She isn't just voiced by a random man, shes voiced by doc hammer, the creator. And you can hear through out the show the dedication to his role by how her voice develops. It wasnt half heartedly done like other adult animated shows might have done, he cared about his role and put effort into making it even just a little more than just a joke.
Yeah the reasoning here is probably more that the show was made really cheaply and the 2 creators do many many voices of any 2 given pairs of non-main characters.
(Super late I know) Dude the best part about it is that when you first start the show it’s “Oh, her schtick is her voice, neat ig” but then you go through the show and her voice just becomes her voice and you don’t pay it any mind. It’s not “oh hear comes mrs man voice” it’s “Oh, it’s one of the most competent and caring characters! This will probably be a really nice scene.”
To combat brush fires, fire fighters will start a controlled burn surrounding the areas where the fire is spreading, the controlled burn is pushed toward the brush fire. The thought behind this being if the controlled burn is indeed controlled the wildfire cannot spread because all the fuel it could burn already was, and the controlled burn is put out if it spreads in an unwanted direction
I'm cis and have related with Dr. Mrs The Monarch. I have a fairly low voice, contralto by my voice teachers estimates. But it's not just that. Probably just for jokes, but they made her struggle with EVERYTHING women usually struggle with. Trans or cis. And she's powerful and capable despite all that. She's one of my favorite characters ever
The moment that sticks with me was when she went to the bathroom and when the two girls walk in and one of them kinda whispers something about her before going "can I ask you something?" To which her initial response was "yes I belong here I just have a really deep voice" and it's like... She must deal with that a lot considering that is her go to response to what seems to be an overly common question.
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is such a paragon of femininity that, after multiple watches of the series, my brain simply no longer registers her voice as masculine.
This. Had someone whose never watched the show walk in one time and go "the joke is she has a man's voice?" And it occurred to me the same. I don't know when I stopped thinking "Haha man's voice" to "just a deep voice" and never questioned if she was a woman or not
Yup, it just becomes her voice after not that long. I will say Red Death is probably a more villainous villain than Dr Girlfriend/Dr Mrs The Monarch/Counciller Dr Mrs The Monarch.
Slightly related, because I haven't watched the Venture bros, but there is this one channel that does Touhou fan comic readings. But their entire cast is just men, but the Touhou cast is girls. But over time those voices stop sounding masculine to me and just become "their voices", to the point that I cannot imagine them having any other voice. Like the character Koakuma just permanently has a higher pitched masculine voice with a french accent in my head and honestly it fits her pretty well.
@@dm121984 Mrs. The monarch is the best but she is personally dispassionate about it, she loves her husband for his passion and throws her skill behind getting him to function as a villain. Same with 21 actually.
@animeotaku307 "two big beautiful gifts from God and he wanted to get rid of them!" The writing and performance of this line made it instantly memorable to me 😂
I remember having this one weird dream where I accidentally ended up at a TERF convention somehow and got carried out of it in the arms of Brock Samson. So I guess he’s an ally according to my subconscious
@@kerdnerl I think it was at an unrelated event because this was set a hotel and I remember he was diving off a board while women were cheering. Then he had that big hero moment. Weirdest part is Brock Samson isn’t even my type, but I appreciate it I guess
I had a nightmare about Brock Samson where he jammed his thumbs into my friend's eye sockets then just tore him in half. Then he grabbed me by the neck and repeatedly punched me in the forehead. I just woke up with the worst hangover ever.
Ikr!! Watching it the first time last year was LITERALLY a life changing experience!! I felt like my brain was gonna explode from awesomeness for pretty much all of season 5-7
And they did it (and by they I mean Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick) by watching their own show and taking stuff that was there and either burying it or expanding upon it. And it also helps that they're the only writers for the show.
A conversation I've had with my two best friends a few times over the years is how the way that Dr Mrs The Monarch is such a beacon of femininity and sex appeal has pavlov'd us into inseparably associating deep voices with those things. It's something that came up again when I came out as trans to them earlier this year and it's honestly made me feel more confident about how I sound, and not afraid to actually speak when I'm trying to present as feminine. Dr Mrs The Monarch's voice is way deeper than mine, and she's a veritable icon of womanhood so even if I do make efforts to change my voice as I transition I'm not going to worry over how I sound in the meantime.
I've always loved how quickly her deep voice just becomes part of who she is. Like yeah it's notable for 5 minutes but afterward I totally forgot about it and never noticed it again, Dr. Mrs has a deep voice, it doesn't feel any more notable than the fact Brock Sampson is blond.
You know, your post really helps me a lot. I finally started my MTF journey 2 months ago after 29 years of knowing and hiding. My cousin told me they were trans FTM and I was like, I gotta be strong now, why am I even hiding when they need someone now? I've known since I was 6 and I picked my name. Before that I went to the ER twice for picking up curling irons, took moms clothes to feel pretty, injected myself into her makeup process, and had hidden barbies I played with. My mom was colorblind so she let me pick out her clothes and jewlery every day, I never got to twll her before she died but I like to think she knew. So I was always me, even before I got asked my pronouns at 6 by Prof. wOak and actually made that decision all in a time when transgender was still "transsexual" and a "mental illness" 😅. My voice has always been jarring to me. Too high to pass as a dude and too low to feel fem. I always watched characters like Dr. Mrs the Monarch and Linn and felt seen in a way, but I don't think I ever thought about it like this until I read your comment. So, thanks, you are awesome!
@NumeyNaomi Aw, thanks for your kind words and for sharing some of your own journey! I've realised that sharing our stories can really help others or share nice little lessons, plus it just feels good. If people are willing to share there's always going to be new perspectives on our own matters or good bits of advice to help us along, not to mention there's always going to be a tonne of people whose experiences overlap with our own to remind us we're not alone.
They're not. It happened once and she says, "Hey! That was not my idea!" and he says "I know. I thought it would turn me on, but it was just sad a disappointing."
@@ng952 You're both right: they weren't initially (as per the line you referenced) but then the characters either changed or it was just retconned. Though I can't remember whether or not it's said before or after Sheila seduces Dr. Venture, which Monarch enjoys watching but does get jealous of.
Yeah there are multiple instances where brock shows a pretty transphobic side with Dr Girlfriend and he is obviously disturbed upon seeing Hunter on the medical table with breasts. But his recalling of "never kill women" leading him to defy orders and spare hunter was great character development
@@Disco4ia Pretty sure he's not disgusted with Hunter, he was deeply conflicted that the man he knew all along and was sent to kill had a sex surgery to escape his past... Which then turned out to be all staged anyway, and he never really had the surgery to begin with, it was all to get Brock to believe it for a while. As for Dr. Girlfriend? I always assumed their animosity is over the fact that she IS a villain and has high ties to some of the shadiest organizations in the setting; She's genuinely a threat to him, don't forget that The Monarch himself ranks the prestigiously high Level 10 among villains and she's married to the guy.
@@michaeljohnson6905 Oh, he _doubled down?_ I guess I only recall the layers of conspiracy being such a twist at the time that I genuinely thought that WAS faked.
@@MrMarket1987 Yeah, I think he(?) says his(?) penis was surgically reattached or reconstructed or something later. Would kind of need scifi/fantasy-level tech to have satisfactory results, because reversing SRS in a way that results in anything like the original penis is not currently possible. It really felt like going back in the closet for Hunter, and I wondered why it was necessary. Like dang, just let Hunter be a girl. Also y'all can reverse SRS, but apparently good old laser and FFS don't exist? Brock pretty much confirmed that the SRS was done when he peeks under the sheet, and Hunter saying it had been reversed also confirms it was done in the first place.
I personally like the fact that Gather’s face doesn’t change much after the transition more as a positive message that you still pass even if you can physically change some things and people still accept you for who you are
I really appreciate the recognition that less than ideal representation can still be meaningful. Some of the first things to put cracks in my egg were things that were absolutely made wit the intent of the joke being" look how gross/weird this trans person is" but because my empathy invested me in the story I couldn't help thinking " look how human this character is, is it really so weird? and I mean it IS a rockin' body, sure theres stubble and body hair, but like cis women have that too" though my brain definantly didn't have the word cis at the time.
