I should preface this by saying that I am not trans, I identify as Non-Binary, so if you must take this article with a grain of salt, I do not blame you. However, it seems there is a new discourse surrounding The Amazing Digital Circus, which on the one hand, my God can y'all find something else to get upset about? Valve releasing an overpriced piece of hardware? The United States continuing the whole fascism thing? I'm sure Konami is doing something stupid and shady that's worth getting mad at. On the other hand, I do love getting any chance I can take to talk about the Digital Circus so why the Hell not talk about this?
So, finale episode released on YouTube and everyone went crazy for one thing, it's been hinted at with subtle and not-so-subtle clues, but basically the finale confirmed that Jax was a closeted Trans person the entire time, and if the text of the show isn't enough for you, some of the voice actors have bluntly stated it and Goose has basically confirmed it without saying it directly. I'll admit, I was a bit averse to Jax being trans at first, largely because I was way too into the shipping wars to be thinking clearly, but even when I was saying "It's enough that Jax is gay", I still said "If Goose does make Jax trans I will respect that". Granted that isn't a great defense for myself, probably stuff I need to unlearn there, but the point I'm making is, even as someone who was in that denial camp, I was still picking up the hints that Jax was a part of the Queer Community.
This of course, brings us to the discourse, there are some people who not only deny that Jax is trans, but also outright hate the idea, why? Because apparent;y Jax is a worse trans character than Ida Davis from Family Guy. Of course, Jax has always been the target of disdain and hatred from the fandom because... well Jax was always an asshole, so some people may see this as an attempt to make Jax less of a villain. Let's examine that word before we go any further, "Villain", what is a villain? Some people may say that the villain is someone who is evil, which is a... frighteningly basic interpretation of the word. Like, yeah "Villains" in narratives have usually been evil, or had traits that made them look more immoral than the heroes. Certainly, nobody is gonna argue that Maleficent, a villain whose name is not too different from "Malevolent" is not evil, at least nobody with any sense would. That being said, there are plenty of "Villains" in stories that aren't necessarily evil. Amos Slade in The Fox and the Hound is not a totally evil person, sure he wants to kill Tod and is willing to break the law to do so, but from his perspective Tod is a trouble-maker who is causing trouble on his property and almost got one of his dogs killed, sure we know Tod isn't totally at fault, but that's because we're watching the movie from Tod's perspective, not Amos'.
You look closely enough in media, you'll see all kinds of "Villains" that aren't necessarily "Evil", nor even the more basic "Antagonists". The Grinch is a character who does something wrong, but on some level you do kind of understand where he's coming from, Hell, the entire emotional crux of the best adaptations of Treasure Island hinge on the idea that Long John Silver isn't as evil and heartless as he wants us to think, done best in Treasure Planet, done okay in Muppet Treasure Island. Of course, reforming villains throw the idea that nobody is beyond salvation into the mix, this has been a thing in storytelling for a long time, Yellow Submarine ended with the Chief Blue Meanie reforming, so what makes them all villains if they aren't entirely "Evil"? See, in order for there to be a narrative, there has to be a conflict and in order for there to be a conflict between people, someone has to be in the wrong. Obviously this could be in the wrong morally, but when you get down to it morality is kind of flexible. Les Miserable has a parole breaking fugitive be the hero and the police officer chasing him down be the villain, and it would normally be the other way around, if the narrative didn't establish that Jean Valjean stole that bread to feed a starving child.
In short, a "Villain", narratively speaking, is the character in a story that is narratively in the wrong.
What does this have to do with Jax? The idea that making Jax trans is meant to "Make him less of a villain" is not the correct way to look at either the character, nor villains. A lot of Jax's behavior does seem to stem from being a repressed person who bottles up their problems and emotions, the idea that Jax is trans because it somehow "Absolves him of any wrong-doing" is a massive misunderstanding of the work and character, especially considering that Gooseworx is a Trans Woman herself. Call me crazy but this is almost coming off like calling Rebecca Sugar a "Nazi Apologist" even though she was raised Jewish, almost.
However, the real reason I wanted to talk about this is because the idea that all trans characters have to be one-hundred percent morally upstanding is... well let me put it this way, if you aren't gonna give Jax any leeway because they're trans, why would you give any real person leeway because they're trans. Especially those who are insecure, projecting, lashing out, and depressed because they don't have that luxury of being allowed to be honest with themselves. I know a trans person in real life, have for my entire life, and pre-transition she did act a bit like Jax, especially that whole projecting thing. She didn't have that supportive of a network, so she was lashing out, but unlike Jax, she did build up that supportive network rather than push all of it away, and she is a better, and happier, person now. I think Jax resonates with trans people more than any squeaky-clean sterile stereotype that some people want to push.
Jax is in the wrong in the narrative because they are constantly pushing away their supportive network, and why? Self-loathing of course, why do you think they were upset with Kinger's blunder? It wasn't just that he deleted Caine, but if everyone can forgive him for that, then that means they can forgive Jax, and Jax doesn't want to be forgiven, they don't believe they deserve that forgiveness. Possibly because they grew up in a queerphobic time and place.
I think this idea that Jax can't be trans because they only show the negative side of it is, kind of dismissive of the struggle plenty of Trans people have to go through, and to see even a piece of those struggles in a character who sadly doesn't overcome them, that can still mean a lot. To be blunt, this sanding down of edges required for a Queer character of any kind to be accepted is harmful. Being trans is edgy, in that it is not a smooth experience to everyone and to demand that it be a smooth experience for characters that aren't even real is dismissive to the real people dealing with these struggles everyday. It's a similar issue (Though not completely one-to-one) that people on the Autism Spectrum deal with. The cutification of Autism has sadly overshadowed plenty of the struggles that people with Autism deal with, like sensory issues that can lead to self-harm.
Even as a non-trans person, I still relate a little to Jax, I to have been self-concious about the things that made me different, and while I had a somewhat decent support system (though it could've been better), I was still a terrible person, and a lot of that came from self-loathing which did lead me to having suicidal thoughts. Of course, none of it absolves Jax of their actions, nobody is saying it does, but it does show their actions in a different light, one that we can probably be a little empathetic towards, I mean even Gangle cried over Jax.
If all characters that represent minorities have to be squeaky-clean to appeal to a guilty white audience, it creates a lot of portrayals that cannot ever be lived up to, as well as a slew of harmful stereotypes that nobody will think about because they are "Uplifting Positive stereotypes" instead of "Nasty hurtful negative stereotypes". So to see a messy person who never really had the chance to be themselves, it can, and does, mean something. So, why is Trans Jax important? Because we need more portrayals of trans people that go beyond "Nonthreatening to a status quo that already hates them" and "So pristine and perfect they might as well be an inhuman robot", yes the usage of "inhuman" was intentional and not just a piece of redundancy.
Happy Pride Month Everyone!
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