Chappelle: 'Only two genders'

Rep. Lauren Boebert tweets a photo of herself with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and the comedian Dave Chappelle: "Just three people who understand that there’s only two genders."

Apparently, Chappelle didn't know she was going to post an anti-transgender message with the photo.

"He said during his standup act at DC’s Capital One Arena that he granted the photo request by Boebert for a human moment to bridge the political divide, but felt 'blindsided' by her, according to a progressive influencers blog.

'It’s a shame she tricked me,' Chappelle said, per Call to Activism."

What do I think?

No sympathy.

1. Context

First of all, context: Chappelle has previously put out transphobic material.

Even while arguing that "it’s not always obvious who is 'punching up' and who is 'punching down'" and that "trans persons themselves" could be part of "a social mob [that] gangs up on a vulnerable person," one commentator still manages to acknowledge that Chappelle makes a "hurtful" joke "comparing trans genitals to plant-based meat substitutes."
— Dave Chappelle, Transphobia And Anti-Semitism. Evan Gerstmann. Forbes. Nov 15, 2021.

(That commentator notes that Chappelle's "joke about making a movie called 'space Jews' in which the Jews come back from an unsuccessful venture into outer space and now want to conquer Earth and take it back...is an old anti-Semitic trope and a very harmful one" and is "anti-Semitism served straight up." He somehow fails to acknowledge that transphobic tropes are also old and harmful. He seems to think that if you invoke a harmful trope, but you "balance it with any warm and empathetic stories" about the affected group, that somehow lessens the blow and makes it OK. No: balanced antisemitism is still antisemitism. Balanced transphobia is still transphobia. The "balance" just means that it's more calculated. More effort has gone into preparing it for market. The appearance of "balance" doesn't make it more true, valid, or benevolent.)

One commenter on Gerstmann's article suggests that the topic of "transphobia" should be approached "with respect, curiosity, and open-mindedness." We should be open-minded about whether to be transphobic? "Refraining from...summary judgment" on that exact question is laudable?

I'm not just picking on this one commenter. It's common for people to suggest that transphobia is not necessarily a real thing and/or is not necessarily bad. Gerstmann's article provoked this comment, as he wrote:

"The word [transphobia] itself is clumsy and inaccurate. Phobias are fears and Chappelle certainly isn’t afraid of trans people. He does believe that gender is matter of biology. ... But this doesn’t automatically make Chappelle afraid of trans people or hateful towards them. Many people are confused by the idea of women with penises and men with vaginas. Joking about it isn’t the same thing as spreading hate or fear."

What he's done there is given license for people to tell jokes about trans people's genitals on the basis that such comedians are merely confused, not hateful or fearful, and that is why the commenter says Gerstmann's perspective here is characterized by "respect, curiosity, and open-mindedness." Plant-based meat substitutes, right? We must be open-minded to the fact that other people find certain things funny, even while admitting that their jokes are hurtful?

Chappelle's transphobia started here: "Dave Chappelle says he's 'Team TERF,' defends J.K. Rowling in new Netflix comedy special." Elise Brisco. USA Today. October 5, 2021.

Consequently, Chappelle is known for transphobia. Here's how deeply the message sank in. When Elon Musk got rid of identity verification on Twitter in late 2022, people began impersonating celebrities, and someone impersonated Chappelle saying that he was "no longer team terf." Were he not known for being "Team TERF," no one would have made the joke.

See more context:

What Dave Chappelle gets wrong about trans people and comedy. Dave Chappelle’s trans friend knew how to take a joke. So what? Aja Romano. Oct 23, 2021.

Netflix releases Dave Chappelle's speech slamming transphobic joke critics
The 40-minute speech took place at Chappelle’s alma mater, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., which had planned to rename its theater after him. NBC News. July 8, 2022.

Wanda Sykes Calls Dave Chappelle’s Transphobic Jokes ‘Hurtful and Damaging’. “I knew that it’s such a delicate issue to talk about. I’m not trans, but they have my support, 100%,” Sykes said. Tomás Mier. Rolling Stone, May 23, 2023.

2. What are you doing

Secondly: What are you doing posing with Lauren Boebert? At all, for any reason? And especially if your goal is to disassociate yourself from other transphobes? Because Lauren Boebert is exactly the kind of person who would, apropos of nothing, tag your picture by saying that you're someone who "understand[s] that there’s only two genders." She would intentionally try to make you look as transphobic as possible because she believes that's a desirable trait. And she did. So what are you mad about?

Don't give me anything about trying to bridge the political divide. There is nothing to bridge with Boebert. You can't be advocating for goodness if you're posing with her.

Quite possibly, Chappelle got what he wanted from this interaction: Someone else made a transphobic comment in association with his name, and he got to use the opportunity to say hey, I'm not transphobic, while the comment has been made and the damage has been done to trans people.

• The transphobes are happy with Chappelle because they see that Chappelle posed with Lauren Boebert, which itself is a form of transphobic messaging.
• The clueless liberals are happy with Chappelle because he verbally denied he was transphobic.
• Chappelle is happy with himself because he gets his name in the news.

Transphobia wins. Trans people lose.