I feel like its important to say since many people havent listened to the creators audio commentary, but they actually apologized in it for how they wrote Hunter. In the early seasons they admitted they didn’t really know anything about trans people at the time and it WAS being used for jokes that they see as distasteful in hindsight. You can really see the moment they became more educated around season 4 where Hank thinks being gay and trans is the same thing when he asks the Alchemist (a canonically gay character) if his panis is “all frankensteiny”. Another character asks if Hank is ever embarrassed about how ignorant he is and Hank says “yeah, constantly”. Which i feel was a nice nod to the creator’s own previous ignorance. 😂
Holy crap we completely forgot about Hunter Gathers. And we saw pretty much all of the series up until the last couple seasons. Another fun detail is that the voice actor for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch dressed up as the character in full outfit and makeup for the special features of the Season 1 DVD of the Venture Bros and did a live action interview as the character. Really cute!
As someone who was born a women and teased for having a low voice and Adam’s apple I always felt really connected to the trans community. The community has really shown me there is no one way to be a women. To put womanhood in a box is so sad. I love my voice now :)
This feels out of pocket but I also kinda just won't sleep at night if I don't mention that those roles are anachronistic projections of more modern patriarchal assumptions, not representative of the anthropological record (not that you specifically necessarily needed to hear it, i don't know you and am aware of that fact lol). That conception of early humanity can at best be traced back a few hundred years and comes more from christianity than anything more applicable to a time before even _that_ was a thing >w< Allllsooo this is all kinda part of a history of colonialism and such as well haha. But this feels like it's gettin long as is and if I don't contain myself I'll write a whole ass dissertation -w-'
@@something-from-elsewhere originally I felt the same way I wasnt rlly thrilled with the idea but its their name so there rlly isnt anything to be done abt it, I just grew to accept it as a ill informed tounge and cheek little title, plus its never brought up or mentioned in the show or vid so I just wanted to draw attention to it, whether it be for better or worse
@@Wek6 Yeaaaa I tried to caveat it n that haha but still I think it's worth examining those sorts of hegemonic ideas n just felt compelled to draw attn to that. Like, iss clear that's what they were goin for but that doesn't mean iss beyond analysis
@@something-from-elsewhereyou were right to say it. Modern hunter gatherer societies also do not all have strict gender roles about hunting and gathering. The idea of gender as aligning with job castes like that is not universal even though evolutionary psychology pseudoscientists keep repeating it as fact.
AHA! Your premonition was WRONG, Sorceress! I was not playing Elden Ring, I was playing Don't Starve Together while listening to this video featuring insightful commentary!
Im just so used that sexy husky voice of Dr Girlfriend that I don't really ever question her as a woman, maybe it's the writing and acting. Also I like raspy tomboyish voices
I think one reason to attribute to thinking her voice is sexy and not a turn off is pretty simple: we like her. She's an interesting and complicated character with a really likable personality, so we are quicker to like other attributes about her that we might see as hideous in a person who we saw as horrible.
I REALLY want to say that she was going to be a surrogate for wide whales child in the last season...there are hints of this all through the last season
Never have I clicked faster!!! On that note Pickles from Metalocalypse isn’t necessarily 100% canonically confirmed trans ,but it was recently confirmed that one episode where he wasn’t animated with male gonads wasn’t an error and that Brendon Small (who ironically also voices the guy doing Hunter’s gender confirmation surgery) is at least supportive of trans headcanons
i went through a period where i was watching adult swim's "live" episodes on their website, which is when i discovered the joys of the venture bros. it's seriously so so good.
13:46 - want to say something right here, but I suspect that Hunter also felt some internal pressure to detransition. Hunter originally left the OSI because of her morals conflicting with what turned out to be _massive_ systematic corruption of the OSI not only because of the Guild of Calamitous Intent infiltrating the organization but also because of governmental interference, because her morals and personal code are *that* important to her as a person. I've always felt that (in-universe) part of the reason for Hunter detransitioning had to do with, y'know, being a woman conflicted with her belief that the "good guys" don't put women and children at risk, and she was more willing/able to live in a body she's uncomfortable in than she was with walking away from the spy life and just letting other people deal with it. I could be completely wrong on this and just talking out of my arse on this one, but that's always been my read on the situation.
I 100% groove with the idea that Hunter Gathers detransitioned to be more true to her overall world philosophy and when you look at it through this lens, there's a weird sense of heroism to her. Her stated belief, that women and children should not be harmed, and her own genuine feelings of femininity, makes her *detransition* so much more legitimate. Imagine, a cis woman believing that women and children should not be harmed, and that, while she has a deep love and connection to her femininity that she does not want to lose, she still goes through reassignment surgery because she believes both in her own weird patriarchal philosophy AND that she needs to make a difference in the world personally. Taken this way, if Hunter Gathers were born a woman and forced to transition to become a man, and *then* shouted "INSIDE ME THERE IS A WOMAN SCREAMING TO BE HEARD", any degree of comedy that some 14 year old would have obtained from it would be gone, replaced with a sense of horror and compassion. (Though I MISS MY MASSIVE BEAUTIFUL TITS would still be pretty funny ngl)
To further reinforce the fact that Hunter is trans, see S05E06: she's envious of and in disbelief that Vatred wants to get rid of his breasts, and implies that the operations were not strictly part of her mission. Dr. Councilwoman was definitely originally intended to be a trans woman, as a joke (ugh) but they changed their minds on that. She's got a visible adam's apple in early episodes. Go team venture!
Also this line, said to Hank after . . . whatever happened to him when he tried joining SPHINX the second time: "You'll never get over the loss of your breasts. You'll miss them forever."
I don't think they intended Sheila (Dr. Mrs. The Monarch's name) to have an adam's apple, it was an story boarding error that that they missed when it was shipped it to be animated by a third party studio and my source for that is the book Go Team Venture! The Art and Making of The Venture Bros.
i’ve only ever seen clips of this show and it always made me kind of wary. i feel bad for never giving this show a chance. as someone who retransitioned and as a trans woman who passes until i open my mouth, i feel very comforted seeing characters like Hunter Gathers and Dr. Mrs. i feel seen. also if there’s any Hunter Gathers’s out there, it’s never too late, there’s still time
I think you'll really enjoy it. (I was a fan when it was on the air then due to... life, I lost access to it until after seeing posts about it being over. So the "Mrs." aspect was a spoiler for me for a show that frequently made in character references to GOT season theories - haha. That doesn't mean I'll enjoy it any less however.) Also, thank you for your statement based off of your experience. It's really important and I don't think voices like yours are heard anywhere *near* enough. That message is vital. (As an "elder" queer person who interacts with people beyond my generation I know many people who need to hear it. While I do my best to send it; my personal experience isn't as relatable - some of them have only *ever* shared their relationship with gender to me and may even believe my acceptance is an anomaly. While I'm not offended, I get a lot of 'that's easy for *you* to say' type responses/mentalties which makes me genuinely sad *for the person* but I understand why they have those feelings. That's why I was so happy to see your message to others.) I know that was long but; 1. I'm happy for you being able to live as your most authentic self. Sincerely. 2. Thank you for saying what you did, especially in context to your experience. I know it will help people in a way that I can't. (Regardless of how open about my life or accepting I may be there are experiences I don't/will never have and that's why I'm praising and raising yours so much. Thank you.)
Honestly, Dr. Girlfriend was the character than made me question the relationship between gender and sex. I never once mentally processed Dr. Girlfriend as a man. And the early seasons of the show lampshaded this for me. So this show brought me to the separation of gender and sex twenty years ago. It blows my mind that people are just now struggling with this idea in 2024.
In her first appearance she had a very prominently featured Adams apple that wasn't shown again, so they might have played with the idea. As much as I want to see more trans representation, I'm kinda glad the show didn't make Sheilah trans. Mostly due to that immature male demographic that Lily mentioned. A reveal like that would have just confirmed to them that women who don't meet all of the 'girly' criteria are just men in disguise. Just like Hunter gathers was visually presented as a joke with his grizzled, beard stubbly face over his rocking knockers.
I kinda like that she's just a natural woman despite her voice. Maybe one of the previous responses say it best but while I think she could work as trans, I'm glad she wasn't just reinforcing that idea trans people are traps or men in disguise. She's not what you'd expect and I think that's kinda nice, she isn't super girly but she embraces her feminine side too and her voice quickly feels normal and right.
