TADC EPISODE 9 SPOILERS UNDER CUT
I think anyone who says that Jax is bad transfem representation due to her stark rejection of femininity when it's put upon her like in the Maid Dress scene has no concept of what bad trans rep is, and I think the uwu-ification of Gangle also has something to do with it.
It really feels like some people don't understand what it's like to be closeted, or just coming out in an environment where your acceptance is uncertain or outright improbable.
Of course Jax, who is not out and not accepting of her gender due to her past trauma, is not going to react well to being put in a maid dress, and that's perhaps the best representation you can give of an insecure trans girl being thrust out of her comfort zone with no regard for her comfort or boundaries. Hell, that's what you'd expect from trying to out anyone that's closeted, because the fear of retaliation from people they can't be sure will accept them and their own internalised feelings induced by their environment and past experiences will obviously induce a fight or flight situation where they'll panic and reject it to the high heavens.
It's really a "she doth protest too much" situation.
And I understand the idea that it's bad rep because yeah, it's messed up that a closeted trans woman would be forced into that situation, but that's where I feel like people are giving Gangle a little too much credit.
The TADC cast aren't meant to be perfect, pure little angels. Pomni leaves Ragatha to the abstracted Kaufmo in the very first episode, Zooble can be pushy and antagonistic, Ragatha will intentionally lie and sometimes remain passive when she really should push back.
Just because Gangle is often meek and reserved, doesn't mean they're perfectly pure and innocent. Heck, we literally see in the Spudsy's episode that when they have their happy mask on and get a taste of power, they abuse it, pushing others around and vindictively getting back at Jax specifically.
Gangle's oversimplification to an uwu sad widdwe bean is a major issue, because to acknowledge that Jax is acting out because she's being outed unwillingly is to acknowledge that Gangle, whether she actually knows she's doing it or not, is kinda doing something fucked up.
Does Gangle have any inclination towards Jax being trans? We have no idea. Probably not, realistically. But does that make it okay to intentionally force someone into a situation that actively induces that degree of panic in them?
I also think this connects into Jax's interpretation of Zooble's abstraction, where Gangle is in the mask again and Jax is back in the maid dress. I think very specifically, the lines:
"You're just doing it to make fun of them!"
"Isn't that what you're doing?"
Speaks volumes about how Jax interprets Gangle's actions towards her. Intentional or not, Jax saw it as an attack, Jax saw it as being picked on and made fun of, even as much as Jax has antagonised and picked on Gangle, Jax saw this as crossing a line that stuck with them.
And given the circumstances and what we learn about her, I don't think that's unfair for Jax to think. She has no way of knowing if Gangle has any idea about her being closeted, and we know Jax is too antisocial and deflective to ever actually broach the subject directly, especially after the Ribbit situation. All Jax knows is that she was scared again, scared of being in that unfamiliar, uncomfortable situation where her wishes were being demeaned and belittled...
And that panic, that fear, that ever-present anxiety and the thought that at any moment, someone can look at you and it will just click for them that you're something they don't like, something they hate, something they might go so far as to hurt or even kill...
That makes Jax some damn fine trans representation.
I know I've sure as hell felt it.
All this to say don't assume on behalf of trans people what should and shouldn't apply to them, and don't treat characters like pure little angels when there's evidence to the contrary.
