Space Camp and The X-Men-ification of Trans People

The long-running comic has always been an allegory for marginalized groups, but the parallels to the current treatment of trans people by society just keep getting stronger.

Hey everyone. Parker here.

I came across this story yesterday, and I’ve been frustrated about it ever since. You’ll see why:

“Alabama official calls for firing of transgender Space Camp employee after parent speaks out” (Al.com, 3/11/24)

Several Alabama politicians say they are concerned about children’s safety at Huntsville’s Space Camp after a parent complained about the presence of a transgender employee.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Reps. Dale Strong and Robert Aderholt posted statements on X, formerly known as Twitter, after a parent posted on Facebook complaining about the gender identity of one of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center employees. The topic was also picked up by the Libs of TikTok account.

Clay Yarbrough of Owens Cross Roads, the father of an 11-year-old Huntsville city school student, said he became aware on Thursday evening that a Space Camp crew member is transgender.

His daughter was to attend camp in a week as part of a school exercise, he said.

This should go without saying, but there is nothing wrong with a trans person having a job. And yet that seems to be at the core of the complaint — the mere existence of a trans person at the Space Camp facilities is supposed to be… a fireable offense?

Mr. Yarborough’s accusation sounds absurd, too. He said that he heard that “one little girl had called her parents and said, ‘This guy is in the (dorm) room’ and ‘I don’t feel comfortable.”

Again, even if this second-hand complaint is true, there is nothing scandalous about a trans person having a job that puts them around children. The article notes that all camp staff undergo thorough background checks as a condition of their employment.

“Additionally, staff sleep in separate rooms from students and use separate bathroom facilities. We also provide 24-hour onsite security including round-the-clock video surveillance, regular foot and vehicle patrols, and controlled campus and building access,” the center said.

So, it seems more than a bit unlikely that anything at all inappropriate was happening.

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And it’s clear from the statements being put out by politicians that, yes, they view the mere presence of a trans person anywhere near a child, even if that is literally their job, as unacceptable. Just look, again, from the AL.com story:

[S]everal members of Alabama’s Congressional delegation spoke out on social media, citing safety concerns but without including specifics.

“I call on the Center to immediately remove this individual and open a safety review to consider the potential harm and damages they have inadvertently caused children,” Strong said in the post. He said putting the “safety and wellbeing (of children) first” is critical.

“It is imperative that Space Camp remains a safe place for children and young people,” Tuberville said. “I urge the Space and Rocket Center to ensure that its reputation as a world-renowned camp remains untarnished by the progressive agenda of today,” Tuberville said.

Aderholt said his “office promptly expressed my concerns directly with Space Camp officials.”

“Parents want to know that when they entrust their children to others...that they will be well looked after and not put into situations that could potentially put them in danger,” Aderholt said.

Rep. Gary Palmer called the situation “unacceptable.”

“When parents send their kids to Space Camp in Alabama, they should be confident they are going to a safe, educational environment,” Palmer said.

As this screenshot, obtained by Evan Urquhart at Assigned Media, shows, Yarbrough’s outrage stemmed from the idea that a trans person (who he refers to as “this freak”) has a job as a team lead at Space Camp and “could be allowed alone in the halls at night.” This is literally just a complaint that a trans person has a job.

Again, from Urquhart:

There have been no allegations that the Space Camp employee’s behavior has been inappropriate. Instead, her identity combined with several social media posts purporting to have come from an account she controls have been portrayed as reason for her firing.

The contents of the social media posts are not particularly disturbing or violent, though they do include profanity and lighthearted discussions of transgender anatomy. “Some days I wish I was a boy that had a pussy unstead of a girl that has a dick……..” reads one typical example. Also included in the screenshots are what looks to be a selfie with the self-descriptor “butch coded space queer.”

These weren’t comments made around children. They were unrelated to work and posted to a personal social media account. To the best of our knowledge, this employee does a perfectly professional job at work.

