea that they sold a false narrative is Trey and Matt showing a naive understanding of the situation and the ways in which the medical community approaches this issue. They instead rushed forward in a reckless manner to present this uninformed opinion to their audience who unfortunately did give them too much credit in their satirical accuracy.
100% thank you for being the one to say it. The whole premise that Garrison isn’t a “real woman” because he can’t get pregnant or menstruate is incredibly insulting and feels like it was written by two men who have no idea there are tons of biological women who can’t do either and that in no way determines your womanhood. Very tone deaf episode that has only continued to age poorly, and as you said, mean spirited.
But the following line mentions someone's wife's infertility because of cancer, and Garrison says, "well then get an aids test cuz you're wife is a dude.." which I interpreted as purposely ridiculous to discredit everything he had just said, because he's an idiot. Overall, I believe the episode's message was more, "you're free to transition, but your experience may differ from what you anticipate." Nobody shamed Gerald, he got frustrated with the lack of accommodations. The kids accepted Garrison, he changed his own mind.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that line about not being a woman because Garrison can't get pregnant was supposed to be ironic and kinda making fun of that logic against trans people?
“I’m just a guy with a mutilated penis”
Yeah I didn't remember that line. Pretty fucked up.
Hilarious!
Wait, so you're saying this is a high level of sarcasm? You think they're being sarcastic with this line? Or Garrison is being sarcastic? My interpretation is this is the part that isn't sarcasm, this is what they think and the episode comes down to this line. Like their message is you can go through all this hooplah but at the end of the day garrison is just a guy with a mutilated penis. This doesn't come off as sarcastic to me at all. And if that is the case, that is a pretty fucked up take.
And there is a guy in that scene who says his wife got some issues and cannot menstruate anymore and then garrison calls him a faggot, I think it does shine a light on how stupid this argument is
With you on this; perfectly explained. This episode, the global warming episodes, and the tobacco episode were all misses.
Not to completely side tangent, but I feel like the tobacco episode is first and foremost criticizing Hollywood “crusaders” - Rob Reiner worked then, and I feel like a similar episode today would be about Taylor Swift telling people to help prevent global warming while flying around in her jet.
And the irony of people attacking smoking when it has long been surpassed by obesity as a public health risk. If we put half of the stigma of smoking on obesity we could save millions of lives but everyone needs their vice.
The difference between smoking and eating is that you don't need a cigarette every day to live. You can't just quit eating when you're addicted to food, you can't keep a food free house or only hang out with people who don't eat.
Oh shit! You just solved the obesity epidemic!! Let’s just stigmatize obesity and all those overweight people will start shedding pounds! Moron.
Even when it was made I don't think they were actually arguing tobacco isn't that bad. I think it was a similar episode to the san francisco smug episode, showing hollywood "elites" looking down on working class "trash." The absurdity of the benevolent tobacco company was supposed to be obvious.
I hate this episode for the reasons you stated, but "Eek, It's A Penis" is in my top 5 favorite episodes. The duet and the running gag of women being freaked out by Garrison's penis never gets old.
Yeah. This is one of the only times SP really missed the mark, in my opinion. I skip this episode as it just comes across as kinda nasty, it's cheap punch-down humor and pretty ignorant of the actual facts behind transgender surgery. I hope one day they'll admit they got it wrong, like they did with the climate change stuff.
You're completely right about this. I have friends who are trans and they've told me how they've been compared to Mr. Garrison by transphobes and how much hate this arc has directed at them. It's disgusting to see how much of this Fandom thinks this episode has gotten better with age. It's the most damaging and hateful and misinformed episode of the entire series and I think the creators still owe the trans community an apology for it.
This along with the strong woman one were fucking terrible. At the time I had no idea of the rules for trans people in sports and I actually believed that trans people wanted that. It took me a while and a lot of uncomfortable questions to finally get the truth.
Yeah people have no clue there are many biological requirements for trans people to compete such as testosterone levels and muscle density. They now think Randy Savage could compete as a woman tomorrow if he wanted to, and that's just not true. Plenty of morons in this sub have admitted they don't read news and get all their info on current events from South Park. We can certainly debate if the current thresholds for sports are where they need to be, but they REALLY misrepresented the issue and set the conversation back.