@@larsg.2492 That's an internet rumor that started based on character design tweeks (like Dr.Girlfriends adam's apple and the henchmens uniforms). The pilot episode is canon and there's call-backs to it in later episodes. Rusty even continued to have moments of semi-competence on occasion; even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I also like Hunter Gathers name because, usually the Hunters were the men and while women were the gatherers, so the name could represent their gender fluidity, maybe the lines about having a woman inside means they consider themselves both man and woman, but that's only one idea I had watching this video
It's mentioned elsewhere in the comments but that kind of gender based job caste system is not supported in any archeological evidence and isn't true as a universal rule in real modern hunter gatherer societies. Hunting and gathering were probably practiced by both men and women throughout pre history
I literally just thought this morning when waking up "I wonder if Lily will cover Ventrue Bros. sometime (I was rewatching just yesterday) " Thanks universe!
This is the first time I've heard the "J. Edgar Hoover was a crossdresser" rumor outside of Archer, I honestly wasn't sure if it was a real rumor or something they made up, but I kinda assumed it had some basis in reality, they are good at that with that show.
26:30 Actually, I was making a spiced banana bread with dates and rum-soaked raisins, replacing the sugar with molasses to get an even rounder, darker flavor. And the whole thing filled with a fig preserve. Here's to hoping this actually works out anything as intended.
@Bob-bs9ok Kinda. It didn't rise 100% and remains a tad soggy at the bottom. Likely too much liquid in the dough after I dumped in the rum that I soaked those raisins in. However, using a third starch in the flour and baking low has made it come out uniformly soft and tender. The preserve filling I essentially just dumped in a line on top has come out as a very decorative trench that essentially works like a cut to prevent an uneven rise in the center.
As a cis woman who gets misgendered a lot I absolutely adore Dr. Girlfriend and Venture Bros as a whole. While some stuff definitely didn’t age well like Ned or the male SA jokes, it was honestly pretty ahead of its time on a lot of fronts. Shoreleave feels like a real person, Hank and Dean are almost definitely both neurodivergent, and Orpheus is a dedicated and caring cartoon dad (tbf he’s probably the only one in the whole show lol) which was and still is super rare to see. He’s basically magic Doofenshmirtz lol.
id like to add that doc hammer, the voice actor for dr.girlfriends and co-creator of the show, has said in interviews that he loved to crossdress when he was younger and him and jackson publick, the other creator, have voiced support for the idea that gender is bullshit
Honestly the writer commentary suggests if they had their way Gathers would have never detransitioned, and the subsequent discussion where they figure out how to narratively justify it makes it sound like Gathers would have been happiest just skipping bottom surgery.
The creators of the show grew a lot over the course of making the show. There is some problematic shit in the early seasons that they later realized they needed to stop doing.
Exactly. Hunter and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch more than likely did start as transphobic joke characters, just as Shore Leave was a gay joke and Sgt. Hatred was a pedophile joke, but full credit to Doc and Jackson for actually maturing as people over the years and turning them all into more developed characters.
5:33 hunter gather definitely has more influence from journalist Hunter S Thompson theyre speach pattern and look before srs with they’re signature cigarette and sunglasses and just look
@@theletterm1787 same reason Spock is an autistic icon despite not being autistic. It's a character whose lived experience is very familiar to a group of people who have to dig deep to find quality representation
To be frank I feel like calling a cisgendered female honorarily trans for not properly fitting a female gender identity because of her voice is a bit sexist, when I don't think a deep voice makes a woman any less of a woman. It reminds me of all the ways I used to get shamed for not properly fitting into my gender role, and how much more repressed that made me throughout my childhood that I thought if I didn't behave lady-like enough that people would call me manly or say I was actually a guy, which forced me to behave in ways unlike who I really was to fit into the social perception of what I was suppose to be according to society. When all I wanted in the world was for those restrictive roles to loosen so that you can behave however you feel like without your gender identity being put into question. It just feels reductive that cisgendered people have to fit perfectly in a gender role or else they're honorary trans people, when no one would suggest such a thing without focusing on her voice. It also goes under the assumption that to be trans automatically means you don't pass. Not trying to shame you for your perspective. Just trying to give a different perspective towards what if feels like to be invalidated because of some nebulous gender role you broke.
2:28 Totally missed is that "Hunter Gathers" is a parody of Hunter S. Thompson the "gonzo journalist" and novelist. The face, the long cigarette holder, constant use of sunglasses (Thompson was hung over or stoned a lot), it's all Hunter Thompson. The joke is that Thompson hated the CIA, and "Hunter Gathers" is the ultimate spook.
I really appreciate you bringing up detransition and how most of us don’t turn into transphobes we just stopped or reversed transition for whatever reasons. I’m personally assigned female and lived as a girl for 14 years, realised I was a guy and came out, socially and legally transitioning to male for 5 years and then came out as nonbinary. I then realised I’m actually intersex which means my “natural state” (to me) is nonbinary, I still identify as trans even if some would see me identifying as my “biological sex” as being cis, even if it’s not what I was assigned at birth. Sex and gender are amazingly complex and fascinating to me, even if some people never understand my gender expression or sex. I’ve gone through a whole journey and now gender fluid is the best term for me. I’m also a Dissociative Identity Disorder system (formerly multiple personality disorder) which complicates gender a lot. I’m not a “typical” detransitioner but I have detransitioned from a being man and accept the label for myself as a neutral descriptor, I just wish others could see that most of us are detransitioning not for terfy reasons but to live as our full selves, and transition is so personal, often thoughts and expressions of gender can change over time and so on
@@AgentWebssure, i definitely agree that nowadays that warrants a warning, but idk if you could really blame the show itself for being made when the word was more normalised and not a big deal
Also wasn't a fan of the episode where baron underbeit tries to marry Dean. The whole thing is weird and gross, and the line about doc trying to get rid of the gay gene just really bothered me
A friend of mine showed me a page out of a Venture Bros art book that had Dr . Mrs. The Monarch from highschool with short hair and glasses "as a boy". It's merely concept art that was never expanded upon, the art style is very reminiscent of the early stages too, but definitely something to think about.
"and now we get to talk about one of my favorite shows of all time, the venture bros" Is genuinely the strongest hook for me on any video ive seen, excellent video!
Even Hunter Gathers name is a (somewhat out of date) pun implying their genderqueer identity. Though we've found it wasn't the case and both men and women to the extent those concepts even existed participated in hunting and gathering, for a long time those two concepts were pretty much culturally inseparable with gender roles. From the jump the show regards them as someone who doesn't really fit in-between the lines.
I kinda feel like hunter gathers name is also representative of Hunter S Thompson who you can't tell me his look isn't based on. He even has the shades and the cigarette holder.
That scene when Brock finds Hunter Gathers post-surgery is also a nice bit of growth for Brock and how he sees trans people. In the seasons before he made quite a few transphobic jokes. The episode that sticks out the most is when he and Phantom Limb team up to save her from The Monarch, and the whole time they're going there Brock insists that she must secretly be a man, have a penis and so on. So when he finds Gathers in the operating room and affirms her womanhood, it signals a pretty significant growth in how he views what a woman is and can be. Is it earned? Not really! But it's kind of nice to see regardless.
also sometimes you dont need a whole arc for a charicter to change their view on sometimes people really just do wake up one morning and go "huh, i was totally wrong" then just go forward from there and thats pretty much that
The creators of the show did an interview on Chapo Trap House while promoting the movie where they talked about their views on gender roles, particularly in regards to the movie's final scene.
I have been playing Elden Ring lately but I respect you too much to put this on just as background noise. Also, yay The Venture Bros. I love the Venture Bros. and Hunter and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch are both awesome!
