You’ll Never Watch The Simpsons The Same Way Again
Move over Mr. Garrison, there’s more than one animated (formerly?) trans teacher
Welcome to TRANSlating Everything, a newsletter covering pop culture, news, politics, and the science of storytelling through the lens of a cool trans mom. You can support my work by leaving a tip or choosing a paid subscription to Translating Everything on Medium or Substack.
If you like my work and want to support it, send me a tip or become a subscriber for TRANSlating Everything on Patreon, Medium, YouTube, or Substack.
Note: this article is also available as a free video
Y’all remember the Simpsons?
Audiences met tough-as-nails Brunella Pommelhorst as far back as season 3 in the only episode of the Simpsons to be banned from Disney+, but it wasn’t until the season 17 episode “My Fair Laddy” that the long-running show revealed even gym teachers are sometimes waiting to complete their transition.
The Simpsons is pro trans
In season 17 episode 12 “My Fair Laddy,” Mr. Skinner announces that the school gym teacher — Brunella Pommelhorst — will be undergoing gender affirmation surgery. As part of Brunella’s social transition, they will request everyone to refer to them as Mr. Pommelhorst going forward.
And that’s the last we see of Brunella for a while.
The rest of the episode challenges traditional norms of masculinity by asking whether a wacky Scottish janitor can be made into a traditional man. Almost as though the writers are saying it’s equally as absurd — but also equally as likely — for a tough-as-nails gym teacher to reveal they are a man finally pursuing gender-affirming medical treatment.
We’re all working to become our best selves on the terms available to us.
But Brunella was about to meet their biggest challenge yet, and I don’t mean announcing to their class that they were going to receive gender-affirmation surgery. I mean the fight for their trans identity not to be erased from Simpsons canon.
Taken from the Simpsons Fandom (with pronouns adjusted by me):
However, [he] apparently chose not to undergo the surgery after all, as in “Moms I’d Like to Forget”, [he] is seen standing next to Coach Krupt during the brawl that breaks out in the teachers’ lounge after Mike insults Bart and the other fourth graders, still a woman.
But that’s silly. Just because Brunella is shown still having the same appearance does NOT mean he didn’t transition.
And here’s another appearance of Brunella in the season 22 finale “The Ned Liest Catch.” That’s five years after Brunella transitioned. By now, he has every right to expect the rest of the world to see him for the man he is.
“My Fair Laddy” confirms Brunella as a trans man
Remember the plot of the episode after Brunella announced his surgery? Lisa is trying to teach Willie different ways to be a man, too. But at the same time, Willie is teaching Lisa that not all men will fit Lisa’s idea of a man.
The episode’s A-story shows that while Willie can pretend to be a cishet man, he isn’t a cishet man. He’s not prim and proper. He’s Willie. Even when that know-it-all Karen Simpson— I mean Lisa, her name is Lisa — insists on placing a “Home Sweet Home” sign on Willie’s shack, he just waits for her to leave and takes it down.
Willie might be cis, but he’s also non-conforming. His clothes, his accent, and his mannerisms are all what make him Willie.
Who else could wear a kilt and never for a moment make you think his clothes alone define his gender?
The same needs to be said for Brunella Pommelhorst
Brunella chose to transition.
How do you know he transitioned? Because he told you so.
You can’t say he didn’t transition just because you can’t look at him and tell.
And you definitely can’t say he’s any less of a man just because he’s obsessed with Xena: Warrior Princess.
Episode Appearances
- Episode — “Stark Raving Dad” (banned episode)
- Episode — “The PTA Disbands” (first mentioned)
- Episode — “Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)”
- Episode — “Little Girl in the Big Ten”
- Episode — “The President Wore Pearls”
- Episode — “Milhouse Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”
- Episode — “My Fair Laddy”
- Episode — “The Fool Monty” (name, on rota)
- Episode — “Moms I’d Like to Forget”
- Episode — “The Ned-liest Catch”
- Episode — “Pulpit Friction”
- Episode — “Blazed and Confused” (photo)
- Episode — “Walking Big & Tall”
- Episode — “Diary Queen”
- Episode — “My Octopus and a Teacher”
- Episode — “Game Done Changed”
- – The Simpsons Movie
- Special — “Do the Bartman”
- Comic story — A League of Their Own
- Book — The Book of Moe
- Book — The Simpsons: One Step Beyond Forever
- Book — Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Seasons 1–20
Fun facts
- Legend has it that Brunella’s last name is derived from the gymnastics apparatus the pommel horse, which is only used by male gymnasts
- There’s been plenty of transphobia in the Simpsons over the years, such as when Marge refers to Helen Lovejoy’s transgender female cousin as a “he-she.” Having said that! The “he-she cousin” line was redubbed in syndication to “Helen Lovejoy’s transgender cousin.”
- Other moments of transphobia from the Simpsons can be seen in this compilation (YouTube)
About Stephenie Magister
If you like my work and want to support it, send me a tip or become a subscriber for Translating Everything on Patreon, Medium, YouTube, or Substack
