I’m aware that they have mocked a ton of people, in some cases without any apparent reason. The episodes on that list that I’ve seen don’t compare to the one we’re talking about; the character is entirely different.
Again, they were mostly mocking the religion’s leadership, not the people.
Because Cartman gets called “fatass?” Not close.
Doesn’t count either. Generally they’re mocking Cartman with stuff like this. You’re laughing at him for being an asshole, not at the targets of his insults.
Clearly not how they actually felt about the Japanese. The joke was on the white people who were distracted by transparent appeals to their egoes. (And there’s a perfect example of why explaining a joke isn’t funny.) That clarity doesn’t exist in the transgenderism episode. If I had gotten the sense that they were mocking groups that are bigoted against transgendered people, for example, I’d have no problem with this one. But my sense is that it was one of their attacks on the touchy-feely liberals who they can’t stand.
People who suffer from Gender Identity Disorder (GID) have adopted the terminology of sex adjustment rather than sex change.
Transsexuals live their lives with the feeling that their physical sex does not correspond to the sex of their mental sex. Hence, having an operation is not about changing your sex to some sort of “preferred” optional sex, it’s making your body what it’s supposed to be. South Park (the way I understand it, I have not seen the episode in question), treated transsexuality as a state of preference rather than a state of need.
Okay, first I have ever seen the other term. I don’t think my coining a phrase should be taken out of context. I am going to bow out of this fight. South Park is offensive, often. Not just to people seeking sexual adjustment. That is really all my point was. Marley23: you are right about the Japanese Episode but no matter how much you or I dislike PETA, Scientology and the RCC, you have to admit they were savaged just as badly if not worse.
BTW: South Park won a Peabody award this year. I really like the show and I am shocked.
I do recall the “getting this operation won’t change what you are” angle. But I seem to also remember that the show ended up saying “So what if it won’t change what you are? If its what you want to look like, go ahead and do it and be happy!”