Hi Lily! A friend of mine introduced me to your channel recently and I just wanted to leave a few suggestions for video topics I think could be of interest to you: 1. The character of Ultraman Justice from the Ultraman franchise. They are the only non-binary character in the franchise to date, explicitly addressed as such in at least one piece of promotional material. They are stated to “transcend gender”, their true form being masculine in presentation and their human disguise being a woman. The character has been presented in their Ultra Hero form with both male and female voice actors, leaning on the female side more consistently in recent appearances. 2. Transness across the Star Trek franchise. Particular touchstones are the Next Generation episode “the Outcast”, the Trill species and especially the characters of Jadzia and Ezri Dax in Deep Space Nine (they are established in a TNG episode), the episode “Warlord” from Voyager in which a character has their body taken over by a genderfluid bisexual polyamorous dictator (yes really), the characters of Adira (non-binary) and Gray (transmasc) from Star Trek Discovery, and most recently, the character of Captain Angel from Strange New Worlds, a non-binary character who has some interesting dialogue in which they deconstruct the whole idea of binaries. A non-binary actor also portrays iconic character Nyota Uhura in the same show. If you want someone with expertise, I would recommend reaching out to Jessie Gender, but I know asking for collab videos is a lot. 3. Most transness in the Transformers franchise is limited to comic books, but the most recent cartoon, Earthspark, features an openly non-binary character named Nightshade who is wonderful and could definitely have their own video 4. Dreamer from the CW Supergirl show and the Arrowverse as a whole 5. Plastic Man as presented in the cartoon Justice League Action
@@SPAnComCat thank you! And while I’m on this comment section again, another suggestion I wanted to make (I hope I’m not being too much) is an episode of the web series Gotham Girls centered around the (admittedly rocky) establishment of a trans character
Madame Councilwoman Dr. Mrs. Sheila the Monarch is very funny to me conceptually, cause… it feels like at first they did her voice as a joke, but then they committed to her so hard (in addition to repeatedly saying ‘she’s just a woman with a deep voice’) that they had no choice _but_ to be sincere. Like, it shouldn’t work but they committed.
Yeahhhhh I always dr girlfriend thought was trans even if her voice was just a reference to Jackie Kennedy.....Also the marvelous misadventures of Flapjack trans episode? It's called something is a miss... And it's literally everybody assuming Flapjack is a girl because of how he looks and presents himself
My partner is having a serious mandella effect about this video. She swears she saw this video before today even though you just uploaded it. Have you ever talked about venture brothers in another video?
I've been watching your channel for a while, I've wanted this vid for a while and am so glad you are doing it now. I discovered venture bros last year and I've seen the whole thing twice and own the series on DVD. I even got athf plantasm and Metalocalypse doomstar just cause I think it makes a sort of unofficial adult swim 2023 movie trilogy
Now I'm imagining a Harvey Birdman episode where Hunter Gathers steals DMTM's identity and measurements for a new surgery/mission, and she's suing back. End joke is Mentok swaps their minds, Gathers in Doctor's body screams FINALLY and runs out the room, and Doctor in Gather's body tries the cigarette filter and goes 'Wow I wish I had this when I was in middleschool'
Great video, as always! I hope you do one for Sailor Uranus and the three starlights from the final half of the final season of Sailor Moon, someday. Seiya had a massive impact on me and I really connected with him and the Transmasc non-binary vibes he gave off.
thank you so much for the time and labor put into this video it was fire af!!!!!!! we love having a deeper conversation around some of the characters in venture bros as well as providing another piece of important content vocalizing the vast nuance behind the trans experience (including detransitioning - really happy to see a youtuber discuss the topic with respect and understanding) and deconstructing the harm that patriarchal-centered societies create!!!!!! stunning work as always. and hope you have a great day as well!
She isn't just voiced by a random man, shes voiced by doc hammer, the creator. And you can hear through out the show the dedication to his role by how her voice develops. It wasnt half heartedly done like other adult animated shows might have done, he cared about his role and put effort into making it even just a little more than just a joke.
Yeah the reasoning here is probably more that the show was made really cheaply and the 2 creators do many many voices of any 2 given pairs of non-main characters.
(Super late I know) Dude the best part about it is that when you first start the show it’s “Oh, her schtick is her voice, neat ig” but then you go through the show and her voice just becomes her voice and you don’t pay it any mind. It’s not “oh hear comes mrs man voice” it’s “Oh, it’s one of the most competent and caring characters! This will probably be a really nice scene.”
Hunter just casually getting top and bottom surgery in a cave was wild.
"Hunter Gathers got top and bottom surgery In a cave with a box of scraps!"
"Sir, I'm not Hunter Gathers"
@@Lectrikfro I understood that reference.
Wasnt that an abandoned temple
@@novaenforcer1563 In a jungle no less.
@Lectrikfro someone needs to start reshoots on the 1st iron man now
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch has one of my favorite lines "You don't fight fire with fire, you fight it with water sweetie," QUEEN
That is awesome, what episode is it from?
@@kerdnerlwhat color is your clean suit is the name of the episode
Technically we do sometimes fight fire with fire, but her point still stands.
Fuck I actually needed this quote in my life right now. What a fucking Queen.
To combat brush fires, fire fighters will start a controlled burn surrounding the areas where the fire is spreading, the controlled burn is pushed toward the brush fire. The thought behind this being if the controlled burn is indeed controlled the wildfire cannot spread because all the fuel it could burn already was, and the controlled burn is put out if it spreads in an unwanted direction
One small note: technically she is Mme. Councilwoman Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.
Her name/title just getting longer was one of my favorite running gags in the show
@@Lectrikfro Yep it was briefly also Dr. fiancé
@@TheTheian then "Dr my wife"
If we really wanted to go the full mile, Madame Councilwoman Dr. Mrs. Sheila The Monarch
Respect where it is due.
I'm cis and have related with Dr. Mrs The Monarch. I have a fairly low voice, contralto by my voice teachers estimates. But it's not just that. Probably just for jokes, but they made her struggle with EVERYTHING women usually struggle with. Trans or cis. And she's powerful and capable despite all that. She's one of my favorite characters ever
The moment that sticks with me was when she went to the bathroom and when the two girls walk in and one of them kinda whispers something about her before going "can I ask you something?"
To which her initial response was "yes I belong here I just have a really deep voice" and it's like... She must deal with that a lot considering that is her go to response to what seems to be an overly common question.
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is such a paragon of femininity that, after multiple watches of the series, my brain simply no longer registers her voice as masculine.
This. Had someone whose never watched the show walk in one time and go "the joke is she has a man's voice?" And it occurred to me the same. I don't know when I stopped thinking "Haha man's voice" to "just a deep voice" and never questioned if she was a woman or not
Yup, it just becomes her voice after not that long.
I will say Red Death is probably a more villainous villain than Dr Girlfriend/Dr Mrs The Monarch/Counciller Dr Mrs The Monarch.
Slightly related, because I haven't watched the Venture bros, but there is this one channel that does Touhou fan comic readings. But their entire cast is just men, but the Touhou cast is girls. But over time those voices stop sounding masculine to me and just become "their voices", to the point that I cannot imagine them having any other voice. Like the character Koakuma just permanently has a higher pitched masculine voice with a french accent in my head and honestly it fits her pretty well.
@@dm121984 Mrs. The monarch is the best but she is personally dispassionate about it, she loves her husband for his passion and throws her skill behind getting him to function as a villain. Same with 21 actually.
@@ekkonus5719What channel would this be, I currently have no interest in Touhou but I'm intrigued. Either way, have a good day!
that bit about detrans wasn't ranty or wanky at all, it was extremely important and helped me think about things! brilliant video!
Absolutely right!
I agree, explained very well also
One more small scene for Hunter, he mentions that he never got over the loss of his breasts, after Dean leaves the female exosuit
Hank was in the suit but point still stands
Also, in the same episode, he reacts with disbelief at the notion that Sergeant Vatred wants to get rid of his breasts.
@animeotaku307 "two big beautiful gifts from God and he wanted to get rid of them!"
The writing and performance of this line made it instantly memorable to me 😂
I remember having this one weird dream where I accidentally ended up at a TERF convention somehow and got carried out of it in the arms of Brock Samson. So I guess he’s an ally according to my subconscious
What was HE doing at the terf convention 🤨🤨🤨
@@kerdnerl I think it was at an unrelated event because this was set a hotel and I remember he was diving off a board while women were cheering. Then he had that big hero moment. Weirdest part is Brock Samson isn’t even my type, but I appreciate it I guess
acording to poker night at the inventory hes related to ash williams from the evil dead whos like the forefather of tboy swag so i suppose it tracks
I had a nightmare about Brock Samson where he jammed his thumbs into my friend's eye sockets then just tore him in half. Then he grabbed me by the neck and repeatedly punched me in the forehead. I just woke up with the worst hangover ever.
