He tours with Professor Brian Cox, who is GC, but not vocal about it - however his wife, Gia Milinovich is VERY vocal on the subject, and apparently he refuses to talk to her about the issue, and just shuns her. Robin Ince is very similar to Jon Ronson, they both know what's real but they both want to be 'liked' by everyone, and are just too cowardly to speak out.
That sentence, "....distinguish between the subject of a joke and the target of a joke."
Is it, in a nutshell.
Whoever you are, thanks for this. Your crystal clarity on the matter is a service to the cause. You have helped me articulate the problems of the gender woo more clearly and shed the mind games that are used by the gender ideologues to conceal the astonishingly rapid adoption of corporate gender woo.
We lesbians are at the sharp end of this gender ideology movement that feels like its seeking to erase women, me, objective reality.
It's often hard for me to hold on to empathy and distinguish between subject and issue. When under attack I instinctively go into street fighting mode. Especially when it's men who are attacking me/other women/ all women/reality.
Your clarity and words will help me campaign more effectively and with empathy. Thankyou. I've subscribed.
Any man telling women they are wrong about their rights IS a misogynist - there's no other possibility. The notion that trans people are a vulnerable group is false - the data doesn't bear that out - women and girls are far more vulnerable.
Police will move for a sticker but not for a beaten woman until she's dead. Yeah women have the power, clearly. Trans are clearly oppressed when they have the power to silence everyone.
The sad thing is that it was a female PCSO lecturing this poor lady. This 'type' is everywhere, in the NHS, our schools, nurseries even - thinking they can batter us with their Ill thought out, repetitive wrong-think - in the truest sense.
I want to say I agree with Miriam's pointing out of the line "distinguish between the subject of a joke and the target of a joke". What I find most irritating in modern comedy discourse is people on my side of things who decide what is and what isn't upsetting, on the behalf of people they do not really care about. It reminds me of a girl I met at uni who saw a joke about Muslims on TV and said "Muslims will be upset by this". I asked her "Have you ever met a Muslim?" and she admitted she had not. And this is not the worst example of performative activism I have either, just the most relevant. After uni, I had one person (an older, somehow whiter-than-me woman) tell me in a writing workshop that I had no black characters in my novel, and that this was bad. I reasoned with her, telling her that the character came from a majority white area, and that despite that, there was still a black character. She then told me "They don't sound black."
I will never forget that. Nor will I forget how she had no issue with the lack of Chinese characters.
I'll have to admit I find Gervais' recent material tedious, in that I've heard better jokes around the topic of trans people on niche instagram meme pages, half the time run by trans people. I sat down and watched a whole show of his the other week, simply because I don't like forming opinions from the two or three jokes I saw out of context on tiktok. It wasn't interesting to me, but it certainly wasn't offensive either. Lazy? Maybe. Gervais, in that show, to me is now just telling the jokes which seem to get the most people talking, rather than telling the jokes which get the most people laughing.
Inevitably, this angle stirs up press and offends people who believe they are being persecuted. This is probably very good for ticket sales. But it's not interesting. Dave Chapelle does jokes around trans issues and he does so with a precision and wordplay and storytelling that shows his intelligence without patronising the audience. He wades into difficult subjects and brings humour back for us. I've grown tired of Gervais because by the time I see his jokes, I've already seen similar online.
Like you, I've met Robin Ince a handful of times. I'm very fond of him. He's a nice guy, wants everyone to get along, his shows now are very much about the connectedness that literature can offer people. I don't think we'd agree on everything but if we did I think I'd get bored. I'm a big fan of edgy comedy, even the stuff I myself find offensive, because after that initial sting, you've got something to think about. I imagine it's a similar process that drives people to rollercoasters and horror movies, both of which I actively avoid. I will seek out controversial jokes and figures because they provide some fascination I don't get elsewhere. Doesn't mean I agree with the fictional character in a joke. Some of my best friends I have heated debates with every now and again, and these cognitive forest first keep the forest of the mind fresh. One issue now is people are framing inquiry and disagreement as an existential threat, and that allows the language to get heated, fast.
