I’m disappointed that My Little Pony, a show about empowering young girls and celebrating diversity, which I love very much and have long considered to be my favorite TV show of all time, would produce an episode that is full of transmisogyny.

I am further disappointed with the fandom for denying the presence of this transmisogyny. People are bending over backwards to argue that most of the episode’s humor wasn’t derived from a “male-bodied” pony trying to pass as female, when certain gags (such as the part where Big Mac’s Adam’s apple is emphasized while he sings to an uncomfortable crowd, or the parts with the old man pony who is “humorously” shown to be attracted to Orchard Blossom) were clearly reliant on that concept.

Finally, I’m disappointed with the people who think that anyone hurt by the episode should “learn to take a joke” or ignore the transmisogyny. No. It’s not funny and it’s not harmless. Transgender women are statistically much more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people or even transgender men. Television has an immense impact on the way people think, especially children. My Little Pony has a responsibility not to perpetuate hateful ideas. We, as viewers, need to hold it to that responsibility if we want things to get better.