@@James.99 Oof the duality of man
The Venture Brothers is the only TV show I have ever watched that gets MORE consistent over it's run rather than inconsistencies creeping in.
Ikr!! Watching it the first time last year was LITERALLY a life changing experience!! I felt like my brain was gonna explode from awesomeness for pretty much all of season 5-7
And they did it (and by they I mean Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick) by watching their own show and taking stuff that was there and either burying it or expanding upon it. And it also helps that they're the only writers for the show.
@@bloodangel13 The was that one episode from the guy who created The Tick IIRC.
@@RAFMnBgaming True but otherwise Publick and Hammer are the primary writers.
@@bloodangel13 oh absolutely ye I just figure it was probably not worth bringing up but needed mentioning for completeness.
A conversation I've had with my two best friends a few times over the years is how the way that Dr Mrs The Monarch is such a beacon of femininity and sex appeal has pavlov'd us into inseparably associating deep voices with those things. It's something that came up again when I came out as trans to them earlier this year and it's honestly made me feel more confident about how I sound, and not afraid to actually speak when I'm trying to present as feminine. Dr Mrs The Monarch's voice is way deeper than mine, and she's a veritable icon of womanhood so even if I do make efforts to change my voice as I transition I'm not going to worry over how I sound in the meantime.
Hell yeah!
I've always loved how quickly her deep voice just becomes part of who she is. Like yeah it's notable for 5 minutes but afterward I totally forgot about it and never noticed it again,
Dr. Mrs has a deep voice, it doesn't feel any more notable than the fact Brock Sampson is blond.
Also linn from bobs burgers voice I like alot
You know, your post really helps me a lot. I finally started my MTF journey 2 months ago after 29 years of knowing and hiding. My cousin told me they were trans FTM and I was like, I gotta be strong now, why am I even hiding when they need someone now? I've known since I was 6 and I picked my name. Before that I went to the ER twice for picking up curling irons, took moms clothes to feel pretty, injected myself into her makeup process, and had hidden barbies I played with. My mom was colorblind so she let me pick out her clothes and jewlery every day, I never got to twll her before she died but I like to think she knew. So I was always me, even before I got asked my pronouns at 6 by Prof. wOak and actually made that decision all in a time when transgender was still "transsexual" and a "mental illness" 😅. My voice has always been jarring to me. Too high to pass as a dude and too low to feel fem. I always watched characters like Dr. Mrs the Monarch and Linn and felt seen in a way, but I don't think I ever thought about it like this until I read your comment. So, thanks, you are awesome!
@NumeyNaomi Aw, thanks for your kind words and for sharing some of your own journey! I've realised that sharing our stories can really help others or share nice little lessons, plus it just feels good. If people are willing to share there's always going to be new perspectives on our own matters or good bits of advice to help us along, not to mention there's always going to be a tonne of people whose experiences overlap with our own to remind us we're not alone.
The fact that The Monarch and Sheila are openly swingers is also super fucking cool in my book.
We're Villains! We SWING!
They're not. It happened once and she says, "Hey! That was not my idea!" and he says "I know. I thought it would turn me on, but it was just sad a disappointing."
@@ng952 You're both right: they weren't initially (as per the line you referenced) but then the characters either changed or it was just retconned. Though I can't remember whether or not it's said before or after Sheila seduces Dr. Venture, which Monarch enjoys watching but does get jealous of.
@@lexp6099 It's after.
@@lexp6099 i think monarch just specifically hated seeing Rusty and his wife, later on her and 21 almost bang and he's like entirely fine with it.
I like how, after watching the show for a few episodes, you stop reading Dr Mrs' voice as manly and just hear it as *her voice*
Huh, I never quite connected the dots that Brock being unable to kill Hunter means that he accepts Hunter as a woman
Yeah there are multiple instances where brock shows a pretty transphobic side with Dr Girlfriend and he is obviously disturbed upon seeing Hunter on the medical table with breasts. But his recalling of "never kill women" leading him to defy orders and spare hunter was great character development
@@Disco4ia Pretty sure he's not disgusted with Hunter, he was deeply conflicted that the man he knew all along and was sent to kill had a sex surgery to escape his past... Which then turned out to be all staged anyway, and he never really had the surgery to begin with, it was all to get Brock to believe it for a while. As for Dr. Girlfriend? I always assumed their animosity is over the fact that she IS a villain and has high ties to some of the shadiest organizations in the setting; She's genuinely a threat to him, don't forget that The Monarch himself ranks the prestigiously high Level 10 among villains and she's married to the guy.
@@MrMarket1987oh no, Hunter had the surgery all right. And then he had *more* surgery
@@michaeljohnson6905 Oh, he _doubled down?_ I guess I only recall the layers of conspiracy being such a twist at the time that I genuinely thought that WAS faked.
@@MrMarket1987 Yeah, I think he(?) says his(?) penis was surgically reattached or reconstructed or something later. Would kind of need scifi/fantasy-level tech to have satisfactory results, because reversing SRS in a way that results in anything like the original penis is not currently possible. It really felt like going back in the closet for Hunter, and I wondered why it was necessary. Like dang, just let Hunter be a girl. Also y'all can reverse SRS, but apparently good old laser and FFS don't exist?
Brock pretty much confirmed that the SRS was done when he peeks under the sheet, and Hunter saying it had been reversed also confirms it was done in the first place.
I personally like the fact that Gather’s face doesn’t change much after the transition more as a positive message that you still pass even if you can physically change some things and people still accept you for who you are
I really appreciate the recognition that less than ideal representation can still be meaningful. Some of the first things to put cracks in my egg were things that were absolutely made wit the intent of the joke being" look how gross/weird this trans person is" but because my empathy invested me in the story I couldn't help thinking " look how human this character is, is it really so weird? and I mean it IS a rockin' body, sure theres stubble and body hair, but like cis women have that too" though my brain definantly didn't have the word cis at the time.
I feel like its important to say since many people havent listened to the creators audio commentary, but they actually apologized in it for how they wrote Hunter. In the early seasons they admitted they didn’t really know anything about trans people at the time and it WAS being used for jokes that they see as distasteful in hindsight.
You can really see the moment they became more educated around season 4 where Hank thinks being gay and trans is the same thing when he asks the Alchemist (a canonically gay character) if his panis is “all frankensteiny”. Another character asks if Hank is ever embarrassed about how ignorant he is and Hank says “yeah, constantly”. Which i feel was a nice nod to the creator’s own previous ignorance. 😂
Holy crap we completely forgot about Hunter Gathers. And we saw pretty much all of the series up until the last couple seasons. Another fun detail is that the voice actor for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch dressed up as the character in full outfit and makeup for the special features of the Season 1 DVD of the Venture Bros and did a live action interview as the character. Really cute!
Those were made to sell the show initially. Sorta as a pseudo pilot before the actual pilot. Still an interesting thing though.
The voice actor for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is Doc Hammer, the show's co-creator!
I can't believe I forgot Hunter too, but then again the cast of Venture Bros is big and bizzaire.
As someone who was born a women and teased for having a low voice and Adam’s apple I always felt really connected to the trans community. The community has really shown me there is no one way to be a women. To put womanhood in a box is so sad. I love my voice now :)
Monarch and Dr Mrs are the most BiDude4TransGirl coded couple ever since Gumball and Penny from TAWOG.
You are so right
I know it's not canon (like at all) but I always liked the idea of them being t4t but she's mtf and he's ftm.
Theyre the most trans cis characters ever put to screen for sure
Stop, you're making me need to watch this show.
(As if Lily hadn't already convinced me)
Gumball and Penny? WTF is wrong with you.
