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Fans Debate Biphobia in Big Mouth Clip About Pansexuality
Fans Debate Biphobia in 'Big Mouth' Clip About Pansexuality
Did the cartoon screw this one up?
rachelkiley
October 07 2019 10:14 AM EST
May 26 2023 12:38 PM EST
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Fans Debate Biphobia in Big Mouth Clip About Pansexuality
Did the cartoon screw this one up?
UPDATE: Big Mouth co-creator Andrew Goldberg took to Twitter to respond to the controversy:
\u201chttps://t.co/49H6UwbU9n\u201d— Andrew Goldberg (@Andrew Goldberg) 1570486379
"We missed the mark here with this definition of bisexuality vs. pansexuality, and my fellow creators and I sincerely apologize for making people feel misrepresented," he wrote. "Any time we try to define something as complex as human sexuality, it's super challenging, and this time we could have done better. Thank you to the trans, pan, and bi communities for further opening our eyes to these important and complicated issues of representation. We are listening and we look forward to delving into all of this in future seasons."
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Netflix’s animated comedy for adults, Big Mouth, which follows the sexually charged lives of teens going through puberty, has proven again and again to be edgy and hilarious while refusing to punch down. But a clip from the show tweeted out by the streaming service's comedy account has some people claiming biphobia.
The clip, taken from episode eight of the recently released season three, features a new character voiced by comedian Ali Wong joining the class and immediately announcing that she’s pansexual. In doing so, she pans bisexuality as just being into boys or girls, claiming that pansexuality is more evolved because it means she’s into trans people and "everyone in between" male and female too.
While the actual remaining narrative of the episode confronts some issues with biphobia and features one of the main characters finally coming out to his friends as bi, the isolated clip, as well as the outdated notion that bisexuality centers around attraction to binary genders, were not sitting very well with people on Twitter.
\u201c@NetflixIsAJoke @aliwong @bigmouth Bisexuality includes trans people; always has, always will. Thanks once again for the misinformation and further ostracisation of trans people in regards to sexuality.\u201d— becoming Chad (deluxe) 13/10/22 (@becoming Chad (deluxe) 13/10/22) 1570392770
\u201c@NetflixIsAJoke @aliwong @bigmouth Yeah, no. Bisexuals have been making it clear since the 90s that we are not solely attracted to cis ppl. Trans ppl are not some separate other gender category that requires another orientation.\u201d— blue nights, rose mornings \ud81a\uddf7 (@blue nights, rose mornings \ud81a\uddf7) 1570388553
\u201c@NetflixIsAJoke @aliwong @bigmouth Wow, thanks for using the one of the rare instances my sexuality(pansexual) gets talked about in media to be biphobic, transphobic and literally get all of the definitions wrong.\n\nIf you're going to explain stuff like this in your show, actually know what you're talking about.\u201d— RestlessDreams (Audrey)\u26a2 (@RestlessDreams (Audrey)\u26a2) 1570373633
Other folks had a different view of the scene, largely claiming that it set the stage for biphobia to be explored further by the narrative of the show.
\u201cPeople getting mad at the Big Mouth \u201cpansexual definition\u201d scene for being biphobic really don\u2019t realise that that\u2019s kind the plot of the episode.. Jay, a bi character, trying to figure himself out while society applauds bi/pan cis women and shits on bi/pan cis men....\u201d— Craigy \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udd1e (@Craigy \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udd1e) 1570445996
\u201cin episode before this scene, they go over different sexualities and their meanings, which i\u2019d say they do pretty well. also, for much of the season, they have one of the main characters (jay) exploring his sexuality, who (possible spoiler?) realizes he\u2019s bisexual. he also has +\u201d— nicole \ud83e\uddf8 (@nicole \ud83e\uddf8) 1570442831
\u201cscene, how they fucked it up so badly, and how it got approved, but i promise you it does not accurately represent how the rest of the show handles sexuality. as someone who is bisexual, i appreciate what the season did overall, but i wish that scene had been handled better.\u201d— nicole \ud83e\uddf8 (@nicole \ud83e\uddf8) 1570442831
Regardless of how anyone felt about the scene or the show itself, it seems to have opened up an educational dialogue in regards to how bisexuality isn't actually as limited or binary as some people like to think it is. Now if only that notion would actually stick with people...
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.