Ultimately, I think we are all captured by ideology on all sides. I struggle to identify as an atheist when asked because I know we've got a pretty weird reputation online. Some of us are just mean to religious people like it's a sport, whereas the more decent ones are inevitably quieter. I have friends who identify as non-binary who see the LGBTETC flag as a sign of mindless groupthink, and friends who consider themselves 'right-wing' simply because they don't want males in female toilets. Most recently, someone I knew identified back out of being trans because he felt it wasn't making his life any better, and he wants instead to pursue becoming an engineer.
Many of the things I just mentioned, by mention alone would be enough for some people I used to know to set me homework, to tell me I should not speak on these things. I once posted a meme about Jordan Peterson (at Peterson's expense, I may add) and someone sent me a 3hr lecture and asked me to watch it and tell her if I agreed with his points or not. After which, she said she would 'assess' our friendship. Like I said, captured by ideology. No room for nuance no more!
We're all having existential crises all over the shop.
As am I, as I have by now forgotten the point of this comment.
I think he’s just expressing freedom of speech! And I believe that is HIS motive! I love it. No matter how offended someone else is by what one says, one should still be able to say it! Not only that but I grew up during a period of time when people actually had back bones. And I was told over and over again: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!”
Thanks, Stephen. You've articulated for me how to respond when confronted by absolutist gender identity types, without being accused of hurting their feelings.
Great article. I think Ricky Gervais is a genius and not afraid to expose the hypocrisy of the woke and trans extremists. Women are not anti trans but for women.
He tours with Professor Brian Cox, who is GC, but not vocal about it - however his wife, Gia Milinovich is VERY vocal on the subject, and apparently he refuses to talk to her about the issue, and just shuns her. Robin Ince is very similar to Jon Ronson, they both know what's real but they both want to be 'liked' by everyone, and are just too cowardly to speak out.
I saw the comments from Gia. It's a shame he unwilling to engage with her on this issue. She appears to know what she is talking about.
Oh she does. She is on Substack now, after TinyLetter suspended her account:
https://giagia.substack.com/
That sentence, "....distinguish between the subject of a joke and the target of a joke."
Is it, in a nutshell.
Whoever you are, thanks for this. Your crystal clarity on the matter is a service to the cause. You have helped me articulate the problems of the gender woo more clearly and shed the mind games that are used by the gender ideologues to conceal the astonishingly rapid adoption of corporate gender woo.
We lesbians are at the sharp end of this gender ideology movement that feels like its seeking to erase women, me, objective reality.
It's often hard for me to hold on to empathy and distinguish between subject and issue. When under attack I instinctively go into street fighting mode. Especially when it's men who are attacking me/other women/ all women/reality.
Your clarity and words will help me campaign more effectively and with empathy. Thankyou. I've subscribed.
Thank you for the incredibly kind words Miriam.
Any man telling women they are wrong about their rights IS a misogynist - there's no other possibility. The notion that trans people are a vulnerable group is false - the data doesn't bear that out - women and girls are far more vulnerable.
Great stuff, mate. Logical and concise, as usual.
Cheers Glenn!
Police will move for a sticker but not for a beaten woman until she's dead. Yeah women have the power, clearly. Trans are clearly oppressed when they have the power to silence everyone.
The sad thing is that it was a female PCSO lecturing this poor lady. This 'type' is everywhere, in the NHS, our schools, nurseries even - thinking they can batter us with their Ill thought out, repetitive wrong-think - in the truest sense.
If I may?
Excellent.
Welcome.