Hunter gatherers is also a play on the old gender roles of hunter and gatherer, i think its a nice little cheeky name for her
This feels out of pocket but I also kinda just won't sleep at night if I don't mention that those roles are anachronistic projections of more modern patriarchal assumptions, not representative of the anthropological record (not that you specifically necessarily needed to hear it, i don't know you and am aware of that fact lol). That conception of early humanity can at best be traced back a few hundred years and comes more from christianity than anything more applicable to a time before even _that_ was a thing >w<
Allllsooo this is all kinda part of a history of colonialism and such as well haha. But this feels like it's gettin long as is and if I don't contain myself I'll write a whole ass dissertation -w-'
@@something-from-elsewhere originally I felt the same way I wasnt rlly thrilled with the idea but its their name so there rlly isnt anything to be done abt it, I just grew to accept it as a ill informed tounge and cheek little title, plus its never brought up or mentioned in the show or vid so I just wanted to draw attention to it, whether it be for better or worse
@@Wek6 Yeaaaa I tried to caveat it n that haha but still I think it's worth examining those sorts of hegemonic ideas n just felt compelled to draw attn to that. Like, iss clear that's what they were goin for but that doesn't mean iss beyond analysis
@@something-from-elsewhereyou were right to say it. Modern hunter gatherer societies also do not all have strict gender roles about hunting and gathering. The idea of gender as aligning with job castes like that is not universal even though evolutionary psychology pseudoscientists keep repeating it as fact.
AHA! Your premonition was WRONG, Sorceress! I was not playing Elden Ring, I was playing Don't Starve Together while listening to this video featuring insightful commentary!
I was playing Solitaire...
I was playing stardew valley!
The fine line between Blackmail Pornography and Black Male Pornography.
Funny, I always identifyed with Hunter for some reason. I think when they transitioned in the show, it was part of my first wake up moments.
Im just so used that sexy husky voice of Dr Girlfriend that I don't really ever question her as a woman, maybe it's the writing and acting. Also I like raspy tomboyish voices
I think one reason to attribute to thinking her voice is sexy and not a turn off is pretty simple: we like her. She's an interesting and complicated character with a really likable personality, so we are quicker to like other attributes about her that we might see as hideous in a person who we saw as horrible.
I REALLY want to say that she was going to be a surrogate for wide whales child in the last season...there are hints of this all through the last season
ive always thought the voice of Dr. Mrs. The Monarch was kind of hot
Me too!! But then again, I was always attracted to women with deep voices
Never have I clicked faster!!! On that note Pickles from Metalocalypse isn’t necessarily 100% canonically confirmed trans ,but it was recently confirmed that one episode where he wasn’t animated with male gonads wasn’t an error and that Brendon Small (who ironically also voices the guy doing Hunter’s gender confirmation surgery) is at least supportive of trans headcanons
I like the fan-theory that Vegeta from DBZ is a trans man.
@@thecountalucard666 ...really? First I've heard of it. Also, seems kinda out of nowhere since nobody mentioned him until now.
i went through a period where i was watching adult swim's "live" episodes on their website, which is when i discovered the joys of the venture bros. it's seriously so so good.
13:46 - want to say something right here, but I suspect that Hunter also felt some internal pressure to detransition. Hunter originally left the OSI because of her morals conflicting with what turned out to be _massive_ systematic corruption of the OSI not only because of the Guild of Calamitous Intent infiltrating the organization but also because of governmental interference, because her morals and personal code are *that* important to her as a person. I've always felt that (in-universe) part of the reason for Hunter detransitioning had to do with, y'know, being a woman conflicted with her belief that the "good guys" don't put women and children at risk, and she was more willing/able to live in a body she's uncomfortable in than she was with walking away from the spy life and just letting other people deal with it.
I could be completely wrong on this and just talking out of my arse on this one, but that's always been my read on the situation.
I 100% groove with the idea that Hunter Gathers detransitioned to be more true to her overall world philosophy and when you look at it through this lens, there's a weird sense of heroism to her. Her stated belief, that women and children should not be harmed, and her own genuine feelings of femininity, makes her *detransition* so much more legitimate. Imagine, a cis woman believing that women and children should not be harmed, and that, while she has a deep love and connection to her femininity that she does not want to lose, she still goes through reassignment surgery because she believes both in her own weird patriarchal philosophy AND that she needs to make a difference in the world personally. Taken this way, if Hunter Gathers were born a woman and forced to transition to become a man, and *then* shouted "INSIDE ME THERE IS A WOMAN SCREAMING TO BE HEARD", any degree of comedy that some 14 year old would have obtained from it would be gone, replaced with a sense of horror and compassion. (Though I MISS MY MASSIVE BEAUTIFUL TITS would still be pretty funny ngl)
Okay but to be fair, 57 year old Dale Gribble's head on a young Pamela Anderson's body is objectively hilarious
To further reinforce the fact that Hunter is trans, see S05E06: she's envious of and in disbelief that Vatred wants to get rid of his breasts, and implies that the operations were not strictly part of her mission.
Dr. Councilwoman was definitely originally intended to be a trans woman, as a joke (ugh) but they changed their minds on that. She's got a visible adam's apple in early episodes.
Go team venture!
The pilot version of her was nightmare fuel 💀
Also this line, said to Hank after . . . whatever happened to him when he tried joining SPHINX the second time:
"You'll never get over the loss of your breasts. You'll miss them forever."
I don't think they intended Sheila (Dr. Mrs. The Monarch's name) to have an adam's apple, it was an story boarding error that that they missed when it was shipped it to be animated by a third party studio and my source for that is the book Go Team Venture! The Art and Making of The Venture Bros.
@@bloodangel13 And if you look at page 25 of Go Team Venture, there are two drawings of her with one.
@@lexp6099 But that was a concept that was (thankfully) scrapped.
My favorite RUclipsr talking about The Venture Bros in 2024? Hell yeah!
"KISS ASS...!"
i’ve only ever seen clips of this show and it always made me kind of wary. i feel bad for never giving this show a chance. as someone who retransitioned and as a trans woman who passes until i open my mouth, i feel very comforted seeing characters like Hunter Gathers and Dr. Mrs. i feel seen. also if there’s any Hunter Gathers’s out there, it’s never too late, there’s still time
I think you'll really enjoy it. (I was a fan when it was on the air then due to... life, I lost access to it until after seeing posts about it being over. So the "Mrs." aspect was a spoiler for me for a show that frequently made in character references to GOT season theories - haha. That doesn't mean I'll enjoy it any less however.)
Also, thank you for your statement based off of your experience. It's really important and I don't think voices like yours are heard anywhere *near* enough. That message is vital.
(As an "elder" queer person who interacts with people beyond my generation I know many people who need to hear it. While I do my best to send it; my personal experience isn't as relatable - some of them have only *ever* shared their relationship with gender to me and may even believe my acceptance is an anomaly. While I'm not offended, I get a lot of 'that's easy for *you* to say' type responses/mentalties which makes me genuinely sad *for the person* but I understand why they have those feelings. That's why I was so happy to see your message to others.)
I know that was long but; 1. I'm happy for you being able to live as your most authentic self. Sincerely. 2. Thank you for saying what you did, especially in context to your experience. I know it will help people in a way that I can't. (Regardless of how open about my life or accepting I may be there are experiences I don't/will never have and that's why I'm praising and raising yours so much. Thank you.)
The Venture Bros. is the single best show to ever air on Adult Swim and I will forever stand by that
I agree with you on that one
Honestly, Dr. Girlfriend was the character than made me question the relationship between gender and sex. I never once mentally processed Dr. Girlfriend as a man. And the early seasons of the show lampshaded this for me. So this show brought me to the separation of gender and sex twenty years ago. It blows my mind that people are just now struggling with this idea in 2024.
Egg moment #9001: I was always lowkey disappointed that Dr. Mrs. The Monarch _wasn't_ trans
In her first appearance she had a very prominently featured Adams apple that wasn't shown again, so they might have played with the idea.
As much as I want to see more trans representation, I'm kinda glad the show didn't make Sheilah trans. Mostly due to that immature male demographic that Lily mentioned. A reveal like that would have just confirmed to them that women who don't meet all of the 'girly' criteria are just men in disguise. Just like Hunter gathers was visually presented as a joke with his grizzled, beard stubbly face over his rocking knockers.
