That's why crap like this is ridiculous. Santa's magic, nothing is impossible. He's based on like three different guys, one of them (Odin) has only one eye and an 8-legged horse.
Therein lies the catch- Santa is a magical figment of imagination. A jolly fat man who squeezes down chimneys and flys around the world in a single night defying or bending known laws of physics. So.... why can’t Santa be genderless? Multigender? Able to shift genders? More so- what does Santa’s gender have anything to do with what Santa does, is, the central core of a jolly magic being who gives presents?
Who cares? Like- really? Who cares? People get so riled up. If you aren’t fucking Santa why do you care what is between Santa’s legs? That can go either way of course. But obviously people DO care. A group of people say “I’d really enjoy it or be more comfortable with representations of Santa as female, non gendered, both, shape shifting, etc.” And then some other people say “NO! I want Santa to have a penis.” Ok. Well- let’s put asides why we care about old wizard junk so much- since the issue is likely less the junk and more about seeing part of yourself or feeling included for both sides. (Don’t say tradition. You can’t say “tradition” with things like this because the “tradition” was prejudiced and often from prejudice. Slavery was a “tradition” just as women not being allowed to work etc.)
So.... the seemingly all beneficial compromise is to just say: “Santa is magic. Santa can be whatever Santa wants at any given time. Santa is... Santa- and may appear as the viewer wishes...” if people want woman Santa or non binary Santa, let em have it. If people want a male Santa- let em. Santa is a SYMBOL- a symbol has to reflect us or else it means nothing to us. Believe what you want and let others do the same. There is nothing any more wrong about saying Santa could be other than a white make than there is believing Santa is a white male.
It’s like adults arguing over wether Leprechauns like apples or oranges more. Can you ask the Leprechaun? No? Why? Say it with me: BECAUSE YOU’RE ARGUING OVER FICTION. The answer is whatever you say it is because the Leprechaun is not going to show up and prove you right or wrong. Science will not study the leprechauns diet and give a quantifiable answer. And there’s still a huge debate wether the idea of Santa is harmful to kids to boot. So tell them there is no Santa. Tell them there is a Santa and he is the manliest man. Tell them Santa is a Muslim transsexual in a wheelchair who identifies as Pan gendered but prefers “ZIM” as their pronoun. Who. Fucking. Cares. We can’t even agree to run a civil and inclusive society when we are talking about a fictional mascot. Disgusting.
Actually.... that pretty much is how you change things. No one is going to know that you feel the thermostat is set to high if you don’t say anything- and if enough people say something- then they’ll probably decide to turn it down. Fictional characters change all the time to suit the times and whine of society. Look at the changes of superheroes and villains- the recent reimagining is the Joker for example- and his transformation over time into the modern image of a man who is a deranged anti establishment crusader and not just a demented sadist. Characters like Luke Skywalker and Ripken from aliens were originally written as different genders. The ancient one from doctor strange was a man established in the comics and became a woman. Dizzy from Star ship troopers is a male role in the novel and a woman in the film. Starbuck from Battle Star was a man in the original and a “woman” in the remake.
In the tempest- a work of fiction that has a bit more history and is arguably as a Shakespeare play, on par with the Santa legend- prospers is a man- but they replaced him with a woman in film. Major Anderson is a man in the novel of Enders game- a woman in the film. Lost in space redid Dr. Smith as a woman- and....
Dr. Who changed genders as well. If we examine the history of long standing characters in fiction- they DO often change with time. Wolverine and many other heroes started as villains and vice versa. While back stories are reimagined. Character histories are retconned, Nick fury started as a white man, In comics and in film by Samuel L Jackson he has also been black. Santa himself has undergone changes over time already. Saying “Santa can’t be changed!” Isn’t a convincing argument when.... Santa HAS been changed before. Many times.
Santa started as a monk who traveled around helping the poor and sick after disowning all material wealth. Sound like a fat guy in red velvet? No. Monks- Turkish monks. Since he was Turkish- don’t tend to dress that way, and likely aren’t fat. They also don’t bring toys once a year. They heal and feed the poor. When Santa started to become an American icon he was often described as wearing a blue tri point hat and striped yellow stockings, or pantyhose and a floppy wife brim hat. He was also a rascal.
Clement Moore wrote a poem for his kids around 1822 that made many modern ideas of Santa popular. A political cartoonist in the late 1800’s gave Santa his more or less current look. But the modern Santa is an amalgamation and has a world wide history. In parts of Europe Santa wasn’t Saint Nick- but an angel that helped him in his missions. In Scandinavia “Santa” has goats not reindeer. In Russia “Santa” is an immortal old woman who purposely gave the 3 wise men wrong directions to Jesus and so does the whole present thing to atone. Italian “Santa” comes down the chimney with gifts and all- but is also a woman
Many people’s favorite reindeer- a “tradition” of Christmas- good old Rudolph? Wasn’t invented and added to the legend until 1932. NINETEEN THIRTY TWO. there are still people alive who’s parents lived in 1932. So santa isn’t some “ancient and untouchable tradition.” In America he is largely a commercial mascot. The modern image of Santa and the spread of Santa’s outside minority communities was largely the work of retailers and marketers. Santa ISNT a fictional character per se.
No one owns the rights to santa. Santa isn’t intellectual property. No single person created santa. There isn’t a “cannon” for santa. Santa is a folk character. A communally owned figment of imagination. So- santa can be whatever people decide Santa is. If enough people want a female or whatever else santa- that is what the popular image of santa will be. But since no one created or wins the character there is no one to say “this is who santa is. What santa is. How santa must look” etc.
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· 4 years ago
There's no way I'm reading all that but nice try. Have fun knowing you just wrote like 7 paragraphs about Santa Claus to someone who doesn't care.
Have fun knowing you still took the time to comment, without adding anything useful or pertinent to the discussion. Even if anyone decides to care, you have no content for which they could care about. I suspect this is indicative of your life in general. But at least you can feel big trying to tear people down on the Internet- and I wouldn’t want to take away what I would guess is the shining light in your life- so let’s just both pretend I’m mortally wounded and there was some level of wit to what you said?
“Oooof. You got me. Really put me in my place. I bow to your wit and intelligence. I have been shamed so badly that surely I won’t post here again for some months as I seek therapy at your massive burn. My ego... it’s crushed. I will not be able to go to work tomorrow because my confidence is gone. I bow to you.”
Ah. So.... you had precisely enough energy to see that there was writing- not read it, then leave a comment, then leave another comment about how you don’t have enough energy to read or comment?
In which case- I apologize. Your original post said: “I hope you enjoy...” but.... I don’t take any enjoyment in your lack of energy. Why would I? I hope you find your energy and are able to use it constructively on things you enjoy in the near future.
>refuses to participate in said conversation because the responses are too long
Lol, amateur.