King of the Hill is an odd show. There are certainly episodes with problematic ideas, but they manage to have one of the best representations of genderqueer people in a show from its era. While this slot is filled by drag queens, they are written in such a way that they could definitely be read as trans in a modern lens.
In the episode, Peggy, a cis woman with size 16 feet, "masculine" skills, and not traditionally feminine clothing, befriends a drag queen when she unknowingly goes to a store for drag queens to buy her shoes. The episode follows Peggy's experience with gender dysphoria. Her cis friends cannot understand her feelings of not being a real woman because they are traditionally feminine and good at following societal rules. They also contribute to her gender dysphoria because she's the odd one out in the group. Nobody wants her clothes at the swap, she opens the pickle jars. It isn't until Peggy befriends a drag queen who is able to appreciate Peggy's bold brand of femininity that Peggy is able to be more confident. Carolyn sees Peggy eat an entire sandwich and mentions it. At first Peggy thinks this is a slight on her femininity until Carolyn asks how she did it without smearing any of her lipstick. Carolyn is a huge supporter of Peggy's femininity and confidence. Peggy becomes so confident that she agrees to do a drag show without knowing it's a drag show. Carolyn only realizes that she was completely off base after Peggy talks in detail about birthing her child.
Eventually, Peggy is told that she can't do the show because it's a drag show. She is heartbroken by this because she thinks that the drag queens perceive her as a man, and this makes her feel extremely dysphoric and unsure of her own gender identity. All the cis people in her life try to make her feel better, but none of them understand because they fit into traditional gender norms. It isn't until Carolyn gets Peggy to do a clothes swap with the drag queens that Peggy is able to regain her confidence because she realizes that she's being appreciated for her femininity. She sees the gender euphoria of the other people in the clothing trade and it makes her understand that she is a strong woman and that it's good. One of the girls at the swap says that whispy women are a dime a dozen and that they like to model themselves after strong women that only need to be known by one name, like Cher. Peggy is simply Peggy, and that's all she needs to be to be a real woman.
A straight cis woman experiencing gender dysphoria because she does not meet straight cis woman norms and a trans woman reve
aling in her femininity while validating her friend's less traditional appearance present a broader and more nuanced take on the ideas of gender than anything I could name that was produced in the last ten years.I genuinely wonder if KotH could even be produced today, because its not baby-brained enough to qualify as liberal-woke or conservative-orthodox. Could it exist as popular media or would it be pushed into Netflix cartoon comedy fart jokes after the first season?
If KotH last few seasons are anything to go by, The reboot will be complete ass.
It's getting a reboot, so I'm excited for that, but sad that Johnny Hardwick isn't alive to voice Dale anymore. The show has a lot wrong on the surface, but they're able to tell extremely poignant and progressive stories to the point I'm able to look past the weaker moments.
spoiler
I'm sorry if this annoying, but since it almost parses both ways I think you meant reveling?
A straight cis woman experiencing gender dysphoria because she does not meet straight cis woman norms and a trans woman revealing in her femininity while validating her friend's less traditional appearance present a broader and more nuanced take on the ideas of gender than anything I could name that was produced in the last ten years.
I have that kind of connection with almost every cis woman i'm friends with, because gender norms are designed to be impossible to meet. The experience of being crushed by inadequacy for not being woman enough is a univeral constant in the western feminine condition, and every transfem author or every cisfem author who is friends with a transfem could write that kind of story, but it's not wanted in today's prestige tv landscape.
every transfem author or every cisfem author who is friends with a transfem could write that kind of story, but it's not wanted in today's prestige tv landscape
Which is crazy, because its exactly the kind of high-drama first-season twist cliffhanger (omg, the protagonist was trans the whole time!!!) that streaming services seem to love.
Simultaneously a screenplay that writes itself and something these algorithm-based writing rooms would never invent.
Yeah, I don't think this plot has anything particularly complicated that makes it amazing. King of the Hill is a very simple show that just does the simple things really well. It lets the simplicity of the situations speak for themselves most of the time. The writers, just like the show's characters are not perfect, but they understand that loving your neighbor especially when you don't understand them is the most important thing we can do to better our communities and ourselves.
Damn, I should really be watching this show then, that's fuckin awesome
King of the Hill often got dismissed as a silly parody of rednecks. Like science fiction, the setting is often used just as a medium to tackle subject matter that is far more relevant. Yes, it can be stupid, but it also can be a subtle and often touching show.
