Fox’s The Last Man on Earth spent most of its Sunday, November 19 episode "Gender Friender" touting feminism and a lesbian relationship, then strangely made the argument towards the end of the show that genders no longer exist, and therefore, neither does “gay.”
The show takes place in 2022 after a virus wipes out most of the earth’s population leaving only a handful of people who have found each other alive. Main character Tandy (Will Forte) is known for being the village idiot among the survivors, but for the first time, the roles were reversed.
Not on purpose, though. The liberal writers obviously meant for him to still seem ignorant while everyone else appears enlightened and brilliant. In this case, however, Tandy made their feminist agenda look as ridiculous as it really is.
The episode opens with Tandy exclaiming, “Guys! Guys! I did it,” as he shows them a Rubik’s Cube-like contraption that he found in the house they’re living in, and on which he solved one side of the puzzle. Fellow survivor Erica (Cleopatra Coleman) asks him, "If you're so smart, why are you calling us ‘guys?’”
Now it’s apparently sexist to say “guys” when referring to a group of people that aren’t all men, even though both women and men have been using the term for both genders for ages. But Tandy gets called a “sexist pig” for it.
Tandy feels so guilty over it that he proposes that instead of saying “guys,” they should all say, “gals” instead. He then asks, “What's got two thumbs and a deep respect for gender equality? This gal. This gal.”
He then starts making up new words like “agreewoment” in place of “agreement,” “vagina-doodle-doo,” instead of “cocka-doodle-doo” and as he watches the sunrise, he calls it “daughterrise.” He also changes all the manatee art in the house to “woman-atee” art. The women still aren’t happy with his efforts, though:
Tandy: Hey, gals. Uh, just burned some dirty diapers on the lawn. Woman, oh, woman, is it hot out! Yeah, plus all the pollen. Think I might have to go take an anti-her-stamine.
Melissa: Wow, you're really doubling down on all this crap.
Tandy: Yeah. If by "crap" you mean smashing the patriarchy and being a full-on gender-friender, then yes, I'm 100% full of crap.
Carol: You know, Tandy, there's more to being a feminist than just talk.
Melissa: Yeah, and you can't just change a bunch of words around and think you're the next... Betty Friedan.
Tandy: Uh, don't know who that is, but I think I get the point. Which is why I am entering phase two of what I'm calling my "Sex Change Operation." 'Cause well-behaved Tandies seldom make herstory.
In another storyline, lesbian couple Erica and Gail (Mary Steenburgen) decide to get married, despite Gail’s belief that marriage is a flawed institution. Erica recently gave birth to a daughter named Dawn, who she conceived with a male survivor who passed away in a previous season, and she and Gail are raising the baby together.
Tandy officiates the ceremony, and it’s all downhill from there:
Tandy: Ladies and gentlewomen we are gathered here today to bring two souls together in holy matrimony. I want to be clear: This is not a gay wedding. Because now, we're living in a world in which men and women don't exist. Which means gay doesn't, either. So, this is just a regular wedding. But it's still special. Because it's the hottest type of regular wedding, with two smoking hot people about to make a very public display of affection. I feel like Bill Clinton right now. A simple man between two legendary Bushes. One of them a little older. Now, at a certain point, I'm gonna ask these two ladies to kiss. A display that once would have been considered "Too Hot for TV." Uh, and, heck, I'll admit: I was part of the problem. I used to titter when I would watch Gail and Erica kiss. But now, I just watch. How far we've come. What a glorious couple. What they lack in interconnecting parts, they make up for in love. As they scissor through the chains of ignorance... Strap on, it's gonna be a wild ride.
Erica: Tandy! Just skip over anything about us being gay.
Tandy: I couldn't have said it better. Look, this is not just a marriage. This is the union of three souls: Erica, Gail and Dawn. The three of you will form an unbreakable bond that nobody can penetrate. Bears repeating: This will be a union without penetration.
To finish, Tandy declares, "Now, to end decades of male oppression, and usher in a new era of gender equality, I will break through the symbolic glass ceiling by shattering this actual glass ceiling," as he proceeds to shoot a gun through at glass ceiling above them.
Back at the house where they are hosting the reception, a make-shift sign hangs that reads: My Wedding, My Choice.
So, which is it? There are no genders? Or men are sexist pigs who need to stop using perfectly normal and acceptable phrases like “guys” lest they be vilified? Because they can’t have it both ways. Then again, when did making sense ever come before pushing an agenda in Hollywood?
