To all the young Millenials about to watch M*A*S*H for the first time, do not be turned off by Max Klinger being a guy in a dress.
For those of you unaware, the character tries several schemes to get out of the army on the grounds of being mentally unfit for service, most notably being a man who wears a dress, which no one buys. It’s played off as a joke but everyone loves him and treats him very respectfully unless it’s a character you’re not supposed to sympathise with.
You might want to call bull on the fact that they’re getting a cheap joke at a man in a dress. But, this man in a dress had a gender identity crisis ON SCREEN (although they couldn’t call it that) and also helped pave the way to allow transgender people into the armed forces.
No, seriously. A congressman who was a fan of the show brought up how Max Klinger cross dressing never was an issue at this M*A*S*H unit and it allowed transgender people to serve in the armed forces!
I’m a trans(masc) millenial and the biggest thing I feel was made fun of was how much some people were bothered by Klinger’s clothes, not the fact that he’s wearing them.
Klinger learns a lot about fashion and sewing and seems to develop a genuine passion for it over time.
There’s even one time when he develops a psychosomantic (spelling?) rash during a short time when he has to wear his uniform. Even after it is clear that he’s not gonna get to go home by wearing dresses, he continues – suggesting either a persistent act of defiance to make him feel better, or a real appreciation of the clothes… or both!
He’s clearly coded as straight, is accepted by his peers, and his character arc and development is barely focused on his clothes (rather it focuses on what he wants to do with his life; his dream future).
For a show made in the 70’s depicting the 50’s, M*A*S*H was a show before its time – with feminist messages and anti-war messages, as well as speking out against homophobia and racism – and Klinger was a groundbreaking character.
This is especially true, I think, if you watch the episodes sans the laugh track. Without the canned laughter, Klinger’s costuming comes off as especially sincere.
Klinger is a good man and a great character and everyone in the camp respects him (and if they don’t, it’s not because of his attire).
The discovery that you can select “English Without Laugh Track” as an audio track has made the DVDs wonderful.
YOU CAN TURN OFF THE LAFF TRACK?? YES PLEASE!!
Klinger is the best!
When I was a little girl I legit loved Klinger and his gorgeous dresses and skirts, and nothing about him seemed strange or abnormal to me; I understood that he’d wanted a section 8 initially but it also seemed really clear to me that in that process he’d found himself, in whatever sense was important to him, and everyone accepted him in the unit. To me growing up in a completely queerphobic household/culture, he was a figure of great love and joy and positivity, and I embraced him unquestioningly and gratefully.
When other people, especially older people, try to ‘educate’ you about how ‘sexuality is complicated’ and how ‘you might not be ace’ and that ‘you’re probably confused’ and that ‘you’re probably [this] instead’,
You run.
Sexuality is indeed complicated, and yes, you might not be ace. But these kinds of people couldn’t care less either way.
Helpful people give you the freedom of choice – whether that choice lasts a lifetime, or until the next morning. Helpful people give you the agency to make your own decision about your own, personal, private identity.
If someone is trying to collectively discourage questioning aces into forgoing their ace identity? That’s not helpful. That’s an illusion of help under the guise of liberation. They’re trying to make you into something they want you to be.
Whether their advice is helpful or not, to any degree, this type of gaslighting and manipulation is not what you deserve. You can get the same kind of answers and help and support from people who aren’t damaging and toxic.
Find people who will let you be ace. Find people who will let you be yourself.
– Fae
^As someone who’s experienced something similar as a bi and trans person, this right here.
You deserve to be respected for who you are.
A supportive comment is “Hey if you find your identity changing it doesn’t mean you were previously a liar it just means you’re still learning about yourself and that’s okay!”
A suspect comment “you’re too young to know your identity. It’s probably going to change”
My gender identity and sexuality changed a LOT as I discovered words that described my experiences and grew to know myself
But then I know people who have known since they were like 5 what gender they had and that they fancied the same gender
No one other than you can know if your self perception changes and frankly the rest of the world should take the stance I take with my kid: whatever YOU tell me at this moment is who you are is what I will respect it and if you change your labels later I will just take in the updated information and respect it without adding any opinion because YOUR identity is not about me
“[V]iolence against women is a form of
gender-based violence that is committed against women because they are women.” ~ Council Of Europe
Is it okay to do harm to women for not conforming to the stereotypes
assigned to them?
Is it okay to react with violence towards women who are not being
mindful of men’s comfort, power, or feelings?
Is it okay to enforce a position of dependence or subjugation for women,
and threaten financial, physical, or emotional retribution when a woman fights
against her chains?
Is it okay for women to not know their place?
But we’ve talked about all that, haven’t we?
These should have been questions with easy answers, but those who were
so firmly against the “dangerous” Istanbul Convention failed to understand the
real issue: violence against women is specific and distinct from violence
against the person. The Convention would have combated the root of the
problem, not given a man a slap on the wrist after he had burned his
ex-girlfriend’s face off with acid.
If everything was already fine, there wouldn’t be a need to sabotage a
measure which protects women – protecting women would already be in accordance
with the country’s goals. If the tools we had in place were working, we
wouldn’t be having thousands of women trapped in abusive relationships; all the
women in our lives wouldn’t have been able to tell countless stories of
harassment, abuse, rape, or other forms of women-specific violence.
Women-specific violence.
She was raped because she didn’t let him have her in the first place –
and satisfying him is a woman’s obligation.
She was hit because she burned his dinner – and cooking is a woman’s
obligation.
She was stomped on because she asked him where he’d been – and that is
not a woman’s business.
She was locked in her room because she was tired of him stinking of
alcohol – and telling him what to do is not a woman’s place.
She had her “allowance” taken away because she spent some time out with
her friends – and having a life outside her husband’s grasp is not a woman’s right.
Beltainefaerie's Flights of Fancy 