Channel 4’s Friday Night Live attracted a wave of criticism from people after Jordan Gray’s dick was mashed into the plastic keys of a keyboard in front of a live studio audience and viewers at home. It was beautiful, here’s why;

Jordan Gray’s dick and the song which accompanied it are a moment that will go down in trans history in my opinion. Her show underscores the turning point in society’s understandings of trans narratives away from the “woe is me, I deserve your pity” transsexual of yesteryear to the empowered, loud and proud transgender of the here and now. This is what trans liberation looks like, and its beautiful.

The song even mimics this flip in its construction. She starts her song dreaming of being cisgender and referencing traits usually mocked by cisgender people as giveaway signs that someone is transgender; namely hand and feet sizes. Classic #WeCanAlwaysTell stuff.

She even references seeing the pity in the audience’s eyes before completely changing tempo as she announces that she realises being transgender isn’t actually something to pity and she’s perfectly happy. In fact, she’s better than you.

The song quickly erupts into Jordan singing about how she’s a genius and the predominately cisgender audience are lucky that she’s here to perform for them. A lyric which rings out a lot harder with the context that anti-trans campaigners are arguing to reduce the numbers of trans people because we are “a huge problem to a sane world”.

A few jokes about the word “motherfucker” and how it half-rhymes with “Chuckle brother” and we’re onto the next part of the song; narcissism. This section involved Jordan audibly saying this song is all about her and using the word “me” a lot; including as answers to 25×10 and the Capital of France while insulting the audience.

Again, these lyrics hit so much harder when you know the context. Trans people are regularly accused of being narcissists by transphobes as a means of undermining our human rights and acceptance in society. Instead of validating transphobia by attempting a serious argument against it, Jordan’s song comically embraces it, taking it to its extreme and pushing it out the other end to raucous laughter.

Then we get onto the section many anti-trans campaigners are calling out for misogyny. Which it is. Definitely. But that’s the point, these are misogynist things directed at trans women specifically usually by cis het men who see us – women collectively – as sex objects and bodies they are entitled to talk disgustingly about in their podcasts.

Jordan Gray takes these things out of the seedy ‘chaser’ forums where they’re usually said to and about trans women. Instead of feeling ashamed by them as wider cis society wants her to she holds them up as positives, obviously under the light of comedy and not as serious validation of the ideas.

The song ends with Jordan dropping her voice down low to call herself the Lizard King, decree she can do anything before returning to her normal voice and singing us out to the lyric; “I can do anything any other woman can, but what do you expect? I used to be a man.” Before calling that line out for being sexist, which again, it is! This whole section is about the venn diagram between transphobia and sexism.

She then announces being on live TV lets her do “stupid stuff” before standing up from the keyboard, stripping off her tear-away pink suit to reveal her entirely naked body, doing a Michael Jackson kick, playing the piano with her dick and then standing triumphantly on a box for all to gaze upon. Power posing; godess style.

Jordan Gray’s dick attracted criticism all across social and legacy media. The Daily Mail ran articles on it, gammons were upset on Twitter and many even accused the comedian of indecent exposure. Even going as far as to tag in the police or even claim that they had filed a complaint.

All of this because Jordan Gray’s dick did the unthinkable for transphobes. It proved trans bodies aren’t scary. One existed in a room, completely naked, in front of hundreds of people many of them women – and nothing happened. This contrasts with the narratives spread by anti-trans campaigners who use terminology like “male-bodied people” as a way of stigmatising our bodies and fearmongering about us in spaces.

This comedy show dismantled that belief with a catchy song and a trans woman willing to bare-all to remove the mystery and stigma surrounding our bodies. Jordan Gray’s dick, a piano and a song written by and for trans people all work together to tear down unhealthy constructs surrounding trans bodies. They show us that true liberation from harmful cisnormativity can be found through vicious mockery of anti-trans dogma and unashamedly owning your trans existence.

That’s why in my opinion this show will go down in Trans history, this was a whole ass moment and – if the stars align just right Trans Writes will be sponsoring an interview with Jordan Gray. Keep an eye out on our social media for news on that!

 

 

 

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