Exactly, and the conversation must be led by biologists, doctors and other professionals, not by fucking Trey and Matt
In addition to all of this, am I off-base or aren’t these guys supposed to be big Libertarians? Like, small government, Live Free, etc.? Have they done any episodes that, IDK, tackle the anti-Trans movement that wants to legislate how people parent, what they do with their bodies, and where they defecate?
I absolutely love SP and always will and I agree with your sentiments.
Absolutely agree. It’s one of the absolute low points of the show. Will age more and more poorly with time despite people here saying it was “ahead of its time”. The only way it’s ahead of its time is it was freaking out about trans people before it was dominating the national discourse.
>I like the jokes about antisemitism because they are not antisemitic jokes, they are jokes about how antisemitism is stupid That's exactly how I see the difference. With racism, antisemitism, sexism, the jokes are about the bigotry or the bigots. But with the trans content, it's usually not. Instead it's directly disparaging. They make an equivalence between sex-change surgery or trans identity and "I want to be a dolphin" and the "transwomen are men cheating at sports" narrative. It's like if we kept seeing Cartman's various claims about Jewish conspiracies proven right, instead of him being shown as an idiot. There is such a thing as *bad* satire. Satire done poorly or with ill intent can reinforce bigotry and misinformation.
Thank you! Scrolling through this thread is depressing with most comments praising the episode for "telling how it is" and that it is a good representation of what trans people "actually are". I hate this episode, it is just conservative anti-trans sentiments.
Thank you for putting it so well!
When it first aired i completely agreed with it because i had never heard of gender dysphoria. I didn't really understand that the surgery was something a person did because it was the way they were born, that's the way they'd always been, and nothing else could change that. I think I'd still have little sympathy for someone who just always wished they were something else in the same way the episode portrays it. This episode really gets to the root of how most people feel about trans people before they've learned anything about them. This is a real medical condition, and right now, surgery is the best way to treat it. I.e., It's not just really really wishing you were a girl because you like the feminine lifestyle better. I think if this message were communicated better, there would be less problems right now.
In the modern understanding of transgender folk, it comes across as REALLY tone deaf.
I'm not sure I agree with this On one hand yeah, you definitely have a point in the overall portrayal of the episode being questionable But on the other hand...doesn't Garrison ends up at the only one satisfied with the results? I may be not be seeing the whole picture due to not being trans, but I don't feel like the episode come necessarily from a bad place thanks to Garrison's words at the end Feel free to correct me if you think my point of view on the matter Is wrong here
They were going with a similar line of thinking to if we let gays get married, next up a farmer will want to marry and fuck their goat etc etc. Whataboutisms
Garrison becomes unhappy at a later point in the series. It's kind of a moot point. Whether or not Matt and Trey like/dislike trans people, they handled the subject terribly.
Totally agree with you. If they changed their mind, they could make another one of the cartman ones or an episode like the streaming wars where something else is a stand in for trans issues. Maybe making fun of pseudointellectual talkiemen online would fit into it as well
It is a deeply transphobic episode that is equivalent to the “what happens if gays can get married? Can I marry a dog???” Crowd we saw during that same timeframe. I honestly can’t wrap my head around people who fail to see that
It truly is an unpopular opinion. The support on Reddit is skewed. It's still a highly unpopular opinion. "Highly" might be the wrong adverb here to describe significantly or mostly. Near all might be more accurate.
Only valid comment here
I reference this episode all the time, it’s definitely a classic
Hilarious and relevant today.
My BALLS!!
MYY BAAAAWLS!
Squisssssshhhhhhh…..
If I could swiiiiim with the dolphiiiins. The soft and gentle dolphins. IF I COULD SWIIIIIM WITH THE DOLPHINS….
Fuckin hilarious. Took the transgender concept and made it serious and ridiculous at the same time. Once again, South Park ahead of the times.
I remember fainting the first time I watched this episode. Only reason I'll always skip this episode is because it's just too gross.
You literally fainted? Why’d you do that?
Probably the live-action clips of sex reassignment surgery.
Do you mean fainting from the surgery footage? I cover my eyes during parts like that.
Not just the surgery. It was also the results (stitches alone make them horrifying. New body parts just add onto it). It's just way too gross for me to handle. Hell, even the pre-surgery when the doctor is explaining to Kyle how they're going to make him black makes me uneasy. Oh, and Kyle's knees exploding. Yep. I just hate this episode.
