I Refuse to Watch the Roseanne Reboot (barf alert)

Good Housekeeping ^ | 5/1/2018 | Kimberley Shapply

[simpson96]

Here we go again.

This was my honest reaction when I heard the Roseanne reboot was going to feature a non-binary child, Mark, who plays Roseanne's grandson. But here's the thing about initial reactions: They’re not always the right ones.

I am the mother of a transgender kid, Kai. She began transitioning at the age of four while being raised in a very conservative, Christian community in the South. When Kai came out as transgender, we received so many death threats and felt so unsafe that we were forced to move.

When Roseanne premiered, there was so much controversy surrounding it that I didn’t want to watch it with a negative mindset. In the weeks leading up to the first episode, I hoped beyond hope the show wasn’t going to be another attack on the LGBTQ+ community. I knew it would be talking about a population that’s at a very high risk of harming themselves. A group that's at risk not because they’re transgender, but because of the way the transgender community is often treated and portrayed through media.

Roseanne Barr has made some very trans-phobic statements in the past, but it’s my hope that having a non-binary grandson was her way of trying to make that right. It's good that a conversation is being encouraged. It’s even better that the show is portraying a child who is gender diverse, and that Mark is being shown as loved and supported by family.

At the same time, I want to ask: Is Mark going to get a nuanced and meaningful storyline, or is this just a token “diversity” cast member? Are the writers meeting with people from all areas of the LGBTQ+ community to make sure they’re accurately representing them? It’s important to remember that people are more than

[sarge83]

I didn’t watch it the first time and haven’t this time. I just didn’t like even the previews the first time it was on. It maybe good but I just never cared for Roseanne.

[Nifster]

Transitioning at age four?

Oh yeah sure thing. That’s called parental abuse

[TomGuy]

So? Change the channel. No need grandstanding about it. If enough viewers change the channel, it will go away. If enough keep watching, it will be around a while.

That is the way it is in TV land. Some series I watch get short-changed and cancelled, some series I do not watch continue through multiple seasons.

I never thought the reboot of Hawaii 5-0 would make it, but it has been renewed for a season 9 (IIRC). The reboot of Will & Grace, though renewed for a 2nd season, is struggling in the ratings. Similar with MacGyver.

Some make it. Some don’t. But you have dozens of channels with cable/satellite and several streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. When all else fails, you can use the OFF button or unplug.

For what it’s worth, I quit watching Roseanne 2 or 3 seasons before the original run ended. It became unfunny and no longer worth watching. I have not tried the reboot.

[papertyger]

I call bullshit on claims of death threats against a child from a “ conservative Christian community”

Bear in mind she also claims to be a “conservative” Christian, and an ordained minister who goes by “the words in red.”

I guess if Rachel Dozall can be “black”....

[rockrr]

My bet is that you’ll sooner see DNA proof from Fauxcahontas Warren than tangible evidence of death threats.

[eyeamok]

She began transitioning at the age of four

YOU BELONG IN PRISON FOR CHILD ABUSE!!!

[bgill]

Bring back Abby, Ziva, Ducky and Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo.

[TomGuy]

Ahhhh. Special Unit 2.

One of my most favorite old TV shows.

[Bob434]

[[When Kai came out as transgender, we received so many death threats and felt so unsafe that we were forced to move.]]

BS!

[catnipman]

“Good Housekeeping ain’t what it used to be. “

like 99.99% of all print publications still in existence, they’ve turned hard leftist ... no real surprise ...

[VanDeKoik]

“I won’t watch Roseanne anyway since her trashing of our National Anthem”

Dude, that was almost 30 years ago.

I know some of you think you are displaying some rock-solid A+ American virtue by saying that, but frankly some of you guys just sound absurd.

[Mozzafiato]

I remember one night when Kai was very young, and I was tucking her into bed. Her legs were cold and, concerned, I lifted the sheets, discovering she had taken a pair of panties off a baby doll and put them on herself.

She had 4 boys, so why was there a doll in the house? The narcissistic mom has been pushing the kid into a confused direction because she wanted a girl and a story. As Paul Harvey would say, "And now, we know the rest of the story".

[cymbeline]

“like 99.99% of all print publications still in existence, they’ve turned hard leftist”

I wish I knew to what extent the publications print what sale as opposed to pushing an opinion.

[gundog]

Did they get a non\binary actor/actress for the part? If not, there’ll be trouble.

[huldah1776]

My son was transitioning at the age of 4, into a Marine!

[DesertRhino]

“was going to feature a non-binary child,”

What the hell is that?

[Steve_Seattle]

"I lifted the sheets, discovering she had taken a pair of panties off a baby doll and put them on herself. It was constricting her blood circulation and if she’d slept that way overnight, it could have become very dangerous. After that experience, I realized I could no longer ignore something very real about my child: My son, born Joseph Paul Shappley, is a girl."

What a leap - an 18-month-old child puts on a doll garment and the mother immediately concludes that the child is transgender. She sounds like a weirdo, who wanted he kid to be something special no matter what the cost to the child.

[Steve_Seattle]

"She had 4 boys, so why was there a doll in the house? The narcissistic mom has been pushing the kid into a confused direction because she wanted a girl and a story."

Good catch. The mom sounds very, very strange.

[miserare]

‘Scuse me...I have to go vomit.

[EdnaMode]

Indeed. That is way too young.