A local newspaper group and LGBTQ allies are responding after a comic depicting a transgender person ran in a number of local papers.
A reader of the Germantown Express News brought the comic to our attention, calling it "the demented-looking characterization of a trans person."
TMJ4 News has chosen not to show the comic, which ran on March 11 in a number of Express Newspapers, including Germantown, Hartford, Jackson, Menomonee Falls, Slinger, Sussex, West Bend, and Jackson.
"Now on second thought, should we have ran that? Probably not. It can be interpreted a couple different ways," said Craig Johnson, Vice President of Operations for Express News, which is based in Germantown.
"The way some people interpret it is as a total negative. And as some people, a positive," said Johnson. "We weren't interpreting it one way or the other."
Johnson said Express subscribes to a service that provides comics and other material, and they run it as is.
TMJ4's Bruce Harrison reached out to the company that provides the comics and has not yet heard back.
The LGBTQ community has reacted with great concern.
"I can't believe something like this is being printed in 2023," said Ricardo Galaviz, MKE LGBT Community Center Associate Director.
"It was a really derogatory depiction of a trans person. Obviously, not only trying to make them look unattractive and sloppy, but also turning that person's existence into a joke," said Galaviz.
Galaviz said next week the LGBT Community Center will be partnering with the Germantown Community Coalition for an event called LGBTQ+ Inclusivity.
It's being held at 6 p.m. on March 20 at St. John's United Church of Christ in Germantown. The event was scheduled, according to Galaviz, before they knew about the comic. But he said its printing adds more urgency to the inclusivity event.
Lynn Carey, co-leader of Grassroots Germantown, also released this statement after learning about the comic:
"We condemn the cartoon within the Germantown Express News that is clearly intended to disrespect and bully a group of people that already is under attack. Transgender people deserve to live their lives in a safe, secure, and respectful environment. This cartoon is an expression of hate and fear. I would like to know who paid for this and why was it printed?
In a time of increased violence towards trans people, we should be providing support and understanding. This cartoon only contributes to this violence. Whoever is responsible for this being printed in a community newspaper should be held accountable."
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