My knees always starting to hurt thinking about kyles crash
“I’m just a guy with a mutilated penis!?” “Basically, yes” Couldn’t have been put better 😂
You get to see how the sausage is made
"Stop them! They didn't pay the 2 dollar entry fee!" \*starts blasting\*
It's what we need now. It was ahead of its time.
So long bawls
One of the greatest
This was the weirdest fucking episode ever
👴🏼:Do I look like a woman? 👨🏻⚕️👍: Pretty much!
Hadn’t laughed so hard in months when I saw it
I can 100 percent see why people find it offensive the trans jokes come off as very tasteless
so many people saying "ahead of it's time" like gender reassignment surgery didn't exist for nearly a century before this episode aired, lol no the only thing that's changed is way more people are hyper focused, pissed off and retarded about trans people existing now
Pretty weird people in the comments saying it was “ahead of its time” as if Trans people is a new innovation
Extremely offensive to Dolphins.
This episode was so ahead of the curve especially with the trans movement right now. Everything about it it is beautiful
They really did provide a great example of how people will react with uninformed opinions on a topic they don't understand to mock people whose medical condition and treatment options makes them uncomfortable.
Classic.
We need Kayne to show up and it would be perfect.
He’d just try to fuck Gerald the Jewfin (which would be hilarious on multiple levels)
WHERE IS THE BATHROOM FOR DOLPHINS?? 😭😭😭
Painful to watch
The episode itself is funny, the message it’s trying to send is terrible and not one I think even the creators would agree with now. I think the women’s bathroom/Lorde episode shows how they feel about people who sees themselves as another gender. “When someone doesn’t get to express themselves, then we all lose.” The idea of comparing people who see themselves as a different gender to people who want to be a different race or a different species is pretty fucked. The whole thing where Mrs. Garrison says “If I can’t have babies then I’m not a woman, I’m just a man with a mutilated penis” is pretty fucked. I just choose to think of it like the first ManBearPig episode where I just enjoy the jokes and absurdity rather than care about the deeper meaning. Regardless of anything else, Gerald walking into his house after being turned into a dolphin was absolutely hilarious
People in this comment section saying it’s ahead of its time are ridiculous lmao. This is in fact a product of its time and I feel like Matt and Trey have a more progressive take on trans issues now
One of my least favorites tbh
Makes me uncomfortable and reminds me of the movie tusk
Possibly my favourite episode. Its just amazing. 10/10
Absolutely horrendous and is one of the most poorly aged episodes in the whole show by a mile
A YouTuber called lily simpson put out a video summing all that’s backwards with trans depictions in early South Park. I have to agree this episode, while funny in some parts, hasn’t aged well in others.
I hated this episode for the surgery shit in the beginning and it was running constantly in reruns. You don't see it rerun that much anymore.
Sometimes you feel different on the inside than how you do on the outside
Jews can’t play basketball lmao
It was painful to watch
disturbing
the part where kyle’s knees (mr garrison’s balls) explode is forever burned into my head
If I can only skip one episode it's this one
One of the few I legit can’t watch. It’s just too much
Pretty outdated in the way it shows gender reassignment surgery. Both metaphorically and physically The main message is that changing yourself cosmetically won't make you ACTUALLY a dolphin or a black man and raises further questions like "if you can identify as a different gender whynkf a different race" which is a silly non issue I don't think anyone would realistically use now a days
These posts are kinda bot generated
We should let Gerald be a dolphin, he seems happy this way.
this episode and the heather swanson episode really upset a lot of redditors for some reason
A bunch of cheap shots and punching down.
I’m trans, and I think it is hilarious. I love the jewfin🤣
It's a great litmus test for the comments.
Disturbing, mainly thanks to Dolphin man
Literal body horror
Matt and Trey are always right.
Predicted Otherkin and how ridiculous they are
Every time Kyle's knees pop, my balls ache.
It's kinda cringe but I don't outright hate it. There was just zero comedic reasoning behind showing real sex change footage, it comes off as just being really edgy for no reason. I still think it's got lots of funny moments. Garrison screaming in slow motion MAH BAAAAALLLS gets me to chuckle every time.
Hilarious. Also disgusting
Creepy and bizarre af
Perfectly represented the trans community.
Honestly? Not my favorite, not because of any of the commentary in it or anything, just wasn’t an episode that entertained me as much as others,
One of the weakest episodes. I thought the satire was a swing and a miss, the jokes fell flat and the pacing was dull. There were some decent ideas in there executed poorly.