Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

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How Dr. Mrs. The Monarch subverted being a shallow punchline and became a compelling, empowering figure.
To put it mildly, transgender representation in film and TV, until very recently, has sucked big time. Whether it’s abject disgust towards trans people, like the characters of Ace Ventura mass vomiting upon finding out the woman villain is trans, trans characters being played for laughs, like Chandler’s father transitioning to a woman on Friends , or the near-complete absence of trans men, both the big and small screen have largely characterized being trans as an unusual, shocking, negative thing. Obviously, to trans people like myself, the lack of positive representation almost all others enjoy in some degree is frustrating. Enter an unlikely hero: An adult cartoon, which, upon first glance, may seem crude and juvenile, rife with the uncouth and shallow humor of 2004. However, when given time and space to grow, evolve, and define its story and characters, this series not only becomes a complex and hilarious work of fiction, but one with a character who has provided confidence to many trans women. Enter The Venture Brothers and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.
For the uninitiated: The Venture Bros. is an adult action-comedy animated series, helmed by Christopher “Jackson Publick” McCulloch and Doc Hammer , which premiered on Adult Swim in 2004. On its surface, the series premise is a send-up of classic adventure cartoons, with dimwitted twins Hank ( Christopher McCulloch ) and Dean ( Michael Sinterniklaas ), along with their neurotic scientist father ( James Urbaniak ) and brutish bodyguard ( Patrick Warburton ), traveling the world, solving mysteries, and surviving action. But what makes The Venture Bros. so special is how the show builds on itself to become so much more than a Johnny Quest parody, with characters who develop and change, shifting power dynamics, onging character arcs, and a genuine sense of emotion. Over the show’s seven seasons, spanning seventeen years, the audience has watched characters grow and evolve, from learning of Dr. Venture’s deep-seated childhood trauma, to watching a dorky henchman go through the process of grief and rebirth, to the emotional ups and downs of adolescence and young adulthood for Hank and Dean. But, for myself and other trans women like me, the development of Dr. Mrs. The Monarch has stood out as one of the most resonant parts of the show.
While episodes from the early seasons did occasionally dip into problematic jokes and material that was more accepted in the mid-2000s than now, there has always been a sense of humanity and heart to The Venture Bros . As writer Cassandra Cohen put it , “men donning more feminine attributes and clothes isn’t made into a huge deal by the characters in The Venture Bros.” Then there are the multiple gay characters of the show, all of who are complex and more than just their sexuality, from the flamboyant but tactical GI Joe parody Shore Leave, to the masculine Colonel Gentleman, to the sarcastic Alchemist. Even the character of Hunter Gathers, a top military commander who undergoes a sex change to, as we later learn, infiltrate an all-woman assassin organization, in by far one of the show’s most problematic plotlines, still has a sense of emotion to his journey. After completing his mission, and transition back to a man, he admits “I miss my breasts! Inside of me there is a woman screaming to get out!” hinting at a greater emotional complexity to his identity than the simple joke of him transitioning for the sake of a mission.
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, formally Dr. Girlfriend, is, as the name implies, the wife and partner in villainy to Dr. Venture’s butterfly-themed archnemesis, The Monarch (McCulloch). At the beginning of season one, Dr. Girlfriend is ostensibly a parody of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , sporting the former first lady’s pink suit and pillbox hat, and with, in a joke on Onassis’s relatively low voice, a deep, gravelly, traditionally “masculine” voice (being voiced by writer Doc Hammer). But Dr. Girlfriend does not remain stagnant nor one-note as a character. Over the course of seven seasons, we watch her break up with The Monarch but subsequently rekindle their relationship, get married and become Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, develop as a villain in her own right, become a council member of the “Guild of Calamitous Intent” and struggle with choosing between her career and her passions. She is a complex character, with human emotion and conflict, or as CBR put it, she’s “one of the most intelligent and competent characters in the entire series.”
With Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, The Venture Bros. continues the subversion of its treatment of characters, as she, and the show itself, asserts her as a woman, regardless of her voice. As the show progress, it essentially moves past her unlikely voice entirely. In Season 2, while in a women’s restroom, she emphatically tells two girls staring at her “yes I belong in here, I just have a deep voice.” This simple, short moment sums up her character in so many ways: She’s a woman, confident in who she is and where she belongs, and she’s not gonna take any shit.
If you’re not trans, you may be asking yourself: “Does all this talk about feeling empowered by a character boil down to said character being a dynamic woman who just happens to have a deep voice?” I must tell you, in so few words: Yes, it does. Even though Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is canonically cis, with her voice the result of years of chain-smoking, said voice still has other characters question her gender and accuse her of not being a “real woman” (whatever the hell that means), just as people do to both trans and cis women in real life. As writer Harmony M Colangelo explained : “While the reality of this fictional character is that Dr. Mrs. The Monarch isn’t trans, if people think you are trans then in the court of public opinion…you are. Regardless of the actual circumstances surrounding your identity, you are guilty and it will be used against you.” With the simple act of being a woman unconcerned, afraid, or swayed in her confidence, despite what is stereotypically categorized as a “man’s voice,” Dr. Mrs. The Monarch represents a hopeful ideal of what all women, trans or cis, with aspects about them deemed “masculine” by society, to strive for. Whether you’re a trans woman, like me, and it’s true that you struggle with feeling your voice not matching your body, she’s a hero. If you’re cis but muscular and athletic in a way that’s been deemed “un-womanly” then I could easily see her being just as much of a hero. To quote Colangelo again, “The Doc might not be trans, but there are trans elements to Dr. Mrs. The Monarch’s existence and there is power in that.” All this on top of the fact Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is probably one of the most competent characters in the show, as well as being an absolute fashion icon and "look goals."
As long as there has been fiction, people have used the experiences and strengths of fictional characters as inspiration in their own lives. The Venture Brothers ' Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is just that, an ideal of confidence and strength to strive towards for all women who’ve been told they’re not “correct” in their femininity. “[She] has risen above and succeeded in spite of that judgment both in The Venture Bros universe and in the evolution of how this show and comedy is written in general. Trans or not, I love that,” says Colangelo. “Hearing that brassy croon be treated as such a normal thing means more to me than most forms of direct representation ever has,” and this writer full-heartedly agrees. So, here’s to Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and her amazing voice, for giving me all hell of a lot more confidence and inspiration than the rest of Hollywood ever has. The Venture Brothers may be canceled, with only a movie left to try and wrap things up , but Dr. Mrs. The Monarch will continue to inspire and live on for all of us who’ve had to stand firm in a bathroom and answer “yes, I belong in here.”
Peyton is a freelance writer with Collider, focusing on horror, off-beat comedy, and all things weird. Outside of film reviews, she enjoys screenwriting, directing, making music, and performing stand up comedy. Peyton also hosts her own podcast, Explaining To Austin, in which she explains movies to her friend who hasn't seen them. As a trans woman, Peyton is an advocate for LGBTQ, women's, and human rights.
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290,659 views Oct 18, 2020 Honestly Shelia is the best character … ...more
I don't even notice the voice difference anymore. It's just natural to my senses and she's just a beautiful and smart woman to me

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Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

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