Same
I kinda like that she's just a natural woman despite her voice. Maybe one of the previous responses say it best but while I think she could work as trans, I'm glad she wasn't just reinforcing that idea trans people are traps or men in disguise. She's not what you'd expect and I think that's kinda nice, she isn't super girly but she embraces her feminine side too and her voice quickly feels normal and right.
@@geraltrivia6148 Yeah, that Pilot episode is extremely non canon. Even Doc Venture is depicted as a rather competent super scientist.
@@larsg.2492 That's an internet rumor that started based on character design tweeks (like Dr.Girlfriends adam's apple and the henchmens uniforms). The pilot episode is canon and there's call-backs to it in later episodes. Rusty even continued to have moments of semi-competence on occasion; even a broken clock is right twice a day.
The name "hunter gather" is pretty funny as a name for character that transgresses gender norms.
I also like Hunter Gathers name because, usually the Hunters were the men and while women were the gatherers, so the name could represent their gender fluidity, maybe the lines about having a woman inside means they consider themselves both man and woman, but that's only one idea I had watching this video
It's mentioned elsewhere in the comments but that kind of gender based job caste system is not supported in any archeological evidence and isn't true as a universal rule in real modern hunter gatherer societies. Hunting and gathering were probably practiced by both men and women throughout pre history
Its also a reference, their character design is based off of journalist Hunter S Thompson
I'm a cis straight guy and i love Lily's content. I learn a little more every time she uplaods
we love to see it 😤🥰
cis straight (probably straight anyway) lady here, and I do as well! I enjoy it thoroughly every time
What is cis? Is it a type of straight? Before you pelt me with rock and call me ignorant, I am ignorant. Is the cis adjective political?
@@mcgrudo it means non-trans. its the trans stuff equivalent of straight
@@torchdreemurr4082 I understood that via context but were did the word come from? What's it's etymology?
Like in the first 2 seconds for Venture Bros
I literally just thought this morning when waking up "I wonder if Lily will cover Ventrue Bros. sometime (I was rewatching just yesterday) " Thanks universe!
This is the first time I've heard the "J. Edgar Hoover was a crossdresser" rumor outside of Archer, I honestly wasn't sure if it was a real rumor or something they made up, but I kinda assumed it had some basis in reality, they are good at that with that show.
decades long rumor. It even got referenced in one of the Naked Gun movies.
26:30
Actually, I was making a spiced banana bread with dates and rum-soaked raisins, replacing the sugar with molasses to get an even rounder, darker flavor.
And the whole thing filled with a fig preserve.
Here's to hoping this actually works out anything as intended.
That sounds delicious I hope it turns out great!
Did it work as intended?
@Bob-bs9ok
Kinda.
It didn't rise 100% and remains a tad soggy at the bottom.
Likely too much liquid in the dough after I dumped in the rum that I soaked those raisins in.
However, using a third starch in the flour and baking low has made it come out uniformly soft and tender.
The preserve filling I essentially just dumped in a line on top has come out as a very decorative trench that essentially works like a cut to prevent an uneven rise in the center.
@@MrHodoAstartes still sounds delicious even if there's aspects that need to be worked out!
Recipe please 🥺 That sounds amazing 🤩
The Monarch and Misses Monarch are the 2 wolfs inside of me
Valid. (And relatable, haha)
:)
As a cis woman who gets misgendered a lot I absolutely adore Dr. Girlfriend and Venture Bros as a whole. While some stuff definitely didn’t age well like Ned or the male SA jokes, it was honestly pretty ahead of its time on a lot of fronts. Shoreleave feels like a real person, Hank and Dean are almost definitely both neurodivergent, and Orpheus is a dedicated and caring cartoon dad (tbf he’s probably the only one in the whole show lol) which was and still is super rare to see. He’s basically magic Doofenshmirtz lol.
id like to add that doc hammer, the voice actor for dr.girlfriends and co-creator of the show, has said in interviews that he loved to crossdress when he was younger and him and jackson publick, the other creator, have voiced support for the idea that gender is bullshit
Honestly the writer commentary suggests if they had their way Gathers would have never detransitioned, and the subsequent discussion where they figure out how to narratively justify it makes it sound like Gathers would have been happiest just skipping bottom surgery.
I make so many Venture Brothers references that my family who's never seen the show make references to my references.
The creators of the show grew a lot over the course of making the show. There is some problematic shit in the early seasons that they later realized they needed to stop doing.
Exactly. Hunter and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch more than likely did start as transphobic joke characters, just as Shore Leave was a gay joke and Sgt. Hatred was a pedophile joke, but full credit to Doc and Jackson for actually maturing as people over the years and turning them all into more developed characters.
Dr. Mrs. Monarch was always my favorite. I have a deep voice too, and people will usually gender me properly until I speak then they get weird
Gasp! No one outside of cartoon YTers talk Venture Bros, what a treat!
Was having a shite morning, but this made it so much better
Hope the rest of your day is much better!
@@darsh8964 no sleep, messed up foot, but dammit, got to make a recipe i wanted to try for weeks and bought a case of Heineken. Days a lot better
It's probably worth noting that Dr Girlfriend's voice is based off ab impression of Harvey Fierstein.
And the costume was Jackie Onassis
5:33 hunter gather definitely has more influence from journalist Hunter S Thompson theyre speach pattern and look before srs with they’re signature cigarette and sunglasses and just look
Thompson
Goddamn, you got me while I was playing Elden Ring listening to this in the background. Also Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is the GOAT.
All I know is I can't unsee Johnny Depp playing Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing every time this character starts going off the rails
I love Hunter Gathers, because I also love Hunter S Thompson. Venture Bros was such a great show.
Despite not being trans, Dr. Ms. The Monarch's Wife should still be considered a trans icon.
honorary trans
Why?
@@theletterm1787 high femme with husky voice
@@theletterm1787 same reason Spock is an autistic icon despite not being autistic. It's a character whose lived experience is very familiar to a group of people who have to dig deep to find quality representation
To be frank I feel like calling a cisgendered female honorarily trans for not properly fitting a female gender identity because of her voice is a bit sexist, when I don't think a deep voice makes a woman any less of a woman. It reminds me of all the ways I used to get shamed for not properly fitting into my gender role, and how much more repressed that made me throughout my childhood that I thought if I didn't behave lady-like enough that people would call me manly or say I was actually a guy, which forced me to behave in ways unlike who I really was to fit into the social perception of what I was suppose to be according to society. When all I wanted in the world was for those restrictive roles to loosen so that you can behave however you feel like without your gender identity being put into question.
It just feels reductive that cisgendered people have to fit perfectly in a gender role or else they're honorary trans people, when no one would suggest such a thing without focusing on her voice. It also goes under the assumption that to be trans automatically means you don't pass. Not trying to shame you for your perspective. Just trying to give a different perspective towards what if feels like to be invalidated because of some nebulous gender role you broke.
2:28 Totally missed is that "Hunter Gathers" is a parody of Hunter S. Thompson the "gonzo journalist" and novelist. The face, the long cigarette holder, constant use of sunglasses (Thompson was hung over or stoned a lot), it's all Hunter Thompson. The joke is that Thompson hated the CIA, and "Hunter Gathers" is the ultimate spook.
Hell yeah. Been waiting for this one for a while. Hunter Gathers is one of my favorite characters since I was a kid
Fun Fact, the voice actor for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is Doc Hammer, the show's co-creator! (and co-writer, musician, editor, and other voices)
I saw your content in my favorite Facebook venture bros group and I knew I just had to check you out. You’re amazing at what you do Lily never stop.
I really appreciate you bringing up detransition and how most of us don’t turn into transphobes we just stopped or reversed transition for whatever reasons. I’m personally assigned female and lived as a girl for 14 years, realised I was a guy and came out, socially and legally transitioning to male for 5 years and then came out as nonbinary. I then realised I’m actually intersex which means my “natural state” (to me) is nonbinary, I still identify as trans even if some would see me identifying as my “biological sex” as being cis, even if it’s not what I was assigned at birth. Sex and gender are amazingly complex and fascinating to me, even if some people never understand my gender expression or sex. I’ve gone through a whole journey and now gender fluid is the best term for me. I’m also a Dissociative Identity Disorder system (formerly multiple personality disorder) which complicates gender a lot. I’m not a “typical” detransitioner but I have detransitioned from a being man and accept the label for myself as a neutral descriptor, I just wish others could see that most of us are detransitioning not for terfy reasons but to live as our full selves, and transition is so personal, often thoughts and expressions of gender can change over time and so on
Holy fuck! GO TEAM VENTURE!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️
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Wait...his name was Hunter Gathers? As in hunters and gatherers, the things we label men and women?