X-Men parallels

I was re-watching the X-Men cartoons from the ‘90s the other day when I came across an episode that felt relevant to these times. It was season 2, episode 10 (the whole thing is on Disney+, by the way), called “Beauty and the Beast.” I edited together a short 3:32 clip with the parts that struck me as relevant:

Here’s the portion of the episode summary, via the Marvel Animated Universe Wiki:

Hank McCoy is working in a eye hospital, helping other scientists in the development of a compound capable of curing blindness. Doctor Bolson shows Hank a blind patient named Carly Anne Crocker whom he promises will have an operation the next day that would restore her sight.

Before more could be said, smoke starts to infiltrate the room. Beast grabs Carly and Dr. Bolson and climbs out of the building only for them to be met with an angry mob lead by members of the Friends of Humanity. Hank is attacked by the Friends of Humanity and a fight ensues until the police arrives.

…

Back in New York City, Dr. Bolson tells Beast that the hospital's board is worried about further violence against the hospital for having a mutant in their staff. He shows Beast Carly's father speaking with the director about his displeasure of having a "filthy mutant" touching his daughter. Beast goes to the mansion looking at his family photos book as Jean enters bringing food. She asks him if he's alright and Beast merely walks towards the mirror, breaking in fury and throwing the book at it. He reveals that he is in love with Carly but that he can't be with her because of his social status.

With Jean's kind advice, Beast goes back to the hospital in time for Carly to have the bandages removed and the two rejoice over the triumphant procedure. Their joy is broken when Carly's father enters the room. He angrily orders Beast to have no further contact with his daughter despite Dr. Bolson and Carly's protests. Dr. Bolson follows Beast whom gives a present he forgot to give her when the hospital shakes and when they go back to the room they find it trashed, Carly missing and For Humanity written on the wall.

The way trans people get talked about and treated is near-identical to how the mutants of the X-Men universe do. And sometimes politicians will outright admit that’s how they see us:

“Florida GOP legislator calls transgender people ‘mutants’ and ‘demons’ during hearing” (The Hill, Brooke Migdon, 4/11/23):

A Republican state lawmaker in Florida called transgender people “demons” and compared them to mutants from the X-Men universe during a legislative hearing on Monday.

State Rep. Webster Barnaby (R) on Monday likened transgender people to “mutants from another planet” while arguing in favor of a bill that would make it a crime for transgender people in Florida to use public restrooms consistent with their gender identity.

“It’s like I’m watching an X-Men movie,” Barnaby said during Monday’s hearing in the Florida House Commerce Committee. “It’s like we have mutants living among us on planet Earth. Some people don’t like that, but that’s a fact.”

“This is the planet Earth, where God created men, male and women, female,” Barnaby said Monday. “I’m a proud Christian, conservative Republican. I’m not on the fence.”

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This is all so dehumanizing.

Do people understand how dehumanizing it feels to be a trans person right now? The Space Camp example is not about “teaching” kids anything related to trans people, so there’s no, “I don’t care if they exist, but just don’t teach my kid about it” kind of situation here. Instead, it’s exactly what LGBTQ people have warned things like “Don’t Say Gay” were really about: pushing LGBTQ people out of society.

A trans person has every much as right to be a teacher as anyone else. A trans person has every much as right to work at Space Camp as anyone else. It’s true. Treating the mere existence of trans people as some sort of inherent threat to children is bigotry. Flat out.

I wish the people who’ve been pushing this would just be honest about what it is they want: social stigma against trans people so strong that they can be pushed to the very margins of society simply for who they are. This has never been about “fairness in sports” or concerns about bathroom assaults; it’s never been about bone density in trans youth or just setting up reasonable guardrails in treatments. It’s always, from the start, been a push to marginalize trans people and make their public employment near-impossible, making their ability to provide for themselves near-impossible, and their ability to survive near impossible.

Think I’m overreacting?