Curb Your Enthusiasm (S10E10)

Available Summary:

Larry runs into an unwelcome familiar face, seeks a second opinion on his knee injury and causes a rift between expectant parents.

-IMDb.

Jack's Summary:

Given that Curb Your Enthusiasm is an irreverent comedy, I think that it walks the line pretty well, in terms of introducing a trans character whose comedy is based solely around aspects of his transition, while not dehumanising or demeaning him. However, my opinion is not universal, so others may understandably disagree.

Initially introduced simply as a man seeking a new job at a coffee shop, Joey is soon after characterised as a trans man when his robe falls open, revealing his sizeable phallus to the protagonist, prompting the comment, "I mean, I support your transitioning, but you gave yourself quite a large penis there."

In response, Joey explains that he wanted to "follow in the tradition" of his male family members having large penises. The protagonist, called Larry, questions whether he can "handle" a penis of that size, asking whether he has "tried it out on some dames". Joey says that he has, with no complaints.

Larry then meets with his friends Leon and Jeff, relaying this encounter to them. When Jeff is confused, Leon explains to him, "Joey Funkhouser's daughter has transitioned into being a man." Leon then empathises with the difficulties of having a large penis, saying that he is a member of the "Big Johnson community", which meets monthly to discuss "the pitfalls of having a big-ass Johnson". Larry suggests that membership could benefit Joey, saying, "It's way too big, and he can't handle it. I foresee big problems with that penis. Big." We later find out that Leon does, in fact, invite Joey to join this club.

When we next see Joey, he is working at Larry's coffee shop, guided by Leon, who is also an employee.

Larry next encounters Joey in the same bathroom where the pair originally met. After Larry mistakenly leaves a friend's watch on the bathroom bench, Joey accidentally knocks it off the bench and onto the floor due to his penis size. Larry later tells a coffee shop customer about this incident, with the customer saying, "He's not used to moving around with it... You gotta break some eggs to make an omelette, right? Gotta break a couple watches to know how to handle a big cock."

Larry, handing the watch back to his friend, explains the damage by saying, "The giant penis of a recent sex-change recipient knocked it off the counter," prompting confusion.

The episode ends with Larry's coffee shop burning down, due to Joey accidentally knocking a self-heating mug (where the base of the mug is electronically warmed) off a table, and into a box of paperwork.

The Hollywood Reporter published an article about this episode:

With its potential to offend and for the way it wraps issues of race, class, gender and sexuality inside in intentionally awkward social settings, Curb couldn’t be more different from groundbreaking LGBTQ shows like Pose and Amazon’s Transparent that filter the trans experience through a dramatic and loving lens. But for Bono, starring opposite David offered him an opportunity to shed his activist armor for a change and instead flex a different set of acting muscles from ones he’s had on display in recent high-profile projects such as Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story. That doesn’t mean it was all jokes and games, however.

Included in the article is an interview with Bono:

Interviewer: People just aren’t talking about gender confirmation surgery in this way, for trans men. What are your thoughts on that and how well it’s been received?

Bono: Honestly, it worked really well and wasn’t offensive. I mean, not any more than anything on that show. I thought it was really funny, but the whole time I was filming it, I was wondering how it would work. I can’t speak for all trans people, but you know, for myself, what’s in my pants is not a subject that I ever want to talk about. It’s one of those things that people can get fixated on and I find it to be maddening. I was in an uncomfortable space shooting it, though I really enjoyed the process because I loved working with those guys and it was really fun to do something that was completely different like improv. It was a weird experience.

Interviewer: You tweeted that this role brought you way out of your comfort zone as an actor, not just because it was improv comedy. I assume you meant the trans storyline?

Bono: Yeah, I meant having to talk about my dick for an entire episode, having it focused on that area, and I didn’t want to [reveal] that on Twitter and give anything away before the episode aired. It was uncomfortable but it was fulfilling and I was really glad to be doing it.

Ultimately, the only scene which was particularly uncomfortable for me was the discussion of Joey's anatomy with a random coffee shop customer. Gossip about a trans man's genitals behind his back, in a public space, is a serious and recurrent issue which I have personally faced. If viewers have been through similar experiences, you may feel the same discomfort which I do. I don't believe that Curb Your Enthusiasm is necessarily encouraging such behaviour, however.

Exposure of a trans character's genitals, as a way to out them, is a pervasive and repugnant trope in media, as seen in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. The key difference, for me anyway, is that exposure of Joey's genitals is not focused on outing him, but rather, focused on the juvenile topic of penis size... which is a trope that the episode manages to explore without denigrating small penises (although one conversation could be interpreted that way). If Joey's robe had fallen open to reveal his pre/non-op anatomy, that would have landed very differently for me.

As always, audiences should proceed with caution, taking into account your own experiences, sensitivities, and media preferences. If you don't like irreverent comedy, you won't like this episode.