Other than the generous usage of the r-slur in earlier seasons, the Venture Bros. is an incredible show
eh, it was a super long time ago and that word was just seen as normal and funny until like 7 years ago.
@@prageruwu69it's still a valid criticism, and something that could reasonably dissuade people from giving this show a chance
@@AgentWebssure, i definitely agree that nowadays that warrants a warning, but idk if you could really blame the show itself for being made when the word was more normalised and not a big deal
Also wasn't a fan of the episode where baron underbeit tries to marry Dean. The whole thing is weird and gross, and the line about doc trying to get rid of the gay gene just really bothered me
there is tons of weird uncomfortable shit in that show. some aged better than others
26:45 you were almost correct, I have you playing in the background while I'm playing Baldur's Gate 3.
You have the absolute best taste in shows in general and animated shows in particular
A friend of mine showed me a page out of a Venture Bros art book that had Dr . Mrs. The Monarch from highschool with short hair and glasses "as a boy". It's merely concept art that was never expanded upon, the art style is very reminiscent of the early stages too, but definitely something to think about.
"and now we get to talk about one of my favorite shows of all time, the venture bros" Is genuinely the strongest hook for me on any video ive seen, excellent video!
"we were somewhere outside of barstow on the edge of the desert, when the estrogen started to take hold"
Even Hunter Gathers name is a (somewhat out of date) pun implying their genderqueer identity. Though we've found it wasn't the case and both men and women to the extent those concepts even existed participated in hunting and gathering, for a long time those two concepts were pretty much culturally inseparable with gender roles. From the jump the show regards them as someone who doesn't really fit in-between the lines.
You’re always foreground to me Lily 😊
I kinda feel like hunter gathers name is also representative of Hunter S Thompson who you can't tell me his look isn't based on. He even has the shades and the cigarette holder.
That scene when Brock finds Hunter Gathers post-surgery is also a nice bit of growth for Brock and how he sees trans people. In the seasons before he made quite a few transphobic jokes. The episode that sticks out the most is when he and Phantom Limb team up to save her from The Monarch, and the whole time they're going there Brock insists that she must secretly be a man, have a penis and so on. So when he finds Gathers in the operating room and affirms her womanhood, it signals a pretty significant growth in how he views what a woman is and can be. Is it earned? Not really! But it's kind of nice to see regardless.
also sometimes you dont need a whole arc for a charicter to change their view on sometimes people really just do wake up one morning and go "huh, i was totally wrong" then just go forward from there and thats pretty much that
Hu, I just reconized the blond guy. He played Poker in a Videogame, where Glados was some kind of host.
The way i literally gasped when this popped in my feed. My favorite show of all time, being talked about by one of my favorite youtubers??!
I've never seen venture bros, but as a transfem with a deep voice, I now see how absolutely iconic dr mrs the monarch is
Brick Frog!
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Brick Frog!
Brick Frog!
Im surprised you didnt bring up Hunter S. Thompson. He was a big inspiration for Hunter's character.
Dr Girlfriend is an icon of female empowerment and She is a personal role model for me. I don't know what we'd do without her
Lily being a big venture bros fan actually tracks a lot tbh
The creators of the show did an interview on Chapo Trap House while promoting the movie where they talked about their views on gender roles, particularly in regards to the movie's final scene.
I have been playing Elden Ring lately but I respect you too much to put this on just as background noise. Also, yay The Venture Bros. I love the Venture Bros. and Hunter and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch are both awesome!
the best way to convince someone to watch the Venture Brothers is literally show them the first scene of the series
Hi Lily! A friend of mine introduced me to your channel recently and I just wanted to leave a few suggestions for video topics I think could be of interest to you:
1. The character of Ultraman Justice from the Ultraman franchise. They are the only non-binary character in the franchise to date, explicitly addressed as such in at least one piece of promotional material. They are stated to “transcend gender”, their true form being masculine in presentation and their human disguise being a woman. The character has been presented in their Ultra Hero form with both male and female voice actors, leaning on the female side more consistently in recent appearances.
2. Transness across the Star Trek franchise. Particular touchstones are the Next Generation episode “the Outcast”, the Trill species and especially the characters of Jadzia and Ezri Dax in Deep Space Nine (they are established in a TNG episode), the episode “Warlord” from Voyager in which a character has their body taken over by a genderfluid bisexual polyamorous dictator (yes really), the characters of Adira (non-binary) and Gray (transmasc) from Star Trek Discovery, and most recently, the character of Captain Angel from Strange New Worlds, a non-binary character who has some interesting dialogue in which they deconstruct the whole idea of binaries. A non-binary actor also portrays iconic character Nyota Uhura in the same show. If you want someone with expertise, I would recommend reaching out to Jessie Gender, but I know asking for collab videos is a lot.
3. Most transness in the Transformers franchise is limited to comic books, but the most recent cartoon, Earthspark, features an openly non-binary character named Nightshade who is wonderful and could definitely have their own video
4. Dreamer from the CW Supergirl show and the Arrowverse as a whole
5. Plastic Man as presented in the cartoon Justice League Action
Interesting!
@@SPAnComCat thank you!
And while I’m on this comment section again, another suggestion I wanted to make (I hope I’m not being too much) is an episode of the web series Gotham Girls centered around the (admittedly rocky) establishment of a trans character
@@Cdr2002 Alright.
Madame Councilwoman Dr. Mrs. Sheila the Monarch is very funny to me conceptually, cause… it feels like at first they did her voice as a joke, but then they committed to her so hard (in addition to repeatedly saying ‘she’s just a woman with a deep voice’) that they had no choice _but_ to be sincere. Like, it shouldn’t work but they committed.
Yeahhhhh I always dr girlfriend thought was trans even if her voice was just a reference to Jackie Kennedy.....Also the marvelous misadventures of Flapjack trans episode? It's called something is a miss... And it's literally everybody assuming Flapjack is a girl because of how he looks and presents himself
I've never watched this show, but my best friend is OBSESSED with this show! So glad to have something to share with them 🥰🥰🥰
21:24 I love that part. I also like that the time stamp for it is twenty-one twenty-four.
My partner is having a serious mandella effect about this video. She swears she saw this video before today even though you just uploaded it. Have you ever talked about venture brothers in another video?
She mentioned it in some of the "should I do this or that" polls a while ago.
I've been watching your channel for a while, I've wanted this vid for a while and am so glad you are doing it now. I discovered venture bros last year and I've seen the whole thing twice and own the series on DVD. I even got athf plantasm and Metalocalypse doomstar just cause I think it makes a sort of unofficial adult swim 2023 movie trilogy
26:46 Satisfactory, actually. But you had me buggin for a second lmao.
I just randomly found you and already love how your intro is straight to the point
You should do a video on Super Jail
uploads that make me happy stim
Now I'm imagining a Harvey Birdman episode where Hunter Gathers steals DMTM's identity and measurements for a new surgery/mission, and she's suing back. End joke is Mentok swaps their minds, Gathers in Doctor's body screams FINALLY and runs out the room, and Doctor in Gather's body tries the cigarette filter and goes 'Wow I wish I had this when I was in middleschool'
Great video, as always! I hope you do one for Sailor Uranus and the three starlights from the final half of the final season of Sailor Moon, someday. Seiya had a massive impact on me and I really connected with him and the Transmasc non-binary vibes he gave off.
thank you so much for the time and labor put into this video it was fire af!!!!!!! we love having a deeper conversation around some of the characters in venture bros as well as providing another piece of important content vocalizing the vast nuance behind the trans experience (including detransitioning - really happy to see a youtuber discuss the topic with respect and understanding) and deconstructing the harm that patriarchal-centered societies create!!!!!! stunning work as always. and hope you have a great day as well!
YESSSSS ive been waiting for this episode, venture bros is one of my very favorite shows ever i can't wait to see your thoughts on hunter :D