There are so many insanely great moments in that show. I had a moment in my time using a ton of drugs where I almost died quite painfully from a stupid poly mix. The fear from that death paralyzed me for a bit. But watching King Of The Hill (specifically the episode where the mega lo mart blows up) really helped me process being that close to dying.
I love the silly parody of rednecks that we can still love. Dale is an extremely flawed character, but is a very loving father and husband. Peggy does some batshit things as well, but she is a big reason Bobby has so much confidence. Khan is an asshole, but they give you enough information to be truly sympathetic to him. The show has questionable moments, but the show has amazing analysis and commentary on race and gender in America.
King of the Hill often got dismissed as a silly parody of rednecks.
Which is strange, because so many people in Texas - especially West Texas - love the show for its sincerity. Lots of the jokes are fundamentally "Types of Texas Guy/Girl" that Texans appreciate. Lots of the jokes tread up to the idea of stereotypes and then flagrantly subvert and distort them to comedic effect. They manage to push the boundaries of credulity (Bobby implied to be the next Dalai Llama, for instance) without going totally off the rails a la late-stage Simpsons.
Its absolutely a silly parody, but more legit parody of middle class suburban Texas life than some caricature of poor people.
The silly parody is so funny and has such good characters that there is no shame in identifying with a particular character in the show. They all have good and bad moments, but the show is still adamant that these people still deserve neighborly love. Even Cotton has moments that show us that he isn't all bad and give us empathy for him.
you have been conscripted to the posting war comrade, report to the front lines
I'd recommend watching it for sure. It's problematic at times because it's a parody of suburban Texas, but it has some really good analysis of gender and race that lets you know that the show typically isn't interested in punching down. The show is overall about loving your neighbors and learning to grow with the times without losing yourself. Even when it gets problematic, the show just doesn't have a mean enough sense of humor to make it bite
When I was working as a security guard, I would read books, study languages, work on music and watch TV. I don't really watch a lot of TV, BUT I did make it a point to watch all of King of the Hill.
Post Season 8 the writing and the characters identities shift dramatically. In season 10? there's a state advisor who comes to Bobbys school to blame white people and make everything politically correct. It was such a gross episode. The other one that struck out to me was teenagers begging for money rather than work, as if what Hank did was a moralisticly superior choice. King of the Hill went from a funny character study to a show with politics heavily implied. It really stops being a good show past the first 8 seasons.
The late seasons are so bad and totally miss the point of the show. At some point, Hank goes from the protagonist to the hero. It is no longer that Hank needs to learn to change with a changing world, it's that the world needs to be more like Hank. However, I do really like Lucky. He's just fucking hilarious.
Yeah it's not a perfect show but there's some episodes that are shockingly well done for what it is.
It's not Kevin Spencer, that's for sure.
I haven't watched Kevin Spencer, first time ever hearing about it. What is it?
Back in the nineties I remember a transgender character called Hailey from a British soap called Coronation Street. Now, I was extremely young at the time, but I have vague memories of her arc being treated in a way that I could never expect Terf island doing today. The story was mainly about her coming out and her trials with being accepted by her friends, colleagues, and her eventual husband Roy. I have no idea what has happened to the character, if she's still in the show or whatever. But the fact that the elements of the story, from a show I couldn't give two fucks about, still stick with me today, shows how much the story impacted me at the time.
Edit: Here is a wiki article about her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayley_Cropper. Corrected my initial post too as I accidentally got her husbands name wrong. It really amazes me how much more accepting British audiences (and Britain in general) was back then. Just goes to show how artificial and whipped up the anti-trans agenda really is when the natural reaction is for people to be sympathetic and supportive.
reminds me of willow and buffy the vampire slayer. dont know ass about the rest of the show but i remember being glued to the screen over a lesbian romance
I think it depends on the location, but yeah I think they would have. I don't think her being told she can't do it is because they wouldn't let her, rather it would be unfair to have someone perform in a drag show if they don't understand it's a drag show.
It's a flawed show, and definitely has some questionable moments as far as trans people go. However, this episode is so well written that I'm willing to look past it. I think a lot of the misses feel like they just didn't consider the trans angle at the time, or were trying to make us laugh at the characters being bigoted. I'm okay with people making some bad shots if they're able to get it down this right
