John Frog and Lois Eihorn

From the all readings we have been assigned in class thus far, the one-act comedy of “John Frog Gives Birth” has been one attention-grabbing story that relates to movies and television shows we have today.   John Frog was an entertainer during the 17^th century who was the center of amusement and outrage for having the ability to get pregnant and give birth.  Similarly, the 1994 American film, Ace Ventura – Pet Detective, has one character that became the focus of attention after being revealed as transgendered.    The police detective, Lois Einhorn, was discovered to be a transgendered woman and pro-football player, Ray Finkle, by Jim Carrey’s character that stripped the detective of her clothing and exposed her hidden penis.  Upon enlightening the truth about the detective’s gender, all of the people in the scene reacted with disgust.  Even though transgendered people are still humans, they have been used for humor and entertainment.  Often, they are also referred to as “it” instead of “he” or “she” suggesting them as not being human.  The topic of transgendered people has typically been uncomfortable for many people to understand because the exposure of the transgendered is only becoming prevalent in our society as improvements in medicine allow men to fully become woman and vice versa.  Various movies and shows often get a laugh from their audience with the use of transgender jokes that criticize individuals who were born the opposite gender and are now living as a man or woman.