Yes you may! Thank you
I want to say I agree with Miriam's pointing out of the line "distinguish between the subject of a joke and the target of a joke". What I find most irritating in modern comedy discourse is people on my side of things who decide what is and what isn't upsetting, on the behalf of people they do not really care about. It reminds me of a girl I met at uni who saw a joke about Muslims on TV and said "Muslims will be upset by this". I asked her "Have you ever met a Muslim?" and she admitted she had not. And this is not the worst example of performative activism I have either, just the most relevant. After uni, I had one person (an older, somehow whiter-than-me woman) tell me in a writing workshop that I had no black characters in my novel, and that this was bad. I reasoned with her, telling her that the character came from a majority white area, and that despite that, there was still a black character. She then told me "They don't sound black."
I will never forget that. Nor will I forget how she had no issue with the lack of Chinese characters.
I'll have to admit I find Gervais' recent material tedious, in that I've heard better jokes around the topic of trans people on niche instagram meme pages, half the time run by trans people. I sat down and watched a whole show of his the other week, simply because I don't like forming opinions from the two or three jokes I saw out of context on tiktok. It wasn't interesting to me, but it certainly wasn't offensive either. Lazy? Maybe. Gervais, in that show, to me is now just telling the jokes which seem to get the most people talking, rather than telling the jokes which get the most people laughing.
Inevitably, this angle stirs up press and offends people who believe they are being persecuted. This is probably very good for ticket sales. But it's not interesting. Dave Chapelle does jokes around trans issues and he does so with a precision and wordplay and storytelling that shows his intelligence without patronising the audience. He wades into difficult subjects and brings humour back for us. I've grown tired of Gervais because by the time I see his jokes, I've already seen similar online.
Like you, I've met Robin Ince a handful of times. I'm very fond of him. He's a nice guy, wants everyone to get along, his shows now are very much about the connectedness that literature can offer people. I don't think we'd agree on everything but if we did I think I'd get bored. I'm a big fan of edgy comedy, even the stuff I myself find offensive, because after that initial sting, you've got something to think about. I imagine it's a similar process that drives people to rollercoasters and horror movies, both of which I actively avoid. I will seek out controversial jokes and figures because they provide some fascination I don't get elsewhere. Doesn't mean I agree with the fictional character in a joke. Some of my best friends I have heated debates with every now and again, and these cognitive forest first keep the forest of the mind fresh. One issue now is people are framing inquiry and disagreement as an existential threat, and that allows the language to get heated, fast.
Ultimately, I think we are all captured by ideology on all sides. I struggle to identify as an atheist when asked because I know we've got a pretty weird reputation online. Some of us are just mean to religious people like it's a sport, whereas the more decent ones are inevitably quieter. I have friends who identify as non-binary who see the LGBTETC flag as a sign of mindless groupthink, and friends who consider themselves 'right-wing' simply because they don't want males in female toilets. Most recently, someone I knew identified back out of being trans because he felt it wasn't making his life any better, and he wants instead to pursue becoming an engineer.
Many of the things I just mentioned, by mention alone would be enough for some people I used to know to set me homework, to tell me I should not speak on these things. I once posted a meme about Jordan Peterson (at Peterson's expense, I may add) and someone sent me a 3hr lecture and asked me to watch it and tell her if I agreed with his points or not. After which, she said she would 'assess' our friendship. Like I said, captured by ideology. No room for nuance no more!
We're all having existential crises all over the shop.
As am I, as I have by now forgotten the point of this comment.
Good post though, lots to think about.
I think he’s just expressing freedom of speech! And I believe that is HIS motive! I love it. No matter how offended someone else is by what one says, one should still be able to say it! Not only that but I grew up during a period of time when people actually had back bones. And I was told over and over again: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!”
Well said. Thank you.
Thanks Sandy!
Welcome to Substack, Stephen. Good to see you here.
Thanks David!
Thanks, Stephen. You've articulated for me how to respond when confronted by absolutist gender identity types, without being accused of hurting their feelings.
Thanks Tony!
Great article. I think Ricky Gervais is a genius and not afraid to expose the hypocrisy of the woke and trans extremists. Women are not anti trans but for women.
It must have taken you ages to write this. You are a bigot, what a waste of time. Has ‘gender ideology’ ever impacted you in any way ?