You’re Not Problematic, Even If Your Fave Is
On the ethics of loving good work by flawed people.
TW: This piece discusses sexual assault and domestic violence.
I have no judgment for people who love Roseanne because of her earlier work. Her show provided a refreshing, complex, and empathic portrayal of working class and fat people, at a time when few media outlets were interested in cultivating such representation. The show had a lot of meaningful lessons to dispense, and the love that bonded its members was palpable and comforting. Whether you grew up with the show, or discovered it fairly recently, I think you have a right to consume it and enjoy it. And I don’t think you deserve to feel a shred of guilt for that.
But you gotta know that there’s a reason the “boy who wears dresses” in the new season decides, quite conclusively, that he’s “still a boy”. It’s because Roseanne doesn’t think trans women are real. And you ought to know she’s been pretty dang consistent in voicing that view, for quite some time:
